Bøger af Karl Vanghen

When President Lincoln issues a call for one-thousand men to join the Union Army, the citizens of St. Paul, Minnesota form an Alliance Committee, to replace police and fire personnel who have answered the call to arms. For one boy, selected to patrol the city's most notorious district, Lowertown, it is a quick lesson in maturity. In a gripping tale of historical fiction, capturing time and place with visceral efficiency, Karl Vanghen's latest is an intimate portrayal of an American city caught up in one of the most tumultuous periods of our nation's history. Devon Finch, a student, and Randolph Finch, a policeman, grew up as the Mississippi River became a bedlam of activity following Minnesota's acceptance into the Union. Seventeen-year-old Devon must watch as his older brothers heeds the president's call for volunteers. Having joined the Alliance Committee to protect the city against a population both moral and profane, Devon finds himself in the most infamous section of the city, Lowertown, a place reputed to be the bawdiest town on the river. Lowertown is filled with an extraordinary cast of characters, river men, honorable men, women both decent and despised, prostitutes and gamblers, whose lives weave a rich life-tapestry in a city known to accumulate every type of humanity, from the high to the low, and those in between. Devon's innocence is quickly stripped always as he descends into an adventure filled with love, fear, and a danger that explode into a life-threatening horror destined to end his life. Part history, part romance, and altogether engrossing, Vanghen's third novel continues his trademarks: attention to detail, acute sense of time and place, and captivating exploration of the spaces within the human heart. Filled with unforgettable characters that range from the innocent to the rugged and those in between, Lowertown is an intimate portrayal of war and its effect on one family, in one of America's burgeoning frontier cities.

What happens when one man's crusade blinds him to the actions of others? What happens when that man is the President of the United States? Set in the future, An Act of Vengeance tells the story of President Calvin Moore, a former Marine who has served and nearly died in the long Columbian War. Both contentious and bullish, Moore is about to introduce one of the most controversial laws in history. The Hunt Law, enables 'hunters' to enter a lottery to win the prize of stalking the ultimate prey: man. In his rise to the top, Moore has made himself some powerful enemies and the Hunt Law gives them their opportunity to finally take Moore out of the equation... permanently. Expecting opposition from political foes, as well as those within his own party, Moore fails to spot the true danger, and finds himself at the mercy of his oldest adversary. An Act of Vengeance is a political thriller in every sense. It moves at a quick pace and is told from the perspective of several of the characters, keeping the reader guessing throughout.

Following the near break-down of their marriage, Linda and Gordon Carr move to Minnesota, looking for a fresh start. They soon settle into the local neighbourhood and Gordon finds himself well ensconced in his new job. However, mystery surrounds their nearest neighbour; a hermit-like man named Victor Kalavaris. Did his wife really leave him, or was she murdered? As Linda, left at home on her own, becomes more suspicious, Victor realises this and plays on her fears, understanding that his future might just lie with the beautiful woman next door. While she begs others to believe that this strange man has dark motives towards her, no-one believes her and, before long, there are dire consequences for all concerned.

Julian Wren lost a leg while fighting the Rebs in the Civil War. Wrapped in confusion, his long walk home to Minnesota offers only indecision about his future. His home has changed, as has the woman he intended to marry, leading him to strike off into unfamiliar territory.On the first day out, he meets a teamster, Sarah Kenyon, who offers him a ride into Stillwater, a lumbering town on the Saint Croix River. With trust on her side, Julian accepts a room in her house that was vacated by her husband, three years missing.He obtains work at the state prison, where he encounters a traveling doctor who designs him a wooden leg. As the Minnesota Indian war looms, romance begins its intricate workings, and love blossoms between Julian and Sarah.Julian is sent to recover an escaped Indian from a lumber camp in Wisconsin, a task that nearly costs him his life. Back in Stillwater, as the Civil War nears its end, Sarah’s husband returns, and Julian takes lodging inside the prison. Unable to dismiss their love for one another, Julian and Sarah struggle unsuccessfully to reunite, but her husband plots to end their clandestine affair once and for all.About the Author: A lifelong native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Karl Vanghen became an avid reader at an early age. He married his high school sweetheart, served aboard the U.S.S. Wisconsin during the Korean conflict, and pursued a career in graphic arts. This is his eighth published work.Publisher’s website: http://sbprabooks.com/KarlVanghen