The first Plan B collection showcases a wide variety of plans gone sideways — private eyes getting stuck on cases they really don’t want to take, petty criminals getting in over their heads, law enforcement professionals on the wrong side of the bars, and upstanding citizens finding themselves to be not so law-abiding after all. These stories are as varied as they are excellent — there are light-hearted tales to make you smile, literary pieces that challenge the definition of crime writing, and realistic portraits of difficult and disturbing decisions. Whatever your tastes, I’m sure you’ll find something to enjoy here and maybe something to surprise you.

The year is 1987. America is clawing its way out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Washington pursues illegal and unpopular wars in Central America. In the wealthy desert playground of Palm Springs, storefronts that once catered to the rich sit empty and shuttered. Crowds of bored rich teenagers in designer clothing entertain themselves with expensive cars and cheap drugs, while those less fortunate haunt darkened street corners, offering themselves for sale. This is the country to which war correspondent Peter Brandt returns. Physically and mentally scarred by the horrors he's covered, Peter comes home to bury his ex-wife, TV reporter Robin Anderson, only to discover she had been brutally murdered. With the local police unwilling to investigate her death, Peter sets out with retired cop Matt Banyon to expose Robin's killer. They uncover a shadowy world of anti-communists, drug smugglers, and corrupt politicians, and lay bare old wounds-including Peter's deep guilt over his failed marriage. In a final, cliff-hanging struggle, Peter faces his own fears-and death in a dark and empty place.

Iraq, 1991: Operation Desert Storm. In a terrible friendly fire incident, an U.S. helicopter massacres a small convoy of American MPs. Among the dead: a mysterious American civilian engineer discovered by the soldiers behind enemy lines. San Diego, CA, 1993: A freelance journalist is hired to write a story about a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the dead engineer's widow against the government and the defense contractor he worked for. The problem: the government insists the lawsuit does not exist, and the contractor claims the engineer did not work for them. Worse, someone is willing to kill to keep it that way. Peter Brandt, the war-scarred journalist hero of Empty Places, returns in this story of greed, betrayal, and government secrets. Can Peter expose the truth without becoming another victim of the wartime tragedy?

In Iraq, a shipment of $9 billion in cash goes missing. Each effort to find it ends in death. In Southern California, a mercenary's murder, a severed head, and a bloody hand-written message spark a massive manhunt. The man connecting these two events is William Butcher, aka The Butcher. Those who stole the money want him dead. The cops want him for murder. Butcher's only hope is his former NCIS colleague and closest friend, Linus Schag. Torn between loyalties, Schag walks the thin line between doing his job or betraying his friend. Working from opposite ends, Schag and Butcher peel back the layers of conspiracy, revealing a criminal enterprise reaching into the highest levels of government. With a plot torn from today's headlines, The Butcher's Bill will keep readers on edge until its final, explosive climax.

Martin Roy Hill explores the sense of duty that drives men in desperate situations in his collection of short stories. "In the title story, "Duty," a Cold War soldier faces the prospect of starting WWIII. In "Something Far Away," a former Coastguardsman must face his ghosts from the past. A Navy investigator faces a different kind of ghost aboard a nuclear aircraft carrier in "Destroyer Turns." "Brandenberg's Diaries" tells the story of a retired spy's last mission during Glasnost. A group of soldiers faces the curse of war over several generations in "The Stragglers." And in "The Use of Innocence," a Vietnam vet contemplates a younger generation eager for another war."--P. 4 of cover.

The first nonfiction book by award-winning novelist Martin Roy Hill, WAR STORIES is a collection of articles on military history published by the author in various magazines and websites. They describe acts of great heroism and acts of pure blundering, intrepid leadership and self-serving vainglory, brilliant wartime technological developments and not so brilliant ideas. Some will awe the reader with their inspirational stories. Others will astound the reader by the military stupidity they reveal. Stories about: - The little navy that saved Texas independence. - America's first colonial war and why military leaders are re-examining it. - The lost battle that set America on the course to victory in WWII. - The man who inspired the creators of Horatio Hornblower and Jack Abrey. - Why Patton really lost the 7th Army. - How master deceivers helped win WWII. And more!

"If this is Paradise, how bad could Hell be?"A sandstorm uncovers a long buried secret in the Iraqi desert, an ancient Sumerian temple dating back at least 6,000 years to the beginning of civilization. An American army patrol sent to investigate the ruins is trapped inside the temple's eroded walls, first by an insurgent ambush then by another, even more powerful sandstorm. When an enemy mortar shell blasts an opening into a hidden burial chamber, Captain Adam Cadman and his soldiers take refuge deep in the ruins. What they find hidden inside threatens to destroy every belief about the beginnings of mankind-as well as modern society as we know it.

Chimera Island. For more than a century, the tiny atoll has been the subject of legend and rumors. Mysterious sightings. Strange deaths. Unexplained disappearances. A transport plane sent to Chimera to evacuate frightened scientists from a climate research station on the island disappears, along with a Chinese spy ship prowling nearby waters. The U.S. Coast Guard sends its most secret team to investigate, Deployable Specialized Force-P-the P is said to stand for phenomenon. DSF-Papa, led by Lieutenant Commander Douglas Munro Gates, discovers there is more to the legend of Chimera Island than rumors and folklore. The climate research station is wrecked. Strange creatures skulk through the jungle overgrowth. And reality may not be as it seems. Worse, someone on the team is determined to stop the Coasties from discovering the truth about the island. With evacuation impossible, DSF-Papa must discover the secret of Chimera Island or become part of its legend.

Twenty-five years after his brother's death in Vietnam, journalist Peter Brandt learns he may still be alive.

In the dying embers of Europe's largest conflagration, the three teams are on a collision course that will lead them to one of the evilest places on earth-the ideological heart of the Nazi SS.