Ancient Mystery Fiction

South of Rome on the Gulf of Puteoli stands the splendid villa of Marcus Crassus, Rome's wealthiest citizen. When the estate overseer is murdered, Crassus concludes that the deed was done by two missing slaves, who have probably run off to join the Spartacan Slave Revolt. Unless they are found within three days, Crassus vows to massacre his remaining 99 slaves.

Rome, 56 BC. The great general Pompey has conquered the East; Julius Caesar is defeating the Gauls; only Egypt, with its strategic granaries and vast treasuries of gold, still eludes the grasp of Rome. The city itself is becoming ever more corrupt, as the last generation of the Roman Republic indulges in political backstabbing, endless lawsuits, scandalous love affairs, and the occasional murder.

In the greatest, foulest city in the world, love, mayhem and betrayal await the slave Alexandros. Given as a gift to the richest man in Rome, he soon discovers that intrigue and murder stalk the house of his master. Alexandros can solve the crime, but if he does, the worst punishment may prove to be his own. Alexandros is astute, well-educated and brimming with caustic wit, but he can't seem to remember the golden rule of slavery: Keep your head down and your mouth shut. No wonder more than one person in the house of Marcus Crassus wants to see this former Greek philosophy student dead.

In Egypt during the late Roman Republic, the young Gordianus finds himself involved in a raid to steal the golden Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great....

The Hegemony is the ruling council of The Order, a society of vampires that has controlled world governments for centuries. Now, vampyr scientist Caroline Ludlow and her fledgling Avery Doyle have control of North America. But with that power come enemies working toward their downfall. When Caroline leaves to secure her position at the Hegemony’s summit meeting, Avery must protect their home and Caroline’s scientific discoveries from agents of a foreign power.

As a child, former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone was told his father died in a submarine disaster in the North Atlantic, but now he wants the full story and asks his ex-boss, Stephanie Nelle, to secure the military files. What he learns stuns him: His father’s sub was a secret nuclear...

Mysterious necromancers. Wicked summoners. Fierce witches. Occasional familiars. Military experiments. Secret councils. Forbidden alliances. The Academy of Ancients will suck you in. Briar’s free. Or is she? With the necromancers and the undead still loose, the masters that control these heinous creatures might as well be.

The Pyramid of Cheops. The largest and most enigmatic of them all. Possibly the greatest monument of all time and truly a tomb fit for a Pharaoh...or was it? Despite finding a sarcophagus in the King's chamber, many experts now believe that Khufu, the Pharaoh at the time, was never actually interred there. But if that's the case, where is he?

Incomplete sections of the book of dead found in Ramesses’ tomb and the murder of a prominent tomb scribe sparks fears of the curse of Anubis in Deir el-Medina. While the lack of witnesses and a close-knit worker community hampers, Neti-Kerty and Shabaka’s investigation at a time when the whole of Thebes awaits the arrival of the pharaoh for the beautiful festival of the valley. When Neti starts to experience strange sensations and the pharaoh’s life is endangered it becomes evident that there is a larger, more sinister scheme to the events...

The old salt farmers have always said that the violet scent of the Fleur de Sel at harvest time on the salt marshes of the Guerande Peninsula has been known to cause hallucinations. Commissaire Dupin also starts to believe this when he's attacked out of the blue in the salt works. He had actually been looking forward to escaping his endless paperwork and taking a trip to the "white country" between the raging Atlantic Ocean and idyllic rivers.

A war with highly organized ranks of well-armed soldiers and officers that are invisible and can kill you instantly, who ever heard of such a thing? Fifteen-year-old Kyle Senger understands a world that he can see, hear, and touch. Like most of his friends, Kyle is definitely not interested in volunteering to fight any war, including the wars for which his home island government is constantly recruiting. Kyle enjoys the comfortable predictable life of his wealthy family. Then, one day at school, something happens to catapult Kyle into a multi-layered reality that threatens his own life, the girl he loves, and every islander. Whether Kyle avoids it, or takes action, nothing will ever be the same. This is a fast-moving novel that will challenge you.

Europe, 998 AD. Galen and Alcuin have finally escaped the clutches of the Moors. Now they're adrift in an unsettled continent where invasions, cults, plagues, drought and the looming millennium have upset the world order. Do these two young monks have what it takes to fulfil Alcuin's promise to get to Rome? The journey over the Pyrenees and across the Mediterranean isn't even the greatest challenge. Galen needs to decide whether he's a saint. Can he find the answer amongst the people he meets or will he have to look deeper within himself to find the truth?

Penn Mitchell vanishes from the NYU campus and shows up three months later on his mother's doorstep with a book screaming to get out of his head. When the FBI discovers the novel discloses top-secret information, they bring Penn in for questioning. The interrogation goes sideways and Penn escapes into a subterranean world he thought was a figment of his imagination, a world where the US government is hiding, and at war with, an ancient race that has existed since the dawn of time.

A military experiment propelled Cynthia 50 years into the future, from 1968 to 2018. There was a place between Then and Now that she began to consider the Seed of Creation. There for a moment, this nexus of realities pushed against her sanity and left an indelible impression on her soul. After spending years in a mental facility, she is released to live a life of adventure as she encounters an ancient evil in Egypt, Nazis in New York, a still-living Jack Parsons in the in-between, and finally, the son of her heart.

Who protects you and the world from supernatural destruction? This novella will give you the answer in the most exhilarating and unexpected way. A battle-hardened centurion is sent on a special mission to the wilds of Roman Britain to investigate the strange and ghastly murders of his brothers-in-arms. With the help of a warrior Queen, Magnus will encounter deathly forces, battle rival clans, and transform, not only himself but an entire nation. The Order of St. Michael forms in tenuous times, under dour circumstances, and stands as the world's foremost defense against darkness.

Если вы нашли в заброшенном храме древнюю книгу, хорошенько подумайте, прежде чем ее прочитать. Ведь заклинания способны перенести вас в чужой мир. Обаятельный маг, в чьи объятия вы упадете, может оказаться не тем, за кого себя выдает.

Join Holmes and Watson as four exciting mysteries from the acclaimed series unravel. Deductive reasoning leads to murder and suspense in the thrilling escapades of history's greatest detective.

Summer’s over for Trixie Grimble and her friends and that can only mean one thing. Mayhem! When the Ankhstone is stolen, everyone is a suspect and it’s up to Trixie, Gloria, and Colin to find out who the true culprit is before the terrible mind-control powers of the ancient curse are unleashed on Monstacademy.

Virgil's Aeneid is the great masterpiece of Latin literature. Written at the beginning of the Roman Empire, it tells the exciting story of how a Trojan named Aeneas flees his burning city and goes on a quest to find a new homeland with a small fleet of refugees. The hero Aeneas encounters many monsters and opponents, undergoes many trials and temptations, survives shipwrecks and the whims of the gods. Throughout it all he is accompanied by his loyal sidekick, "faithful Achates"... My idea was this: "What if Achates was not just another Trojan, but a DOG!"

The St. Charles Players present multi-cast dramatizations of some of Edgar Allan Poe's greatest works, including The Black Cat, The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether, The Purloined Letter, and The Murders in the Rue Morgue.