Society Mystery

A lone figure stands silhouetted atop the Mausoleum of Hadrian. Behind him, the sun is setting over the centre of the known world. Far below, the river is in full flood. The City of Rome lies spread out before him on the far bank. Footsteps pound up the stairs. He's been set up. An enemy is closing in; he is cornered. He jumps.

The 40 short stories in this collection chronicle the heartache, pain, love, loneliness, fears, marital discord, joys, and dreams among normal people from a variety of backgrounds and professions in contemporary American society. The captivating characters and their compelling stories hold up a mirror to the country in which we live.

AD 260 - Betrayed by his most trusted adviser, the Roman Emperor Valerian has been captured by the Sassanid barbarians. Ballista looks on helplessly, but vows to avenge those who have brought the empire to the brink of destruction with their treachery. First he must decide what price he will pay for his own freedom. Only the fearless and those whom the gods will spare from hell can now save the empire from a catastrophic ending. Ballista, the Warrior of Rome, faces his greatest challenge yet.

It is 1890. In the twilight of his years, Carl Brooke records his reminiscences as a member of the Agora Society. Each letter describes the society's involvement in solving a crime, often coming to the aid of Captain Barnwell of the Boston police.

In this thrilling next instalment, the secret society of Alexandrians is unmasked. Its newest recruits realize the institute is capable of raw world-changing power. It’s also headed by a man with plans to change life as we know it—and these are already under way. But the cost of this knowledge is as high as the price of power, and each initiate must choose which faction to follow. Yet as events gather momentum and dangers multiply, which of their alliances will hold? Can friendships hold true and are enemies quite what they seem?

Amy's seemingly innocent swipes on Instagram lead her down a treacherous rabbit hole, where the line between the digital world and reality blurs into an unfathomable maze of illusions and challenges. Unveil the chilling tale of "Scrolling Shadows: Sucked into the Darkside of Instagramverse" by Diane Shawe. Follow Amy as she innocently opens her Instagram app, at first, the allure of Instagram's vibrant photos and captivating stories entices Amy, drawing her deeper into the digital labyrinth, But as she taps her way through the app's enticing filters, she soon realises that she's not just ...

After defeating the Crowood witch and saving the day, Ivy, Maggie and the rest of the Double Trouble Society are on the lookout for their next big adventure. They won't have to wait long - there are three new kids in town and they're all behaving very mysteriously... The Double Trouble Society know how to handle witches but can they manage vampires, werewolves and ghost as well?

Embarking on a supposedly straightforward assassination mission becomes a tangled web of intrigue when covert government agencies violently collide with nefarious crime lords spilling secrets. Tia Cooper, a top Enforcer, pursues a low-life crime boss on the galaxy's most extravagant space liner. Luxuriating in the lap of agency-sponsored luxury, she believes something is off. Has she lost her touch or is her assignment not what she was led to believe? Strap in for a high-octane, fast-paced science fiction escapade. In this short story, experience the whirlwind of Tia's hunt as she navigates...

Toxic medicine, a fanatic Chicago detective, and a fatal plunge down a steep staircase embroil Val and Roddy DeVere in a dangerous quest for facts in 1899. Roddy’s fledgling business teeters as his partner begs him to free him from a detective’s “witch hunt.” The question: was the partner’s wife’s fatal free fall an accident? Or was it murder?

A Ghost town isn't supposed to be so literal. Juniper's knack for finding lost things is downright magical. But so is the portal to the afterlife in her back yard. Soon the town of Auburn is overrun with restless souls, and some of them want more than just one more Bingo win. To make matters worse, Juniper's gift goes wonky when she needs it most. With new allies she doesn't trust, magic that won't behave, and ominous ghosts threatening all she loves Juniper must find a solution to her haunting problem or else....

Beatrice Knight has enough to contend with: A zebra is dead on her lawn, her horse is possessed, and a gentleman has arrived with the temerity to propose to her. To top it off, her dead husband, Gideon, has absconded with an automaton, threatening to return for his wife. The wife in question, however, soon has other issues, for a killer has moved into town with a nasty habit of carving up the victims. As luck should dictate, who should be the next target but Mrs. Knight herself?

The Prodigal Returns… Rian Becket, believed killed at Waterloo, reluctantly returns to Becket Hall a year after the battle, maimed in body as well as spirit, and determined never to let life touch him, hurt him, again. But Not Alone… Beautiful, mysterious Lisette Beatty befriended Rian a month after he was injured, and has been his nurse, lover, and constant companion ever since, setting herself up as indispensable to the man, shielding him from his nightmares, helping him write his stories and poems. …In A World Of Strangers The reclusive Beckets do not easily accept strangers into ...

A murder mystery book set in the busy city of London during the early 20th century. The story revolves around the baffling case of a prominent Member of Parliament, Jacob Remy, whose sudden disappearance sends shockwaves throughout the city. Life takes a nefarious turn when he is discovered dead in his office, prompting an in-depth investigation that uncovers a tangle of deceit, hidden letters, and a suspicious will that challenges the tranquility of London society. Navigating the Shadows of Wealth and Power An eclectic array of characters, right from Remy's diligent secretary Chambers to ...

Welcome to The Suite Tea Society, where the loyal, dutiful wives of billionaires have their secrets too. These ladies have no idea the secrets they would unearth, and the lives that would be affected.

AD 264 - The Roman Empire is torn in two. The latest blazing novel in the Warrior of Rome series. The western provinces - Gaul, Spain and Britain - have been seized; to the east, on the plains of northern Italy, armies muster. War is coming. Everyone must choose a side. Ballista must journey the Amber Road to the far north to Hyperborea, back to his original home and the people of his birth. Yet not all welcome Ballista’s return. Does treachery pose the greatest danger?

Nocturne Academy stands as a beacon of knowledge, its ancient spires piercing the mist that shrouds its isolated island. But beneath the hallowed halls and gothic architecture lies a darkness that has waited centuries to awaken. When Elara Grey arrives at Nocturne Academy, she hopes to escape her troubled past and find solace in her studies. But the academy has other plans. Drawn into a secret society known as the Midnight Scholars, Elara and her friends uncover a chilling truth: an ancient evil lurks within the academy’s shadows, feeding on fear and despair. As the Midnight Scholars ...

In the spirit of the demolition derby, where drivers take heedless risks with reckless abandon, welcome to the first convocation of The Secret Society of Demolition Writers. Here is a one-of-a-kind collection by famous authors writing anonymously and dangerously. With the usual concerns about reputations and renown cast aside, these 12 daredevils have each contributed an extreme, no-holds-barred, unsigned story, each shining as brightly and urgently as hazard lights.

Eleanor Becket is the glue that holds the wild, adventurous, at times reckless Beckets together, even if she believes herself to be the least interesting or exciting person in the world. Some may aspire to be a lady, and some, it seems, are simply born to it, whether they want to be or not. Who would expect fragile Eleanor, with her quiet ways and her unfortunate limp, to be anything more than she seems? But this adopted daughter has secrets gentleman turned smuggler Jack Eastwood believes connected to a long-ago crime. His discoveries ultimately lead them both to the very edge of desire ...

Dr. Will Dunbar is a doctor of reproductive medicine, and just as he is about to embark on his dream job as the head of the Reproductive Medicine Department at the Mayo Clinic, he receives an emergency call from a former classmate at West Point, on a matter of national security. Dunbar's expertise in the fertility world and a desire to do what is best for his country compels him to respond to his former classmate's urgent plea to hustle to Washington, D.C.

The Beckets More than a decade ago, the Beckets, an insular family of accumulated orphans and their patriarch, Ainsley, established themselves in an enormous, nearly fortress-like mansion they constructed on the wild and beautiful coast of Romney Marsh. Nobody bothered them, and they invited no one into their orbit. A Man With A Mission The oldest orphan is Chance Becket, once a pickpocket and wharf rat on an island near Jamaica, now transported to the wilds of Romney Marsh. Determined to forget who he was in favor of the man he is determined to become, he departs Romney Marsh for the ...