This “highly recommended” ( Publishers Weekly , starred review) collection edited by New York Times bestselling author Lee Child pairs the beloved characters of twenty-two internationally bestselling writers in “a must-read for fans of the thriller genre” ( The Real Book Spy ). The incredible follow-up to FaceOff features twenty-two of the world’s bestselling and critically acclaimed thriller writers pairing their series characters in an eleven-story anthology curated by the International Thriller Writers (ITW). MatchUp takes the never-before-seen bestseller pairings of FaceOff and adds a delicious new twist: gender. “Think Dancing With the Stars , but with mysteries” ( Booklist ) as eleven of the world’s best female thriller writers from Diana Gabaldon to Kathy Reichs to Charlaine Harris are paired with eleven of the world’s best male thriller writers, including John Sandford, C.J. Box, and Nelson DeMille, among others. “This box holds a chocolate or two that will be to everyone’s liking” ( Kirkus Reviews ). In these innovative stories, their beloved protagonists, Lee Coburn, Joe Pickett, and Jack Reacher—just to name a few—team up to unnerve and satisfy thriller fans worldwide. All of the contributors are ITW members, and the project is edited by ITW member and #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child. The lineup includes: Sandra Brown’s Lee Coburn vs. C. J. Box’s Joe Pickett Val McDermid’s Tony Hill vs. Peter James’s Roy Grace Kathy Reichs’s Temperance Brennan vs. Lee Child’s Jack Reacher Diana Gabaldon’s Jamie Fraser vs. Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone Gayle Lynds’s Liz Sansborough vs. David Morrell’s Rambo Karin Slaughter’s Jeffrey Tolliver vs. Michael Koryta’s Joe Pritchard Charlaine Harris’s Harper Connelly vs. Andrew Gross’s Ty Hauck Lisa Jackson’s Regan Pescoli vs. John Sandford’s Virgil Flower Lara Adrian’s Lucan Thorne vs. Christopher Rice’s Lilliane Lisa Scottoline’s Bennie Rosato vs. Nelson DeMille’s John Corey J.A. Jance’s Ali Reynolds vs. Eric Van Lustbader’s Bravo Shaw "Highly recommended as entertainment, this anthology is a great place to start if you’ve not yet sampled some of these authors." -- Publishers Weekly "This box holds a chocolate or two that will be to everyone's liking." -- Kirkus Reviews "This fun format offers the best of both worlds, matching up favorite thriller characters within the intense confines of a short story." -- Library Journal "Think Dancing with the Stars, but with mysteries...which offers some delicious pairings." -- Booklist "MatchUp is a must-read for fans of the thriller genre. Very rarely does this kind of star power assemble for one anthology, and each story delivers the goods." -- therealbookspy.com Edited and introduced by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child and stories by Sandra Brown, C.J. Box, Val McDermid, Peter James, Kathy Reichs, Diana Gabaldon, Steve Berry, Gayle Lynds, David Morrell, Karin Slaughter, Michael Koryta, Charlaine Harris, Andrew Gross, Lisa Jackson, John Sandford, Lara Adrian, Christopher Rice, Lisa Scottoline, Nelson DeMille, J.A. Jance, and Eric Van Lustbader. MatchUp HONOR & . . . WHEN JOE PICKETT SET OUT that morning, he hadn’t anticipated coming face-to-face with a killing machine. It was an unseasonably warm late-September day. As a favor to another game warden, Joe was scouting the western slope of the Gros Ventre Range above Jackson Hole, deep in the black timber. When he heard the staccato series of high snapping sounds in the distance, he reined his gelding Rojo to a stop and leaned forward in the saddle to listen with his head turned slightly to the southeast, the direction from which he thought the sounds had come. For a time all Joe heard were Rojo’s snuffles and snorts as he caught his breath after their hard climb. Then, two heavy booms rolled through the trees at ground level, and Joe realized that what had started out as a routine day had turned potentially dangerous—for three reasons. First, the sounds weren’t natural. It was a popular misconception that the mountain forests were silent because there were few people in them. Fact was, the wilderness was a riot of noise. Elk, moose, and grizzly and black bears broke through tree limbs and sometimes knocked over dead trees, not so much walking through the brush as crashing through it. Add to their racket chattering squirrels, shrieking hawks, and wolves and coyotes howling at a pitch that seemed designed to curdle human blood, and the mountains became damned noisy. But there was a natural rhythm to the cacophony. What Joe had heard intruded on that natural rhythm in a way that set his senses on high alert. Second, the source of the sounds was curious. He was nearly sure he’d heard a flurry of semiautomatic gunshots from multiple weapons fired at once, followed by a pause. Then came the two heavy, high-caliber shots. It didn’t comput