Date Published: 12/10/2025
Publisher: Manhattan Book Group
In Reign of Secrets, diplomacy meets danger, and the past may be the deadliest weapon of all.
Praise for Reign of Secrets
"A gripping, timely story... that masterfully blends that warrior ethos with today's geopolitical reality, as Whit Ransom confronts Vladimir Putin's ruthless ambition to resurrect an empire."
- Lt. Col. James Reese (Ret.), US Army Delta Force Operator
"Through this historical thriller, Reign of Secrets offers a captivating glimpse into the essence of what it means to follow in the footsteps of legends..."
- Morten Andersen, "The Great Dane", Member, NFL Hall of Fame
"A masterfully crafted tale that explores how the West's adversaries subtly challenge the narratives of history - reshaping symbols, exploiting weaknesses, reframing legacies, and testing the resilience of democratic values and the international order."
-Lt. General Ed Cardon (Ret.), former Commander, US Army Cyber Command
Excerpt:
Trinity College, Dublin, 12:19 pm
None of the three spoke as the curator continued to turn pages. It occurred to Ransom that he had run out of adjectives to describe the artistic beauty in front of him. As the curator was beginning to turn the eleventh page, Ransom held up his hand for her to pause.
“Do you know anything about that symbol?” he asked, pointing to the marking in the left margin that he had seen in the Stag’s Head. McKinsey moved closer to look through the magnifier.
“It seems a bit out of place, there in the margin by itself,” Ransom said. “It looks like the right half of a cross with a spiderweb attached to the arm.”
“Or like something I might have drawn as a kid when I was playing ‘hangman,’” said
Morgan, now peering over McKinsey’s shoulder.
“No, I don’t personally know anything about that mark” McKinsey replied, “but there has been extensive scholarly work done on each folio of the Book, so I will see if I can find anything about it. I will make a note of it, on folio 301r.”
As the three carefully perused the remaining pages of John’s gospel, Ransom noticed that the Book ended before the completion of the gospel’s twenty-one chapters.
He looked at Rochel McKinsey. “Where is the ending?”
“When the Book was stolen by Vikings a thousand years ago, the thieves not only ripped off the Book’s jeweled cover, but they also removed several pages.”
“So, there are pages from John’s gospel that are missing?” Ransom asked.
“Yes. For some reason the last folio page from John’s gospel was removed a thousand years ago. For what reason, we have never known.”
About the Author
A personal encounter with Islamic terrorism in 2016 became the catalyst for writing Reign of Secrets.
Reign of Secrets is the first in a series of Whit Ransom novels.
His first book, The American, written during the last few months of his diplomatic service, was a Bestseller in Denmark.
Ambassador Cain and his family live in North Carolina.
No comments:
Post a Comment