What could she have in common with the town’s richest man? Curiosity draws her to the will reading where she learns she has inherited a vast sum. The conditions of her inheritance require she change her name and reside in the Malone mansion. Long considered haunted by the residents of Malone Springs, Kellie, her fiancé and four friends move in ignoring the rumors. Strange and frightening events begin to plague Kellie before she moves and grow more frightening once she and her friends settle in. Adopted at birth, her adoptive parents killed in an auto accident leave Kellie to investigate her ancestors on her own. What she discovers leads her into more danger and mystery as she learns the true nature of her biological grandfather. Could his evil deeds hurt her from beyond the grave? Who’s responsible for the strange occurrences? What happened to her biological parents? As one solved mystery leads Kellie into another, she and her friends try to solve them all before tragedy strikes.

    He soon gets caught up with a nemesis character that spews death and destruction, hiding throughout the world like a chameleon---causing Winters to leave his serene retirement and take chase.

    In one way or another, every “righteous” clandestine operative is sought out, enlisted, and trained for the difficult and often terrible work intended to ensure that the principles of freedom triumph over ideologies that seek to dominate and enslave. The year is 1977; the Cold War is intensifying. Helena Portland—Laynie to her family—is set to graduate from the University of Washington, when recruiters from Marstead International invite her to dinner and an informal employment interview. Laynie is flattered: Marstead International is a technology and aeronautics firm with a global presence and reputation. But behind their corporate image? Marstead is a front for joint U.S./NATO covert operations. Not far into the dinner conversation, the recruiters make their pitch: “We have offices around the world, Miss Portland, and we actively seek college graduates with the right mix of aptitude and skills to work and grow within our worldwide market. Actually, we have been observing you for some time. We feel that you have the potential to serve . . . the interests of your country.” Laynie catches their drift and confronts it. “Let me see if I understand you correctly. You are representatives of a U.S. intelligence agency, unnamed so far, and you are trying to recruit me. Do I have it right?” When Laynie accepts Marstead’s offer, she is sent through the Company’s rigorous tradecraft and tactical training program. Laynie soon discovers that the world of clandestine service is dirty business. To succeed, operatives must bend and twist the tenets of liberty. Along the way, noble objectives tarnish and corrode, hearts harden, and methods and means drag virtue into the gutter. Laynie perseveres at the work set before her; she enters into it because she holds a secret—a secret she has never shared with anyone, a view of herself that not only condones the awful choices she is asked to make, but justifies them. I am worthless; my life has no value. I am only useful when the work I do serves a greater purpose. Laynie PortlandBook 1: Laynie Portland, Spy Rising—The Prequel Book 2: Laynie Portland, Retired SpyBook 3: Laynie Portland, Renegade SpyBook 4: Laynie Portland, Spy Resurrected