"Superb...an appropriate homage"-Marilyn Stasio, New York Times The much-anticipated final installment in Ariana Franklin's popular Mistress of the Art of Death historical mystery series, finished by the author's daughter after her death. England. 1191. After the death of her friend and patron, King Henry II, Adelia Aguilar, England's vaunted Mistress of the Art of Death, is living comfortably in retirement and training her daughter, Allie, to carry on her craft-sharing the practical knowledge of anatomy, forensics, and sleuthing that catches murderers. Allie is already a skilled healer, with a particular gift for treating animals. But the young woman is nearly twenty, and her father, Rowley, Bishop of Saint Albans, and his patron, the formidable Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, have plans to marry Allie to an influential husband . . . if they can find a man who will appreciate a woman with such unusual gifts. When a friend in Cambridgeshire falls ill, Allie is sent to Ely, where her path will cross with Lord Peverill, a young aristocrat who would be a most suitable match for the young healer. But when Allie arrives, all is chaos. A village girl has disappeared-and she's not the first. Over the past few months, several girls from the villages surrounding Ely have vanished. When the body of one of the missing is discovered, Allie manages to examine the remains before burial. The results lead her to suspect that a monstrous predator is on the loose. Will her training and her stubborn pursuit of the truth help her find the killer...or make her the next victim? A richly detailed, twisty thriller, Death and the Maiden is historical mystery at its finest-and a superb final episode in Ariana Franklin's much-loved, much-acclaimed series.

On a dreary moonlight night in 1943, Malcolm Claussen patrolled the English Channel in his de Havilland W4052 Mosquito. His routine World War II patrol mission was disturbed when he encountered a roaring silver airplane larger than he'd seen before. With no insignia to identify the craft getting dangerously close to London, Claussen shot down this gargantuan airship just off the English shore. There were but two men in the U.K. who officially knew about the aircraft and its purpose: Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding and Winston Churchill. There was, however, one person who unofficially knew: Matt Jacobson. While Matt was sworn to secrecy, his son was not, and after Matt's passing young Bruce Jacobson embarks on a search for the truth of this mysterious plane. Who built this plane, why was it so large, and why was it kept secret?

Trailblazer, superstar, activist, and spy: Alice Marble was a true American icon.

At seventeen, Alice Marble has no formal tennis skills and no coach. What she does have is an ability to hit the ball as hard as she can and a strong desire to prove herself. With steadfast determination and one sacrifice after another, Alice plays her heart out on the courts of the rich and famous, at national tournaments, and—the greatest of them all—at Wimbledon, rising to be one of the top-ranked players in the world.

But then her world falls apart.

With the outbreak of war with Germany, Alice’s tennis career and life come to a screeching halt, and for the first time, she is forced to confront who she is without tennis. As she seeks to understand her new place in the world and how she can aid in the war efforts, a telegram arrives with devastating news from overseas. Heartbroken and lost, she feels like she can only watch as the war wreaks havoc in every area of her life.

Alice is given the chance to fight back when the US Army sends her a request: Under the guise of playing in tennis exhibition games in Switzerland, she would be a spy for them. Alice aches for nothing more than to avenge what the war has taken from her and to prove herself against this new opponent. But what awaits her might be her greatest challenge yet.

From her start as a promising athlete with worn-out shoes to her status as a glamorous international star, Alice Marble’s determination to control her own life and destiny fuels a story of achievement, discipline, loss, and love.

Jenni L. Walsh’s Ace, Marvel, Spy brilliantly showcases the life of Alice Marble, a real-life tennis sensation known for her extraordinary talent and indomitable spirit. This fast-paced and action-packed historical novel spans multiple international settings and is enhanced by discussion questions that prompt readers to reflect on Alice’s challenges and triumphs, making it an ideal choice for book clubs.

As the inferno of World War II engulfs 101st Airborne Division paratrooper Lieutenant Sam Henry, the scholar-turned-soldier is thrust on a collision course with the embodiment of beauty-and the horrors of combat. Training and awaiting D-Day in England, Sam's can-do Yank confidence suffers the harsh realities of a war-weary nation under siege as well as a tyrannical platoon leader. His fascination with the beautiful British schoolteacher, Maggie Elliott, sustains his hopes and softens the bite of military life but cannot erase the dread of Sam's upcoming mission. When that fateful day arrives, June 6, 1944, Sam embarks on one of the most dangerous missions of the war. But the massive parachute night drop behind Hitler's Atlantic Wall disintegrates into pockets of fractured units and individuals locked in kill-or-be-killed close combat chaos, testing Sam's optimistic intellectualism to the breaking point. His personal mission becomes nothing more than getting his beloved men out-alive. Yet, with the D-Day airborne objectives nearly secured, an unforeseen clash against a Russian Front hardened storm trooper, Helmut Behr, threatens to destroy Sam's sanity-and his life. "Evocative and haunting. Varner's action scenes are fantastic he really brought me into D-Day." -Jefferson Scott, author of the Operation Firebrand series

Vietnam, 1968. The start of Tet, the lunar new year, is only weeks away. The new year will bring the Year of the Monkey, and soon the lives of four people will collide.

Marine Sergeant Michael Warner. After barely surviving his first tour of duty in Vietnam, the tough Marine has just returned. Warner has all the reasons in the world not to come back-but they only matter to him.

Frank Monin. As regional supervisor for the CIA, Monin has been in Vietnam for more than five years. Now Monin has a mission to implement the Agency's newest plan to eliminate the Viet Cong infrastructure-and he prays it will work.

Wally Brumsfield. As bureau chief for the Associated Press in Saigon, Brumsfield is an experienced journalist adept at finding the story behind the story-and he is about to discover the biggest story of his life.

Tran Van Ky. A barber at the American base in Phu Bai, Tran is also one of the highest-ranking Viet Cong cadres in Vietnam-and Tran and his cohorts are planning a Tet surprise for the Americans.

Four strangers. Four agendas. All caught up in the most controversial plan of the entire war-the Phoenix Program.

Cover Design Concept: Clayton Thomas

The Riverton Project asks the question, "How much are you, as American citizens, willing to give up to stop the insanity and return to a world of safety?" "Would you be willing to give up your citizenship, your constitutional, legal and inalienable rights?" The answer, of course, is a resounding, "No " But the citizens of Riverton, Ohio were not given that choice. These men and women woke up one morning to find their community had overnight become its own country within a country, within its borders, its own rules and regulations, its own rights and responsibilities and its own Guardian police force. It had become part of a frightening experiment to save the essence of the American dream by destroying everything that it had been founded upon. The frightening thing was that the experiment worked. This is the story of the men and women who lived it.

Jarred Glickman learned early on that a man is only what he thinks he is-and nothing more. In his quest to satisfy his father's values, Jarred discards his dream of becoming a photographer, marries, and begins attending medical school. Desperate for a loan so he can continue school, Jarred innocently signs his life away to a man who promises he will never have financial worries again. But as the Vietnam War rages, Jarred has no idea he has just signed up to join a military intelligence operation and, in the process, forever changed his destiny. As he attends weekly stealth lectures by a retired submarine commander, Jarred learns more than he ever wanted to know about war and soon receives his first assignment at a political rally in downtown Philadelphia. Successful at achieving his objectives, Jarred is triumphant-albeit only for a short time, for his success moves him to the next level of intelligence and sends him to Saigon. He must leave his young family and put his life in jeopardy for those who now own him. Never in his wildest dreams could Jarred have predicted what he has become-a dark angel obedient to his convoluted destiny.

Albert Polzen had entertained hopes of becoming a professional composer for much of his life before answering the call of duty as an officer in the German army. When he is captured by the Russians and becomes a POW, he turns to his music for solace. With little hope of returning to his new wife, Seldi, he immerses himself in the composition of an operetta to mentally escape his captivity as he could not physically. At the same time, military intelligence and political manipulation twist and reshape the progress of the German war effort. Meanwhile, Albert's former lover, Hannilore, uses coded information obtained from her husband to uncover a high-level Nazi official who has become a spy for the Soviets. "Phoenix Arising" examines the mind of a man who has been thrown into the depths of despair but finds his salvation in the creation of music that will become his legacy. Love, music, and espionage intertwine to tell the gripping story of power plays and personal choices that will decide the fate of all involved.

Collected for the first time, classic short stories set during the clash of Wellington's British & Napoleon's French armies Join the experiences of common infantry men in war torn Spain. Here are tales of the siege of Badojoz, of retreating armies, guerrillas, spies and lost gold. This evocative collection concludes with a story of honour lost and found on the bloody fields of Quatre Bras & Waterloo.