House of Tigers — William Burton McCormick

Ilya Dudnyk, a corrupt but romantic Russian police inspector, is trapped inside his oligarch employer's Siberian mansion with an unknown killer, a duplicitous Latvian journalist chained to his arm, and an apocalyptic insect plague raging for hundreds of kilometers beyond the smoke barriers and barricaded windows. Can Ilya track down the killer before he is the next victim? Or will the endless swarms find a way inside and all are consumed by a hundred trillion ravenous, blood-sucking mosquitoes? An Honorable Mention for the Black Orchid Novella Award, “House of Tigers” is published here for the first time ever!