The first story, "The House Next Door" (written by Patterson and Susan DiLallo), is about a family living next to a derelict house that has just been occupied by a mysterious man and his son.

"The Killer's Wife," written by Patterson and Max DiLallo, is about a detective's quest to find what has happened to four girls who have gone missing.

To do this he decides the only way to find them is to get on the good side of the wife of the man suspected of abducting them.

He one day gets a message from space proving intelligent aliens exist.

The House Next Door did not immediately make The New York Times best sellers list.