Ancient Mystery Fiction

USA Today hails Steven Saylor as a “modern master of historical fiction.” Rich in intrigue and period detail, his novels set in ancient Rome have garnered acclaim the world over. A prequel to his epic Roma Sub Rosa series, The Seven Wonders follows series star Gordianus the Finder as an 18-year-old traveling the Mediterranean to witness the wonders of that fabled age. At each stop, the young investigator finds a beguiling mystery that pushes his powers of deduction to the limit.

KID DETECTIVE ZET: The World's Favorite Way To Learn About Ancient Egypt 12-year-old Zet is on the trail of his latest mystery: priceless amulets are disappearing all over ancient Egypt. Worse, his best friend is being treated more like a prisoner than a student at a secretive jewelry apprentice school. Are the evil teachers and jewel thefts related? When Zet receives a desperate message hidden inside an amulet, he's determined to rescue his friend. Armed with a brainy sister who can read and write hieroglyphics, Zet searches for clues. Can he expose the wicked plot and take down the ...

Set in the years before the Battle of Hastings, the story follows the trials and tribulations of Aelfraed, a young boy who aspires to be a warrior. When his uncle, Aethelward, takes him to join the warriors of Harold Godwinson, his life is irrevocably changed. Fighting the Welsh brings him great honour and when he saves the life of Edward the Confessor, he becomes a man of great reputation. The novel culminates in the battle of Stamford Bridge when the Housecarls defeated the last of the Vikings, Harald Hadrada.

1296 AD: the whole of Western Europe trembles on the brink of war. South of the Pyrenees, the Christian and Moorish kingdoms fight and scheme against each for control of Hispania. To the north, the rival kings of England and France feverishly enlist allies as they battle for supremacy on the Continent. Even as the armies clash, spies and double agents fight their own bloody war in the shadows. From the safety of old age, En Pascal of Valencia recalls his own exploits in this brutal and treacherous era.

The murder of an esteemed archaeologist is fueling an already heated war between natives and the academics who excavate their land. And when the coroner confirms that the victim was cannibalized, the story takes a twisted turn. Private eye Howard Moon Deer and ex-police chief Jack Wilder are on the case. The killing appears to be a modern mimicry of the Anasazi's rumored past - one the tribe thinks would be best left buried. But Howard and Jack must search for clues even if it means digging up sacred land. As they struggle to fight tribal politics, the killer strikes again.

376 AD: The Eastern Roman Empire is alone against the tide of barbarians swelling on her borders. Emperor Valens juggles the paltry border defenses to stave off invasion from the Goths north of the Danube. Meanwhile, in Constantinople, a pact between faith and politics spawns a lethal plot that will bring the dark and massive hordes from the east crashing down on these struggling borders. The fates conspire to see Numerius Vitellius Pavo thrust into the limitanei, the border legions, just before they are sent to recapture the long-lost eastern Kingdom of Bosporus.

Don't miss this race-against-the-clock story of suspense and intrigue from a USA Today bestselling author. One obscure Babylonian artifact in the hands of terrorists could bring down an entire city… When antiquities professor Bryan Wright is tasked with discovering why a band of terrorists might target a museum in Munich, he teams up with the museum’s attractive exhibit designer to study their ancient artifacts. Something in this collection holds special value to the terrorists, and Bryan must figure out which item and why—before enemies get their hands on it. An American living in ...

Assyria, in the reign of Ashurbanipal. For Aurya and her daydreaming brother, Sharo, every day is a struggle for survival, as they dodge the beatings of their drunken father and scrabble for scraps of food. One violent evening, everything changes. Soon, they are on the barge of King Ashurbanipal, bound for the beautiful, near-mythical city of Nineveh.

An epic quest across the sands of ArabiaIn the exotic lands of the east, a secret sect of Persian magicians study the night sky for generations. When the stars announce a strange royal birth, Misha, a first-level mage, is ready to prove himself by chasing down this new world leader. But then an ancient document surfaces, whispering of an artifact of immense power. The temptation to seize power is too great to resist. And Misha is not alone in his quest. The king’s general Reza seeks power to fulfill his mysterious destiny, and both he and Misha have their eye set on the Egyptian princess ...

It's AD 123, and the sun is shining on southern Gaul. Ex-military medic Ruso and his British wife, Tilla, are back after a long absence - but it's not the reunion anyone had hoped for. Ruso's brother has left him in charge of a farm he has no idea how to manage, a chronic debt problem, and a gaggle of accident-prone small children. Meanwhile his sister Flora has run away to rescue her boyfriend, who's accused of murdering a wealthy guest at a party.

Ra the Mighty is Pharaoh's Cat, Lord of the Powerful Paw. He is not Ra the Royal Babysitter. How's a cat supposed to fit in all his snacks and naps when his charges keep getting into mischief? Ra's new job only gets harder on a voyage up the Nile, leading to a fearsome palace where crocodiles swarm the waters. Then Pharaoh's son disappears. Has he run away? Has he been eaten by crocodiles? Has he been kidnapped, or worse? Ra and his fellow Great Detectives, Khepri and Miu, set out to discover the truth, but the palace is home to many secrets.

Newspaper reporter Jason Salmon is lured into the world of Bernadine D'Anna. The mysterious woman wants the young man to write a book. A book she claims will change the history of mankind. The elderly female begins relating the story of a secret sect of women who have been influencing human history for twenty-eight thousand years. The reporter is genuinely skeptical until strange events begin happening and his life is threatened by an ancient group seeking the woman's hidden secrets. As the woman tells her story, it becomes clear that she has knowledge and abilities beyond imagination. The ...

She is omnivorous. No matter age or appearance, physical frailty or imperfection. It is not their flesh that feeds her appetites, but their souls. She devours young and old, men and women. She leaves only a desiccated husk. An unspeakable evil. An impossible gift. Renowned magus Taita is now over 100 years old and has ascended to a new level of wisdom and understanding about his world. But he must prepare himself for the biggest threat Egypt has ever faced: the great plagues and the failure of the Nile, brought about by the fire witch Eos, an ancient force of sheer evil.

The darkness has found her again. Daria’s new position, as a language tutor to the wealthy and charming merchant Lucas, takes her to the dazzling city of Ephesus on the Aegean coast. As their connection deepens, Daria finds herself drawn to Lucas, despite the evil and violence that churn beneath the city's beauty. A collision is coming, between the high priests of Artemis, the sorcerers who pursue arcane knowledge, and a new movement called The Way, centered around the Jewish martyr, Jesus. Daria longs to remain apart, safe from the evil she barely escaped in the past, but her growing ...

When Tiro, the confidential secretary (and slave) of a Roman senator, opens the door to a terrified stranger on a cold November morning, he sets in motion a chain of events that will eventually propel his master into one of the most suspenseful courtroom dramas in history.

A body in a ditch; a love unrequited; a rift between families: there’s been a murder in Ancient Rome. Immerse yourself in the city of Rome 400 years before the birth of Caesar at a time when there were no rules, no law beyond the voice of the richest man, and at a time when the gods ruled the lives of every citizen of the newly formed Roman Republic! For Secundus, son of the high priest of the temple of Jupiter, his life was a mess. Until he found her - and then it got WORSE!!! Forced into investigating the death of a woman he stumbles into following a night of drinking, Secundus clashes ...

"Fans of Dan Brown are sure to enjoy this tale!" - Readers' Favorite Review Off the shores of the Outer Banks, a lost shipwreck beneath the Atlantic could hold the key to solving a centuries-old mystery and defeating life's greatest enemy: death. Lucas Caine is struggling to get his deep-sea salvage operation off the ground. But when he makes a discovery off the coast of Nags Head, he finds himself in the middle of a 200-year-old secret government operation. It’s mission: to find the Fountain of Youth. Caught between a shadow agency and another mysterious group sworn to protect the ...

A brotherhood that has existed since before the time of Christ, a sacred pact and a secret that is older than time itself. Although they have been mentioned in the bible and traces of their existence are scattered throughout the globe, Peter Madeloy had always presumed that the myths of the possible existence of an ancient brotherhood, living on Earth for millennia, was nothing more than that, a myth. Until one day his father is brutally murdered and his mother is kidnapped. In exchange for his mother’s safe return, Peter must enter his father’s secret world, uncover the truth about his...

At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army.

One part Dashiell Hammett, one part Dan Brown... When Theophilus, a Roman merchant, is tasked by King Herod to find the body of Christ and prove he didn’t rise from the dead, Theophilus goes down a road that will change everything he ever believed in. From the author of The Mouse that Roared. Also previously published under the titles Testament of Theophilus, The Seven Hills, and Merchant of Rome. “Mr. Wibberley has woven several important and widely neglected truths about nascent Christianity into an absorbing story.”—New York Times Book Review