Dana Stabenow

Years of bad blood between two Alaskan villages come to a boil when the body of a Kushtaka man is found. Sergeant Jim Chopin's prime suspect is a Kuskulana man who is already in trouble for falling in love across the river. Then Jim disappears, so private investigator Kate Shugak is called in to help.

Cleopatra rules from Alexandria, that beacon of commerce and learning that stands between the burning sands of the desert and the dark waters of the Middle Sea. But her realm is beset by ethnic rivalries, aristocratic feuds and courtly intrigues. Not only that, she must contend with the insatiable appetite of Julius Caesar who needs Egyptian grain and Egyptian gold to further his ambitions.

The world is watching the young Queen, waiting for a misstep... And now her most trusted servant - her Eye - has been murdered and a vast shipment of newly minted coin stolen. Cleopatra asks childhood friend Tetisheri Nebenteru to retrace the dead Eye's footsteps. As Tetisheri sifts her way through a tangle of lies and deceit, she will discover that nothing can be taken at face value, that she can't trust anyone - not even the Queen herself.

Alexandria, 47BC. Cleopatra - seventh of her name, avatar of the goddess Isis, ruler of the Kingdom of Egypt - watches over her city. The war is over, but Alexandria has suffered in its wake. Caesar has returned to Rome, and the queen must restore her city and her kingdom to their former greatness. But now a body has been found floating upright at the bottom of the sea, anchored by a weight around its feet.

It's the second corpse to be found this way, and with a city to rebuild and a kingdom to keep in line, Cleopatra cannot allow any more murders to interfere. So she sets Tetisheri - her Eye and closest confidant - to make things right. As she delves deeper into the mystery, Tetisheri will discover secrets, conspiracy and danger far beyond her ken…

Dana has written two thrillers and when researching both novels she went on patrol with the US Coast Guard.

Dana was invited to write a daily blog from the ship so the shore-bound families of the crew could witness, as much as possible, the lives their loved ones were living at sea.

Dana got to know the USCG in depth during her trips with them. She was in the circle around the captain as they planned the midnight rescue of an injured fisherman offshore of the Pribilof Islands. She got to jump off the side of the ship into the Pacific Ocean where it's 8,000 metres deep. And she got a king's ransom in the way of original source material for her novels' 'Coasties' heroes. The crew even helped her with plot points. As Dana says, 'The absolute best part of a writer's life is the research.'

From the palaces of Alexandria reigns Cleopatra - seventh of her name, avatar of the goddess Isis, ruler of the Kingdom of Egypt - surrounded by riches untold.

Through the streets of her great city bustle scholars and sailors, politicians and priests. For those with the means, it is a comfortable life. But not all are invited to share in the wealth of Egypt's first city. For the peasants and farmers, their lives lie in the hands of the gods and the harvest. Unless, that is, they can find other methods to feed their families. Other, less savoury methods.

When Herminia, one of Alexandria's most beloved actresses, disappears on the eve of a great performance, Cleopatra sets Tetisheri, her Eye, to investigate. In her search for the truth, Tetisheri will uncover a mystery that will take her to the city's darkest corners...