In July 1943 the scorched and bloody body of multi-millionaire businessman, Sir Harry Oakes, was found in a partly burned bed in his home in the Bahamas. He had died of wounds to the head caused by a weapon never found or clearly identified. Four small, identical holes in a pattern almost square had penetrated the mastoid bone above his left ear. Within forty-eight hours, after the most cursory of investigations, Oakes' son-in-law, Alfred de Marigny, was arrested and charged with the murder. The trial lasted thirty-two days. Once it was over, even though de Marigny was acquitted, his life lay in ruins. The authorities in Nassau had advised all British and friendly territories that de Marigny was to be regarded as a murderer at large, and it was four years before he could get a visa to enter the United States, where he finally made his home. Now, for the first time, de Marigny tells his own story, revealing what really happened in the Bahamas in July 1943 and in the months that followed. Even as war engulfed the globe, Nassau was a magnet for society's rich and spoiled, presided over by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. It is against this extraordinary background of wealth and privilege that the story unfolds, a complex tale of business intrigue, broken promises and acts of betrayal; of currency smuggling and conduct close to treason, and of one man's untiring efforts to clear his name.

When news of Sir Harry Oakes' murder broke to the world on the morning of July, 8, 1943, one man was more concerned than most. He was the Duke of Windsor, then Governor of the British colony, whose job it was to ensure that the killer was caught and brought to justice. Although many believe the duke was a bungler, "Blood and Fire" points to evidence that he was a plotter with something to hide.

Offers an account of the crime, a look at expatriate European aristocrats, and a portrait of the Duke of Windsor

James Leasor cleverly reconstructs events surrounding a brutal and unusual murder. It is 1943 and Sir Harry Oakes lies horrifically murdered at his Bahamian mansion. Although a self-made multi-millionaire, Sir Harry is an unlikely victim there are no suggestions of jealousy or passion. Why did the Duke of Windsor, then Governor of the Bahamas call in the Miami police rather than Scotland Yard? Leasor makes the daring suggestion that Sir Harry Oakes murder, the burning of the liner Normandie in New York Harbour in 1942 and the Allied landings in Sicily are all somehow connected. 'The story has all the right ingredients - rich occupants of a West Indian tax haven, corruption, drugs, the Mafia, and a weak character as governor.' Daily Mail

Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles-until they are hired to pilfer a famed sword. What appears to be just a simple job finds them framed for the murder of the king and trapped in a conspiracy that uncovers a plot far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom. Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires? And so begins the first tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend. When author Michael J. Sullivan self-published the first books of his Riyria Revelations, they rapidly became ebook bestsellers. Now, Orbit is pleased to present the complete series for the first time in bookstores everywhere.

Originally published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2015.