In this brand new Courtney Series novel by bestselling author, Wilbur Smith, comes an epic story of tragedy, loss, betrayal and courage that brings the reader deep into the seething heart of the French and Indian War. 1754. Inseparable since birth and growing up in India, Theo and Connie Courtney are torn apart by the tragic death of their parents. Theo, wracked with guilt, seeks salvation in combat and conflict, joining the British in the war against the French and Indian army. Connie, believing herself abandoned by her brother, and abused and brutalised by a series of corrupt guardians, makes her way to France, where she is welcomed into high society. Here, she once again finds herself at the mercy of vicious men, whose appetite for war and glory lead her to the frontlines of the French battlefield in North America. As the siblings find their destinies converging once more, they realise that the vengeance and redemption they both desperately seek could cost them their lives . . .

'Balkan Glory is an epic chapter in the splendid Kydd canon, weaving knotty political gambits with stirring naval actions, expressively re-creating the often harsh reality Jack Tars witnessed within their wooden walls during the Napoleonic Wars' - Quarterdeck 1811. The Adriatic, the 'French Lake', is now the most valuable territory Napoleon Bonaparte possesses. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd finds his glorious return to England cut short when the Admiralty summons him to lead a squadron of frigates into these waters to cause havoc and distress to the enemy. Kydd is dubbed 'The Sea Devil' by Bonaparte who personally appoints one of his favourites, Dubourdieu, along with a fleet that greatly outweighs the British, to rid him of this menace. At the same time, Nicholas Renzi is sent to Austria on a secret mission to sound out the devious arch-statesman, Count Metternich. His meeting reveals a deadly plan by Bonaparte that threatens the whole balance of power in Europe. The only thing that can stop it is a decisive move at sea and for this he must somehow cross the Alps to the Adriatic to contact Kydd directly. A climactic sea battle where the stakes could not be higher is inevitable. Kydd faces Dubourdieu with impossible odds stacked against him. Can he shatter Bonaparte's dreams of breaking out of Europe and marching to the gates of India and Asia?

My husband inspired me to write this a book when he bought a vehicle via the internet, and then travelled to Manchester to collect it. The vehicle was an American GMC Safari. After gaining possession he removed two of the back seats and discovered a deliberate slit in the carpet which had been previously hidden. Knowing it had last been in Latvia for a year, he wondered whether anything had been hidden there and I thought 'what if' ....... We have travelled extensively across Europe and I had been particularly entranced by the ruined Byzantine city of Mistras set on a hillside near Sparta in Greece. I decided to incorporate this setting in a book, as it seemed to be the ideal place for stolen artefacts to be hidden. The book starts with an event at the end of WW2 when a German soldier stationed in Greece decides to defect and steals a few artefacts from a hoard plundered by his Senior Officer. On his way to the coast he hides the artefacts within some old ruins he has taken shelter in on his journey. Once back home the soldier decides it would be prudent to make a new start in France. Eventually he marries a French girl, has a family and later his wife becomes very sick. He never manages to return to Greece. When his friend decides to sell his GMC Safari American Day van the ex-soldier buys it. About this time, he makes a trip to Strasbourg and come face-to-face with his ex- Senior Officer who recognises him and he has to beat a hasty retreat hoping the vehicle has not been spotted. On another trip he suspects he is being followed. As he has the map with him, he decides to post it to his grand-daughter but because he has no stamps, he needs to buy pre-paid postage envelops from a service area. In the service area car park, where he bought the envelopes, he decides to hide the map and envelope under the carpet in a special hiding place. Two Latvian stowaways witness him leave the van unlocked and decide to steal the van. To the present time (2012), my main character, Perry Smithieson, buys a vehicle via the internet, and after collecting it from Manchester discovers an old envelope hidden under the car's carpets. Inside the envelope is a sketchy map of a site in Greece. The envelope is addressed to a French lady. Perry decides that he will attempt to deliver the letter. In doing so, he discovers that the lady is a young school-teacher. As they get on well, they decide together it would be fun to try and find whatever her Grandfather had indicated was hidden. It is not long before they discover that they could be exposing themselves to danger .... The artefact that they locate is a diamond - the Akbar Shah diamond.

Born and raised in a stark, coastal village on the shore of the Ice-Rimmed Sea, Bera is the daughter of a Valla, the Vikings' most powerful seers. But her mother died when she was young, leaving Bera alone with her gift, unable to control her feckless twin spirit or understand her visions of the future. When this inability leads to the death of her childhood friend at the hands of a rival clan, Bera vows revenge. And learning that her father has sold her into marriage with the murderous enemy's chieftain, she is presented with an opportunity even sooner than she had hoped... As her powers grow stronger, her visions of looming disaster become more and more ominous until she is faced with the ultimate choice: will she exact vengeance? Or can she lead her people to safety before it's too late?

At the time of his death, Patrick O'Brian had begun to write a novel to follow on from Blue at the Mizzen, the twentieth book in the classic series. These are the chapters he had completed of the final voyage of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin - the greatest friendship of modern literature The story picks up from the end of `Blue at the Mizzen' when Jack Aubrey receives the news, in Chile, of his elevation to flag rank: Rear Admiral of the Blue Squadron, with orders to sail to the South Africa station. This novel, unfinished and untitled at the time of O'Brian's death, would have been a chronicle of that mission, and much else besides. The chapters left on O'Brian's death are presented here both in printed version - including his corrections to the typescript - and a facsimilie of his manuscript, which goes several pages beyond the end of the typescript and includes marginal notes by O'Brian. And so this great `roman fleuve' comes to an end with Jack, with his `sacred blue flag', sailing through fair, sweet days - Stephen with his dissections and new love, Killick muttering darkly over the toasted cheese... Of course, we would rather have had the whole story; instead we have this proof that O'Brian's powers of observation, his humour and his understanding of his characters were undiminished to the end.

Is he in heaven?-Is he in hell? That demmed, elusive Pimpernel? Sir Percy Blakeney lives a double life in the England of 1792: at home he is an idle fop and a leader of fashion, but in abroad he is the Scarlet Pimpernel, a master of disguise who saves aristocrats from the guillotine. When the revolutionary French state seeks to unmask him, Percy's estranged, independent wife, Marguerite, unwittingly sets their agent on her husband's track. Percy's escapades, and Marguerite's daring journey to France to save him from the guillotine, keep the reader turning the pages of Baroness Orczy's well-paced romantic adventure. Written in just five weeks in 1903, Baroness Emma Orczy's bestseller has been the basis of multiple adaptations. Rooted in the upheaval of Orczy's Hungarian childhood, and in the anxious nationalism of turn-of-the-century Britain, the story of the Scarlet Pimpernel provided a blueprint not only for subsequent historical swashbucklers, but for superheroes from Zorro to Superman. The edition places the book The Scarlet Pimpernel within the context of the elite and popular literature of the turn of the century. Orczy's novel is close in kin to such contemporary political thrillers as Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent (1907); tales that channelled contemporary concerns about refugees and enemies within.

On the far eastern borders of the Soviet Union, in the sunset of Stalin's reign, soldiers are training for a war that could end all wars, for in the atomic age man has sown the seeds of his own destruction. Among them is Pavel Gartsev, a reservist. Orphaned, scarred by the last great war and unlucky in love, he is an instant victim for the apparatchiks and ambitious careerists who thrive within the Red Army's ranks. Assigned to a search party composed of regulars and reservists, charged with the recapture of an escaped prisoner from a nearby gulag, Gartsev finds himself one of an unlikely quintet of cynics, sadists and heroes, embarked on a challenging manhunt through the Siberian taiga. But the fugitive, capable, cunning and evidently at home in the depths of these vast forests, proves no easy prey. As the pursuit goes on, and the pursuers are struck by a shattering discovery, Gartsev confronts both the worst within himself and the tantalising prospect of another, totally different life. Translated from the French by Geoffrey Strachan

A rogue officer turns privateer in this thrilling historical adventure.1783: Officer Alan Lewrie becomes His Majesty's secret agent. Fresh from war in the Americas, Lewrie finds London a pure pleasure. Then, at Plymouth, he boards the trading ship Telesto to find out why merchantmen are disappearing in the East Indies. Between the pungent shores of Calcutta and teaming Canton, Lewrie discovers a young French captain, backed by an armada of pirates, on a plundering rampage. While treaties tie the navy's hands, a King's privateer is free to plunge into the fire and blood of a dirty war in the South China Sea. The King's Privateer is perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell and Patrick O'Brian.

For readers of Jeffrey Archer and Clive Cussler, Blood in the Dust is a fast-paced adventure story and the winner of a Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. 'Essential reading for all adventure fans.' Wilbur Smith 1853, Victoria, Australia. Five bushrangers led by the murderous outlaw Warrigal Anderson raid a small homestead. When they ride away, nineteen-year-old Toby O'Rourke's life is changed forever. His parents lay dead at his feet and his brother, Patrick, is badly wounded. But Toby O'Rourke is made of steel forged in the hardship of colonial life. Forced into adulthood, he and Patrick will seek to restore the family fortunes and outwit not only the rich businessman who conspired to rob them of their birth right, but the vicious men who murdered their parents . . .

A country in conflict. A family torn apart.

Isabella, Shasa Courtney's beloved daughter, enjoys all the freedoms London in the sixties can offer. So when a beautiful, charming man appears and sweeps her off her feet, why would she resist? But her lover is no simple admirer - he is Ramon de Santiago y Machado, a KGB operative known as Golden Fox, and his mission is to recruit her as an agent, and uncover her father's secret business dealings.

With this knowledge, Ramon and his comrades plan to end white rule in Africa, whatever the cost. Isabella must make a choice about who she will betray - her father and her country, or her son and the man she loves . . .

The sensational breakout historical thriller from Sunday Times bestseller and Ancient Rome expert Harry Sidebottom. ______________________ He came home a hero. But death isn't finished with him yet . . . 145BC - CALABRIA, ANCIENT ROME. After years of spilling blood for Rome, Gaius Furius Paullus has returned home to spend his remaining days working quietly on the family farm. But it seems death has stalked Paullus from the battlefield. Just days after his arrival, bodies start appearing - murdered and mutilated. And as the deaths stack up, and panic spreads, the war hero becomes the prime suspect. After all, Paullus has killed countless enemies on the battlefield - could he have brought his habit home with him? With the psychological effects of combat clouding every thought, Paullus must use all his soldier's instincts to hunt the real killer. Because if they are not brought to justice soon, he may become the next victim. THE RETURN is the breathless, epic new thriller from one of the world's best historical novelists - for fans of Simon Scarrow, Conn Iggulden, Ben Kane and Bernard Cornwell. ____________________________ Praise for Harry Sidebottom's historical thrillers: 'A storming triumph' - DAILY TELEGRAPH 'An extraordinarily vivid take on the ancient world' - EVENING STANDARD 'Absorbing, rich in detail and brilliant' - THE TIMES 'Relentless, brutal, brilliant' - BEN KANE

With his compelling Centurions trilogy complete, Anthony Riches returns to his bestselling Empire sequence of novels with his storytelling skills polished to perfection. Set in the second century AD, The Scorpion's Strike continues the story of Marcus Aquila's fight for justice for a family ripped asunder by imperial assassins. Still seeking revenge, Marcus finds himself thrown back into the heart of the chaos that is shaking the Roman Empire to its roots. Fresh from their close escape from imperial betrayal in the German forest, Marcus and the Tungrians are ordered to Gaul, where an outlaw called Maturnus is wreaking havoc. Havoc that may be more than mere banditry, as deserters and freed slaves flock to his cause: rebellion is in the air for the first time in a generation. And if escape from Rome's memories is a relief for the young centurion, he soon discovers that danger has followed him west to Gaul. The expedition is led by Praetorians whom he has every cause to hate. And to fear, if they should discover who he really is. 'A masterclass in military historical fiction' Sunday Express on Retribution

'A gripping chronicle of pitched battle, treachery and cruelty' ROBERT FABBRI. Tuscany, 1358: Thomas Blackstone has built a formidable reputation in exile, fighting as a mercenary amid the ceaseless internecine warring of Italy's City States. But success has bred many enemies, and when a dying man delivers a message recalling him to England, it seems almost certain to be a trap. Yet Blackstone cannot disobey - the summons is at the Queen's demand. On his journey, Blackstone will brave the terrors of the High Alps in winter, face the Black Prince in tournament, confront the bloody anarchy of a popular revolt and submit to trial by combat. And every step of the way, he will be shadowed by a notorious assassin with orders to despatch him to Hell.

LET THE DEAD BURY THE DEAD.
Rancher Ty Farraday's hunt for stray cattle takes a turn for the worse when he discovers a shallow grave and the body of wealthy Alton Winstead, the owner of the Double-Cross Ranch. Ty's first frantic thoughts are of Winstead's widow, Sue-Ellen, who picked Alton over him. Unfortunately, she chose poorly.
Alton masterminded a crime and left his helpers to swing for it. Hungry for revenge, the murderous headcases have overrun the Double-Cross and are holding Sue-Ellen prisoner. They believe she's harboring some very important information. Ty boldly rescues her from the ranch--only to find their troubles are only beginning....
More Than Six Million Ralph Compton Books in Print

Irish immigrant brothers Michael and Thomas O'Driscoll have returned from the brutal front lines of the Civil War. Unable to adapt to life as farm labourers, they re-enlist in the army and are thrown into ferocious combat with Red Cloud's coalition of Indian tribes in the heart of Montana's Powder River Valley. Thomas finds love amidst the daily carnage-which leads to a moment of violence that will change the brothers' lives forever. Meanwhile, following a double murder in a brothel, Lieutenant Martin Molloy sets off to track down the killers. As he journeys to a remote outpost, he meets Irish nationalist rebels and anti-immigrant nativists who prove to be opposed to his investigations. Wolves of Eden blends intimate historical detail and emotional acuity in a haunting narrative that explores themes of morality, the resilience of the human spirit and the injustice implicit in warfare.

The third volume of the crusades trilogy from bestselling Swedish author Jan Guillou. Arn de Gotha has become one of the most feared warriors of the Knights Templar fighting to liberate Palestine with the Crusaders. At the great battle for Jerusalem, a mammoth and bloody struggle where the Christians were finally defeated, Arn is saved from certain death by Saladin, his longtime enemy and trusted friend. Ravaged by wounds and sickness, Arn is at last granted his wish: to return at last to his homeland, it plagued by endless wars. Arn is determined to find her - the woman for whom he was exiled. He must discover if their love could endure so long a separation, and if it can sustain his new quest: the create a new people, a new society, both Christian and Muslim, both craftsmen and warriors, with Arn at its helm, fighting for peace in a savage land. A fitting conclusion to a great trilogy, a bestseller all over Europe, and now the basis for a major film.

His exploits echo with the bustle of crowded ports and the crash of naval warfare...It is 1780 and seventeen-year-old Alan Lewrie is a brash young libertine with a head full of dreams. When he is found in bed with the wrong woman, he is forced to leave his profligacy behind for a new life at sea. Though sickness and hard labour await him aboard the tall-masted Ariadne, Lewrie finds himself gradually adapting to the world of a midshipman. But as he heads for the war-torn Americas into a hail of cannonballs, will he ever catch wind of the plot brewing against him back at home? The first Alan Lewrie novel, this action-packed naval adventure is perfect for fans of Patrick O'Brian, Julian Stockwin and C.S. Forester Praise for The King's Coat'You could get addicted to this series. Easily.' New York Times Book Review 'The best naval series since C. S. Forester . . . Recommended.' Library Journal 'Fast-moving. . . A hugely likeable hero, a huge cast of sharply drawn supporting characters: there's nothing missing. Wonderful stuff.' Kirkus Reviews

It is the summer of 1812 and Richard Sharpe, newly recovered from the wound he received in the fighting at Salamanca, is given an easy duty; to guard a Commissary Officer posted to an obscure Spanish fort where there are some captured French muskets to repair.

But unknown to the British, the French are planning a lightning raid across the River Tormes, and they reckon the obscure Spanish fort, which guards an ancient bridge across the river, will be lightly guarded.

Sharpe is in for a fight.

'Brutal, audacious, and fast-paced' - Anthony Riches, author of bestselling Empire series 'Every page is drenched with the soldier's experience' - Giles Kristian Former soldier Geraint Jones delivers a visceral historical fiction epic that captures the essence of the men fighting for the blood-stained legions on the fringes of the Roman Empire. In the wake of a brutal massacre, the battle-hardened legionary Felix is taken as a slave to a traitorous Roman's German army: a force hellbent on tearing apart the Empire. As legion after legion falls, it's up to Felix and his shackled comrades to escape captivity and starvation, and to lead the defence of a lone fort against an insurgent force that has destroyed all in its path. because if their last stand fails then Rome itself could be next...