Check out an excerpt from Ally Stirling's fabulous novel - The Sight of Heather

The Sight of Heather
By Ally Stirling

Publication Date: September 15th, 2023

Publisher: Author Ally Stirling

Page Length: 338 Pages

Genre: Historical Women’s Fiction / Scottish Folklore

For centuries, the fae folk and spae women of Scotland were feared – and persecuted.

Life in the 1800s countryside, with its unforgiving climate, was both magnificent and harsh – testing cultures, beliefs and the loyalties of crofters.

The first in this series, The Sight of Heather, begins a journey of allegiance, sacrifice, and fortitude in a land of bold, resilient women.

Jessie’s ideal life spirals when she learns she is a first daughter in a biological line of ‘spaes’ endowed with unique gifts of spiritual sight and healing, aided by powerful ancestral stones.

Backed by a vindictive priest intent on charging Jessie with murder and witchcraft, the new owner of the Cruachan Manor plots to rout the spaes and destroy their beloved forest.

Despite grave warnings and family conflict, Jessie determinedly pursues her skills and powers, plunging her family and village into danger.

Resolute in uplifting her fellow women, Jessie consults her stones.

Faced with those who deem her evil, she must choose to relinquish her craft, or sacrifice herself to protect her culture and kin – and Lily, the next first daughter – the future of the spaes.

Excerpt

Her mind emptied as she breathed in the aroma of white heather still hanging in the air from making Jessie’s dress. The stones warmed. Sitting cross-legged, she let her body sway before slipping into weightlessness. Time stood still as her surroundings melted into the dark, allowing her mind to travel. An indeterminate time passed before she opened her eyes, returned both stones to their bag, wrapped the tartan knot in brown paper with a sprig of the white heather from Jessie’s bouquet, then packed both away. After pushing the chest back to its place under the bed, she changed into her nightclothes, climbed into bed, blew out the candle, then prayed to her guides … before crying herself to sleep.

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Ally Stirling

Ally Stirling is a Fiction writer of Scottish origin, currently living in Cape Town with her Braveheart husband, awesome children, the happiest dog in the world, and her menacing cat (aka 'Devil Cat').

An unexpected gift resulting in a prophetic message prompted Ally to give her passion for writing the time it demanded, and in 2018 she joined Cathy Eden's Working with Words writers group. She credits the love, support, and inspiration of this group of talented women, her 'writing tribe' for encouraging her to put words on paper. She also joined (ROSA,) and while Romance is not her genre, this association has been an invaluable source of knowledge and insight into the indie publishing world.

Allowing her imagination freedom to roam resulted in various short stories, before one in particular rooted itself, evolving into her first full-length novel. This book has now become first in a series, with the second and third ready to follow, four and five in the planning stage. Who knew her characters would be so demanding.

Her love of writing fiction stems from her belief that it transports us to magical places when life gets too real. 

Addicted to her friends, coffee, every colour of wine, and any type of chocolate, she describes her clan as the family and friends who have built her castle and keep her sane, without whom she'd be short on humour and drinking games. 

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Have a sneak-peek between the covers of Rosemary Hayes' fabulous novel - The King’s Command: For God or Country

The King’s Command: For God or Country
By Rosemary Hayes

Publication Date: July 3rd, 2023

Publisher: Sharpe Books

Page Length: 415 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

16 year old Lidie Brunier has everything; looks, wealth, health and a charming suitor but there are dark clouds on the horizon. Lidie  and her family are committed Huguenots and Louis XIV has sworn to stamp out this ‘false religion’ and make France a wholly Catholic country. Gradually Lidie’s comfortable life starts to disintegrate as Huguenots are stripped of all rights and the King sends his brutal soldiers into their homes to force them to become Catholics. Others around her break under pressure but Lidie and her family refuse to convert. With spies everywhere and the ever present threat of violence, they struggle on. Then a shocking betrayal forces Lidie’s hand and her only option is to try and flee the country. A decision that brings unimaginable hardship, terror and tragedy and changes her life for ever.

Praise

‘One of the very best historical novels I have ever read’

Sandra Robinson, Huguenot Ancestry Expert

 Excerpt

The smudge on the horizon. Surely it was only a low cloud or the top of a distant wave? Lidie rubbed her eyes.

I am overwrought and bone weary. My mind is so confused that I am imagining things.

 

But when she looked again, it was taking shape.

 

The fisherman was fully engaged in keeping the boat on course, fighting with the wind and the waves. Lidie moved over to him and tugged on his arm, shouting a warning, but the wind snatched away her words, so she pointed. He turned his head.

 

‘Merciful Christ,’ he muttered and immediately altered course, going about so abruptly that the party was pitched from one side of the boat to the other.

 

Lidie’s mother had not heard the man’s words but she raised her eyes to the horizon. What had been a mere smudge only minutes ago was now clearly defined as a ship and it was heading in their direction.

‘What vessel is it?’ 

 

The fisherman didn’t answer so Lidie once again tugged on his arm.

 

He yelled over his shoulder. ‘It is one of His Majesty’s frigates. Hide yourselves, for pity’s sake. Cover yourselves with the old sails in the bulkhead. Hurry or we shall all be taken.’

 

The two women looked at one another and Lidie muttered a quick prayer. She glanced back to the English vessel, still anchored in the lee of the island, becoming smaller now as they sailed away from it. 

So close! We had nearly reached it.

 

But now the fisherman was heading his craft in the direction of La Rochelle. 

‘Hide!’ he shouted.

 

Lidie and her mother crawled around in the bottom of the boat, pulling some old sails out of the bulkhead. The children watched them, Esther awake now and whimpering and little Jean shaking with fever. Only Elias was still, his eyes wide and his fists clenched.

 

‘We shall all lie under the sails and see how quiet we can be,’ said Lidie trying to keep her voice steady as she and her mother pulled the children down and started to cover them, but Esther immediately shrieked in protest and fought to free herself. 

  

Then, as her screams grew in intensity, Elias grabbed her arm and shook her.

‘Be quiet,’ he hissed. ‘Stop your noise!’

  

The child was so taken aback that she ceased her screaming and sobbed quietly, her thumb wedged in her mouth.

When they were all covered by the sails, Lidie spread her arms so that each of her three children could feel her touch. 

  

‘Lie as still as stones, children,’ she said. ‘Make no sound, I beg you. If you cry out we shall be discovered.’

  

There was no chance that they could outpace the oncoming frigate. The fisherman knew this and took no avoiding action, indeed he sailed deliberately towards it. The minutes passed while the frigate drew ever closer and the little party lay still at the bottom of the boat. Then, as their teeth chattered with the cold and sea water swirled around their bodies, they heard the frigate hailing them.

‘Whence are you bound?’ came the shout over the water.

  

The fisherman glanced down at his firearm.

Pick up your copy HERE!

This title is available to read with #KindleUnlimited.

Rosemary Hayes

Rosemary Hayes has written over fifty books for children and young adults. She writes  in different genres, from edgy teenage fiction (The Mark), historical fiction (The Blue Eyed Aborigine and Forgotten Footprints), middle grade fantasy (Loose Connections, The Stonekeeper’s Child and Break Out)  to chapter books for early readers and texts for picture books. Many of her books have won or been shortlisted for awards and several have been translated into different languages.

Rosemary has travelled widely but now lives in South Cambridgeshire. She has a background in publishing, having worked for Cambridge University Press before setting up her own company Anglia Young Books which she ran for some years. She has been a reader for a well-known authors’ advisory service and runs creative writing workshops for both children and adults.

Rosemary has recently turned her hand to adult fiction and her historical novel ‘The King’s Command’ is about the terror and tragedy suffered by the French Huguenots during the reign of Louis XIV.

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Have a sneak-peek between the covers of Susan E. Sage's fabulous novel - Dancing in the Ring

 

Dancing in the Ring
By Susan E. Sage

Publication Date: 22nd June  2023

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

Page Length: 350 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction / Historical Romance

Detroit in the 1920s proved to be the Paris of the West for many – including Catherine McIntosh and Robert Sage. These two law school students become as passionate about each other as they are their dreams.

From a poor family in the Detroit neighborhood of Corktown, Catherine learned early on, the necessity of being resilient. She becomes one of the first women in Detroit to obtain a law degree. Bob, the ‘battling barrister,’ boxes in order to pay for law school. Despite his gruff and tough-boy personality, my great uncle Bob was a friend to all:  judges, cops, and even a couple members of the notorious Purple Gang. The couple becomes legendary in legal circles for their commitment to social justice causes – as well as notorious in the local speakeasies and dancehalls.

At first, their optimism seems boundless, as it had for so many following an era of trauma and challenges that include the 1918 flu pandemic. It isn’t long before their passionate courtship turns into a tempestuous marriage. Then the Great Depression hits and their lives are forever changed. 

Excerpt

Anyone noticing the smartly dressed couple on the dance floor of the popular Graystone Ballroom would have said they looked perfectly matched, though the woman was a couple of inches taller. She wore an emerald green dress that followed her curves with a tight-fitting cloche hat. He was clad in a pinstriped suit and a bow tie. It was obvious they were in love, as they seemed oblivious to everyone but each other. She’d bend down a little to whisper something in his ear, and then he would murmur his response. No one would hear but her, and she would throw back her long neck and laugh. If you were dancing next to them, you might see their eyes in a half-closed swoon, and then how their eyelids lowered completely, as if to dispel some of the intense feelings between them—a passion that was close to overwhelming.

Catherine and Bob danced to song after song without taking a break. They couldn’t get enough of the popular tunes from Al Jolson, George Gershwin, and Bessie Smith...Certain she was on fire, she asked him if he could put her in a tub of ice. He laughed, twirled her, then dipped her with such grace, that the other dancers stood back to admire their moves.

Pick up your copy HERE!

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Susan Sage

Susan Sage has published three novels: Insominy (2015), A Mentor and Her Muse (2017), and Dancing in the Ring (2023). Her writing has appeared in various literary magazines and journals. She received her English degree from Wayne State University where she was a recipient of the Tompkins Award in creative writing. 

Although a Detroit native, she has resided most of her adult life in Flushing, Michigan with her husband and two cats.  

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Check out an excerpt from Catherine Kullmann's fabulous novel - The Husband Criteria

The Husband Criteria
By Catherine Kullmann

Publication Date: 24th August 2023

Publisher: Willow Books

Page Length: 297 Pages

Genre: Historical Romance / Regency Romance

London 1817

The primary aim of every young lady embarking on the Spring frenzy that is the Season must be to make a good match. Or must it? And what is a good match? For cousins Cynthia, Chloe and Ann, well aware that the society preux chevalier may prove to be a domestic tyrant, these are vital questions. How can they discover their suitors’ true character when all their encounters must be confined to the highly ritualised round of balls, parties and drives in the park?

As they define and refine their Husband Criteria, Cynthia finds herself unwillingly attracted to aloof Rafe Marfield, heir to an earldom, while Chloe is pleased to find that Thomas Musgrave, the vicar’s son from home, is also in London. And Ann must decide what is more important to her, music or marriage.

And what of the gentlemen who consider the marriage mart to be their hunting grounds? How will they react if they realise how rigorously they are being assessed?

A light-hearted, entertaining look behind the scenes of a Season that takes a different course with unexpected consequences for all concerned.

Excerpt

Chapter Three

Several open carriages had already drawn up in Berkeley Square where waiters were kept busy running across the road from Gunter’s Tea Shop with trays of glasses containing sweetmeats and ices. While ladies remained seated, their male escorts lounged nonchalantly against the railings, nodding to acquaintances who strolled past, assessing the occupants of the carriages with a knowing eye.

I suppose we return the compliment, but I hope more discreetly, Cynthia thought, looking past Chloe and Ann to the couple sitting in the curricle behind them. They were the Nugents, Lord Nugent’s heir and his sister. She remembered them from last year. Mr Nugent was well turned-out, as befitted a gentleman of the ton, if a little too dandified for her taste. He was talking to a tall man who had to be one of the most handsome men Cynthia had ever seen. He had removed his hat to bow to Miss Nugent, revealing neat brown curls that framed a noble forehead and classical features. His broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist, his long legs were displayed to perfection in pale pantaloons and glossy boots, his plain dark blue coat and silver-embroidered waistcoat sat just so, with no hint of the dandy or the beau. Lord Marfield, she recalled suddenly from last Season, recognizing his expression of barely restrained boredom. Earl Benton’s son and heir had not paid any attention to insignificant debutantes. Would it kill him to smile, she thought indignantly. Really, he epitomised everything she hated and despised about the ton.

Almost as if he felt her gaze, he turned and looked straight at her. Training required her to lower her eyes modestly but some instinct made her meet his eyes impassively. He bowed slightly—the movement of his head was too deliberate to be a nod—and turned away. Just then the waiter arrived with their orders and she gave herself up to the delight of pineapple ice just as the Nugents drove off.

“Mmm, this is delicious,” she said after the first cool spoonful had slid down her throat.

“Nectar,” Chloe agreed.

“Ambrosia,” Ann said. “Do you not agree, Mr Glazebrook?”

“Most refreshing,” Martin answered.

“I thought it was you, Glazebrook.” The deep voice sent shivers down Cynthia’s spine.

Martin turned. “Marfield. I had not realised you were in town. I thought you still in Melton Mowbray.”

“No. The going turned very soft.”

“It was wet and windy for the last week or so, here too. Today is the first real spring day. Everyone seems to have had a fancy for ices,” Martin replied.

“Indeed.” Instead of strolling on, the niceties observed, Lord Marfield turned his gaze on the three young ladies and then looked expectantly, at Martin, as if to say, Why do you not introduce me?

“Ah,” Martin said. “Ladies, may I present Lord Marfield? Marfield, happy to introduce my sister, our cousin Miss Loring, and Miss Overton.”

“Ladies.” Lord Marfield raised his hat with a flourish and bowed to each in turn. “With three such charming newcomers, the Season looks brighter already.”

Cynthia groaned inwardly. She detested such spurious compliments and despised their makers. Chloe and Ann seemed to share her views, for neither reacted with flirtatious flutterings.

After a pause, during which his lordship’s expectant smile faded, Chloe said, “I am looking forward to getting to know London. Which sights would you consider are not to be missed, my lord?”

“I am afraid I would not know what to recommend for a young lady, Miss Loring.”

Seeing Chloe flush at this snub, Cynthia remarked, “Either you move in very circumscribed circles, my lord, or go about with your eyes closed.”

Lord Marfield’s dark eyebrows twitched together but before he could respond, Martin said, “A hit, Marfield. You don’t have a sister to keep you up to the mark, do you?”

“I do, but fortunately she is too occupied with her nursery to nag me. Will you be at Angelo’s in the morning, Glazebrook? I’ll see you there, then.” With another bow, and a general “Ladies”, he left them.

“What an obnoxious man. He as good as called you a nag, Cynthia!” Chloe said.

“I think you took him by surprise, Chloe,” Ann said. “He was expecting quite a different response to his remark.”

“I never know what to say to that sort of thing,” Chloe admitted.

“Especially when you know it might have been said to any lady,” Ann agreed. “It’s as if they cast a line, hoping that a fish will bite. Older men are the worst; why should they think we should be interested in someone twice our age?”

“It is best not to encourage them,” Cynthia said.

Martin looked from one to another. “I can see this is going to be an interesting Season.”

Walking Dress 1818-19. 

Antique engraving from Author’s private collection.

Where to buy:

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Catherine Kullmann 

Catherine Kullmann was born and educated in Dublin. Following a three-year courtship conducted mostly by letter, she moved to Germany where she lived for twenty-five years before returning to Ireland. She has worked in the Irish and New Zealand public services and in the private sector. Widowed, she has three adult sons and two grandchildren.

Catherine has always been interested in the extended Regency period, a time when the foundations of our modern world were laid. She loves writing and is particularly interested in what happens after the first happy end—how life goes on for the protagonists and sometimes catches up with them. Her books are set against a background of the offstage, Napoleonic wars and consider in particular the situation of women trapped in a patriarchal society.

She is the author of The Murmur of Masks, Perception & Illusion, A Suggestion of Scandal, The Duke’s Regret, The Potential for Love, A Comfortable Alliance and Lady Loring’s Dilemma. 

Catherine also blogs about historical facts and trivia related to this era. You can find out more about her books and read her blog (My Scrap Album) at her website. You can contact her via her Facebook page or on Twitter.

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Have a sneak-peek between the covers of The London Forgery (A Fabiola Bennett Mystery) by Heidi Eljarbo

The London Forgery
(A Fabiola Bennett Mystery)
By Heidi Eljarbo

Publication Date: 29th August 2023

Publisher: Self-Published

Page Length: 252 Pages

Genre: Historical Mystery / Dual Timeline Historical Fiction

1973

Art historian Fabiola Bennett sees herself as a prudently observant deer who becomes a daring and even mischievous lioness if the situation calls for it. And that’s exactly what’s required when greedy criminals steal, forge, and tamper with treasured artwork. When the crooks add murder to their list of crimes, the chaos is complete.

A mysterious note is delivered anonymously at the door of the National Gallery in London, and the director immediately calls Fabiola’s office in Oslo and pleads with her to come without delay. The message is confusing, but it seems one of her favorite eighteenth-century portraits is in trouble.

Fabiola hops on the first plane and meets up with her vibrant side-kick Pippa Yates and the ever-loyal Detective Inspector Cary Green from New Scotland Yard. But she is not naïve enough to think untangling the purpose and meaning of the mysterious note will be as simple as a walk in Hyde Park. These things never are.

1750

Newly married Robert and Frances Andrews, members of the landed gentry of Suffolk, England, hire young and talented Thomas Gainsborough to paint their wedding portrait. Their desire is a lovely conversation piece showing their wealth and class, an artwork to remember them by for generations to come.

Little do they know the gifted artist portrays their personalities exactly how he perceives them, and the artistic symbolism is not as flattering as they’d hoped for. Even the looming clouds in the distance promise a troublesome future.

This is the first book in a new dual timeline series by Heidi Eljarbo—an intriguing spin-off from the much-loved Soli Hansen Mysteries.

Excerpt

“Pippa? It’s me, Fabiola.”

 

A loud squeal sounded on the other end of the line. “Fabsi? Are you in London?”

“Yes, I arrived this morning.”

“Awesome. When are you off work? I gather you’re here for work, or you wouldn’t have popped up out of the blue like this. You can’t survive without your calendars and planners. I’m the unpredictable one.”

“Ha-ha…you’re perceptive as always, Pippa. But listen, I’m in town for a few days—perhaps weeks—and need a place to stay. Could you ask your landlady if she has a spare room? I’d rather stay there than at a hotel.”

“Of course. I get off in half an hour. I’ll go straight home and ask her. Where can I reach you? Are you at the National Gallery?”

“Yes, Director Wilson gave me the spare office to use. I need another hour or two, but you can reach me here.”

“Sounds good. Let me grab a piece of paper and jot down your number.”

A few seconds later, Pippa returned, and Fabiola gave her the number to the office she’d be using for the duration of her stay.

“Thanks, sweetie. I’ll call you back as soon as I’ve talked to Mrs. Birdwhistle. But tell me, are you there with that gorgeous Detective Inspector Cary Green?”

Fabiola glanced over at Cary. Leaning with his back against the wall and his arms folded, he appeared totally relaxed and at ease.

“You’re talking to Pippa, aren’t you?” he said, grinning.

Fabiola nodded before turning her attention back to the call. “Yes, Pippa, he’s here. A grave matter has come up, a catastrophe. I’ll tell you later.”

“Zoinks! I can’t wait to hear all about it but take all the time you need. Meanwhile, thinking about that handsome bloke will get me through the rest of my day here at the bookstore. Cheers, Fabsi.”

As Fabiola hung up the phone, Cary stepped away from the wall. He leaned over and placed his hands on the table.

Eyebrows raised, he smiled and said, “Pippa is still on the prowl, is she?”

Fabiola rolled her eyes. “She’s incorrigible when it comes to men. Put a handsome man in front of her and she melts. But to me, Pippa is the most wonderful and loyal friend. I wouldn’t change her one bit.”

“I agree. Everyone should have a Philippa Yates in their life.”

Fabiola pushed an open art catalog across the desk and pointed to a picture on the left page.

Cary picked up the booklet. “So, this is the famous Mr. and Mrs. Andrews. I’ve seen this before.”

“Yes, it’s essentially a double or even triple portrait. It portrays Robert Andrews and his wife, but it also depicts the English countryside, and those were Gainsborough’s two main themes…portraits of people and landscapes. I find it a fresh and inviting way to tell the story of British gentry in 1750.”

Pick up your copy HERE!

Heidi Eljarbo

Heidi Eljarbo is the bestselling author of historical fiction and mysteries filled with courageous and good characters that are easy to love and others you don't want to go near.

Heidi grew up in a home filled with books and artwork and she never truly imagined she would do anything other than write and paint. She studied art, languages, and history, all of which have come in handy when working as an author, magazine journalist, and painter. 

After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She and her husband have fifteen grandchildren—so far—in addition to a bouncy Wheaten Terrier.

Their favorite retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summertime and ski the vast, white terrain during winter.

Heidi’s favorites are family, God's beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.

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Check out Mary Anna Evans' fabulous novel - The Traitor Beside Her

 

The Traitor Beside Her
By Mary Anna Evans
Audiobook narrated by Kimberly M. Wetherell

Publication Date: June 6th, 2023

Publisher:  Sourcebooks

Page Length: 346 pages

Genre: Historical Mystery

"Evans's characters are vividly drawn, elevating this story and its revelations about women's little-celebrated contributions to the war effort."— Washington Post

"An exciting read with historical tidbits, a hint of danger, and a touch of romance."— Kirkus Reviews

The Traitor Beside Her is an intricately plotted WWII espionage novel weaving together mystery, action, friendship, and a hint of romance perfect for fans of The Rose Code and Code Name Helene.

Justine Byrne can't trust the people working beside her. Arlington Hall, a former women's college in Virginia has been taken over by the United States Army where hundreds of men and women work to decode countless pieces of communication coming from the Axis powers.

Justine works among them, handling the most sensitive secrets of World War II—but she isn't there to decipher German codes—she's there to find a traitor.

Justine keeps her guard up and her ears open, confiding only in her best friend, Georgette, a fluent speaker of Choctaw who is training to work as a code talker. Justine tries to befriend each suspect, believing that the key to finding the spy lies not in cryptography but in understanding how code breakers tick. When young women begin to go missing at Arlington Hall, her deadline for unraveling the web of secrets becomes urgent and one thing remains clear: a single secret in enemy hands could end thousands of lives.

"A fascinating and intelligent WWII home front story." —Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author for The Physicists' Daughter

Excerpt

Justine reported to one of the guard stations at its gate, making sure that she stood in the line that led to a broad-shouldered man with a freshly clipped white-blonde crewcut and a wheelchair that was just like Jerry’s.

This was because he was Jerry.

She waited her turn and then, in a quiet, well-bred murmur, she gave Jerry paperwork identifying her by her Paul-assigned alias, Miss Samantha Ogletree. Jerry had more practice in working undercover than Justine did, so he looked at her without the slightest glimmer of recognition. Deep in her Miss Ogletree persona, she gave him the briefest and most demure glance possible.

According to Miss Ogletree’s fictional biography, she was still a little young to be considered a spinster, but she was so withdrawn that she would probably achieve that status in a few years. Until she’d gotten on the train for Washington, she’d lived with her parents and taught singing lessons for her pin money. She had never once been alone with a man. Justine decided that the best way to physically embody Miss Ogletree was to look at her toes as much as possible.

She was rather proud of the tremulous stammer she used to address Jerry, who looked very handsome and very male in his work clothes, black heavy coat, and gray homburg hat, and heavy coat. 

She handed him the folded piece of paper that bore official confirmation of her work assignment. “Sir? Ex—excuse me, sir? I’m supposed to start work in in just a few minutes, and I don’t want to be late. Can you point me in the right direction?”

 There was no way that Miss Samantha Ogletree would have been able to hold Jerry’s gaze, so Justine didn’t. Instead, she peered into her handbag for the fake driver’s license that Paul had given her. Before she could retrieve it, a voice rose above the sounds of a busload of women reporting for work. It trembled in a different way from the stammering quaver that Justine was faking. It trembled from age. It was an old man’s voice calling out a name that made Justine’s heart freeze.

The name wasn’t Samantha and it wasn’t Justine, but it also wasn’t a name that she could ignore.

“Isabel!” cried the old man. “Isabel Byrne!” 

Her head rose reflexively and turned in his direction. She couldn’t have kept her eyes on her toes if she’d tried, not with that name echoing in her ears. For just an instant, she expected to hear a familiar voice calling out to answer him. It was her mother’s voice, and she hadn’t heard it in three years. Her mother was dead, and Justine would never hear her voice again.

A rotund man zig-zagged through the crowd, somehow managing to pay each and every person in his path an Old World gesture of respect.

“Excuse me, Madam,” he said, nodding at one woman. Justine’s ear caught the faintest possible accent in the way he pronounced “Madam.” Was it German?

“I beg your pardon,” he asked of the next person. 

“Excuse me. I must see my friend,” he murmured to another with a tiny bow.

Finally, he drew close enough to take both Justine’s hands in his. He stood there, beaming, as she tried to figure out what was happening. 

“Isabel,” he said again. Then his brow furrowed. “But…I forgot. I forgot that you’re dead.” 

He put his hand to his forehead in a way that suggested age or fatigue or illness. Then he brightened. 

 “My apologies,” he said, inclining his head in another small bow, “You cannot be Isabel. You are far too young, and now I remember that she is…” His voice cracked. “My dear friends Isabel and Gerard are no longer with us.”

The old man’s face was very near hers now. It was chubby and pink, framed by thin white hair and a thicker white goatee and mustache. As she watched, his pale blue eyes brightened, and his thin lips twisted into a smile. “But something of Isabel and Gerard is here. You’re Justine! Look at you! You could be no one else. My, how you look like your dear mother. And like your father, too, a bit.” 

Justine suppressed a shiver when she realized that the man was right. Her mother’s hair had been blond, and she’d worn silver-rimmed glasses until her sight was fully gone. She had an urge to run find a mirror, so she could see what her mother had looked like before she knew her.

The hands gripped hers and shook them. “I’m sorry for my confusion. It happens to people of my age from time to time. Time grows twisted when you have seen a great deal of it. I know who you are now. You are Justine Byrne. And I must re-introduce myself to you. I am Karl Becker. I knew you when you were small, so very small, but it is not possible that you remember. I knew your parents when they were studying in Chicago, and they often came back to visit after they moved to New Orleans.”

He shook her hands again, hard. “Oh, my dear. When I asked for an assistant, I had no idea that I would receive one so capable.” 

Justine knew full well that she was not reporting to a job assisting Karl Becker with whatever he did. She was to work for Dr. Edison van Dorn in the Signal Security Agency’s German section. She was to pretend to be a not-terribly-bright clerical worker so uninteresting that people forgot she was there while they had conversations in a language that they thought she didn’t know. 

This encounter with Karl meant that she had already failed. They were surrounded by people listening in on their conversation, and he’d just announced that she wasn’t Samantha Ogletree right in front of them. She hadn’t yet admitted that anything he was saying was correct, but any of these people could be an enemy agent on the lookout for people who weren’t who they said they were. She knew for a fact that there was at least one agent embedded at Arlington Hall. It was why she’d gotten this assignment in the first place.

Becker cupped her chin. “I could ask for no better assistant. No child of your parents…no daughter of your mother…could fail to be capable. When you were eight years old, you spoke better German than anyone who works for me now. We carried on extensive conversations about your math homework, all of them in my native tongue. My goodness, how I’ve needed you here. It seems that I merely had to wait for you to grow up.”

And now everyone within the sound of his voice knew that this man was absolutely sure that she spoke German. She needed to abort this mission.

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Mary Anna Evans

Mary Anna Evans is an award-winning author, a writing professor, and she holds degrees in physics and engineering, a background that, as it turns out, is ideal for writing her Justine Byrne series, which began with The Physicists’ Daughter and continues with her new book, The Traitor Beside Her. She describes Justine as “a little bit Rosie-the-Riveter and a little bit Bletchley Park codebreaker.” 

Mary Anna’s crime fiction has earned recognition that includes two Oklahoma Book Awards, the Will Rogers Medallion Awards Gold Medal, and the Benjamin Franklin Award, and she co-edited the Edgar-nominated Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie. 

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