Chapter 1 The Western Front, near the village of Viéville-sur-Trey, northwest France Mid-July 1918 They came for Reinhardt as he was sleeping, the door crashing open on a confusion of men and voices that snapped him awake. A shadow loomed over him and he lunged for the Mauser atop the chest by his bed, only…
OBSERVATION: Between 1914 and 1919 war and influenza have claimed more than a million lives in Britain alone. CONCLUSION: This is a time for ghosts. Florence Cathcart (The Awakening) Some things are inherently, across the board, creepy. Antique wheelchairs; derelict buildings—especially when they were once grand homes that loom over the landscape; nursery rhymes—doubly so…
Superfluous Women by Carola Dunn is the 22nd historical cozy in the Daisy Dalrymple series, where a locked-room murder leaves three of Daisy's friends as the main suspsects (available June 9, 2015). In England in the late 1920s, The Honourable Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher, on a convalescent trip to the countryside, goes to visit three old…
For this Memorial Day, we offer our best wishes, deepest thanks, and a commemorative bouquet of military-related links: Author Joseph Koenig's personal list of the Best Fiction of World War II. “Afghanistan: My Green Zone Symphony,” is a 4-part feature on his deployment by military veteran Weston Ochs, author of the SEAL Team 666,…
There’s no doubt that experiencing events that are foreign to our daily lives through the eyes of fictional characters is a way of broadening our understanding of the world around us. At times, a well-written novel can open our eyes and hearts to issues better than news reports. T.C. Boyle’s harrowing account of the day-to-day…
A Woman Unknown by Frances Brody is the 4th book in the Post-WWI British mystery series featuring sleuth Kate Shackleton (available February 10, 2015). It’s 1923 and Kate Shackleton is running her own private investigations firm with the help of ex-policeman Jim Sykes. It is a profession she kind of fell into while searching for…
The best things in life come in threes, and this sweepstakes proves it with a contemporary high-tech Swedish trilogy, three of the Clifton Chronicles, set in the U.K. in the aftermath of WWI, and if that weren’t enough, another bonus trifecta of internationally celebrated crime novels! Click here to enter for a chance to win!…
Enjoy this exclusive excerpt from Sherlock Holmes: The Spirit Box by George Mann, a historical thriller featuring the Great Detective, teamed again with Dr. Watson, as his talents are summoned to England's defense amid the turmoil of World War I (available August 19, 2014). Summer, 1915. As zeppelins rain death upon the rooftops of London,…
Jack of Spies by David Downing is the debut World War I espionage series introducing U.K. spy Jack McColl who travels the world uncovering secrets disguised as a traveling car salesman (available May 13, 2014). Let’s face it: spying is easier with cell phones. And the Internet. Unfortunately, Jack McColl, the hero of spy writer David…
Mary Roberts Rinehart was born on August 12, 1876 in what is now known as the North Side of Pittsburg, but was then the city of Allegany, Pennsylvania. She grew up in a family that was not economically stable. According to her autobiography, My Story, her father was a man of big dreams but who…
