. . THE LEGEND BEGINS When the Ridgeway family staked their claim on more than 40,000 acres of land in northwest Texas, they knew they had their work cut out for them. Located on a sharp bend of the treacherous Red River, their new home—the Rocking R Ranch—was just a stone’s throw away from Indian territory. It was as lawless and wild as the West itself, crawling with unsavory characters, cattle rustlers, horse thieves, outlaws, robbers, and worse. But still, the Ridgeways were determined to make the Rocking R a success—and a home—for their four remarkable children: Percy, Eli, Abigail, and Rachel. This is their story. Together, the Ridgeways could endure anything. Floods, tornadoes, Commanche raids in the dead of night. But when one of their own is kidnapped . . . that’s when all hell breaks loose. This is their story. The story of the American West.

    They begin with an attack at Bagram Airfield, America’s largest military base in Afghanistan. A second weapon is detonated in Battery Park in New York City.The blast levels a square mile of Manhattan, including the Financial District. Hundreds of thousands perish. The American economy is in chaos. Banks close their doors. The U.S. supply chain is disrupted. Riots and looting break out while enemies in the Middle East burn U.S. flags in celebration.The stakes skyrocket when Islamabad CIA Station Chief Bill Gorman unearths evidence of a third bomb headed our way. Across two continents the chase is on to find the runaway terrorists led by the ruthless and capable Salma Bahmani, star agent of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, the dread ISI. She will stop at nothing to deliver what could be the final nail in America’s coffin.

    Matt Rix, the ultra tough commando who led the ambushed platoon, swears vengeance. Rix is one of Special Forces' most lethal operators. He'll neutralise Rapier - whatever it takes.But in Afghanistan's brutal war, not all things are as they seem.'The Fighting Season is military fiction of the first order: as tough as nails and packed with the insider knowledge of someone who has done it for real.' - Matthew Reilly'Action packed, gritty and authentic to the core.' - Merrick Watts

    The deceptive, crooked path that led him to today began a few months back. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, nineteen-year old Fleming was a professional baseball pitcher with the Chicago White Sox. His successful first year in the minor leagues was waylaid when he received his draft notice. Through a series of misadventures, he ended up enlisting for four years in an elite unit called the A.S.A. or Army Security Agency; the army’s equivalent to the N.S.A. or the National Security Agency. Once in the army, Fleming learned that the recruiter had manipulated him with a host of untruths. Then, to his dismay, he learned that the army had lost his orders and he was placed in an infantry unit. Once in Vietnam, Platoon Sergeant, Levine questioned Fleming and dragged out of him the sad story of how he had enlisted for four years and ended up in an infantry unit. He became the butt of the platoon’s jokes and underwent vicious ribbing by the other platoon members. That day, the platoon was ordered back to their base camp: L.Z. English. Before leaving, they endured a mortar attack and then a ground probe. Fleming’s foxhole mate was critically wounded. Fleming did everything he could to save the man but his wounds were too severe and he died in Fleming’s arms. Repulsed by the ordeal, Fleming was left wondering if he could endure a whole year of this. Twelve-year old Van Phan Duc and his two friends twelve-year old Hoi Anh Vanh and Dan Tri Quang lived happily in their village until the day a N.V.A. invaded and forced them to join their struggle and fight the invading Americans. They were then assigned to a Viet Cong unit where they met Sergeant Chi, the man who would train them to be soldiers for the revolution and lead them into battle. Three American soldiers had been captured. Chi ordered the three boys to participate in brutally torturing the Americans. Dan embraced the torture and it turned him into a brutal fighting machine, much to Chi’s satisfaction. On the other hand, Hoi was repulsed by the events and a part of him died that day. He performed the torture but it wasn’t to Chi’s satisfaction. Van, a devout Buddhist, was also repulsed. He realized that life, as a soldier was three hundred and sixty degrees opposite of Buddha’s spiritual path. The 173rd’s area of operations was the Central Highlands. The 173rd’s home base was in and around the town of Bong Son, but they patrolled all over the province of Binh Dinh. For the next few months, Fleming and Van’s units met on numerous occasions. The first time they engaged each other in combat was in a simple ambush that lasted only two minutes. Both men were left repulsed by the carnage that could take place in only two minutes. Right after the ambush, Fleming’s company was deployed in a battalion-sized operation located in the Dak To mountain range. It was an area where numerous North Vietnamese soldiers infiltrated into South Vietnam from neighboring Cambodia and Laos. Fleming’s company was dropped into an area far from Dak To and the men were forced to march (hump) to their final destination. During the trek, they had to carve their way through impenetrable jungle and cross leach infested rivers to reach their destination, all the while suffering under Vietnam’s oppressive heat. Van’s Viet Cong unit was sent to the Dak To mountain range to do battle with Fleming and his company. Months passed with Van and Fleming’s units constantly meeting. Both men had similar personalities. Both men overcame their initial shock at war’s brutality and became highly competent soldiers who bravely fought the enemy. Both men were ultimately made into squad leaders. Both men continued to hate the war, yet were entrapped in the insanity that was war. They both recognized what war was—a brutally insane series of events where lives were lost and where dreams died.

    However, her sorrow turns to bone-chilling confusion when she receives a message Caroline sent days earlier warning that her death would be no accident. Long used to being a pariah to her family, Deirdre covers her tattoos and heads to Manhattan for her sister’s funeral.The message claimed Caroline’s husband, Theo, killed his first wife and got away with it. Reeling from the news, Deirdre confronts Theo on the way to the cemetery, and he reveals both his temper and his suspicion that Deirdre’s “perfect” sister was having an affair.Paranoid and armed with just enough information to make her dangerous, Deirdre digs into the disturbing secrets buried with Caroline. But as she gets closer to the truth, she realizes that her own life may be at risk…and that there may be more than one killer in the family.

    They don't know who she is. They don't know where she is or her destination. All they have is a phone connection. Every clue draws them closer to her rescue...or pushes them to frustration. Within the next twelve hours, they must each make daring sacrifices and be tested to their limit.The clock is ticking, the odds are against them...will they be able find Mya?

    . .On a warm May evening in the spring of 1979, the people of Heartsridge, Massachusetts, are living the American dream. Families are gathered for barbecues. Kids are playing in front yards. Gardens are being kept. Meanwhile, Kara Price stumbles home through the woods, raped and beaten, her life shattered by a wicked act of violence, perpetrated by one of the town’s most beloved and public figures. Surrounding Kara is a cast of compelling and nefarious characters—a violent-tempered mayor who can do no wrong in the eyes of the town, a sheriff bound by the rules and plagued by a guilty conscience, a father bent on revenge, a serial killer in the midst of an identity crisis. And at the center of it all there's Kara, who just wants to move on with her life and forget everything that happened to her. But how can she do that when everyone thinks she is a liar who is only out for attention? With plot and emotion braided together by a careful hand, this haunted group of people all acting on behalf of their own interests begs the question: How far would you go to protect your own?

    A land of conflict. And a land of spies.As World War One rages on the killing fields of Flanders, another battle is playing out in the Holy Land.British forces invade a stronghold of the Ottoman Empire, fighting German officers, Arab conscripts and Turkish troops.But as the British armies advance, the Germans suspect they have a traitor within their ranks.An agent - code-named Daniel - is transmitting messages to the British from the heart of the German headquarters.If they can't stop him, the war will be lost.But as the Germans dig deeper, they discover an espionage ring called Nili made up of Zionist Jews supporting the British.They begin close in on the ring.But will they ever unearth the true identity of Daniel?And what is the true purpose of the organisation known as Nili?In this gripping novel, Colin Smith interweaves the stories of British Tommies, German officers and Jewish nationals.In a tale of intrigue and espionage the hunt for Daniel turns into a race against time, as the British prepare to meet the Austrian troops on the brutal battlefield at Huj.'Spies of Jerusalem' brilliantly blends fact with fiction in a novel that will appeal to fans of Alan Furst and and John Le Carre.

    Spanning two decades, this is a cocktail of love, betrayal, politics and revenge.

    But when fallout from the affair threatens to topple NATO’s fragile Afghan alliance, John and Dusty suddenly find themselves on the wrong side of the law.Alone and on the run, one place on earth holds the key to their innocence—Nuristan, a remote Afghan province and notorious terrorist haven. But their journey to freedom will thrust them deeper into the Afghan conflict than they ever imagined. Battling hostile terrain and Islamic fighters, John and Dusty emerge the unlikely champions of an ancient community torn apart by al-Qaeda and western forces. From ex-SAS soldier and bestselling author of The Circuit Bob Shepherd comes a modern day Afghan war epic inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s The Man Who Would Be King.

    Covered by F-14 fighters, accompanied by security men, the planes carry warriors, pacifists, lovers, enemies, dignatories - and a bomb planted by a terrorist mastermind. Suddenly they're forced to crash-land at an ancient desert site. Here, with only a handful of weapons, the men and women of the peace mission must make a desperate stand against an army of crack Palestinian commandos - while the Israeli authorities desperately attempt a rescue bid. A story of compulsive excitement, rich in personal drama and political tension that must rank as one of the greatest of our times.

    An investor in the growing railroad industry, he played host to US presidents. And when he fell in love, he fell hard. Rosa Pelham was almost two decades younger than Suit, who courted her unsuccessfully for five long years. Then, in 1883, he found the chink in Rosa’s romantic armor. She dreamed of living in a castle. Suit vowed to build her one if she accepted his proposal. He was as good as his word, and Berkeley Castle became part of West Virginian history. Some say the story of Rosa and her castle ended badly, with heartache, financial ruin, and insanity. Some darkly hint that vengeful ghosts now walk the halls of Berkeley Castle, tormented by secret misdeeds. Others tell a different tale—one of love and courage in the face of changing fortunes. Rosa’s Castle tells this tale—a dazzling “what if” based on one of America’s most striking love stories. As for ghosts…well, not all are vengeful shades. Some haunt out of love for those they left behind.

    The mystery haunts her, and she hopes her job in a busy city Garda Station will one day help her find answers.The case of a man shot dead crosses her desk – and Anna is shocked to discover that the main suspect is her childhood friend Kate Crowley. Certain that Kate is innocent, Anna is determined to help her clear her name. But first she has to find her …Tom Gallagher’s son David is dead, and Tom believes Kate is responsible. Now his older son John is missing – unable to grieve for one son until he finds the other, desperation can cause a man to do terrible things … Then the German Meier brothers descend on the city, intent on finding an item David had offered to sell them. Even Tom doesn’t know where it is, but he suspects Kate Crowley must have taken it.Kate is on the run. She is trapped in the dead man’s city – can her old friend help her find a way out?In a week where a political summit is taking place and the city is on high alert, Kate must struggle to stay hidden and stay alive. And Anna is drawn into the twisted race against time, falling deeper into danger.

    Confined to a wheelchair after a mass subway shooting, she has been unwilling or unable to speak since the terrifying day she was wounded in the train. One person who might be able to shed some light on the murder is compassionate caregiver Margaret, temporarily hired as Fiona’s personal assistant. From the very first day of her arrival, Margaret senses that something is not quite right about the household...something disquieting and hard to pinpoint. As the mysteries pile up and the friendship between Margaret and her patient grows, the caregiver finds herself sifting through a complicated tangle of lies while trying to help her charge heal both physically and emotionally. The slow burn suspense gradually escalates as a series of shocking revelations brings us to a devastating conclusion.

    At the Taj Mahal, she meets Alan Davies, a charming Welshman. But a terrorist attack on Mathura’s renowned Krishna temple turns them into fugitives from justice and the duo must decipher a series of complex cryptographs and unearth the illustrious Shyamantaka that belonged to Surya, the Sun God, to prove their innocence. Joined in their quest by an elderly Frenchman, Anton Blanchard, the duo race against time in helicopters, motor boats and yachts. In hot pursuit are the brilliant and daring SP Nisha Sharma and the most ruthless terrorist organizations. Before she realizes it, Sangeeta is trapped in a world of betrayal, deceit and horror. Fast-paced and gripping, The Curse of Surya will keep you hooked and on the edge of your seat while you unravel one of the biggest mysteries in 5000 years.