The Dissonant Spies


Book Description

One of WWIIs most successful weapons was the Norden bombsight. Nazis coveted them the most from downed US bombers. American flyboys were taught to destroy the bombsights with thermal grenades, which caused them to melt into a molten mass rather than let them fall into enemy hands. When Hitler learns that an improved version would undergo testing on a B-17 by Honeywell Corporation in Minnesota, he orders Abwehr (German intelligence) to steal it for deliverance to his scientists and engineers in Berlin. Two spies with specific skills are tasked for the assignment. The idealism of one conflicts with the murderous acts of the other. Slayings occur during their journey from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, to Wold-Chamberlain Field in Minneapolis. Colonel Lukas Schott, the scion of German royalty, is a country gentleman and is blind to the fanaticism and treachery of the Third Reich. Major Rebekka Bader, an orphan and a pathological killer, wreaks destruction and death at every opportunity. Dissonance between them is ever-present. FBI Chief Inspector Lorenzo Tharp, like a bloodhound, follows their trail of dead bodies.




The Blackjack List


Book Description

Thirteen million dollars remain buried from a Spokane bank heist ten years earlier. Only one of the five robbers was captured. The day hes released from prison, he hurries to a rendezvous with another at Becky Allisons blackjack table, where the two exchange the coded whereabouts of other gang members and two of five clues necessary to locate the cache. Sensing theyve been followed, both head for the casino elevator, after tipping Becky with large bills. The Blackjack List is folded inside one of them. Peril looms. The chase begins. Being both the pursued AND pursuer is the double bind that confronts Becky Allison and Dr. David Baxter, her fianc. Whatever they do risks their lives. Bad guys galore turn up everywhere during forty-eight frenetic hours of fleeing, chasing, and deciphering the treasure map The Blackjack List.




Crime and Spy Jazz on Screen Since 1971


Book Description

Henry Mancini's Peter Gunn theme. Lalo Schifrin's Mission: Impossible theme. Isaac Hayes' theme from Shaft. These iconic melodies have remained a part of the pop culture landscape since their debuts back when movie studios and TV production companies employed full orchestral ensembles to provide a jazz backdrop for the suspenseful adventures of secret agents, private detectives, cops, spies and heist-minded criminals. Hundreds of additional films and television shows made from the mid-1950s and beyond have been propelled by similarly swinging title themes and underscores, many of which have (undeservedly) faded into obscurity. This meticulously researched book begins with Hayes' game-changing music for Shaft, and honors the careers of traditional jazz composers who--as the 1970s gave way to the '80s and beyond--resolutely battled against the pernicious influx of synth, jukebox scores and a growing corporate disinterest in lavish ensembles. Fans frustrated by the lack of attention paid to jazz soundtrack composers--including Mort Stevens, Laurie Johnson, Mike Post, Earle Hagen, David Shire, Elmer Bernstein and many, many others--will find solace in these pages (along with all the information needed to enhance one's music library). But this is only half the story; the saga's origins are discussed in this book's companion volume, Crime and Action Jazz on Screen: 1950-1970.




The Scene Menagerie


Book Description

The Scene Menagerie contains an assortment of fiction scenes and episodes from the novels and short stories of one author, John R. Downes, plus a few excerpts from his nonfictions thrown into the mix. What a range of subjects! War, the Great Depression, Custers Last Stand, FBI, orphans, espionage, US history, gunfighters, bank robbers, Adbiz, growing up, mass merchandising, bad guys, dreams, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, code breaking, salesmanship, Hollywood, and more. Many novels contain scenes and episodes that can stand on their own as vignettes, short stories, and worthwhile reads. Regardless of whether the prolific authors are F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, Elmore Leonard, John Grisham, John Steinbeck, and hundreds of others, a reader can cull through their collection of tales and discover a treasure trove of candidate excerpts. Why not a selection of scenes and episodes from one authors repertoire of published fiction? The Scene Menagerie answers that question.




A Spy at Harvard


Book Description

It was 1964 and the Sixties were just revving up. Like Jay Gatsby in another romantic era, Mark Panokotonkis came east seeking fame, riches and the love of a society girl. Yet it was not in New York and the Hamptons where Panokotonkis sought his destiny, but in the ivied halls of tradition-laden Harvard. The California golden boy was to have his dreams hijacked by the war and the student movement that rose up against it. Lusting for the Harvard Lampoon, the ultra-exclusive Porcellian Club and their mandarin preppie membership, he finds himself instead enmeshed in the grubby anti-establishment SDS, pitted against his freshman nemesis, David Siegfried, himself a dreamer with big ideas, seeking a very different destiny--social upheaval and revolution, the destruction of capitalism and the old order--everything that Harvard epitomized. The opposite but complimentary fates of these two wide-eyed boys from the west unfold against the backdrop of a Harvard that only exists in the fading memories of aging alumni lost in the era within the context of no context.




The Spy Wore Blue


Book Description

An exciting new novella in Shana Galen's popular Lord and Lady Spy series. Blue, an elite spy, tracks an assassin to Naples and the theater where his estranged wife performs. As he falls in love with his Helena again, Blue races to apprehend the assassin before he destroys them both. Praise for Lord and Lady Spy: "Lively, utterly delightful adventure romance..."—RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars "I loved this book! There was action, adventure, mystery/suspense as well as love."—Night Owl Reviews, 4.75 Stars, Reviewer Top Pick "Captivating. This book was everything that I wanted it to be and then there were the little quirks that made it even better!"—Fresh Fiction




The Enchanted Pipe


Book Description

Following the English colonists arrival to Americas shores, Indian tribes strived to achieve peace and coexistence with themand simultaneously retain their homelands, hunting grounds, native culture, and religion. Those early colonists were followed by thousands more, then millions, who advanced the frontier from New England steadily westward across the central plains and Rockies to the Pacific. The Enchanted Pipe relates decades of Indian struggle, represented by the leadership, wisdom, opportunity, and bravery of three tribal leadersRed Jacket, Sitting Bull, and Chief Joseph.




THE SECRET SERVICE - Spy Thrillers Boxed Set


Book Description

THE SECRET SERVICE - Spy Thrillers Boxed Set is a carefully curated collection that traverses the suspenseful and shadowy corridors of espionage literature. Stitching together a rich tapestry of narratives, this anthology celebrates the genre's inception and evolution, featuring a range of literary styles from the thrilling to the cerebral. Each work, chosen for its unique contribution to the spy narrative, offers a glimpse into the intriguing interplay of morality, loyalty, and betrayal. Among these selections, readers will encounter notable tales that have shaped and defined the espionage genre, making this collection an indispensable archive of literary history. The authors represented in this compilationJames Fenimore Cooper, John Buchan, and Arthur Conan Doyle, among othersare titans of literature whose collective works have left an indelible mark on the spy genre and beyond. Hailing from diverse backgrounds, they bring to the fore a plethora of experiences and perspectives, enriched by their involvement in historical and cultural movements of their times. Together, their stories encapsulate the zeitgeist of their eras, contributing to a multifaceted discussion on the nature of secret service work and its implications for national identity and individual morality. This anthology is a must-read for enthusiasts of spy literature and scholars alike, offering a panoramic view of the genres development and its cultural impact. Readers are invited to delve into the complexity of espionage through the lens of these master storytellers, each narrative a thread in the larger tapestry of intrigue and intelligence. THE SECRET SERVICE - Spy Thrillers Boxed Set serves not only as a compendium of thrilling espionage tales but as a medium for exploring the nuanced dynamics of secrecy, patriotism, and ethics. It beckons the reader to journey through the annals of spy literature, uncovering the secrets that lie within each page.




The Greatest Spy Stories Ever Told


Book Description

Stories from the Civil War through WWII In The Greatest Spy Stories Ever Told, our editor has pulled together some of the finest writings about spies that capture readers imaginations. The one thing the heroes in this collection have in common is the ability to seamlessly shift identities. Each of the men and women in these stories had the courage to meet and study their enemies, gather critical intelligence, and then relay those secrets at risk of being exposed—to do what they had to because that was their duty and the lives of others meant more to them than their own. Chosen from hundreds of accounts of singular devotion to duty, the stories in Greatest Spy Stories stand out for their jaw-dropping tales of bravery. They are the best. No small feat.




Agent Gatz


Book Description

A young Jay Gatsby finds himself working as a foreign spy in this historical thriller set at the beginning of World War I. The unexpected appearance of a woman from his past, famed journalist Ella Kaye, soon complicates his mission. Racing through war-torn Europe, entangled in a dangerous web of lies, they struggle to maintain the secrets that will keep them each alive.