The Ocean Hugs Hard by Eric Avedissian

Surfside City, New Jersey. 1966. Cub reporter Harman Bass is cutting his teeth in the fast world of local journalism and getting out-scooped by the competition. Facetious, cocky, and always quoting Nietzsche, Harman isn't making any friends both in and out of the newsroom. All that changes when the daughter of a prominent family is found dead on the beach, handing Harman the juiciest news story of the year. But she isn't any old beauty pageant queen; she's his high school girlfriend. Harman's dogged reporting into the young woman's death reveals pushback from the authorities and pulls the newshound into the resort's darkest corners. After one of his sources is murdered, the routine story becomes dangerous and personal. Something watches Harman from the shadows, something ancient and hungry, worshipped by powerful men who kill to keep their secrets. Harman's job and life are soon threatened, and the once brash reporter must battle his boss, rival journalists, and his own sanity before filing what could be his last story. THE OCEAN HUGS HARD is a mystery with the salty whiff of the ocean, a tinge of nostalgia, and a dollop of eldritch horror.

The Deepest Cut by Bowen Greenwood

Betrayed. Hunted. Accused of murder. It's 1982. Cold War rages between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Clara Verona sneaks into Central America to infiltrate a violent group of Marxist revolutionaries. But when her contact is murdered and Clara's pistol is used to kill him, she finds herself running for her life, hunted for a crime she didn't commit. When she calls for help, the only result is more cops on her tail. Someone on the inside sold her out. Victor Isaac used to be an elite Panamanian special forces officer, but an operation went terribly wrong on his watch. Now he's stuck hassling drunks on the night shift. Called to the scene of a murder, the crime sets off every one of his alarm bells. But the closer he comes to catching the killer, the more obvious it becomes that everything is not as it seems. In a conflict fought in the shadows, spies and special forces clash over a terrorist plot that could be the start of World War III. If they want to warn the world, or even survive, Clara and Victor will need all of their training. They'll need all their skill. And they'll need to learn to trust each other. In the covert world of espionage, that may be the hardest challenge of all.

He Who Bleeds by Dorian Valentine

London. 1874. Religious devotion was a learned skill, and even the most pious of men have felt the tug of The Devil’s influence. Lord Aurélien Saint-Orlant found he was no exception, always toeing the line between being a true god-fearing man and a barbaric sinner who reveled in hedonism. This monotonous life of his changes when his world crashes down around him and wolves in sheep's clothing are revealed, leading Aurélien to discover his true origins. As one of many devilspawns, he is locked in a contract with a greedy human who uses him to commit unorthodox killings among the upper echelon. When his contract is partially broken, Aurélien finds himself whole again, and his desire to create his macabre art only grows. The spawn seeks retribution and craves the freedom to create his art in utter peace. With the help of his incubus lover, Lord Aurélien Saint-Orlant will paint the streets red with that human’s gore.

Mountain of Light by Jena Bowers

Fast-paced, thrilling, and full of twists, Mountain of Light is a high-stakes heist novel where the robbery leaves you questioning - who are the real criminals? A classic heist peppered with morality conflicts, for fans of Portrait of a Thief, the Ocean’s heist series, and The Feather Thief. The target: priceless jewels stolen centuries ago, now hidden in plain site. Come along for the ride with an elite crew of international thieves as they pull off the cultural heist of a lifetime and unearth centuries-old secrets that reveal the complicated future of art repatriation. The Mountain of Light, the “most infamous diamond in the world,” has been an integral piece of England’s Crown Jewels for the last 170 years. But that changes tonight - the eve of the coronation of the U.K.'s new King, William V. Vigilante thieves are determined to return this jewel to the rightful owner but will they be able to navigate centuries-old transgressions of colonialism and complexities of art repatriation?

The Gilded Age Promise: Kopp Chronicles by Gregory Kopp

The promise of the Gilded Age evokes a worldwide exhilarating time of technological advancement and economic expansion. American society is transforming from focusing on small rural farms to an urban one dominated by large corporations resulting in even more inequality between the wealthy and middle-class. Discriminatory segregation and immigration laws enacted by misguided and corrupt political leaders threaten to tarnish the American dream. Nevertheless, charismatic American women activists are generating a renewed impetus for women’s rights through the alcohol temperance and women’s suffragette movements. Meanwhile, turmoil in the Middle East forces the dashing British military intelligence agent, Richard Cordwell, to come out of retirement and embark on a secret mission for Her Majesty’s government. He encounters the beautiful French spy who stole his heart, and makes an astounding personal revelation! Buffeted by these Gilded Age events, an immigrant American family is determined to stand firm in their belief in the hope, freedom, and opportunity, of their adopted country. The words written by poet Emma Lazarus on the plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty express this belief: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Enjoy the next volume in the sweeping Kopp Chronicles saga!

Daring Duplicity by Edale Lane

Solving mysteries is her business. Finding love is her dream. Will combining the two get her killed? Daring Duplicity: The Wellington Mysteries, Vol. 1, Adventures of a Lesbian Victorian Detective is a collection of five sequential novellas, each encompassing its own exciting mystery while furthering the story of Stetson’s life in London. Victorian Era England. Stetson revels in being unconventional. So when society shies away from her independent nature, the bold woman creates an imaginary boss and opens her own detective agency. And her keen observational skills, convincing disguises, and Holmesian methods quickly bring in a string of tough-to-crack cases. Struggling to squeeze a personal life in around a series of hazardous investigations, Stetson worries she'll never find a woman of like passions. But with her heart set on true love despite the risk, she carries on hunting for the perfect relationship. Will her clever escapades lead to death, or delight? If you enjoy crime dramas, Victorian-era fiction, or a sweet lesbian romance, then you’ll love award-winning author Edale Lane’s Daring Duplicity. Order yours today!

His Lordship's Secret by Samantha SoRelle

London 1818 Alfred Pennington, the Earl of Crawford, knows someone wants him dead. An illicit boxing match seems the perfect opportunity to hire a champion fighter to watch his back, but Alfie is shocked to recognize the beaten and bloody challenger as his childhood friend, Dominick, one of the few people who knows the truth about Alfie’s past. Life has been hard for Dominick, so he can’t believe his luck when Alfie—now with fine manners and a fancy title—offers him a chance to escape the slums in order to catch a potential killer. That’s difficult enough, but not falling in love with the refined, confident man his friend has become may prove trickier still. The investigation draws the two men closer than ever, but it becomes clear that their years apart may prove too much to overcome. As the danger mounts, can they find their way through the past to a future together? Or will hidden secrets cost them their happiness… and their lives? His Lordship's Secret is the first novel in the His Lordship's Mysteries series.

Firefax by A.M. Vergara

"I would advise you, young man, to take care around anyone with the surname Firefax. I know not if the rumors be true that they be king killers, but they are, without any doubt, a dangerous family." Legend tells of a city of gold on a phantom island. The wealth of that city could end the American Revolution. But the only person who knows the island’s location is the world’s deadliest assassin. And he’s not giving up that secret without a fight . . . The world’s oldest family of high-profile assassins, the Firefaxes, have been killing off dignitaries—and being well-compensated to do so—for centuries. The family is thrown into turmoil by their patriarch’s death and the return of their cunning, cruel prodigal, Murdoch. With their father dead, Murdoch is the only one who knows where the Firefax wealth is, kept on a secret island. But two competing intelligence networks in the American Revolution are bent on tracking down the legendary treasure to end the war, whatever the cost. However, these spy networks may have met their match in this wily, dysfunctional family of killers.

The Pharaoh's Curse by Kyro Dean

There was a reason the assassins always won in the end. Why her family always died. He was smarter than her, whoever he was. More prepared. A mongoose to her cobra. And it didn’t matter how hard she fought back, how hard she bit. In the end, he’d eat her up. Zarina Nefartari is the last descendant of the ancient queens. As novel and grand as a royal heritage sounds, descending from a line of queens has only ever brought her trouble. She is, after all, a descendant of the sun god who can’t bear to see its light without getting migraines and who needs colored lenses just to stand in its rays. The laughing gods were cruel like that. Not to mention the assassin that has been hunting her family for millennia. The begrudging family of killers has been the end of every one of her female ancestors since the great queen herself--and they're coming for her next. To make matters worse, her god-appointed bodyguard since birth, Farak, does not reciprocate her growing feelings. Too bound to his godly oath, he has committed to forsaking love and protecting her at all costs. Unsatisfied with the lot the fates have dealt her, Zarina wants more than anything to free them both from the curse of an early death. She leaves her life of hiding to solve the mystery that has shaded her family for two-thousand years, hoping that if she takes fate into her own hands and fights back against the assassin, Farak's allegiance will change. The problem? Lord Richard DeClare: an over-excited Brittanian Aegyptologist who finds her absolutely mesmerizing--and who reveals her identity to all of Aegyptus. With the mysterious assassin hot on her newly-announced trail, a street lord who wants her dead so he can steal her family's treasure, and that pesky Britannian who happens to possess the resources she needs, Zarina is thrown into a foray of chaos that threatens to kill her at every turn. Now, she must use her colored lenses to solve the clues in the tunnels and tombs of her family's legacy to figure out who the assassin is and why they've wanted her family dead since Queen Nefertari's reign over two millennia ago. Deep in the heart of an alternate-history Egypt, Zarina must learn what matters more--family or fate--and how much control she has over a life ruled by the gods.

The Bee King by Mathilda Zeller

When the crops fail, the monsters come. When the monsters come, they buy the daughters. Alice would do anything to keep her sister and cousin out of the hands of the monsters. She would even accept a marriage proposal from the Bee King, the mysterious honey magnate allegedly driving the prosperity of the empire. But when she arrives at the Apiary, the secluded estate of her betrothed, nothing is as it seems. The empire's wealthy and famous are converging upon the estate and she soon learns that the Bee King is not marrying her for love or lust, but third reason--a dark, strange, and deadly reason.

Fyskar: Book 1 of Legend of the Bai by Chapel Orahamm

1692 The Isle of Skye Eoin has returned as a plague doctor after ten years of banishment for revenge and a birthright. Fearchar and Seonaid have allowed the man to set up shop in their croft at the request of an old friend. The Plague Doctor is keeping secrets, though, and killing an entire clan is only the beginning. The void is waiting.

The Wife in the Attic by Rose Lerner

Goldengrove’s towers and twisted chimneys rose at the very edge of the peaceful Weald, a stone’s throw from the poisonous marshes and merciless waters of Rye Bay. Young Tabby Palethorp had been running wild there, ever since her mother grew too ill to leave her room. I was the perfect choice to give Tabby a good English education: thoroughly respectable and far too plain to tempt her lonely father, Sir Kit, to indiscretion. I knew better than to trust my new employer with the truth about my past. But knowing better couldn’t stop me from yearning for impossible things: to be Tabby’s mother, Sir Kit’s companion, Goldengrove’s new mistress. All that belonged to poor Lady Palethorp. Most of all, I burned to finally catch a glimpse of her. Surely she could tell me who had viciously defaced the exquisite guitar in the music room, why all the doors in the house were locked after dark, and whose footsteps I heard in the night…

The Last Roman: Exile by B.K. Greenwood

Some debts you cannot repay, even if you live forever... Seasoned imperial officer Marcus Sempronius Gracchus leads the 9th Roman Legion into a bloody battle against a fierce barbarian rival. It's a battle he won't survive. When he awakens three days later, clawing his way from a shallow grave, Marcus must face the reality of his new existence. He cannot be killed--but that won't stop him from dying time and again over the next 2,000 years. Meanwhile, others like Marcus plan to bring the world crashing to its knees. Can he prevent the inevitable and find redemption?

Storytellers by Bjørn Larssen

Would you murder your brothers to keep them from telling the truth about themselves? On a long, cold Icelandic night in March 1920, Gunnar, a hermit blacksmith, finds himself with an unwanted lodger – Sigurd, an injured stranger who offers a story from the past. But some stories, even those of an old man who can barely walk, are too dangerous to hear. They alter the listeners’ lives forever… by ending them. Others are keen on changing Gunnar’s life as well. Depending on who gets to tell his story, it might lead towards an unwanted marriage, an intervention, rejoining the Church, letting the elf drive him insane, or succumbing to the demons in his mind. Will he manage to write his own last chapter? Bjørn Larssen’s award-winning, Amazon #1 best selling novel is an otherworldly, emotive Icelandic saga – a story of love and loneliness, relief and suffering, hatred… and hope. Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Award – Finalist Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal – Historical Fiction

The Heiress in Kent by Gregory Kopp

A royal mystery that has intrigued generations on two continents is finally revealed! Amid the turbulence of a worldwide financial cataclysm threatening the British Government, a handsome Scotland Yard detective uncovers a secret plot to topple Queen Victoria from her throne! Based on a true story, this fast-paced book is set among the glitz and glamour of 19th century London, New York City and the fledgling 1860 presidential campaign of Abraham Lincoln. Enjoy the next exciting volume in the Kopp Chronicles powerful hit series.

A New Dream Arises by Gregory Kopp

In his most dangerous mission yet, Richard Cordwell, the handsome Scotland Yard detective, discovers another royal conspiracy! While the manhunt for the assassin of Abraham Lincoln absorbs a nation, a new president begins to wield the power of Reconstruction, as a dream of freedom arises above the devastation of a defeated Confederacy. Based on a true story, this exciting adventure is set among the capitals of Europe and Washington City, Scotland’s famous castles and the American South in the aftermath of the Civil War. Enjoy the next volume in the powerful Kopp Chronicles epic series.

Girl with a Gun: An Annie Oakley Mystery by Kari Bovée

Fifteen-year-old Annie Oakley is the sole supporter of her widowed mother and two siblings. An expert markswoman and independent spirit, she hunts game to sell to the local mercantile to make ends meet instead of accepting a marriage proposal that could solve all her problems. After a stunning performance in a shooting contest against the handsome and famous sharpshooter Frank Butler, Annie is offered a position in the renowned Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Finally, she has a chance to save the nearly foreclosed family farm and make her dreams come true. But then her Indian assistant is found dead in her tent, and Annie is dubious when the local coroner claims the death was due to natural causes. When another innocent is murdered, Annie begins to fear the deaths are related to her. And to make matters worse, her prized horse, Buck, a major part of her act, is stolen. Annie soon discovers that the solution to her problems lies buried in a padlocked Civil War trunk belonging to the show’s manager, Derence LeFleur. And so, with the help of a sassy, blue-blooded reporter, Annie sets out to find her horse, solve the murders, and clear her name.

The Storm over Paris by William Ian Grubman

The Storm Over Paris is a "dark, gripping historical thriller" with "evocative and frightening descriptions of life in Paris under Nazi rule." - Kirkus Reviews It's 1942 in Nazi-Occupied Paris. Mori Rothstein is a widely-respected, internationally-known art dealer, loving husband, and father. Mori's once-charmed life darkens when Hermann Goering – the head of the Nazi Gestapo and one of the most feared men alive – seeks out his expertise. Goering gives Mori a choice: appraise priceless pieces of art that will be deported to Hitler's new museum or risk his and his family's lives. As his friends and fellow Jews disappear one by one, Mori must decide what he will stand for and at what cost. With so much at stake, Mori and his son concoct a risky plan to save some of history's greatest pieces of art...but can it possibly work? And can Mori's family possibly survive the scrutiny of Goering and the horrors of Nazi occupation? Fans of Daniel Silva, Dan Brown, and John Grisham will fall in love with this gripping piece of World War II historical fiction. The action and intrigue makes this page-turner impossible to put down; the cast of characters make it impossible to forget.

The Paris Photo by Jane S Gabin

The Paris Photo compassionately conveys the story of American soldier Ben Gordon and his relationship with a young mother and her son just after the Liberation of Paris in August 1944. Despite the strength of this relationship during the war, Ben's eventual return to America separates them. Decades later, Ben's daughter stitches the relationship back together when she discovers a photograph of her late father with an unknown woman and boy. Eager to uncover more of her father's past, she travels to Paris to learn about the people in the photograph. The Paris Photo lifts characters out of the pages of a history book, richly depicting the human emotion that pervades our memories. The Paris Photo will appeal to lovers of historical fiction, particularly those with an interest in WWII. Jane S. Gabin creates a vivid picture of life in Paris during the dark days of the Nazi occupation, as well as a depiction of the contemporary city that still carries scars from the war. Interweaving mystery, romance, and historical research, The Paris Photo demonstrates how the traumas of wartime loss persist into the present.