Anthrax to Zodiac - A Snarky PI Delves into the Most Notorious Unsolved Mysteries of the Past 150 Years by Denise Diana Huddle

Anthrax to Zodiac - A Snarky PI Delves into the Most Notorious Unsolved Mysteries of the Past 150 Years by Denise Diana Huddle
GET THIS BOOK ON AMAZON

Reeling from the devastation of 9/11, Americans anxiously waited for the other shoe to drop. Then the anthrax letters came, branded by the FBI as the worst biological attacks in U.S. history. Despite a lengthy and expensive investigation, no suspect was ever charged.

Six hours after Patsy Ramsey called the Boulder police and frantically reported that her daughter had been kidnapped on the day after Christmas in 1996, JonBenét Ramsey’s father cried out from the basement of their home and emerged carrying the body of his six-year-old daughter, launching one of the most notorious murder investigations of modern times. More than twenty-seven years later, no one has ever been tried for the murder.

In the summer of 1969, as the first astronaut stepped on the moon and 350,000 Americans flocked to Woodstock, the Zodiac Killer terrorized California residents, claiming his murder victims would become his slaves in the afterlife. Despite one of the longest-running investigations in California history, the killer has never been identified.

On January 15, 1947, the body of the woman known as the Black Dahlia was discovered in a vacant lot in Los Angeles. The corpse had been cut in two at the waist, eviscerated, and drained of blood. The search for her killer became one of the most extensive homicide investigations in LAPD history. Despite thousands of leads and multiple confessions, the murder of Elizabeth Short has never been solved. Or has it?

Twenty-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr. was kidnapped from the nursery of his family's New Jersey home on March 1, 1932. Bruno Hauptmann was convicted and executed, but did he act alone? Or could Charles Lindbergh himself have played a role?

On August 4, 1892, Andrew Borden and his wife, Abby, were found murdered in Fall River, Massachusetts. Their daughter Lizzie Borden was tried and acquitted, no one else was ever charged, and the murders remain officially unsolved.

Journey back through time from 2001 to 1892 as veteran private investigator Denise Diana Huddle brings her field-honed investigative skills and trademark snark to an in-depth examination of seven of America's most notorious unsolved mysteries.

From A to Z, Huddle lays out the events and evidence, identifies patterns, and tests theories. As disturbing details emerge, the cases you thought you knew may not be so clear-cut after all.

You be the judge... Who did it?

Enheduanna's Song From the Sands by Ellen Rachlin

Enheduanna's Song From the Sands by Ellen Rachlin
GET THIS BOOK ON AMAZON

This book is on discount promotion on Amazon for $0.99 (regularly $9.99) 9/28/2026 - 10/1/2026!

When Enheduanna is named High Priestess of Ur, her connection to the gods makes her a target, and a coup strips her of her robes, power, and home, casting her into a perilous underworld. Enheduanna must decide whether to forgive, to fight, or to harness the power that could shake the foundations of an empire. For readers who love The Song of Achilles’s intimate heroism, Circe’s mythic depth, or The Daughters of Sparta’s fierce women, this is a mesmerizing dive into ancient Mesopotamia where courage and cunning are the only paths to survival.

Blending both history and ancient mythology, Rachlin brings Enheduanna and the goddess she served to life in a sharp, timely narrative that explores trauma, resilience, and stepping into your power in a world that has wronged you.

The Secret Courtesan, a thrilling dual timeline historical fiction by Kerry Chaput

The Secret Courtesan, a thrilling dual timeline historical fiction by Kerry Chaput
GET THIS BOOK ON AMAZON

This book is on discount promotion on Amazon for $0.99 (regularly $12.99) 9/28/2026 - 10/2/2026!

Dr. Mia Harding needs to prove the artist of an erotic Renaissance statue was a courtesan erased by history, but that requires her to discredit her colleagues and dive into the dark world of art theft.

In a chase through Venice to unearth the secret woman's identity, she risks her career and safety to solidify her rightful place in the art world, before the truth is lost forever.

The Red Road - A historical fiction set in 1930s Maine by J.E. McCarthy

The Red Road - A historical fiction set in 1930s Maine by J.E. McCarthy
GET THIS BOOK ON AMAZON

There is no greater duty than family.

If your brother was murdered on a dark dirt road, would you wait for justice?

When teenager Jim McGinn is killed on a dark Maine road, the police want to call it an accident, but the facts don't add up. Jim is a middle child of twelve children to a widow in depression era Maine. When his older brothers and extended family begin an investigation of their own, they soon find themselves at odds with the most powerful family in the county.

Parker Moreland is the richest man in the county. Not only because he owns more land than everyone else, but because he is the biggest bootlegger in central Maine. In 1933, prohibition is coming to an end and the last thing he needs is an investigation to hamper his operations.

Mary McGinn lost her husband with a brood of twelve children from teenagers to infants. She and the oldest boys have done their best to keep the farm alive during the midst of the great depression. But now she has to do the unthinkable and bury a child. In her mind, she wants to turn the other cheek, but in her heart, she knows that will never happen.

The Red Road pits rich against poor in a search for justice, but beyond that, it tests the limits of conscience when ordinary people are forced into extraordinary situations. Only the power of family will bring justice for Jim in book one of the McGinn Family Saga.

Abounding Hope - a WWII Christian romance by Cindy Kay Stewart

Abounding Hope - a WWII Christian romance by Cindy Kay Stewart
GET THIS BOOK ON AMAZON

This book is on discount promotion on Amazon for $0.99 (regularly $2.99) 9/19/2026 - 9/25/2026!

She came to Poland to serve God. She stayed to save lives. Now she must survive.

American missionary teacher Irena Simmons never expected heroism. She expected classrooms, hymns, and the quiet work of faith. But when Hitler's army invades Poland in September 1939, Irena finds herself at the center of a desperate, dangerous mission—one she cannot walk away from, no matter the cost.

Irena has already risked everything once—secretly smuggling endangered German children out of the Reich and sheltering them in her Polish church school until their parents can follow. Her tiny half-Jewish niece plays in the same halls. Her beloved sister, pregnant and gravely ill, cannot travel. And Irena—who vowed she would never love again after losing her fiancé—has built a life around sacrifice and duty.

Then Jonathan Huntwell arrives.

Her former classmate carries urgent orders: get Irena and the children out of Poland before it's too late. But Irena waits too long. She cannot bring herself to leave the helpless behind. And when the last chance for a safe departure slips away, she is thrust into a heart-pounding race across Nazi-occupied territory—responsible for lives that depend entirely on her courage, her faith, and the God she has always trusted to provide.

In Abounding Hope, you'll find:

✔ A courageous, deeply human heroine navigating impossible choices
✔ A tender slow-burn romance between two people shaped by loss and loyalty
✔ Authentic, historically rich detail from the early days of World War II in Poland
✔ A story of Christian faith lived out under pressure—honest, tested, and triumphant
✔ Heart-stopping suspense woven through every chapter
✔ The unbreakable love between sisters, and the fierce instinct to protect the innocent

Perfect for readers who love Sarah Sundin, Roseanna White, Kristy Cambron, and Lynn Austin—fans of inspirational historical fiction, WWII novels, Christian romance, and stories of extraordinary women who changed the world one act of courage at a time.

Whether you're drawn to wartime survival stories, faith-driven fiction, or slow-burn historical romance with real emotional depth, Abounding Hope will grip your heart from the first page and refuse to let go.

The Golden House - A Historical Psychological Thriller by J.E. McCarthy

The Golden House - A Historical Psychological Thriller by J.E. McCarthy
GET THIS BOOK ON AMAZON

This book is on discount promotion on Amazon for $0.99 (regularly $5.99) 10/1/2026 - 12/31/2026!

In 1939 Maine, appearances are everything—and the powerful Orwell family has spent generations ensuring that no scandal escapes its carefully guarded walls.

When a police raid exposes Oliver Orwell’s forbidden relationship with another man, his father, Virgil, acts swiftly to protect the family name. Oliver is sent to the Golden House, an exclusive private psychiatric hospital where discretion is guaranteed and its celebrated director, Dr. Ira Golden, promises to cure what society condemns. Behind the institution’s elegant gates, however, compassion masks cruelty, treatment becomes punishment, and patients who resist are stripped of their dignity and control.

Oliver soon learns that survival depends upon concealing his true thoughts from the doctors determined to remake him. Isolated, betrayed, and subjected to increasingly dangerous treatments, he clings to the hope that his father will recognize the terrible mistake he has made.

Then Oliver’s mother, Anna, is admitted to the same institution.

Fragile after years of disappointment and loneliness, Anna initially seems to improve under Ira Golden’s personal attention. She begins painting again and finds comfort in the doctor’s apparent understanding. But Ira’s interest in her gradually moves beyond the boundaries of medicine. As his fascination deepens into obsession, Anna becomes caught between the physician she has learned to trust and the son who fears that trust will destroy her.

After Oliver leaves the Golden House, he cannot leave its horrors behind. When Anna suddenly vanishes, Ira insists that she escaped. The evidence supports his account, yet Oliver knows his mother would never have disappeared without saying goodbye. Determined to uncover the truth, he must challenge a respected doctor, penetrate an institution protected by wealth and reputation, and confront the father whose choices placed them both in danger.

Former patients are afraid to speak, employees have reasons to remain silent, and every clue seems to lead back to corridors the hospital would prefer forgotten. The closer Oliver comes to understanding what happened, the more dangerous the secrets surrounding Ira Golden become.

As Europe moves toward war, the Orwell family begins to unravel beneath the weight of its secrets. Oliver’s search forces him to decide whether preserving his family’s legacy is worth surrendering the truth—or himself.

Atmospheric and unsettling, The Golden House is a historical psychological thriller about obsession, identity, betrayal, and the courage required to resist those who disguise control as compassion.

The Brothers and Sisters Eatery by Gabe Reaume

The Brothers and Sisters Eatery by Gabe Reaume
GET THIS BOOK ON AMAZON

Set in 1920s Chicago, two men from starkly different worlds share a common love of food and a passion for cooking.

Samson Sanders and his wife Sarah decide they won’t raise their teenage son Emanuel in segregated Texas. Sharecropping is not a life he wants to lead anymore. Samson relishes the pursuit of perfecting smoky Texas barbeque.

Massimo “Mass” Messina reluctantly accepts help from his brother-in-law to leave Sicily with wife Dort and daughter Gina for a new start. A gourmand, Mass blends Old World Sicilian recipes with flair.

Samson and Mass meet working at the Union Stock Yards, where a lunch pail mix-up forges a culinary partnership. More importantly, the men and their families become great friends.

They find early success partnering together to sell food at the Maxwell Street Market. Their sudden popularity is almost a dream come true.

When mobsters threaten the newcomers’ happy lives and burgeoning food sales, they are forced to leave again for another start.

Foodies will find this read delicious! Fans of 20th century American history, intercultural friendship, and action and suspense will delight in this work of historical fiction.

Author Gabe Reaume presents readers with a story anchored in American history. This love letter to food is an addictive read and will impress audiences with descriptions of mouth-watering BBQ and exotic Sicilian fare.

The plot is engaging and the story moves along. The author does an excellent job of balancing the parallel stories of both the Messinas and the Sanders.

A helping of cultural discovery and a helping of overcoming adversity will have readers coming back for more!

Old Books and Faded Dreams - a captivating historical drama book by D. L. Norris

Old Books and Faded Dreams - a captivating historical drama book by D. L. Norris
GET THIS BOOK ON AMAZON

Old Books and Faded Dreams invites readers into the heart of Tilden, a picturesque small town nestled in Madison County, Nebraska. At the story’s core is Maggie Davis, a resilient widow navigating the complexities of loss, motherhood, and the legacy of her grand Victorian estate. The manor, both a cherished home and a once-bustling bed-and-breakfast, now echoes with memories and the laughter of her spirited nine-year-old daughter, Jenna.

The kitchen table becomes a lively stage for the town’s most colorful personalities: Maggie’s outspoken, sharp-tongued neighbor, whose provocative opinions keep everyone on their toes, and an elderly, candid family member who has recently taken up permanent residence, balancing the household with wisdom and wit.

As Maggie grapples with the shadows of her husband’s tragic passing, she finds herself drawn to a mysterious new guest whose presence stirs hope and uncertainty. The tranquility of Tilden is shattered by a shocking death and a devious plot to steal Maggie’s inheritance, casting suspicion within her own family. When a long-buried secret emerges from an attic trunk, it threatens to unravel the family’s esteemed reputation and cherished bonds.

Through heartbreak, scandal, and the healing power of friendship, Maggie and the townspeople must confront painful truths and rediscover the meaning of love and forgiveness. Old Books and Faded Dreams is a poignant, uplifting tale of community, resilience, and the enduring magic of second chances.

Hey Diddle Diddle, the Runaway Riddle: A Retired Sleuth and Dog Historical Cozy Mystery by P.C. James

Hey Diddle Diddle, the Runaway Riddle: A Retired Sleuth and Dog Historical Cozy Mystery by P.C. James
GET THIS BOOK ON AMAZON

Now retired, Inspector Ramsay, of Miss Riddell Cozy Mysteries fame, has adopted a dog, Bracken, and taken to hiking the highest peaks of his native lands, Scotland and England. 

In the English Lake District, he and Bracken aid a young woman to escape her pursuers. She's been held captive for days before escaping. Ramsay is puzzled by this because he's heard on the radio, and read in the local papers, only that she'd run away from home. Had the kidnappers not demanded a ransom? Or were her parents and the police keeping that quiet, hoping for someone to give them a lead on where she was being held? This last didn't sit right with Ramsay, but nor did the idea that the kidnappers hadn't asked for a ransom. Ramsay begins to investigate, only to have the young woman run away from him. What's going on here in the quiet English countryside?

Hidden Histories: The Lost Mu Civilization in the Pacific Ocean by Stephanie K. L. Lam

Hidden Histories: The Lost Mu Civilization in the Pacific Ocean by Stephanie K. L. Lam
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Civilization-Pacific-Ocean-Hidden-History-ebook/dp/B0G2F4YXDD

The Lost Mu Civilization in the Pacific Ocean is a book that directly pits the enduring legend of Mu against the hard evidence of modern archaeology. 

Author Stephanie K. L. Lam traces the myth of a lost Pacific civilization from its 19th-century origins through its rise in esoteric circles, and then beyond the debunking into the genuine wonders of the Pacific that the myth has long overshadowed.

Lam guides readers through the megalithic stone cities of Nan Madol and the remarkable true history of Oceania’s seafaring peoples, offering a narrative that replaces fantasy with a truth that is, as the book argues, far more compelling. The book does not simply ask what we believe about Mu it explores why we need such myths, and what humanity’s hunger for origin stories reveals about our own world. 

Long Lost Midwife: A Historical Thriller of Race, Secrets, and a Woman's Fight for Control by Skye Smith

Long Lost Midwife: A Historical Thriller of Race, Secrets, and a Woman's Fight for Control by Skye Smith
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FZCZ3W8D

This book is on discount promotion on Amazon for $3.99 (regularly $6.99) 6/26/2026 - 6/28/2026!

A pregnant woman trapped under constant watch risks everything to find the Black midwife she believes can save her.

Pamela Dorset has wealth, status, and a baby on the way. But behind closed doors, every decision about her body and future is controlled by others.

Desperate for answers, she begins searching for Miss Minnie, the midwife who brought her into the world. What starts as a secret act of defiance soon spirals into something far more dangerous.

Strange messages. Impossible sightings. Buried secrets that refuse to stay hidden.

As Pamela crosses racial and social boundaries she was never meant to cross, she risks her marriage, her safety, and her sanity to uncover the truth.

A gripping historical thriller filled with suspense, mystery, and psychological tension, Long Lost Midwife explores race, power, memory, and one woman's fight to reclaim control of her life. 

Magda Revealed -- a historical fiction novel by Ursula Werner

Magda Revealed -- a historical fiction novel by Ursula Werner
https://www.amazon.com/Magda-Revealed-Ursula-Werner-ebook/dp/B0D2BZVSVK

This book is on discount promotion on Amazon for $0.99 (regularly $12.99) 6/22/2026 - 6/26/2026!

Jesus Christ—Yeshua, to his friends—is not happy. Two thousand years after his death, he sees Earth heading toward oblivion. Ever eager to save humanity, he asks Mary Magdalene (Magda) for help. Still angry that she’s been called a whore for almost two millennia, Magda resists—but ultimately, out of love for Yeshua, agrees.

Magda’s evocative story revisits Yeshua’s life, depicting him as a man of flesh and blood, one wholly devoted to spreading his message of radical equality. Magda recounts her travels with Yeshua and his followers around Galilee, where they are menaced at every turn by Roman rulers. She weaves tales of miracles and murder, jealousy and acceptance, misogyny and female empowerment. She uncovers her relationship with Yeshua, clarifying centuries of speculation about whether or not they were in love. And, painfully, she reveals the truth about who orchestrated his death.

Magda’s life with Yeshua teaches her that she has more strength than she ever imagined, and she begins to tap into a spiritual power uniquely her own—the power to connect people. Magda’s true role in the history of humanity, it turns out, is just beginning to unfold. 

Talmadge Farm - a historical fiction novel by Leo Daughtry

Talmadge Farm - a historical fiction novel by Leo Daughtry
https://www.amazon.com/Talmadge-Farm-Leo-Daughtry-ebook/dp/B0D3WW6BHL

It’s 1957, and tobacco is king. 

Wealthy landowner Gordon Talmadge enjoys the lavish lifestyle he inherited but doesn’t like getting his hands dirty; he leaves that to the two sharecroppers – one white, one Black – who farm his tobacco but have bigger dreams for their own children. While Gordon takes no interest in the lives of his tenant farmers, a brutal attack between his son and the sharecropper children sets off a chain of events that leaves no one unscathed. Over the span of a decade, Gordon struggles to hold on to his family’s legacy as the old order makes way for a New South.

“Talmadge Farm” is a sweeping drama that follows three unforgettable families navigating the changing culture of North Carolina at a pivotal moment in history. A love letter to the American South, the novel is a story of resilience, hope, and family – both lost and found. 

The Montana Gold Mine (Jubilee Walker Book 4) -- a historical fiction by Tim Piper

The Montana Gold Mine (Jubilee Walker Book 4) -- a historical fiction by Tim Piper
https://www.amazon.com/Montana-Gold-Mine-Jubilee-Walker-ebook/dp/B0FP5RDYBF

This book is on discount promotion on Amazon for $0.99 (regularly $4.99) 5/25/2026 - 5/29/2026!

In Spring 1874, the American economy is descending into a depression, following the collapse of Jay Cooke’s financial empire. Amid the chain of bank and business failures set off by Cooke’s bankruptcy, Jubilee Walker struggles to keep Warner and Walker Outfitters solvent. Jubil’s grand plans for developing Yellowstone National Park into a popular tourist destination were dashed when Cooke’s business plan failed, but he is still determined to fulfill the park’s potential—not to mention his promise to his friend White Dog to end the corruption affecting the well-being of the people living on the Crow reservation. 

When Jubil solicits support from the highest levels of government, he sets off a chain of events that puts not only him but the ones he loves most in grave danger. What is the nature of the secret Jubil’s nemesis is hiding? And how far will he go to protect it?

Color of Fire - A Sweeping Caribbean Saga / Dark Historical Fiction by Gina Giordano

Color of Fire - A Sweeping Caribbean Saga Book #3 by Gina Giordano
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G6VH8XK2

This book is on discount promotion on Amazon for $0.99 (regularly $3.99) 5/15/2026 - 5/17/2026!

Nassau, 1794: After the devastating capture of her husband, Eliza Sharpe must make a deal with the devil himself, Captain Hiram Bruin, a man more pirate than privateer. Just how deep do the roots of revenge lie? Find out in the epic, thrilling conclusion to the STRANGE EDEN series.  

Love in the Morning Calm by Judythe Morgan

Love in the Morning Calm by Judythe Morgan
https://www.amazon.com/Morning-Prequel-Pendants-Promise-ebook/dp/B00DQ1AEPQ

This book is on discount promotion on Amazon for $0.99 (regularly $2.99) 5/11/2026 - 5/18/2026!

Between war and women’s liberation, one woman seeks her own freedom.

In the turbulent ’60s, preacher’s daughter Lily Reed heads to South Korea searching for freedom far from small-town expectations. Instead, she falls for the one man she shouldn’t—Green Beret Major Alex Cabot, a rising Army officer with everything to lose. In a world shadowed by war and uncertainty, one forbidden love will change them both forever. 

The Second Signature: An Edmund Finch Art Forgery Mystery - a cozy art forgery mystery by Edward Ellis

The Second Signature: An Edmund Finch Art Forgery Mystery - a cozy art forgery mystery by Edward Ellis
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GX36Q673

The Second Signature: An Edmund Finch Art Forgery Mystery is a clue-driven cozy mystery set in the world of museum conservation, Dutch Golden Age painting, and wartime provenance.

Houston, 1974. Edmund Finch is a senior conservator at the Museum of Fine Arts, a man whose life is built around routine, precision, and the patient study of surfaces. He is not a detective. He does not chase danger. He examines paintings, records what he sees, and trusts that enough attention will eventually reveal the truth.

When a seventeenth-century Dutch market scene arrives in his studio for restoration, Edmund expects a difficult but ordinary conservation project: darkened varnish, surface grime, old repairs, and the familiar uncertainties of attribution. The painting has long been catalogued as the work of an artist in the circle of Jan van Kessel the Elder — valuable, interesting, but not especially mysterious.

Then Edmund finds a pigment that should not be there.

A section of the sky contains titanium white, a modern material that could not belong to a painting from the 1600s. What first seems like a technical irregularity soon becomes something stranger and more deliberate. The painting is not simply damaged, misattributed, or poorly restored. Someone has left evidence inside it, and the evidence points back to 1943.

With the help of his friend Victor Holm, an art historian at Rice University, Edmund begins to follow the trail through archives, old records, provenance files, and the evidence held in the painting itself. The deeper he looks, the clearer it becomes that the forgery was not made simply to deceive. It was made to preserve something.

For readers who enjoy atmospheric mysteries without graphic violence, The Second Signature offers a slower, more thoughtful investigation, one built on observation, patience, art history, and the small details other people miss.

A cozy art mystery for readers who enjoy museum settings, historical secrets, provenance puzzles, no graphic violence, no explicit sex, and a methodical male protagonist who solves mysteries by looking more closely than anyone else.

The Golden Promise of Cripple Creek - intense time travel historical by Mary Ellen Johnson

The Golden Promise of Cripple Creek - intense time travel historical by Mary Ellen Johnson
https://www.amazon.com/Moment-Kissed-Travels-Across-Time-ebook/dp/B0CM4F1QBV

Social media influencer Maeve Mooney has one goal in life: to marry a rich politician. Not because she loves him, but because Maeve’s decided that, at twenty-nine, she’s worked long enough. After her plans, along with her reputation, end in disgrace, Maeve  decides to hide away  at the family ranch—only to  tumble down an abandoned mine shaft to awaken in the world’s greatest gold camp.
 
Although 1901 Cripple Creek glitters with opera houses, fancy hotels, $250 a night brothels and instant millionaires,  miners toil underground in dangerous conditions for wages that barely sustain their families. As resentments build, the Western Federation of Miners prepares to fight for recognition, dignity, and the chance for a better life.

Maeve, a talented piano player, begins entertaining wealthy businessmen with songs that won’t be written for decades, though her sympathies increasingly rest with the miners. She is particularly drawn to charismatic labor leader  Ronan Doyle.

While Ronan’s heart belongs to the union, Maeve is determined to change that.   
When a strike is called in August 1903, Colorado’s governor sends in  both the National Guard and the state militia.  Soldiers flood the streets. Martial law is declared. Suspension of habeas corpus. Hundreds arrested, including children.  As the Colorado Labor Wars ignite into one of the most brutal conflicts in American history, Maeve stands squarely with the workers--even while knowing the outcome. In a matter of months Cripple Creek will be reduced to ruins, the Western Federation of Miners annihilated, and Ronan Doyle will disappear from the history books. 

Maeve begs Ronan to return with her to the 21st century where they can build a life together. But can a man who’s devoted his life to a cause, forsake it--even for the woman he loves?

Storykeeper: Epic Historical Saga of Destruction and Survival in 16th Century America by Daniel A. Smith


https://www.amazon.com/Storykeeper-Nine-Rivers-Valley-Book-1-ebook/dp/B007HCHLEW

This book is on discount promotion on Amazon for $0.99 (regularly $4.99) 2/18/2026 - 2/24/2026!

The first recorded Europeans to cross the Mississippi River reached the western shore on June 18, 1541. Hernando De Soto and his army of three hundred and fifty battle-hardened conquistadors spent the next year and a half conquering the nations in the fertile flood-plains of eastern Arkansas.



Three surviving sixteenth-century journals written during the expedition detailed a complex array of twelve different nations. Each had separate beliefs, languages, and interconnected villages with capital towns comparable in size to European cities of the time. 

Through these densely populated sites, the Spanish carried a host of deadly old-world diseases, a powerful new religion, famines and wars. During this short timeframe, ninety to ninety-five percent of the existing population perished according to current estimations.



Hernando De Soto died in the land he ravaged and plundered, disillusioned that he could not find the gold and great treasures he had promised his army. The surviving war-weary conquistadors under constant attacks fled down the Mississippi River on hastily built barges.



No other Europeans ventured into this land until French explorers arrived one hundred and thirty years later. They found nothing of the vibrant people, the flourishing societies, or the grand cities that the Spanish had so vividly described.



A hundred cold winters passed since the Son-of-the-Sun (their name for De Soto) and his conquistadors arrived with war and destruction. Manaha, Mother-of-None steps before the village fire of the small tribe of survivors. Rejecting long-held taboos, the old woman demands that the tribe allow the children to hear her passed-down stories about their ancient, abandoned homeland and the time of the Great Dying.



Before Manaha can finish her first story, an angry tribal leader douses her fire and frightens her young listeners into the night. Friends shun her and tribal elders threaten banishment. Manaha refuses to stop for those few children who come to listen while hiding the shadows. The only hope that the unique history and stories, the last remaining essence of a forgotten people, will survive lies with one unlikely Storykeeper.