But when the captain of his ship tries to kill him on the way home from a raiding excursion, he must confront his stepfather's betrayal, and find a way to protect his birthright. It is no easy feat in Viking-Age Norway, where a hundred petty rulers kill over parcels of land, and a prophesied high king is rising.But where Ragnvald is expected to bleed, and even die, for his honour, Svanhild is simply expected to marry well. It's not a fate she relishes, and when the chance to leave her stepfather's cruelty comes at the hand of her brother's arch-rival, Svanhild is forced to make the ultimate choice: family or freedom.Drawing from the Icelandic Sagas, The Half-Drowned King takes inspiration from the true story of Ragnvald of Maer, the right hand man of King Harald Fairhair, first king of all Norway, and his sister, Svanhild, as she tries to find freedom in a society where the higher her brother rises, the greater her worth as a political pawn.

    History tells us that mankind developed along its own path, and that many ancient kings believed themselves to be gods and were revered as such. But what if the truth were something in between? This is the reality that master thief Greg Cross now finds himself facing. What started out as a simple job for a trusted associate has quickly spiralled into a race to uncover secrets hidden since the dawn of civilisation. A race between those who seek the truth in order to take the next step in mankind’s destiny, and those who wish to claim it for their own and use it to rebuild an empire lost to them millennia ago. It is a mission that Greg cannot deny his role in; because he now possesses an ancient power that is the key to unlocking the secret of the Nexus. Allied with those who have fought all their lives to find and protect the truth, Greg must now learn to accept what he has become if he is to master it and survive the trials to come. For although he now embodies a potential seen in man long ago, his is not the only secret of the past to have resurfaced... Length: 480 pages hardback

    The Empress will do whatever it takes to get it back. Jiayi has a gift – she can travel through time just by touching historical artifacts. More than anything, she wants to escape the clutches of the Empress and run away to a foreign land. Finding the Emperor’s Seal could be her only chance at freedom, but is she willing to risk the wrath of the Empress? Historian and wannabe archaeologist Zhihao has no love for the Empress or the Qing Dynasty, but when the Empress orders him to find the Emperor’s Seal in exchange for funding China’s first history museum, he cannot refuse. It is only after he accepts the assignment that he realizes the key to finding the seal lies in the hands of a palace slave. Civil unrest and encroaching foreign powers threaten Jiayi and Zhihao's mission and lives as they hunt for The Emperor's Seal.

    She reinvents herself and is living a respectable life as Catherine Henry, married to a medical school dean in Tucson, Arizona. In 1985, when their 5-year-old son, Michael, is diagnosed with a chemotherapy-resistant leukemia, Catherine must return to Willowood, face her family and the 19-year-old son, a product of her rape, she gave up for adoption. She knows her return will lead to a murder charge, but Michael needs a bone marrow transplant. Will she find forgiveness, and is she willing to lose everything, including her life, to save her dying son?

    An unknown and unstoppable outlaw. When their paths cross, all clues point to a killer. Reno, Nevada. Nine years after her mother’s still unsolved murder, former homeless teen Zoë Cruse has found stability with a husband, child, and a career as a tattoo artist. But when a biker comes in and asks for new ink, Zoë can’t help but draw comparisons between one of the images on his back and her mother’s death. Worse, his other ink appears to represent a deadly pattern, one that may indicate he’s a serial offender.Determined to unearth the truth despite her husband’s disbelief, Zoë researches the images and infiltrates the man’s notorious motorcycle club in search of evidence. But with the police, federal agents, and a rival gang all in pursuit of the same outlaw, her quest for closure may end with more than one person in the morgue…including her family.Can she unravel the mystery and find justice before she ends up six feet under?The Tattoo Artist is the chilling third book in the Women of Redemption suspense thriller series, featuring women who may not be perfect, but perfectly kick-ass when given a second chance. If you like strong female characters, fast-paced plots, and tension-filled pages, then you’ll love Lori Lacefield’s spine-tingling tale.

    Knowing the Germans could invade their quiet home the resident children of Guernsey are evacuated. Among them are Amelia Ashton, and her older sister Evelyn.The promise to stay safe.Forced onto the boat by her older sister, seventeen-year-old Amelia Ashton arrives in Weymouth with hundreds of other children. Although she is placed with a kind and loving foster family in Derbyshire, her world is torn apart. With all her communication cut off from her family, and the boys at school joining to fight in the war, Amelia struggles with her own desire to help. On a whim, she lies about her age and boards a train headed to volunteer with the Woman’s Land Army. Finding solace in the work of farm life, she reconnects with William, a young man from Derbyshire, and who doesn’t waste any time asking for her hand in marriage. Can Amelia start a new life without looking over her shoulder at what she left behind in Guernsey or will the war change everything?The promise to survive.Fearing for her parents’ lives, nineteen-year-old, Evelyn Ashton stays behind, living through the German occupation plaguing her once beautiful home—the island of Guernsey. Living under German rule, the residents find a new meaning of desperation and despair, trying to survive on rations and evade the threats of being sent off to a death camp. After her parents die in a bombing, Evelyn is left alone to fend for herself against her enemy, and when German soldiers take over her house, she seeks refuge in the only family she believes she has left—Henry—the man once interested in her sister. Can they find comfort in each other or will the occupation claim not only their love but also their lives?Two sisters. Two promises. One bloody war that changes their lives forever.

    Central to the story is Alvar, earl of Mercia. Having helped King Edgar to secure the throne, amid great unrest he must fight to clear the queen’s name, bring the country back from the brink of civil war, and stabilise the monarchy for Edgar’s son, Æthelred the Unready. He does this at great personal cost, and his enemies will stop at little: Abbot Dunstan, banished, recalled, and in no mood to forgive. Bishop Oswald, the ambitious foreigner who will let nothing stand in his way. They must not discover Alvar’s secret love for the wife of his deputy, whilst Alvar must keep her safe, and serve and protect the queen, who is in love with him and who harbours a dark secret of her own… Honoured with an IndieBRAG medallion and a Discovering Diamonds Special Award, this book has also been chosen as a Chill Books honouree and Book of the Month. “Ms Whitehead knows her stuff - A must-read for anyone interested in the early Anglo-Saxon period” – Helen Hollick

    When fifteen-year-old Minke Van Aisma travels to Amsterdam to care for the dying wife of a wealthy man, she has no idea what adventures await her. Within hours of his wife’s death, her employer proposes marriage, and within days the couple has set sail for the oil fields of Argentina. They settle in the rough coastal town of Comodoro Rivadavia, where Minke eventually learns that her husband is not a successful trader, but a morphine producer. The future that seemed so bright takes an even darker turn the morning their toddler son, Zeff, is kidnapped. Soon after, morphine production is outlawed and her husband must immediately emigrate to New York. Already pregnant with their daughter, Minke has little choice but to wait for the new baby’s arrival, then follow Sander to America, and leave her firstborn behind forever. However when she arrives in New York and discovers that her husband has betrayed her, she takes her daughter and leaves him, finds work as a seamstress, and vows to return to Argentina and find her son. How she manages to find her child, and how she takes her revenge on the people who orchestrated his abduction, is a triumphant tale of personal sacrifice, determination, and love. A sweeping saga that crosses three continents--from the opulent life in Amsterdam during the 1900s, to rough living on the Argentine coast, to the impoverished life of a recent immigrant to New York--A YOUNG WIFE is a journey no reader will forget.

    She is hidden in the words of her lover. This is the first in a string of ancient riddles that will lead archaeologist Erica Conner on the most dangerous expedition of her life. After agreeing to help an esteemed colleague and a no-nonsense FBI agent, she finds herself in a race against a mysterious cult. A faction that was founded in Egypt over two thousand years ago. Erica joins forces with Agent Matt Pierce. The two exasperate each other at every turn, while they battle the intense desire growing between them. He is the one man who knows the evil group's secrets, and she is the one person who can outwit them. As the riddles lead Erica and Matt around the world, the true horror unfolds. They must fight for their own lives and defeat the cultists before an unspeakable plan is unleashed on the world.