The embattled Kingsley administration is teetering on the edge of political ruin; fighting and losing an unwinnable war against drugs, and facing a tough re-election campaign. In order to save his Presidency, Operation Borgia White is spawned to stem the tide of the drug scourge enveloping America. Sporadic and untimely cocaine deaths sweep across the country. The Government attempts to reassure an anxious populace and sway public opinion toward more stringent measures the Administration has planned to eradicate the drug problem once and for all. Dr. Lester Phillips, a Washington, DC Pediatrician, has seen the first telltale signs of the plot; the seizures, the cardiac and respiratory arrest, the lightning fast death. With the help of his colleague, pathologist Ray Rafferty, they slowly begin to assemble and put together clues, aided by a disgruntled Justice Department official. As Lester and Ray continue to pursue the truth, dark forces within the Administration unleash attacks against the men, their families, and their reputations. After Ray is attacked and presumed dead or missing, Lester must fight alone until he is unjustly accused of crimes against the state and arrested. During his captivity, he comes face to face with the mastermind of the intricate operation. As the plot finally unfolds, Lester realizes that the deaths of thousands of people have been collateral damage, and something far more sinister is planned. Lester is able to escape his captors, but is injured. He must make his way back to Washington, DC and warn the targets of the plot before it is too late. In the balance is the fate of American way of life as we know it.

Vivacious Sancha of Aragon arrives in Rome newly wed to a member of the notorious Borgia dynasty. Surrounded by the city's opulence and political corruption, she befriends her glamorous and deceitful sister-in-law, Lucrezia, whose jealousy is as legendary as her beauty. Some say Lucrezia has poisoned her rivals, particularly those to whom her handsome brother, Cesare, has given his heart. So when Sancha falls under Cesare's irresistible spell, she must hide her secret or lose her life. Caught in the Borgias' sinister web, she summons her courage and uses her cunning to outwit them at their own game. Vividly interweaving historical detail with fiction, The Borgia Bride is a richly compelling tale of conspiracy, sexual intrigue, loyalty, and drama.

Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Cesare Borgia—three iconic figures whose intersecting lives provide the basis for this astonishing work of narrative history. They could not have been more different, and they would meet only for a short time in 1502, but the events that transpired when they did would significantly alter each man’s perceptions—and the course of Western history. In 1502, Italy was riven by conflict, with the city of Florence as the ultimate prize. Machiavelli, the consummate political manipulator, attempted to placate the savage Borgia by volunteering Leonardo to be Borgia’s chief military engineer. That autumn, the three men embarked together on a brief, perilous, and fateful journey through the mountains, remote villages, and hill towns of the Italian Romagna—the details of which were revealed in Machiavelli’s frequent dispatches and Leonardo’s meticulous notebooks. Superbly written and thoroughly researched, The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior is a work of narrative genius—whose subject is the nature of genius itself.

“A fascinating story, rich in detail. In every case, Faunce portrays [Lucrezia] believably, with wit and sensitivity.”--Library Journal Hundreds of years after her death, Lucrezia Borgia remains one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of history, accused of incest, of poisoning her rivals, and even of murdering her own father. Born into scandal, she was the daughter of the treacherous Cardinal Roderigo Borgia, who would later be crowned Pope Alexander VI. When her father ascended the papal throne, young Lucrezia’s life changed forever. From then on, Lucrezia would be unable to escape the political ambitions of her father and her brother, the bloodthirsty Cesare Borgia. In an era when the Vatican was as decadent and violent as any royal court, Lucrezia was its crown princess. Famed for her beauty, she was a valuable pawn in the marriage game, and Alexander VI would use her to create one alliance after another. When her kindly first husband no longer suited the Pope’s needs, Lucrezia’s virginity was restored by papal decree (her new maidenhood was declared “miraculous”), and she was married off again, this time to a man she truly loved, Alfonso, Prince of Naples. But her joy was short-lived. Alfonso loathed her brother and refused to participate in the Pope’s imperial schemes, which threatened to tear apart the Vatican’s political alliances--and Lucrezia’s happy marriage. In this unforgettable debut, John Faunce perfectly captures the rotten decadence of the Borgias’ papal court and the inner steel of Lucrezia Borgia, one of history’s great survivors. “Fascinating...a searing portrait of an intelligent woman, cunning enough to shape her own bizarre destiny.”--Booklist

Welcome to a dinner party in heaven. With a charming blend of imagination and historical detail, the bestselling author of 365 Saints invites you to get to know the saints in food and fellowship. Hinting at one of the traditional images of heaven, the Banquet or Marriage Feast of the Lamb (Revelation 9:9), the author gathers sixteen holy souls, enabling you to better understand what they were like on earth. Combining fictional narrative, fascinating biographies, and mouth-watering dinner party recipes, the book offers a resource for families and other groups to celebrate saints spanning the history of the Church, and to better understand the “people behind the halos.” Recipes by classically-trained avid home cook, Celia Murphy.