Showing results by author "Blair Howard" in All Categories

A secret plot to start a war. Two old enemies who must work together to foil it. Under any other circumstances, hired assassin Cassandra Wu would be trying to kill her partner. But that’ll have to wait. Right now, they need to stop a war. After escaping US custody in a deadly battle that leaves three FBI agents dead and another wounded, Wu is kidnapped by The Peacemakers, a Deep State organization dedicated to achieving peace on Earth. Unfortunately, to bring that about they must initiate WWIII and Wu must assassinate an impossible target: the Russian president.

It was April 1, 1998, when the bodies of two teenagers, a young fella and his girlfriend - both high school seniors - were found among the trees on a lonely road just inside the city limits. The bodies had been stripped and left for the wild animals to...well, you get the idea. The cops had a good idea who the killer was, but they never could prove it, so the case went cold until April 1, 2012, when local DA, Larry Spruce, asked me to take a look at it.

Cassie Morgan was just 17 years old when she died at the hands of a sadistic killer. Homicide Detective Harry Starke caught the case, and he knew right from the beginning that it was going to be a bad one, and he was right. Too many clues, too many suspects, too many bodies, and a police chief more interested in his career than justice for the victims. For Harry, it was the last straw, and it had been a long time coming.

The Nicolette Percy case was a nightmare. She solved it, but the solution generated more questions than answers. Captain Kate Gazzara, suspended from duty and in danger of losing her job, is determined to find the answers and embarks on a one woman investigation deep into the heart of Appalachia. Within hours of her arrival in the tiny town of Loeb, Tennessee, she finds herself not only in danger of losing her job but also her life.

It's Kate Gazzara's first day on the job as a detective, and she has a new partner. One with an attitude and a past. Investigating a murder solo is one thing, joining forces with a partner, as a new female homicide detective is a whole new level of complicated. When the death of a second rich girl is reported, the game is on to catch the killer. Are the murders the work of a serial killer, or has a green-eyed monster reared its head?

She appeared out of nowhere. A chance meeting. And then she was gone, abducted. The shadow crossed in front of the car so fast I didn’t have time to stop. I hit the brakes hard and swerved into the mud at the side of the road. Looking out through the deluge it was difficult to make out the figure coming towards the driver’s window, but as it came closer I could see it was a girl, just a kid. Instinctively, my hand went for my gun and rested on the grip as she approached.

The phone call came on a Tuesday evening in the middle of August. Harry Starke hadn’t heard from his old school friend in almost five years, and he hadn’t thought about him in almost as long. Tom Sattler wanted to meet, and it wouldn’t wait until morning. But when Harry arrived at Sattler’s home less than an hour later, he found him lying in a pool of blood with a single gunshot wound to his head and .22 revolver lying close to his hand. Was it suicide, or was Tom Sattler murdered? If so, by whom and why?

What happened to Father Marty, a wealthy and corpulent priest...and why is he dead? Did Father Paul play a role in the death of his mentor? If so, what role was it, and did he know he played a part? Was it an accidental death, or worse...premeditated murder? Detective Kate Gazzara doesn't want this case, but her boss, Chief Johnston, wants it closed...and quickly.

It was one of those beautiful, balmy days on Calypso Key in the US Virgin Islands. The sky was blue and a cool breeze was blowing in off the ocean as Harry and Amanda took their vows. All of their friends were there and all was well with the world…and then the sky fell. Harry draws the line at getting involved when the death of one of his father’s friends intrudes upon his wedding day, until he finds out he owes the girl’s father a debt he can never repay. And so he is dragged into an investigation of not just one murder, but two—and the wealthiest, most dysfunctional family he’s ever met.

The team is back. So is the Peacemaker with a new and deadly plot that could extinguish all human life on the planet...except for a select few, of course. It began when a respected Belgian virologist smuggled his gain of function research out of his lab, research so dangerous he decided to destroy it before it could get into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

Nobody knows what horrors Nicolette Percy endured the night she was murdered. Kate Gazzara caught the case and at first she thought it would be a quick and easy closer. She was wrong. With every passing day, the case became more complex. And then she made a mistake that almost cost her her career....

Commodore Richard Morian’s mission is to capture the Imperator, but it will take a planetary invasion on a grand scale to do so, a battle fought in space, in the air, and on the ground. And all this to a backdrop of political intrigue that threatens to bring the entire Sovereign system down.

The USF has assembled the largest battle fleet in its history as they prepare for the inevitable cataclysmic battle with the Swarm. Avenger, a Class C heavy battle cruiser, is sent on an urgent rescue mission to the planet Typhon in the Eta Persei star system. A planet devastated and left desolate at the beginning of the war against the Swarm, an alien invader from another reality. Their intent? The total eradication of the human race from the galaxy. What they find on Typhon could change the outcome of the war.

It was Sunday, Cpt. Kate Gazzara’s day off, but with Samson at her side, she and her team must sort through the shady underworld of the city and what little evidence there is to try to find the truth.

Every cop has an unsolved case they can’t let go. Georgina Harrison was mine. I can’t tell you why. Maybe it was because she was just a teenager that it stuck in my craw. Maybe it was because I was still a rookie when I accompanied Harry Starke to the crime scene that God-awful day. Maybe it was all of those things, but try as I might to move on, I couldn’t. And every year I opened the case file, flipped through it, and then closed it again. This time, though, I won't quit until Georgina gets the justice she deserves.

Emily Johnston is GONE. She’s been GONE for more than a week. She’s also the daughter of Harry Starke’s one-time boss and nemesis, Chattanooga Police Chief Wesley Johnston. Harry and Chief Johnston haven’t seen eye-to-eye in a long time, but when Johnston needs help, he knows there’s only one man he can turn to. But Johnston’s jurisdiction ends at the city limits, and when Emily’s body is discovered in a remote part of the county, Harry has to deal with the imperious sheriff Israel Hands and two incompetent county detectives.

Chickamauga: A Novel of the American Civil War is the story of a great battle of the Civil War and the people who fought it, many of them real and some of them the product of the author’s imagination. Chickamauga is a story of the heroism, selflessness, and frailty of the men whose deeds are etched forever on the fields and forests at Chickamauga, the River of Death. Chickamauga is the story of the generals who planned the grand strategies that would be played out by lesser but braver men.

The hills of horse country, Shenandoah Valley, the Blue Ridge Mountains and numerous wineries are among the state's offerings. Here's a guide to the national and state parks, the cities, towns and villages and everything in between. Places to stay and eat, along with recommended fall foliage tours.