On a snowy January morning in 1889, a worried servant hacked open a locked door at the remote hunting lodge deep in the Vienna Woods. Inside, he found two bodies sprawled on an ornate bed, blood oozing from their mouths. Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary appeared to have shot his seventeen-year-old mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera as she slept, sat with the corpse for hours and, when dawn broke, turned the pistol on himself. A century has transformed this bloody scene into romantic tragedy: star-crossed lovers who preferred death together than to be parted by a cold, unfeeling Viennese Court. But Mayerling is also the story of family secrets: incestuous relationships and mental instability; blackmail, venereal disease, and political treason; and a disillusioned, morphine-addicted Crown Prince and a naïve schoolgirl caught up in a dangerous and deadly waltz inside a decaying empire. What happened in that locked room remains one of history’s most evocative mysteries: What led Rudolf and mistress to this desperate act? Was it really a suicide pact? Or did something far more disturbing take place at that remote hunting lodge and result in murder? Drawing interviews with members of the Habsburg family and archival sources in Vienna, Greg King and Penny Wilson reconstruct this historical mystery, laying out evidence and information long ignored that conclusively refutes the romantic myth and the conspiracy stories.

Returning to her hometown was the last thing Laurie ever expected. But with two children in tow, she must begin anew... and face the life--and man--she turned her back on. Cal has been struggling with his own problems, but the arrival of Laurie brings new hope and meaning to his life. Can he push aside his feelings to simply be the friend she desperately needs? And when the dangers of her hidden past threaten, can Cal overcome the haunting memories of his own past failures to rescue the only woman he's ever loved?

Captivated by the story of "Misty of Chincoteague," a woman with a horse farm in Florida raises one of Misty's descendants to become a champion show horse.

"Verses of Twilight" unveils a captivating collection of eight sonnets, each intricately woven with the threads of true love. In this poetic journey, the author masterfully explores the nuances of genuine emotions, painting a vivid tapestry of passion, devotion, and the timeless dance of hearts entwined. As the sun sets on each verse, readers will be immersed in the enchanting world where love transcends boundaries, leaving an indelible mark on the soul. Prepare to be swept away by the lyrical beauty that defines "Verses of Twilight," a poetic celebration of the enduring power of true love.

Come Twilight begins in eastern Spain in the early 600s, when Saint-Germain makes a vampire of the headstrong Csimenae. In the next 140 years, as Spain is controlled first by the the Visigoths and then by Moors, Csimenae becomes a mother of vampires. Though he will regret it for centuries to come, Saint-Germain must act against her. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

On The Wings Of Twilight is a collection of poems that mostly nature has inspired, as only it, in its infinite beauty, can do. Then there is the human side that is always available to draw thoughts that wind up on the paper. I can only hope that a line or phrase, perhaps a whole poem, can climb into the reader’s thoughts and place a calmness upon them or take them to a place they can relate to in their own lives.

The dramatic secret history of our undeclared thirty-year conflict with Iran, revealing newsbreaking episodes of covert and deadly operations that brought the two nations to the brink of open war For three decades, the United States and Iran have engaged in a secret war. It is a conflict that has never been acknowledged and a story that has never been told. This surreptitious war began with the Iranian revolution and simmers today inside Iraq and in the Persian Gulf. Fights rage in the shadows, between the CIA and its network of spies and Iran's intelligence agency. Battles are fought at sea with Iranians in small speedboats attacking Western oil tankers. This conflict has frustrated five American presidents, divided administrations, and repeatedly threatened to bring the two nations into open warfare. It is a story of shocking miscalculations, bitter debates, hidden casualties, boldness, and betrayal. A senior historian for the federal government with unparalleled access to senior officials and key documents of several U.S. administrations, Crist has spent more than ten years researching and writing The Twilight War, and he breaks new ground on virtually every page. Crist describes the series of secret negotiations between Iran and the United States after 9/11, culminating in Iran's proposal for a grand bargain for peace-which the Bush administration turned down. He documents the clandestine counterattack Iran launched after America's 2003 invasion of Iraq, in which thousands of soldiers disguised as reporters, tourists, pilgrims, and aid workers toiled to change the government in Baghdad and undercut American attempts to pacify the Iraqi insurgency. And he reveals in vivid detail for the first time a number of important stories of military and intelligence operations by both sides, both successes and failures, and their typically unexpected consequences. Much has changed in the world since 1979, but Iran and America remain each other's biggest national security nightmares. "The Iran problem" is a razor-sharp briar patch that has claimed its sixth presidential victim in Barack Obama and his administration. The Twilight War adds vital new depth to our understanding of this acute dilemma it is also a thrillingly engrossing read, animated by a healthy irony about human failings in the fog of not-quite war.

A bold and field-defining exploration of the cultural and religious origins of Britain's small gods, fairies and other supernatural beings.

DIVDIVTwo enemies during the War of the Roses must marry by decree of the conquering king/divDIV Proud and beautiful Lady Alys Wolveston is left without a protector at the end of a decisive battle in the bloody War of the Roses. She refuses to accept Henry Tudor as the legitimate king; her loyalty is to the late Richard III and his Queen Anne, her beloved foster mother. But the Welsh knight Sir Nicholas Merion prevents Alys from returning home and carries her off to London to become the King’s ward . . . and, eventually, Sir Nicholas’s wife. She refuses to submit to the arrogant Welsh warrior, plotting with his enemies and fiercely denying her attraction to him. But as she comes to know the battle-hardened man’s humor and generosity, and experiences his thrilling touch and the comfort of his strength, she can’t help but lose her heart to him. Now Alys will find herself trapped in deadly political intrigues that demand that she choose between love and loyalty to a once-great king./div/div

In the dynamic and dangerous Vienna of 1903, a brilliant psychoanalyst and a brave detective battle to catch criminals who commit the most clever and brutal crimes. Detective Inspector Oskar Reinhardt finds that young women are being slain in an unnerving—and ingenious—manner, with a small, almost undetectable, hat pin. For Dr. Max Liebermann, the killer is unique in the annals of psychopathology, one who murders in the midst of consensual love. Is the culprit a patient, one who swears he has a double, a shadow figure that is far more forward (in fact, indecent) with women? As danger mounts, Liebermann must find the answer while struggling with his own forbidden desire for a female patient.