Edgy, twisted and disturbing, the first Crime Writers’ Association Daggers Award retrospective anthology featuring 19 visceral and thrilling stories. Featuring bestselling authors Ian Rankin, Jeffery Deaver, John Connolly, Denise Mina, John Harvey and more. NINETEEN CWA DAGGER AWARD-WINNING SHORT STORIES FROM THE BEST OF THE BEST IN CRIME FICTION The first retrospective of the CWA’s Dagger Award winners, brings together some of the greatest names in crime fiction to deliver a cutthroat collection of serial killers, grizzled detectives, drug dealers and master forgers. Observe as a Senior Curator at the Tate Gallery constructs the perfect crime in Ian Rankin’s “Herbert in Motion”. Watch an unlikely romance sour into a deadly obsession in Stella Duffy’s “Martha Grace”. Face parents who discover their child has committed the unthinkable in Denise Mina’s “Nemo Me Impune Lacessit”. And in Jeffery Deaver’s “The Weekender” an intense hostage situation hits its peak in the most unlikely conclusion. Keep your secrets close, and your daggers drawn. Featuring: Peter O' Donnell (writing as Madeleine Brent), Julian Rathbone, Larry Beinhart, Ian Rankin, Jerry Sykes, Stella Duffy, Jeffery Deaver, Peter Lovesey, Cath Staincliffe, Margaret Murphy, John Harvey, Richard Lange, L. C. Tyler, Denise Mina, Danutah Reah and Lauren Henderson.

In 1756, Europe is ruled by women. One of the most powerful is Madame de Pompadour, legendary mistress of Louis XV. While searching for a way to displace the Favorite, Pompadour's mortal enemy, the Duchess de Lauraguais, stumbles upon a potential lover for Louis in the person of the sensual and talented Diane Vauclin, queen of the Paris stage. Lauraguais knows that the actress can match the Favorite's talents in the salons of Versailles, but can mount an even more formidable challenge to the king's fragile mistress on a field where she can no longer fight -- in the king's bed. In the doing, Lauraguais discovers other secrets that will assuage her anger at someone much closer to her heart. The handsome and gallant Alexandre Devereaux continues to reject her affections while remaining enthralled to the memory of a woman he believes long dead. But Devereaux ́s lost love turns out to be very much alive. The beautiful Diane is in actuality Jennet MacKenna, the woman Alexandre once loved enough to marry secretly in defiance of the king's interdiction, and who was then forced "to die" and begin a new existence in order to save herself. As Lauraguais's plot comes within a hair's breadth of succeeding, no one realizes that she has loosed other unanticipated consequences that will alter France and open the door to Revolution. At Daggers Drawn is a captivating story of ambition, intrigue and the madness of love denied told against the backdrop of the rugged shores of Canada and the gilded salons of Versailles. Also available for purchase online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Also Enjoy Daughter of France by Liz Forrest "Forrest amazes and delights from the very first paragraph . . . An absolute must-read for fans of French history and intrigue." Kirkus Discoveries. "Lively, vividly portrayed characters solidly grounded in place and time. The historical figures as well as the fictional are fully rounded human beings that make their mark on the events of the day and on the reader ́s memory. . . ." -- Sally Darling, narrator for Talking Books and Recorded Books. "Liz Forrest, like Thomas Carlyle, Alexander Dumas and Isaac Azimov before her, has fashioned irresistible fiction . . . A riveting read!" -- Chester Brigham, author of Gloucester ́s Bargain With the Sea and The Stream I Go A-Fishin ́ In.

Papa’s death had left Caroline Hargrave and her family nearly penniless. To make matters worse, their new trustee, Lord Brooke, made his imperious entrance, issued orders and expected them all to jump! Caroline would not let such overbearing arrogance go unchallenged, for she was as proud as a lioness and equally as fierce--qualities that Brooke found more and more unsettling. Regency Romance by Lois Menzel; originally published by Fawcett

This work constitutes an original piece of research and writing dedicated to relating the diplomatic initiatives (both official and unofficial, public and secret) that were intended to end or stop the spread of the Second World War in Europe. Special attention is given to specific peace proposals, initiatives, and back-channel diplomatic maneuverings, all within the general context of the foreign policies of the principal parties concerned. Diplomatic efforts designed to bring about an end to hostilities by belligerent and non-belligerent nations are included. Geographically, this work is confined to the European theater of operations. The chronological focus of this volume is on the earliest stages of the conflict, specifically from September 1, 1939, to September 1940. It is the intent of the author to expand the time period covered by way of future additions.

Red Gloves is a mercenary, raised to the blade and trained in the ways of war. She'll take no nonsense and pull no punches; she seizes what she wants and leaves when she's done. She and Bethral, her sword-sister, have come to Palins looking for work, but they find torched fields and razed farms, a land defiled. During a storm they stumble across a derelict mansion and beg shelter of the sole human occupant, the resident goatherd. He's not happy, and he's not impressed with the stroppy mercenary - but Red Gloves is even less impressed when he notices her birthmark and claims it marks her out as Chosen, born to help the people of Palins reclaim their land. Her inclination to help dwindles still further when she discovers there's no money, no reward, in fact, nothing in store for the Chosen but a difficult, bloody battle against the odds. So she takes what she wants of the goatherd, and she leaves. But circumstances force Red back to the mansion, and this time she's more inclined to help - after all, impossible odds and bloody battles are very much her style. She's poised, reluctantly, to do her thing, when it turns out she's not the only Chosen in the race for freedom, and the crown ... RED GLOVES: a beguiling tale of daggers, derring-do and destiny, and heroes who come in all shapes and sizes.

Mike Morgan presents 25 stories about the larger-than-life exploits of the SAS and SBS in World War II, supported by a selection of rare archive and action shots. Some stories are previously unpublished.

“A taut, emotionally arresting fantasy.” —Kirkus In this first book of a YA fantasy duology, magic-wielding spies and twin sisters Aissa and Zandria want nothing more than to take revenge on the society that conquered their people … but for Aissa, completing her mission could mean choosing between Zandria’s freedom and saving the life of a sworn enemy who has stolen her heart. Twin Daggers is: a fantasy spin on Romeo and Juliet, filled with forbidden love and dangerous stakes an action and adventure page-turner featuring a strong female protagonist perfect for fans of Elly Blake, Sabaa Tahir, and Sarah J. Maas Aissa’s life is a web of carefully constructed lies. By day, she and her sister Zandra play the role of normal young Technocrats eager to fulfill the duties of their new apprenticeships. By night, they work for the Magi’s spy organization, which seeks to overthrow the Technocrats who subjugated their people. Soon Aissa is given her greatest mission: find and kidnap the heir to the Technocrat throne, who is rumored to be one of the Heartless—a person born without a working heart who survives via a mechanical replacement—and has been hidden since birth. Aissa has never been one to turn down an assignment, even if the hunt is complicated by a kind Technocrat researcher who is determined to find a cure for the Heartless. But when Zandria is captured, Aissa will do anything to get her sister back. Even if it means abandoning all other loyalties … and risking everything by trusting the enemy.