We will lie, cheat, steal, fight, sin... Whatever it takes to survive. The bombing of Rome in 1943 leaves fourteen-year-old Massimo orphaned and with no choice but to set out on a journey to discover any remaining relatives in Naples. A chance meeting with the mysterious and charismatic Pietro Houdini will deliver both of them to the doors of the abbey of Monte Cassino, a centuries-old haven of contemplation, learning and art. But war has no time for such niceties and before long the abbey is threatened by the relentless Allied advance. In the face of the coming cataclysm, Pietro and Massimo must do what they can to save the monastery's priceless art from oblivion. To do so, they must learn to dissemble, to disguise, to outwit, all skills that evidently Pietro has in spades, but as their cherished haven edges ever closer to war, it becomes clear that Massimo is not without a surprise or two either... The Curse of Pietro Houdini is a sweeping tale of resilience, hope and survival which is at once an action-packed adventure heist, an imaginative chronicle of forgotten history and a philosophical coming-of-age story, perfect for fans of All the Light We Cannot See, City of Lies and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

From the Dagger Award-winning author of Norwegian by Night comes a vivid, thrilling, and moving World War II art-heist-adventure tale where enemies become heroes, allies become villains, and a child learns what it means to become an adult--for fans of All the Light We Cannot See. August, 1943. Fourteen-year-old Massimo is all alone. Newly orphaned and fleeing from Rome after surviving the American bombing raid that killed his parents, Massimo is attacked by thugs and finds himself bloodied at the base of the Montecassino. It is there in the Benedictine abbey's shadow that a charismatic and cryptic man calling himself Pietro Houdini, the self-proclaimed "Master Artist and confidante of the Vatican," rescues Massimo and brings him up the mountain to serve as his assistant in preserving the treasures that lay within the monastery walls. But can Massimo believe what Pietro is saying, particularly when Massimo has secrets too? Who is this extraordinary man? When it becomes evident that Montecassino will soon become the front line in the war, Pietro Houdini and Massimo execute a plan to smuggle three priceless Titian paintings to safety down the mountain. They are joined by a nurse concealing a nefarious past, a café owner turned murderer, a wounded but chipper German soldier, and a pair of lovers along with their injured mule, Ferrari. Together they will lie, cheat, steal, fight, kill, and sin their way through battlefields to survive, all while smuggling the Renaissance masterpieces and the bag full of ancient Greek gold they have rescued from the "safe keeping" of the Germans. Heartfelt, powerfully engaging, and in the tradition of City of Thieves by David Benioff, The Curse of Pietro Houdini is a work of storytelling bravado: a thrilling action-packed adventure heist, an imaginative chronicle of forgotten history, and a philosophical coming-of-age epic where a child navigates one of the most enigmatic and morally complex fronts of World War II and lives to tell the tale.

Crime Writers Association John Creasey Dagger Award winner An ECONOMIST TOP FICTION TITLE OF THE YEAR
A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
A GUARDIAN BEST CRIME AND THRILLER OF THE YEAR
A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR
"A soulful, humane, and sparklingly funny novel. Spend some time with Sheldon and company in the Scandinavian wilderness and you just might make peace with your god, your ghosts, and yourself." -- Gary Shteyngart, author of "Super Sad True Love Story"
Sheldon Horowitz--widowed, impatient, impertinent--has grudgingly agreed to leave New York and move in with his granddaughter, Rhea, and her new husband, Lars, in Norway--a country of blue and ice with one thousand Jews, not one of them a former Marine sniper in the Korean War turned watch repairman. Not until now, anyway.
Home alone one morning, Sheldon witnesses a dispute between the woman who lives upstairs and an aggressive stranger. When events turn dire, Sheldon seizes and shields the neighbor's young son from the violence, and they flee the scene. As Sheldon and the boy look for a safe haven in an alien world, past and present weave together, forcing them ever forward to a wrenching moment of truth.
"This is one of the best books of the season, of any genre." --" Buffalo News"
"Miller joins the ranks of Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell, and Jo Nesbo, the holy trinity of Scandinavian crime novelists." -- "Booklist "(starred review)
AN INDIE NEXT SELECTION

From the award-winning author of Norwegian by Night, a novel about two men on a misbegotten quest to save the girl they failed to save decades before. 1991: One hundred miles from the Kuwaiti border, Thomas Benton meets Arwood Hobbes. Benton is a British journalist who reports from war zones in part to avoid his lackluster marriage and a daughter he loves but cannot connect with; Arwood is an American private who might be an insufferable ignoramus or might be a genuine lunatic with a death wish--it's hard to tell. Desert Storm is over, peace has been declared, but as they argue about whether it makes sense to cross the nearest border in search of an ice cream, they become embroiled in a horrific attack in which a young local girl in a green dress is killed as they are trying to protect her. The two men walk away into their respective lives. But something has cracked for them both. Twenty-two years later, in another place, in another war, they meet again and are offered an unlikely opportunity to redeem themselves when that same girl in green is found alive and in need of salvation. Or is she? &#8220A compelling combination of literate storytelling and action-packed thriller laced with humor." -- Library Journal (starred review)

A gripping and timely novel that follows Sigrid--the dry-witted detective from Derek B. Miller's best-selling debut Norwegian by Night--from Oslo to the United States on a quest to find her missing brother. She knew it was a weird place. She'd heard the stories, seen the movies, read the books. But now police Chief Inspector Sigrid Odegard has to leave her native Norway and actually go there; to that land across the Atlantic where her missing brother is implicated in the mysterious death of a prominent African American academic--America. Sigrid is plunged into a United States where race and identity, politics and promise, reverberate in every aspect of daily life. Working with--or, if necessary, against--the police, she must negotiate the local political minefields and navigate the backwoods of the Adirondacks to uncover the truth before events escalate further. Refreshingly funny, slyly perceptive, American by Day is "a superb novel on all levels" (Times, UK). "Ingenious. Humorous. Wonderful."--Lee Child

'Has the brains of a literary novel and the body of a thriller' The New York Times 'Miller joins the ranks of Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell, and Jo Nesbo, the holy trinity of Scandinavian crime novelists.' Booklist ______________________________________________ A former Marine sniper and a newly orphaned boy race across the Norwegian wilderness, fleeing demons both real and imagined. Sheldon Horowitz-widowed, impatient, impertinent-has grudgingly agreed to leave New York and move in with his granddaughter, Rhea, and her new husband, Lars, in Norway-a country of blue and ice, not the place for a former Marine sniper in the Korean War turned watch repairman. Not until now, anyway. Home alone one morning, Sheldon witnesses a dispute between the woman who lives upstairs and an aggressive stranger. When events turn dire, Sheldon seizes and shields the neighbor's young son from the violence, and they flee the scene. As Sheldon and the boy look for a safe haven in an alien world, past and present weave together, forcing them ever forward to a wrenching moment of truth. ______________________________ Acclaim for Norwegian by Night Best New Crime Writer of the Year, Crime Writers Association Best of 2013, The Guardian Best of 2013, Financial Times Best of 2013, The Economist Best of Crime 2013, Kirkus

We will lie, cheat, steal, fight, sin... Whatever it takes to survive. The bombing of Rome in 1943 leaves fourteen-year-old Massimo orphaned and with no choice but to set out on a journey to discover any remaining relatives in Naples. A chance meeting with the mysterious and charismatic Pietro Houdini will deliver both of them to the doors of the abbey of Monte Cassino, a centuries-old haven of contemplation, learning and art. But war has no time for such niceties and before long the abbey is threatened by the relentless Allied advance. In the face of the coming cataclysm, Pietro and Massimo must do what they can to save the monastery's priceless art from oblivion. To do so, they must learn to dissemble, to disguise, to outwit, all skills that evidently Pietro has in spades, but as their cherished haven edges ever closer to war, it becomes clear that Massimo is not without a surprise or two either... The Curse of Pietro Houdini is a sweeping tale of resilience, hope and survival which is at once an action-packed adventure heist, an imaginative chronicle of forgotten history and a philosophical coming-of-age story, perfect for fans of All the Light We Cannot See, City of Lies and A Thousand Splendid Suns

It's 1936, war is brewing, tempers are running high, and by his thirteenth birthday, Sheldon Horowitz has been orphaned - twice. While a terrible accident took his mother, Sheldon is convinced that his father was murdered. But no-one else thinks so, least of all the police. Determined to track down the culprit, and leaving behind his only friend Lenny, Sheldon moves to Hartford, Connecticut to live with his uncle. He is told to keep his head down and forget the past. But that just isn't his style. Fired up by his politically-minded cousin Abe (and quite possibly in love with other cousin Mirabelle), he sets out on a quest to discover the truth that will take him from industrial Hartford to a ritzy hotel in the Catskills, back to his childhood home and finally on to New York. Sheldon quickly discovers that it's a jungle out there, and to survive, he will have to learn to make his own luck. Fortunately, that's one thing he's very good at...

Radio Life: a gripping adventure and a riveting political thriller: The Commonwealth, a post-apocalyptic civilisation on the rise, is locked in a clash of ideas with the Keepers . . . a fight which threatens to destroy the world . . . again. When Lilly was first Chief Engineer at The Commonwealth, nearly fifty years ago, the Central Archive wasn't yet the greatest repository of knowledge in the known world, protected by scribes copying every piece of found material - books, maps, even scraps of paper - and disseminating them by Archive Runners to hidden off-site locations for safe keeping. Back then, there was no Order of Silence to create and maintain secret routes deep into the sand-covered towers of the Old World or into the northern forests beyond Sea Glass Lake. Back then, the world was still quiet, because Lilly hadn't yet found the Harrington Box. But times change. Recently, the Keepers have started gathering to the east of Yellow Ridge - thousands upon thousands of them - and every one of them determined to burn the Central Archives to the ground, no matter the cost, possessed by an irrational fear that bringing back the ancient knowledge will destroy the world all over again. To prevent that, they will do anything. Fourteen days ago the Keepers chased sixteen-year-old Archive Runner Elimisha into a forbidden Old World Tower and brought the entire thing down on her. Instead of being killed, though, she slipped into an ancient unmapped bomb shelter where she has discovered a cache of food and fresh water, a two-way radio like the one Lilly's been working on for years . . . and something else. Something that calls itself 'the internet' . . .

'Compelling and deeply satisfying.' Booklist '[A] terrific coming-of-age story . . . Readers will root for Sheldon, a memorable survivor, every step of the way.' Publishers Weekly 'Miller juggles each element effortlessly. His character portraits are indelible, often heartbreaking. At times this novel moved me to tears' The New York Times ____________________________ It's 1936, war is brewing, tempers are running high, and by his thirteenth birthday, Sheldon Horowitz has been orphaned - twice. While a terrible accident took his mother, Sheldon is convinced that his father was murdered. But no-one else thinks so, least of all the police. Determined to track down the culprit, and leaving behind his only friend Lenny, Sheldon moves to Hartford, Connecticut to live with his uncle. He is told to keep his head down and forget the past. But that just isn't his style. Fired up by his politically-minded cousin Abe (and quite possibly in love with other cousin Mirabelle), he sets out on a quest to discover the truth that will take him from industrial Hartford to a ritzy hotel in the Catskills, back to his childhood home and finally on to New York. Sheldon quickly discovers that it's a jungle out there, and to survive, he will have to learn to make his own luck. Fortunately, that's one thing he's very good at... A tragic-comic coming of age story like no other, for fans of All The Light We Cannot See, and Michael Chabon's The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

'This book reminds me of the things that crime fiction can do when it works well ... Miller isn't afraid to write characters who are opinionated. They don't hold their tongue about what they believe in, they let rip. People are angry, people are passionate. I love the unorthodoxy of it, I suppose. It's not what you expect it to be." Val McDermid She knew it was a weird place. She'd heard the stories, seen the movies, read the books. But now police Chief Inspector Sigrid Odegard has to leave her native Norway and actually go there; to that land across the Atlantic where her missing brother is implicated in the mysterious death of a prominent African-American academic. America. And not someplace interesting, either: upstate New York. Plunged into a United States where race and identity, politics and promise, reverberate in every aspect of daily life. To find her older brother, she needs the help of the local police who appear to have already made up their minds about the case. Working with - or, if necessary, against - someone actually named Sheriff Irving 'Irv' Wylie, she must negotiate the local political minefields and navigate the back woods of the Adirondacks to uncover the truth before it's too late... Shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award 2019