Ancient Mystery Fiction

Craig Henriksen and Danny Walsh: two contemporary warriors in a struggle they barely understand. Despite the losses they've endured at his hands, they draw closer to the enemy and learn more about his nature and goals. Craig and Danny have become important targets.

In de historische misdaadroman Moord op de Via Appia staat het antieke Rome, 52 jaar voor Christus, in lichterlaaie. Rebelse politici keren zich tegen de Romeinse Republiek en krijgen steeds meer steun van de bevolking. Wanneer het levenloze lichaam van de activistische politicus Publius Clodius midden op de Via Appia in Rome wordt aangetroffen, doen er wilde geruchten de ronde over de moordenaar. De rivaal van Publius, Milo, is een van de verdachten. In opdracht van Cicero, een goede vriend van Milo, is het aan detective Gordianus de Vinder om de waarheid te achterhalen.

Roma, 49 a. C. A la luz de la luna, una mujer con el rostro surcado por el tiempo, pero aún intacto en su belleza innata, sostiene una carta entre sus manos. La caligrafía no da lugar a dudas: sabe que se trata del amante a quien ha acompañado siempre, en sus momentos de gloria, pero también en los más vulnerables: Cayo Julio César. La República se tambalea, y la misiva tampoco es un buen augurio. César le explica a su querida Servilia que ha decidido cruzar las fronteras sagradas y franquear el río Rubicón.

85 A.D. The Roman Empire expanded its conquered territories north to the Danube River. One kingdom is still a serious threat – the third most powerful military power in Europe and the richest nation in the region. That nation is Dacia, led by its young and brilliant military leader King Decebal.

Alexandria, 47BC. Cleopatra – seventh of her name, avatar of the goddess Isis, ruler of the Kingdom of Egypt – watches over her city. The war is over, but Alexandria has suffered in its wake. Caesar has returned to Rome, and the queen must restore her city and her kingdom to their former greatness. But now a body has been found floating upright at the bottom of the sea, anchored by a weight around its feet. It's the second corpse to be found this way, and with a city to rebuild and a kingdom to keep in line, Cleopatra cannot allow any more murders to interfere.

Queen Angelique is caught in a quandary. She has ruled The Black Land since the death of her husband, the pharaoh. She defied tradition by refusing to name her son Penaware as the next pharaoh, even though everyone knows he was too young and immature to rule. Time is running out. Prince Penaware’s approaching birthday means he’ll come of age soon. The nation and the powerful priests who strongly influence it expect Angelique to proclaim Penaware the new pharaoh. But there’s another option. She could break tradition once more and claim the title of pharaoh for herself.

Once there was a time when Romagna was named Flaminia and the Rubicon was not only a river. When Julius Caesar arrived in 49 BCE, he found waiting for him a wooden palisade colored ruby red where he deployed his legions for several months on that border defended by the legionaries of Pompey. But who built, even before Caesar was born, and for what reason was a red line of defense built stretching out to the sea, and what would Caesar and his legions do to breach it?

Despite his situation, Paaten believes his future is not in the enemy land of Hatti. As Paaten struggles to find his way back to his homeland of Egypt, he finds himself in an unforeseen battle, waging the biggest war yet: that of his heart. Will Paaten's perceived enemy ensnare his love and loyalty, or will he return to Egypt to fulfill his destiny and oath to pharaoh?

Un Aníbal ya maduro supera los recelos de sus enemigos en el Senado de Cartago y se prepara para derrotar por fin a Roma. Para ello, se apodera de gran parte de Isphanya (península Ibérica en lengua púnica) y hace suyas las riquezas y el espíritu de sus guerreros. Durante esas campañas militares adiestra a su ejército y lo convierte en una máquina de combate homogénea a pesar de estar formado por decenas de etnias distintas y mercenarios.

Caesar and Brutus. Marius and Sulla. Cicero, Antony, Clodius, and Augustus. The end of the Roman Republic gave us a host of larger-than-life characters hailing from Rome. Only one was named Great. In the year 90 B.C.E., chaos and unrest erupts across the Italian peninsula. Rome's allies have rebelled and taken up arms against the most powerful military on Earth. Leading Rome's legions - and his only son - to the city's defense, an unproven and unloved commander will taste victory and defeat outside the capital's gates.

Elio Sparziano, ufficiale e storico, viene inviato da Diocleziano in Egitto per vigilare sul rispetto degli editti imperiali e per raccogliere informazioni utili a scrivere una biografia dell'imperatore Adriano, morto da quasi duecento anni. La sua indagine assume però contorni inediti, ed estremamente attuali, quando viene a sapere che le prove di una cospirazione ai danni di Roma si celerebbero nel leggendario sepolcro di Antinoo, il favorito di Adriano annegato nel Nilo giovanissimo in circostanze mai chiarite (incidente? Omicidio? Rito sacrificale?).

AD 173. The Danube lies frozen. On its banks gather the clans of Sarmatia, their riders winter starved by sickly herds and blighted crops. Petty feuds cast aside and their disparate numbers united in the face of a great enemy. For across the frozen waters stands the mighty Roman Empire, and its Legion marches ever closer.

Ehli-nikkalu, eldest daughter of the Hittite emperor, is married to a mere vassal of her father's. But despite her status, her foreignness and inability to produce an heir drive a wedge between her and the court that surrounds her. When her secretary is mysteriously murdered while carrying the emperor a message that would indict the loyalty of his vassal, Ehli-nikkalu adopts the dead man's orphaned children out of a guilty sense of responsibility.

When Akhenaten finally goes too far and meets his bloody fate, the court of Egypt is plunged into chaos. The royal family's most ambitious players are locked in a contest for the throne that can only end in victory for one...and death for the others. Nefertiti returns from her exile, wielding more than just her wits. She has Tutankhamun, Egypt's rightful heir. Smenkhkare's idealism makes him popular with the common people, but will his sense of justice and maat protect him from the vicious politics of his relatives?

Nell Valenti is settling into her role of transforming the Villa Orlandini into a superb farm-to-table cooking school, and the time has finally come for a full taste test run. But when Chef Orlandini prepares to reveal his top secret marinara recipe for the first time to a group of American gastro-tourists, Nell realizes she might have bitten off more than she can chew.

Rome, 58 AD. Aemilius Valerius is on the up and up. His reputation has been rehabilitated, he has established a fledgling career, and he has new friends in very powerful places. When one of those new friends, the poet Lucan, is attacked, Valerius is given an offer he can’t refuse: find the culprits before they strike again. But when every man in Lucan’s circle of poets and playwrights and artists is potentially a suspect, each one of them competing for the emperor’s favor, how is Valerius supposed to tell the difference between petty jealousy and murderous rage?

In a city where belief means everything, putting your faith in the wrong person can get you killed. Two Arkana agents are sent to Jerusalem on a standard artifact retrieval mission. What could possibly go wrong? Absolutely everything.

It’s festival time in Athens, and Philocles is looking forward to the holiday. Visitors are coming from across the Hellenic world for eight days of sporting competitions, musical contests and sacred rites to honour Athena, the city’s patron goddess. Thousands will flock to the Pnyx to be enthralled by three-day performance of Homer’s Iliad, an entertainment unique to the Great Panathenaia. Taking part is the highest honour and greatest challenge for an epic poet.

Bringing ancient myth to life with passion, humour and humanity, Lindsay Clarke vividly retells the story of Troy and of the heroes who fought there in the third instalment of the Troy Quartet. Troy has fallen. After 10 years of fighting and a savage final massacre, the victors quarrel over what remains and turn their minds to home. Menelaus must decide the fate of Helen, whose incomparable beauty ignited the war. And Agamemnon must return to the fury of Clytaemnestra, who has neither forgotten nor forgiven his choice to sacrifice their daughter.

In the dark of night, a covert group of bandits enters the village of Rekeem and kidnaps Rasha, daughter of the great Abdali-ud-din leader, Zafir. They seek a hefty ransom, and know Zafir will sacrifice everything to win back the safety of his beloved daughter. But it's not just Zafir who wants to find her. Bassam, Zafir's young protégé in the caravans, is deeply in love with Rasha. And he will let nothing stop him from finding her - even a perilous journey - even death.