The Baron’s Blunder by Susan Baganz

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1808 – England

Fighting evil is a hobby, fending off marriage-minded women—a chore.When Lord Charles Percy seizes a highwayman robbing a carriage in broad daylight, he conceals his identity to the debutante he rescues. It wouldn’t do for her to know a member of the peerage is secretly in pursuit of the infamous Black Diamond. Instead, he claims to be a mere mister who happened along perchance at an opportune moment.Despite the fact she’s a woman, the Honorable Henrietta Allendale doesn’t need a man to fight her battles, especially one whom she suspects is hiding things of import. So why can she not stop thinking about the gallant Mister Percy and his selfless act of heroism on her behalf? Meeting again in London, Charles begins to enjoy verbally sparring with the intrepid young woman, and his heart is soon captivated as well. But he’s playing a deep game, and Henrietta’s presence in his life puts hers at risk.When a successful rescue results in possible scandal, the baron’s biggest challenge will be to convince the marriage-adverse young woman that his love is true.

Lightning on a Quiet Night by Donn Taylor

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1948 – Mississippi

In the years following World War II, a town too proud of its virtues has to deal with its first murder. Despite the implication of the crime, the town of Beneficent, Mississippi, population 479, tries to hold onto its vain image. The young veteran Jack Davis wholeheartedly believes the town’s idyllic vision. He tries to share it with newcomer Lisa Kemper, but she is repelled by everything in the community. While the sheriff tries to find the murderer, Jack and Lisa’s contentious courtship reveals the town’s astute perceptions and surprising blind spots. But unexpectedly, the couple finds a kind of evil danger seething beneath the town’s placid surface.

When pride blinds us to the truth we accept our lies.

The Fragment by Davis Bunn

thefragment The Fragment

1923 – France

In the newest high-stakes historical thriller from master storyteller Davis Bunn, skepticism vies with faith amid the grit and grandeur of post-World-War-I Europe.

It’s 1923, and a resilient Paris is starting to recover from the ravages of World War I and the Spanish Flu Epidemic. Enter young Muriel Ross, an amateur American photographer tasked with documenting the antiques that her employer, U.S. Senator Tom Bryan, has traveled to France in order to acquire. Although she’s exhilarated to have escaped her parents and the confines of their stifling Virginia home, Muriel has lingering questions about why the senator has chosen her for this grand adventure. Nevertheless, she blossoms in her new surroundings, soaking up Parisian culture and capturing the sights and sounds of Paris on her camera.

But events take a dangerous turn when she discovers that the senator is on a mission far more momentous—and potentially deadly—than a mere shopping trip. At the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Senator Bryan asks Muriel to photograph an astonishing artifact: a piece of the True Cross, discovered by Empress Helena—a historical figure familiar to readers of The Pilgrim. When rumors surface that another fragment has been unearthed, Muriel becomes enmeshed in a covert international alliance dedicated to authenticating the fragment—and protecting it from those who will stop at nothing to steal and discredit it.

The Seafaring Women of the Vera B by Susan Page Davis and James S. Davis

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1854 – At Sea

With the ship’s captain dead in Melbourne, Australia, Alice Packard thinks the worst has happened, until she learns the crew has deserted her husband’s ship in favor of the goldfields. Only one old man, Gypsy Deak, sticks by her, but Gypsy alone can’t raise a crew from the depleted population. In desperation, Alice turns to the only source of plentiful workers: the women of Melbourne. In a bold move, she and Gypsy empty a brothel, promising the escaped women a new life. Her all-woman (save one) crew put their backs and hearts into the voyage, but Alice finds training her sailors much harder than she expected. Her faith is tested to the limit. With a cargo to sell, angry bordello and tavern owners in pursuit, pirates to evade, and a mysterious stowaway, the seafaring women of the Vera B. find their escape in question.

Hollywood Lost by Ace Collins

1936 – California

Struggling to make ends meet during the Great Depression, Shelby Beckett flees the Oklahoma dust bowl to find work in the wardrobe department of Hollywood’s largest movie studio. Surrounded by glamour and wealth, Shelby is charmed by box office star Flynn Sparks as well as Flynn’s chief rival, fellow actor Dalton Andrews. As Shelby joins her suitors at opulent parties and intimate dinners, she rubs elbows with the likes of Clark Gable and Cary Grant and is drawn deeper into a lifestyle where her small town values are challenged or ignored.

Lurking in the shadows of this Gatsby-like lifestyle is an unseen evil force that strangles beautiful women. Suspecting a madman is connected to the studio production where Shelby works, homicide chief detective Bill Barrister believes the only way to uncover the identity of the ruthless killer is to offer Shelby as bait.

Hollywood Lost is a romantic suspense novel where separating reality from fantasy is all but impossible; where love is rare, life is cheap, and values are lost in pursuit of fame and fortune.

Saving Amelie by Cathy Gohlke

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1939 – Germany

Increasingly wary of her father’s genetic research, Rachel Kramer has determined that this trip with him to Germany—in the summer of 1939—will be her last. But a cryptic letter from her estranged friend, begging Rachel for help, changes everything. Married to SS officer Gerhardt Schlick, Kristine sees the dark tides turning and fears her husband views their daughter, Amelie, deaf since birth, as a blight on his Aryan bloodline.

Once courted by Schlick, Rachel knows he’s as dangerous as the swastikas that hang like ebony spiders from every government building in Berlin. She fears her father’s files may hold answers about Hitler’s plans for others, like Amelie, whom the regime deems “unworthy of life.” She risks searching his classified documents only to uncover shocking secrets about her own history and a family she’s never known.

Now hunted by the SS, Rachel turns to Jason Young—a driven, disarming American journalist and unlikely ally—who connects her to the resistance and to controversial theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Forced into hiding, Rachel’s every ideal is challenged as she and Jason walk a knife’s edge, risking their lives—and asking others to do the same—for those they barely know but come to love.

What Follows After by Dan Walsh

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1962 – Florida

It’s October, 1962. Life is simple. The world makes sense, and all families are happy. When they aren’t, everyone knows you’re supposed to pretend. With their family about to collapse, Colt Harrison and his little brother, Timmy, hatch a plan. They’ll run away from their Florida home, head for their aunt’s house in Savannah and refuse to come home until their parents get back together. But things go terribly, terribly wrong. Colt’s parents must come to grips with years of mistrust and fight for their son’s return…and to mend their broken marriage. In this emotional story, Dan Walsh takes readers on a suspense-filled journey to rediscover the things that matter most in life.

Yesterday’s Tomorrow by Catherine West

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1967 – Vietnam

She’s after the story that might get her the Pulitzer. He’s determined to keep his secrets to himself.

Independent, career-driven journalist Kristin Taylor wants two things: to honor her father’s memory by becoming an award-winning overseas correspondent, and to keep tabs on her only brother, Teddy, who signed up for the war against their mother’s wishes.
Brilliant photographer Luke Maddox, silent and brooding, exudes mystery. Kristin is convinced he’s hiding something.

Willing to risk it all for what they believe in, Kristin and Luke engage in their own tumultuous battle until, in an unexpected twist, they’re forced to work together. Ambushed by love, they must decide whether or not to set aside their own private agendas for the hope of tomorrow that has captured their hearts.

Stars in the Night by Cara Putnam

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1942 – California

When attorney Audra Schaeffer’s sister disappears, Audra flies to Hollywood to find her—but must identify her body instead. Determined to bring the killer to justice, Audra takes a job with the second Hollywood Victory Caravan. Together with Robert Garfield and other stars, she crisscrosses the southern United States in a campaign to sell war bonds. When two other women are found dead on the train, Audra knows the deaths are tied to her sister’s. Could the killer be the man with whom she’s falling in love?

Desert Star by Linda Chaikin

Goodreads ~ Purchase

1860s – Nevada

In this captivating sequel to Desert Rose, popular novelist Linda Chaikin takes readers out west for a spirited romance.

Callie Halliday glitters as she sweeps across the stage in Virginia City. With her career on the rise, Callie is determined to find a respectable husband. And Rick Delance, a gunfighter with a dangerous reputation, doesn’t fit the bill.

But when someone breaks into Callie’s dressing room and she survives some mishaps, it’s obvious someone wants to harm her. Turning to the only man who can protect her, she contacts Rick Delance. As the actress and gunslinger face danger together, will the young woman’s heart soften? Will she become a glittering star in the desert…or will she follow her heart?

Thursday’s Child by Linda Chaikin

Goodreads ~ Purchase

1940s – England/Egypt/Greece

Thursday’s Child is the newest adventure/romance in the popular A Day to Remember series by award-winning author Linda Chaikin.

When Paulette marries Garret Holden, she’s certain their love will last. Their first year is exciting and romantic…until tragedy strikes. They suffer a bitter separation, and Paulette blames Garret. Then her uncle sends word from Greece that Garret has been shot and is hunted by German agents. When Paulette sets out on a perilous journey to find him, Hitler’s army is ready to storm Athens.

“Thursday’s child has far to go” in her search for her husband—and her own journey. Leaving a place of safety, Paulette puts herself into God’s hands to reconcile with the man she’s promised to love forever.

Paris Encore by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1939 – France

Hitler’s chilling secret is revealed, but will anyone believe it in time to save the sleeping neutral nations?

American Journalist Josephine Marlow knows firsthand the horrors of war – the bombs, the senseless slaughter when Warsaw fell to the Nazis. Now assigned to the Paris AP office, Josie sees the impending danger. Spies have already infiltrated the countries of Beligium and Holland and stand ready to assist with the invasion.

As French civilians are evacuated from the countryside to Paris and the cadets at the Ecole de Calverie prepare for war, French colonel Andre Chardon heads a top-secret project. It could turn the tide of the war…but will the discovery be too late?

London Refrain by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1939 – Poland

England teeters on the brink of war.
It’s no longer a question of if. It’s a matter of when.

In the dark fall of 1939, the hopes of the Polish people fade as Nazi bombers strafe the beloved city of Warsaw. Politicians debate while hundreds stand in lines at the British Embassy, desperate to flee the country before Hitler’s ground forces arrive.

Mac McGrath, a veteran American photographer, recorded the landslide toward war with dedication, believing that if he told the truth, the world would rise up and put a stop to Hitler’s evil plans. Now his foolish idealism embarrasses him.

Outside the embassy gates, Jewish schoolteacher Eva Weitzman prays for a miracle. Without a British passport, she will fall into the Nazis’ clutches.

Who will live and who will die? Will anyone dare to stand against the apathy of nations?

Warsaw Requiem by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1939 – Poland

Hitler’s shadow looms over Poland.
Will Nazi bombers soon circle the beloved city of Warsaw?

It’s May 1939. Aaron Lubetkin, esteemed rabbi of Muranow, is released from a Warsaw prison. But he and his family—beautiful Etta, daughter Rachel, and sons David, Samuel, and baby Yacov—remain targets of Hitler’s sinister plot.

In the free city of Danzig, Lucy Strasburg flees in terror from SS officer Wolf von Fritschauer. If he finds her, the consequences for Lucy and her newborn will be dire. Yet each day the web around her tightens. Imprisoned pastor Karl Ibsen refuses to compromise, to bend to the Nazi will. But will he break if his children, Lori and Jamie, are caught and tortured? How long can they evade the Nazis’ clutches?

As Hitler’s darkness spreads, it is only a matter of time. . . .

Danzig Passage by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1938 – Germany

Evil descends in one night.
Who will be crushed in its grip?

It’s November 9, 1938—Kristal Nacht, the “Night of Breaking Glass.” As Hitler’s minions blaze through Berlin, arresting Jews, burning homes, shops, and synagogues, Pastor Karl Ibsen races to aid the Kalners, a Jewish family in his congregation. But will he be too late? And what price will his wife, Helen, and children, Lori and Jamie, pay for his actions?

As Berlin burns, Karl’s family waits in New Church for the Nazis to come. The Wallich family hides in a nearby apartment. Lucy Strasburg, girlfriend of a Nazi officer, watches with horror, realizing what the “glory of the Reich” really means . . . and wondering what, if anything, she can do.

For all, there is only one hope—the Danzig Passage. A narrow corridor to hope and freedom.

Jerusalem Interlude by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1938 – Israel

In August 1938 Hitler’s Brownshirts conquer Czechoslovakia. German Jews are deported in cattle cars to Poland, the country of earlier pogroms. Other Jews flee to Palestine, the Promised Land of their dreams . . . only to be imprisoned behind barbed wire upon their arrival. Musicians Shimon and Leah Feldstein, two of the “lucky ones,” are allowed to disembark from their rusting ship. Yet even in the Holy City, darkness lurks. The Muslim Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Adolf Hitler secretly join forces to eradicate the Jews from the earth. Is there no place that’s safe for Shimon and Leah? for the esteemed Rabbi Lebowitz and his family? for the Jew Eli Sachar and Muslim Victoria Hassan—in love but separated by the highest walls of religion and tradition?

Munich Signature by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1938 – Austria/At Sea

Who will dare to take a stand?

In May 1938 Hitler’s forces continue to swallow pieces of Europe, forcing Jews to flee from his ever-tightening net. Yet where can they go? While nations argue politics and negotiate payments, and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain accepts Hitler’s signature of “peace in our time,” homeless Jews bob on the open sea in “coffin ships.”

After suffering through internment at Dachau and a hellish fire, Shimon Feldstein, former percussionist with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, becomes a stowaway on the SS Darien, one of the battered refugee ships. His wife, Leah, a talented cellist, undertakes a treacherous journey over the Alps to save herself and a little boy. But it seems all the harbors of the world are slammed shut against the Darien. Where can they find a place to call home?

Prague Counterpoint by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1938 – Austria

There is no middle ground. . . .

March 12, 1938, is a dark day. Hitler’s evil sweeps across Austria, destroying all in its path. Although violinist Elisa Lindheim is safe in Czechoslovakia—for the moment—she grieves over her beloved Vienna. Swastika flags now wave from every window. Jewish shops are destroyed. Neighbors’ houses stand empty. The Jews and those who try to defend them are arrested or killed.

The clock is running out for those the Nazis consider enemies of the state, such as journalist Walter Kronenberger and his five-year-old son, Charles. If Elisa agrees to help Charles and his twin brother, Louis, she could become useless to the Jewish Underground. Yet how can she stand by and watch two children fall into the clutches of the Nazis?

Vienna Prelude by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1936 – Austria

No one is safe. . . .

In 1936 Nazi darkness descends upon Europe. Every person is only one step away from being swept into the nightmarish tide of evil. Blond Elisa Lindheim, a violinist with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, adopts an Aryan stage name for protection. But her closest friend, Leah, a talented Jewish cellist, is in a perilous position.

There are those who choose to fight Hitler’s madness. Elisa’s father, Theo. A courageous American reporter, John Murphy. Winston Churchill, the British statesman. A farm family in the Tyrolean Alps. The Jewish Underground. But will all their efforts be enough to stop the coming Holocaust?

And now Elisa must decide. If she becomes part of the Underground, she will risk everything . . . and put everyone she loves in danger.

The Key to Zion by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1948 – Israel

Is this the hour of destiny promised by the ancient prophecies or the time of destruction?

Rabbi Lebowitz of Jerusalem’s Old City has waited a lifetime for this moment. No Jew has held the key to the Gate of Zion since AD 70. Yet on May 14, 1948, the day of Israel’s statehood, the British will turn that key—the symbol of his hope for the nation—over to him.

But even before the British evacuate, full-scale fighting breaks out between the Arabs and Jews. Five Middle Eastern nations gather around the tiny country to divide it up among themselves. Caught in the middle, the native Palestinians flee, clogging the roads in front of the incoming armies.

Is there any hope for peace? for stopping the bloodshed? Haganah leader Moshe Sachar must make a bold move—one that could cost him his life but means life or death for his people.

When Moshe rescues an injured Arab girl, Rachel, his wife, must decide: Should she risk revealing the secrets of her past to reach an enemy’s heart? Especially one who says she hates all Jews?

A Light in Zion by Bodie and Bock Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1948 – Israel

The situation is desperate. Only a miracle can save them now. But will it come too late?

It’s Passover eve, and the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem is being starved into submission. Arab forces hold the only road into the Old City—the village of Kastel and the narrow, twisting, rocky pass of Bab el Wad.

If Haganah leader Moshe Sachar and his men can’t capture and hold the pass tonight, long enough for the Jewish Agency’s food convoy to get through, people will die.

As Moshe approaches Kastel, he has no idea that his beloved Rachel will have to make her own dangerous journey—through the Arab stronghold of Sheikh Jarrah. Or that their baby, Tikvah, will be fighting for her life at Hadassah Hospital. As the Mufti vows to drive all Jews into the sea, David and Ellie Meyer search the Mediterranean for a freighter loaded with weapons for the Muslim Jihad. But will this last-ditch effort come in time to save the Jewish nation?

The Return to Zion by Bodie and Brocke Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1948 – Israel

A nation will stand or fall . . . and it’s all up to one World War II fighter ace.

The Old City of Jerusalem is under siege in February 1948. Food and fuel are scarce. Weapons with which to defend the Jewish Quarter are even more so. The U.S. arms embargo against the Jews is still in effect, even though the British openly sell weapons to the Arabs. The Jewish nation needs a miracle.

David Meyer is given a dangerous assignment—to hire pilots and buy war-surplus planes that could fly to Palestine the instant statehood is declared. It could cost him his U.S. citizenship, and it would mean leaving Ellie, his bride, in harm’s way.

Worse, the British and the Arab secret operative Montgomery seem to know his every move. Even Haganah leader Moshe Sachar, who has just wed the beautiful Rachel Lubetkin, becomes the target of an evil conspiracy.

When David signed up for the war, he hadn’t signed up to carry the weight of a nation. Especially when betrayal swirls in the very air. . .

A Daughter of Zion by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1948 – Israel

She survived the Holocaust at great personal cost. But will her past now destroy her?

It’s January 1948. After suffering the horrors of years in a Nazi concentration camp, Rachel Lubetkin has at last come home to Jerusalem . . . and the family who thought she was dead. But the mark on her arm has also marked her heart. Will her secrets, if revealed, discredit her among her own people? And at a time of great danger, when she so desperately wants to help?

British soldiers stand idly by while Arabs attack Jewish transports in the besieged Old City. Moshe Sachar, archaeologist by day and secret blockade runner by night, determines to fight for the ancient promises. But he can’t shake the vision of the beautiful young woman he rescued from the sea.

The very same Jewess that Gerhardt, a former Nazi, vows to find . . . to make her pay.

The Gates of Zion by Bodie and Brock Thoene

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1947 – Middle East

Evil circles closer, threatening even those who survived the Holocaust.

It’s November 29, 1947. The streets of Jerusalem ring with celebration as the British Mandate of Palestine is carved into Arab and Jewish states. Politicians promise peace, but those who remember the prophecies know the truth.

When photojournalist Ellie Warne snaps pictures of some ancient scrolls, she unwittingly becomes the target of a sinister plan. Whom can she trust? David Meyer, a decorated American war pilot, who seems more comfortable among the stars than on earth with her? Or the scholarly Jew, Moshe Sachar, who hides from commitment behind his studies but says he loves her?

As everything she believes is challenged, Ellie must decide whether to risk her life—and her heart—for a people she has just met.

Triumph of the Soul by Michael R. Joens

Goodreads ~ Purchase

WWII – Europe

During World War II, Billy Hochreiter, an American fighter pilot, navigates the dangerous skies over Europe and finds love with the beautiful Colette, at the same time a handsome German pilot defends his homeland and dreams of life with the mysterious Olga.