The Devil S Anvil

Accepting the task of protecting Billie Womack is a no-brainer for ex-counterterrorist soldier Joe Hunter, but it comes with its own set of complications. Billie's husband, Richard, stole thirty million dollars from some violent people. He apparently died in a car crash with Billie's daughter, Nicola, during a desperate attempt to elude his pursuers. But his enemies don't believe him dead. They think he escaped the plunge into the icy river that killed Nicola and has now decided to come back for the money. If he's alive, they believe he'll contact Billie. It doesn't take long for the bad guys to arrive at her remote farmhouse. Soon she and Joe are fugitives. Dead or alive, Richard's fate means nothing to Hunter, but he promises to do everything in his power to protect the grieving mother. Even if it means taking a bullet for her, it's a price he'll pay. It's a pledge he will come to regret, as he learns that killers are forged on the Devil's anvil.

On September 15, 1944, General William Rupertus and the 16,000 Marines of the U.S. 1st Marine Division moved confidently toward Peleliu, an obscure speck of coral island 500 miles east of the Philippines. Though he knew a tough fight awaited him, Rupertus anticipated a quick two-day crush to victory, strengthening Gen. Douglas MacArthur's flank in his drive on the Philippines. Instead, as The Devil's Anvil reveals, American forces struggled desperately for more than two months against 10,000 deeply entrenched Japanese soldiers who had spent six months preparing for the battle. By the time the weary Americans could claim a victory, the fight had become one of the war's most costly successes. Even more tragic, Peleliu was later deemed a more or less unnecessary seizure. For those who survived, Peleliu remains a bitter, emotionally exhausting chapter of their lives. In The Devil's Anvil, Hallas reports on the personal combat experience of scores of officers and enlisted men who were at Peleliu. These men describe the heartbreaking loss of friends, the pain of wounds, and the heat, dirt, and exhaustion of a fight that never seemed to end.

Two kill-crazy McClory cousins have busted out of Yuma Pen, heading for Indian Territory. Somebody has to bring them in - and the job falls to Deputy US Marshal Liberty Mercer, who sets off to run the outlaws to ground. But to reach the McClory stronghold in Silver Rock Canyon, Mercer and her makeshift posse - Raven Bjorkman, her old friend; Latham Rawlins, brother of Liberty's one-time love Latigo; and the crooked Dunn brothers - must cross the deadly, searing desert known as the Devil's Anvil...

When ex-soldier Joe Hunter agrees to protect grieving mother, Billie Womack, on behalf of a DEA contact, it's a pledge he will come to regret. Her husband, Richard, was a thief. In a desperate attempt to escape his pursuers, Richard apparently died in a car crash, along with their daughter, Nicole. But the violent people chasing Richard think he escaped the plunge into the river canyon that killed Nicole: they want him ... and the thirty million dollars he stole from them. And they think Billie knows where he is and that Richard will return for the money. Soon Joe and Billie become fugitives, chased by relentless killers. Joe has no idea who he can really trust, but he'll do everything in his power to save an innocent life. Richard's fate means nothing to him, but protecting the grieving woman is a no-brainer for Joe Hunter, even if it means taking a bullet meant for her. It's a price he'll pay, and come to regret, when he learns that killers shaped on the Devil's anvil come in unexpected ways. Praise for THE DEVIL'S ANVIL ..."There's plenty of heart-in-the-mouth action, smart dialogue and convincing extras ... give me Joe Hunter over Reacher any day." -- Crimereview.co.uk "To sum up, THE DEVIL'S ANVIL is a fantastic novel which is a welcome addition to an excellent series. 5/5." -- Crimesquad.com "Fast paced, entertaining and very readable the story moves along at a frenetic pace ... another great read." -- Milorambles.com

“Secret duties are the most soul-enriching duties," writes Brooks in this treatise on private prayer. "Look! as secret meals make fat bodies—so secret duties make fat souls. And as secret trades brings in great earthly riches, so secret prayers makes many rich in spiritual blessings and in heavenly riches. Private prayer is that secret key of heaven which unlocks all the treasures of glory to the soul. The best riches and the sweetest mercies, God usually gives to His people—when they are in their closets upon their knees. All the graces of the saints are enlivened, and nourished, and strengthened by the sweet secret influences which their souls fall under, when they are in their closet-communion with God. Certainly there are none so rich in gracious experiences, as those who are most exercised in closet duties. As the tender dew which falls in the silent night makes the grass and herbs and flowers to flourish and grow more abundantly than great showers of rain which fall in the day; so secret prayer will more abundantly cause the sweet herbs of grace and holiness to grow and flourish in the soul, than all those more open, public, and visible duties of religion, which too, too often, are mingled and mixed with the sun and wind of pride and hypocrisy.”

This Band of Brothers for the Pacific is the gut-wrenching and ultimately triumphant story of the Marines' most ferocious—yet largely forgotten—battle of World War II. Between September 15 and October 15, 1944, the First Marine Division suffered more than 6,500 casualties fighting on a hellish little coral island in the Pacific. Peleliu was the setting for one of the most savage struggles of modern times, a true killing ground that has been all but forgotten—until now. Drawing on interviews with Peleliu veterans, Bill Sloan's gripping narrative seamlessly weaves together the experiences of the men who were there, producing a vivid and unflinching tableau of the twenty-four-hour-a-day nightmare of Peleliu. Emotionally moving and gripping in its depictions of combat, Brotherhood of Heroes rescues the Corps's bloodiest battle from obscurity and does honor to the Marines who fought it.