Amara Borbala is certain she is the only living person in the sane world with intimate knowledge concerning the life and exploits of the Countess Elizabeth Bathory. After all, she was Elizabeth's companion and confidant since her eleventh year. In 1573, after the death of her mother, Amara is sent by her cousin to serve as a lady-in-waiting at the castles of Sarvar, Varanno, and Cachtice. Now it is years later, 1628, and Amara is aging, alone, and reduced to eavesdropping at her favorite cafe around the corner from her townhouse in Vienna. Befuddled by gossiping ladies, Amara determines...

It is 1628, Vienna, and the aging Lady Amara Borbala has collapsed before fulfilling her promise to complete the historical truth about her life long companion, the infamous Countess Elizabeth Bathory. In her last entry before her illness Amara writes, "It'd been nearly 130 years since Vlad Tepes arranged the secret agreement. Was it truly possible that the kin of an ancient advisor was still carrying out the contact, or would we be sadly disappointed by a ruined and forgotten plan? In book two, the journey of the rise and demise of one of history's most intriguing noble female murderers...

Beyond the urban sprawl of a Pacific Northwest city lurks the peculiar little town of Providence and in it, an organic farmer named Joe Parker. Joe's lurid story, or rather this particular piece of it, begins when Sheriff Caine fashions the big idea to grow jalapenos, albeit with questionable methods. The gritty scheme is plucked from the undercurrent of the sheriff's self-righteous mind and carried out with the help of Joe's skill, two local agents, and a coroner. Everything is progressing as planned. That is, until Vera Cruz, a prostitute and girlfriend of a drug dealer, is delivered late...