Ancient Suspense

When several people involved in bidding for an oil refinery are murdered, the situation becomes far more than a billion-dollar business deal. A self-made woman in the oil industry, Lynn Dayton fights to save lives when escalating attacks reveal a hired assassin’s plan to disrupt energy trade, wreck world economies, and draw another global power into dangerous confrontation with the United States. Are the killers rogue civil servants challenging the Cherokees’ financial independence, Sansei operatives again wreaking violence, or sinister investors swapping the bidding war for a real one?...

Book Summary for The Lantern's Curse In the fog-blanketed village of Eldermoor, an ancient tradition binds the community to the spirits of the land—every night, the villagers light lanterns to guide the souls of the departed safely to the afterlife. But when the Red Lantern, the most sacred of all, mysteriously goes dark, an unsettling curse begins to descend upon the village. Crops wither, the wind grows cold, and restless spirits stir, hungry for what was promised to them. Elara, the daughter of the village’s head lantern keeper, is drawn into a web of mystery and danger when a ...

Pulpy supernatural horror short story from James J. Caterino the author of The Séance, Psychic Murder Incorporated, Time Travel Stories, The Promise, Pop Star, Watch the Skies, The Last Neanderthal, The Girl from the Stars, 50 Films, and much more.

When Broadway star Maggie Hamilton disappeared five years ago, it was a mystery that captured the imaginations of everyone. When her body turns up in the tomb of a Mayan god, it opens the door for an evil that could consume the world. Dan Kolter and Agent Roland Denzel are back, and just in time, as a new threat emerges that could mean the end of all humanity. A mysterious figure has his sights on the contents of a lost Mayan tomb, and Kotler and company will need to use all of their resources, intelligence, and any luck they may have to keep an ancient curse at bay. In this fourth full-...

Maybe a phrase, a line, a hint somewhere would reveal a reason, any reason, for the elderly couple's disappearance. They'd saved everything.... There was even a copy of the 'certificate of living existence', that nadir of bureaucratic imbecility.... What was the protocol, to use a word dear to government offices? Did one simply write on a sheet of paper something like 'I, the undersigned, Salvo Montalbano, hereby declare myself to be in existence', sign it, and turn it in to the appointed clerk?

When acclaimed literary critic Dr Eleanor Croft finds herself framed for the murder of a celebrated, arrogant poet, her meticulously ordered world shatters. With a relentless detective's deadline ticking down, Eleanor must embark on a perilous intellectual scavenger hunt through Cambridge's ancient secrets. The victim's cryptic clues, hidden within forgotten manuscripts and centuries-old mechanisms, lead her to the heart of the shadowy Pelican Society – a clandestine organization with a terrifying legacy of influence and a ruthless willingness to silence those who threaten its power. As ...

Julius Caesar left his gardens to the citizens of Rome, a peaceful sanctuary across the Tiber. Now the gardens and their sacred grove are dangerous haunts, especially for women alone. 'Don't go to the Grove,' people mutter, but when her husband has to leave Rome, it falls to Albia to supervise his building project in an old grotto. Why has someone buried tattered scrolls by obscure philosophers - and does it involve a worse crime than terrible writing? Soon that puzzle is overtaken.

This exciting adventure recreates the siege of Masada, and reveals important developments in Jonathan's struggle with his guilt over past events. Also, there's terrific insight into the workings of the Roman legal system in a court room drama.

“A symbol of wealth, power and prosperity, the crown was never meant to be found.” Carried away in the torrents of curiosity, Dr Ryan Johnson is accompanied by his happy-go-lucky friend, Christian Willis, to the golden city of Jaisalmer, India, in search of a crown lost centuries ago. They never expected a simple archaeological excavation to turn into a game of life and death. Problems arise when Ryan picks up a street fight and finds himself in a messy situation with a feisty, Deiva Chauhan. In a foreign land rich in traditional acts, his bachelorhood is at stake when he is simply ...

Princeton. Good Friday, 1999. On the eve of graduation, two students are a hairsbreadth from solving the mysteries of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Famous for its hypnotic power over those who study it, the 500-year-old Hypnerotomachia may finally reveal its secrets to Tom Sullivan, whose father was obsessed with the book, and Paul Harris, whose future depends on it. As the deadline looms, research has stalled, until an ancient diary surfaces.

Caden Gray was the first human to venture into the mysterious and perilous realm of Dead Time—a place where time itself stands still, imprisoning lost souls and unimaginable horrors. When his journey fractures the boundaries between worlds, ancient powers awaken, seeking escape and vengeance. Azgiel, once a mighty ruler now imprisoned in eternal darkness, senses his opportunity for freedom in Caden's intrusion. As reality shatters around them, Caden must confront visions of a past he doesn't remember, haunted by whispers of a name he's never known: Mauldrin. With sinister forces ...

Charlotte never thought she’d find love — let alone while she is the prime suspect for stealing ancient artifacts... In the heart of New York City, museum curator Charlotte Bray’s world is turned upside down when her prized artifacts are stolen and she's framed for the crime. Facing professional ruin and targeted by dangerous criminals who believe she holds the key to an ancient treasure, Charlotte must flee to Egypt in search of answers and redemption. Enter Jack Stone, a rugged archaeologist with a knack for unearthing secrets and a past as mysterious as the artifacts he uncovers. ...

Mysterious necromancers. Wicked summoners. Fierce witches. Occasional familiars. Military experiments. Secret councils. Forbidden alliances. The Academy of Ancients will suck you in. Briar’s free. Or is she? With the necromancers and the undead still loose, the masters that control these heinous creatures might as well be.

The Dowager Duchess has decided to sell off the less important family possessions. Blotto and Twinks are dispatched to help the valuer. He spies some Egyptian artifacts and in some excitement rushes back to London, leaving Blotto and Twinks alone in the attic, where they are drawn to a sarchophagus decorated with hieroglyphs. Twinks starts to translate: "Anyone who desecrates this shrine will be visited by the Pharoah's curse..." - just as Blotto prises the lid off.

In the heart of modern-day New York City, Alex, a young professional, finds himself entangled in a web of ancestral spirits, forbidden rituals, and long-forgotten tales. When unusual occurrences begin to disrupt his daily life, he embarks on a journey that takes him far from the skyscrapers of the metropolis to an ancient excavation site. Here, amid the whispers of a lost tribe with the power to bridge our world with the spirit realm, Alex must work alongside a team of archaeologists to uncover a truth that has been buried for millennia.

Three months after the battle of Zabor, the five friends who came together to defeat her have been separated. Burdened with the Calamity Stone she acquired in Scion of the Fox, Roan has gone to Scotland to retrace her grandmother’s steps in an attempt to stop further evil from entering the world. Meanwhile, a wicked monster called Seela has risen from the ashy Bloodlands and is wreaking havoc on the world while children in Edinburgh are afflicted by a strange plague.

History awaits an unsuspecting young man, fleeing the imperial capital and Nero's wrath. Arriving in Pompeii, Marcellus witnesses the funeral of a local man; the course of his life will be altered by this stranger's death. Unable to stop the murder of a mysterious woman named Helen, Marcellus becomes the caretaker of the dead woman's newborn baby. Hiding in plain sight at a brothel, Marcellus is left to decipher Helen's secrets. With the help of his overbearing servant and a seductive oracle, Marcellus must deduce who in Pompeii has blood on their hands.

Jeffrey's and Cindy's parents are college professors and believe that there is a thousand-year-old mystery regarding Vikings in Massachusetts right here in Doubloon Cove, Massachusetts. But their peers ridicule them, so they are too afraid to pursue it. So it is up to Jeffrey, Cindy, Steven, and his brother Frederick to solve the case. But they must battle dangerous caverns, their own fears, and must learn to work as a team, all while being chased by crooks who have their own agenda.

The Persian War is over, and an unaccustomed decade of peace has come to ancient Athens. Philocles, an aspiring comic playwright, is making his living as a writer for hire, but this year is the highlight of his career - he has a play in a drama competition at a prestigious festival. The last thing he wants to find on his doorstep the day before is a dead body. Just who is this dead man? Is it just a robbery gone wrong? With the play that could make his name on the horizon, Philocles must find out who this man is, why he has been murdered - and why the corpse was in his doorway.

In the dark of night, a covert group of bandits enters the village of Rekeem and kidnaps Rasha, daughter of the great Abdali-ud-din leader, Zafir. They seek a hefty ransom, and know Zafir will sacrifice everything to win back the safety of his beloved daughter. But it's not just Zafir who wants to find her. Bassam, Zafir's young protégé in the caravans, is deeply in love with Rasha. And he will let nothing stop him from finding her - even a perilous journey - even death.