Ancient Mystery Fiction

Deep beneath the mountains of Mexico lies an abandoned underworld: an ancient and enormous archaeological wonder that dwarfs anything ever created by humanity. Trying to flee from its clutches with a stolen artifact, Sarah Morgan holds the key to exposing an extinct species, once capable of extraordinary cultural and scientific advances. But an unknown terror awaits her in the abyss, something distinctly...inhuman.

USA Today hails Steven Saylor as a “modern master of historical fiction.” Rich in intrigue and period detail, his novels set in ancient Rome have garnered acclaim the world over. A prequel to his epic Roma Sub Rosa series, The Seven Wonders follows series star Gordianus the Finder as an 18-year-old traveling the Mediterranean to witness the wonders of that fabled age. At each stop, the young investigator finds a beguiling mystery that pushes his powers of deduction to the limit.

MYSTERY, FORBIDDEN LOVE, AND GRAND ADVENTURE. The legendary Hall of Records waits, undiscovered since ancient Egypt... Young Gavin's afflicted life has never involved deciphering illusions concealed in shadow and light, unearthing the dead, or exhuming sunken tombs in crocodile-infested waters. Yet Gavin often dreams of what could have been–if only a consuming disease didn't restrict his aspirations. Instead, fear caused him to pursue what others deemed appropriate, and he committed an unforgivable mistake. But after receiving a letter from his deceased father, Gavin needs to escape. ...

Athens, 460 B.C. Life's tough for Nicolaos, sole investigating agent in Athens. His girlfriend's left him and his boss wants to fire him. But when an Athenian official is murdered, Pericles has no choice but to put Nico on the job. The case takes Nico, with a beautiful slave girl, to the land of Ionia within the Persian Empire. The Persians will execute him on the spot if they think he's a spy.

In the late autumn of AD 666, Fidelma of Cashel - an advocate of the Brehon courts, sister to the king of Cashel, and religieuse of the Celtic Church - is at a crossroads. Needing to reflect upon her commitment to the religious life and her relationship to the Saxon monk Eadulf, she leaves Eadulf behind and joins a small band sailing from Ireland on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James in modern-day Spain.

Paranormal Women’s Fiction from bestsellers JR Rain and HP Mallory! Dory: I’ve never been a big fan of my family. My sister, Cressida, yes, but my father? No, not by a long shot. So, imagine my surprise when Alistair and I arrive at the airport to pick up Cressida, and I come face to face with my father. And he despises me just as much as he ever did. Good thing I’ve got my vampire mayor to play interference. But things in Misty Hollow aren’t great—not by a long shot. We now know what’s lurking in the depths of the swamp, but we still don’t know how to get rid of it. And that ...

She is omnivorous. No matter age or appearance, physical frailty or imperfection. It is not their flesh that feeds her appetites, but their souls. She devours young and old, men and women. She leaves only a desiccated husk. An unspeakable evil. An impossible gift. Renowned magus Taita is now over 100 years old and has ascended to a new level of wisdom and understanding about his world. But he must prepare himself for the biggest threat Egypt has ever faced: the great plagues and the failure of the Nile, brought about by the fire witch Eos, an ancient force of sheer evil.

It's the summer of AD 79, and Flavia Gemina the sea captain's daughter -along with her friends Jonathan the Jewish boy, Nubia the African slave-girl, and Lupus the homeless beggar-boy - set sail for the Bay of Naples, to stay with Flavia's uncle near Pompeii. They are soon absorbing in trying to solve a riddle that may lead to treasure. But then tragedy strikes - Mount Vesuvius erupts and the children are fleeing for their lives from one of the worst natural disasters ever recorded.

Can a painting hold a secret safe in plain sight across seven centuries? The murder of the last member of an old Venetian family peels back the rug on a shocking truth that draws art historian and textile expert Phoebe McCabe into the fray. What she sees in the missing Renaissance symbology will shake the foundations of religious and cultural assumptions across two continents and point the way to a priceless hoard. It’s a secret potent enough to pitch rival factions against Phoebe and her team while destroying history as collateral damage along the way.

In Rome, 80 B.C., on a warm spring morning, Gordianus the Finder receives a summons to the house of a then-unknown young advocate and orator, Cicero. Ambitious and brilliant, the 26-year-old Cicero is about to argue his first important case. His client is a wealthy farmer, one Sextus Roscius of the town of Ameria, who stands accused of the most unforgivable act in Ancient Rome: the murder of his father.

DARKNESS AND MAGIC PLAGUE EGYPT AS DESPAIR CREEPS ACROSS THE KNOWN WORLD... Maddie, the woman Gavin loves, was abducted while they searched for ancient Egypt's legendary Hall of Records. Now Gavin has to convince his friends to join him on an obscure path to find her—a path that has been hidden for reasons buried long ago. As Gavin struggles to find answers, the body of a young woman is discovered ... Deadly obstacles spring up as Gavin and his friends are tracked by mysterious men. Uncovering the true objectives of these men is Gavin's only hope, but it could cost him his life. Thousands...

In the first century, under Domitian's reign, strange and brutal goings on are nothing new in Rome. Flavia Albia, daughter of Marcus Didius Falco, has taken over her father's business as a private informer but she tries to shy away from the brutal, the complicated, and the political—because nothing good comes of any of them. Unfortunately, she's not very good at turning them down. This time a commission shows up on her doorstep—someone is staging brutal murders in some of the most beautiful buildings in Rome, each staging different.

It is the Olympics of 460 BC. Nico's best friend, Timodemus, is a competitor in the pankration, the deadly martial art of ancient Greece. Timo is the hot favorite to win. His only serious rival is Parmonos, from Sparta. When Parmonos is found beaten to death, it is obvious Timodemus must be the killer. The Judges of the Games sentence Timodemus to be executed in four days' time. Complicating everything is the fact that Athens and Sparta are already at each other's throats. If an Athenian is found to have cheated by murdering a Spartan, it will be everything the hawks in Sparta need to declare open war.

It is A.D. 79. The Roman world is reeling from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Hundreds of refugees are living in a makeshift camp, trying to come to terms with what has happened. Then even more tragedy strikes: the camp's children begin to disappear. Flavia Gemina and her friends Jonathan, Nubia, and Lupus are determined to find out more and start to investigate a powerful and charismatic man known as the Patron.

Boxed set of two supernatural mysteries featuring semi-immortal investigator, Gabriel Radu. If you enjoy eerie cases, ancient evils, and magic-infused crime-solving, this is the series for you, including: THE SOUL TAKER (Book 1) When two homeless men are brutally murdered, their bodies marked with an ancient symbol, Gabriel is called in to investigate. The deaths signal the arrival of a terrifying entity that brings widespread destruction wherever it appears. As the killings multiply, Gabriel must stop The Soul Taker before it turns Denmark, Tennessee, into a graveyard. THE GHOST MAKER (...

It is A.D. 79. In Ostia, near Rome, Flavia Gemina and her three friends, Nubia, Lupus, and Jonathan, are celebrating Jonathan's birthday. Then a visitor from the past arrives to see Jonathan's father. The next day, the visitor has disappeared, and so has Jonathan. When the three friends discover that Jonathan has gone on a secret mission to Rome, they immediately follow him. Their journey takes them to the Golden House of the Emperor Nero, where a deadly assassin is at work.

Ireland, AD 670. When the body of a murdered young noble is discovered not far from Cashel, the king calls upon his sister, Fidelma, and her companion, Eadulf, to investigate. Fidelma, in addition to being the sister of the king, is a dailaigh - an advocate of the Brehon Law Courts - and has a particular talent for resolving the thorniest of mysteries. But this time Fidelma and Eadulf have very little to work with - the only clue to the noble's identity is an emblem originating from the nearby kingdom of Laign.

Flavia Albia, daughter and successor of private informer Marcus Didius Falco is twiddling her thumbs with no clients during the December festival of Saturnalia. But that doesn't mean all is quiet. Her husband Tiberius and the Fourth Cohort are battling organized crime interests that are going to war over the festival nuts. A series of accidental poisonings, then bloody murders of rival nut-sellers, and finally a gruesome warning to Tiberius from the hidden criminal powers to back off.

AD 670: When an eminent scholar is found murdered in his cell in the Abbey of Lios Mor, fear spreads among his brethren. His door was secured from the inside, with no other means of exit. How did the murderer escape? And what was the content of the manuscripts apparently stolen from the scholar's room? Abbot Iarnla insists on sending for Sister Fidelma and her companion, Brother Eadulf, to investigate the killing.

Taita, the pharaoh's advisor and hero of Desert God and River God, once again finds himself caught up in a whirlpool of ruthless intrigue that threatens the very foundations of the beloved empire he has pledged his life to protect. Plunged into dangerous and deadly waters more treacherous than the Nile, he must use his intelligence, alchemy, and cunning to protect his pharaoh and keep safe all he loves.