This book is the outgrowth of one of J. Stephen Funks major injury lawsuits, one in the 1970s, where the dishonesty and a conspiracy of silence by the medical profession supported a negligent doctors efforts to maintain his exalted and privileged place in society. In real life, he exposed the doctors duplicity for all to see, and provided an orphaned child just legal compensation for the loss of her young and innocent mother. In Last Drop of Blood, the heartless and amoral doctor, his wife and her father will stop at nothing to conceal the truth. The widowed husband and a courageous, young nurse provide the help a relentless attorney needs to expose the conspiracy. Through twists and turns, the unexpected ending reveals itself to be more just and satisfying than predictable.

This vividly rendered Civil War history presents “a lively guided tour of Washington during the 24 hours or so around Lincoln’s swearing-in” (Adam Goodheart, Washington Post). By March 4, 1865, the Civil War had left intractable wounds on the nation. Tens of thousands crowded Washington’s Capitol grounds that day to see Abraham Lincoln take the oath for a second term—and witness what was perhaps the greatest inaugural address in American history. Lincoln stunned the nation by arguing that both sides had been wrong, and that the war’s unimaginable horrors might have been God’s just verdict on the national sin of slavery. In Every Drop of Blood, Edward Achorn reveals the nation’s capital on that momentous day—with its mud, sewage, and saloons, its prostitutes, spies, reporters, social-climbing spouses and power-hungry politicians. Swirling around the complex figure of Lincoln, a host of characters are brought to life, from grievously wounded Union colonel Selden Connor to the embarrassingly drunk new vice president, Andrew Johnson, to poet-journalist Walt Whitman; from soldiers’ advocate Clara Barton and African American leader Frederick Douglass to conflicted actor John Wilkes Booth. In indelible scenes, Achorn captures the frenzy and division in the nation’s capital at this crucial moment in America’s history. His story offers new understanding of our great national crisis, and echoes down the decades to resonate in our own time.

On a quiet country road, a good man burns. Justice Garrett Quinn should have been at a sentencing. He was one of the good ones, fighting for order in a lawless world. In a burned-out car, on the outskirts of Cork, DS Katie Maguire finds what's left of him. But this is only the beginning. The judge's death sparks a gang war, catching civilians in the crossfire. As the city spirals deeper into violence, Ireland's most fearless detective must find the courage to fight for her hometown once again. Katie Maguire is no stranger to sacrifice – but she has lost so much already. Facing new horrors each day, Katie must decide: Can she do her duty when she has nothing left to give? Perfect for fans of Peter James, CJ Tudor and Chris Carter, The Last Drop of Blood is part of the darkly original million-copy-bestselling DS Katie Maguire thriller series, which can be read in any order. 'One of this country's most exciting crime novelists.' Daily Mail Also in the DS KATIE MAGUIRE series #1 White Bones #2 Broken Angels #3 Red Light #4 Taken for Dead #5 Blood Sisters #6 Buried #7 Living Death #8 Dead Girls Dancing #9 Dead Men Whistling #10 Begging to Die #11 The Last Drop of Blood # 12 Pay Back the Devil Why readers love Katie Maguire... 'A tough and gritty thriller.' Irish Independent 'A natural storyteller.' New York Journal of Books 'Any fan of mysteries should grab this book.' Irish Examiner 'Books in this series and they never fail to entertain.' Reader review ***** 'A fierce read with a plot that feels topical.' Reader review ***** 'Devastatingly brilliant...Brilliant, exhilarating writing.' Reader review **** 'Riveted from start to finish.' Reader review **** 'A first class detection novel.' Reader review **** 'Amazing, the man is a genius.' Reader review ****

Life is not as long as we think it is. We have only some time to live with our family, make friends and explore the world, but what will you do when someone tries to take this life from you? Can humankind deal with those people who are destroying the world? Last Drop of Blood will show you what drastic changes a nation can do when united, in the world.

A bold and original retelling of the story of race in America Why has a nation founded upon precepts of freedom and universal humanity continually produced, through its preoccupation with race, a divided and constrained populace? This question is the starting point for Scott Malcomson's riveting and deeply researched account, which amplifies history with memoir and reportage. From the beginning, Malcomson shows, a nation obsessed with invention began to create a new idea of race, investing it with unprecedented moral and social meaning. A succession of visionaries and opportunists, self-promoters and would-be reformers carried on the process, helping to define "black," "white," and "Indian" in opposition to one another, and in service to the aspirations and anxieties of each era. But the people who had to live within those definitions found them constraining. They sought to escape the limits of race imposed by escaping from other races or by controlling, confining, eliminating, or absorbing them, in a sad, absurd parade of events. Such efforts have never truly succeeded, yet their legacy haunts us, as we unhappily re-enact the drama of separatism in our schools, workplaces, and communities. By not only recounting the shared American tragicomedy of race but helping us to own, even to embrace it, this important book offers us a way at last to move beyond it.

A vivid portrayal of the Civil War. Johnny, fourteen, convinces his mother to let him join a wagon train carrying food to Confederate soldiers. He has been brought up to believe that all blacks are stupid; thus, when captured by a black Union soldier who insists that Johnny teach him to read, he deliberately tricks him. The boy is surprised the soldier saves him from imprisonment and their relationship grows throughout the book.

On a balmy evening in late summer, a thickly wooded area near the shore of Lake Geneva is filling up with men. By the time the moon is high, the woods rustle with the quiet movements of some nine hundred, all armed. Pastor Arnaud addresses the blended group of Waldensian and Huguenot volunteers. If anyone is afraid of the rack and the gallows, he tells them, they should turn back. If they wish to go on, they should swear to fight faithfully to the death... Arnaud and the nine-hundred kneel and pray at the lake's edge. A low voice and the sound of water lapping fill the night. There are muted amen's, a shuffle, footsteps, and the swish of fifteen little boats pushing off from land. In To the Last Drop of Our Blood, Ann Burke sketches excerpts from the story of the Waldenses, a religious minority who for generations lived under the looming shadow of religion in power. This re-telling may very well bring to mind a number of questions: * Where freedom of faith is concerned, does it matter how right the majority is? * How important is a minority? * Is it better, as someone has said, for one man to die than for a whole nation to perish? The answers we give will largely determine our future.