A look at the novels of Kaye D. Schmitz

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Here’s a look at each of the novels of Kaye D. Schmitz:

“THE CONSORT CONSPIRACY”

For almost 200 years an ancient cemetery deep in the lowlands of Georgia has protected the identity of an infamous, brutal murderer, whose act of betrayal changed the course of the town’s history. Now, eight generations later, Midway Cemetery conceals the activities of international conspirators engaged in a fast-moving counterfeiting ring operating right under the noses of the slow-paced Midway residents.

Thirty-one-year-old Bostonian Kate Covington travels to Midway to film a documentary intended to increase the favorability ratings for the current U.S. president, Wilford Pennington, who was born in Midway and descended from the murdered victim from 200 years earlier. As she becomes enthralled with the town's history, Kate uncovers the truth about the murder of the president's ancestor. Her discovery also leads to her learning the truth behind her own mother's death and eventually changes not only the town's history, but Kate's future as well. 

“ON DEADLY GROUNDS”

On the eve of an international G7 Summit, event coordinator Mattie Maguire discovers that the venue, a century-old estate close to Asheville, North Carolina, is more than simply a picturesque setting. It is also the center of political conspiracies involving a ruthless Russian spy ring that will stop at nothing to steal the massive fortune they believe to be hidden there.

The search intensifies and a rogue Russian agent attacks Mattie’s grandmother, who is still living on the estate. She hovers in a coma, barely clinging to life. As Mattie struggles to protect her family and ensure a safe event for the most important leaders in the world, her discovery of a fraudulent heir to the estate puts her own life in danger as well. But when her 85-year-old grandfather is kidnapped and held at gunpoint, her path becomes clear. Despite her fear, she must locate the only person who has the information the Russians seek — the estate’s rightful heir, hidden away for decades after the murder of his father.

But will the true owner’s return to his childhood home put his life in danger, too?

“THE ROAD REMEMBERED”

In the final months of World War II, Sam Ryan takes his place as a new soldier in the 89th Infantry Division on the front lines in Europe. He's trained to kill but struggles with the thought of taking the life of another human being, a contradiction with the way he was raised. How, he wonders, will he ever reconcile the action his head dictates with the way his heart feels about it?

On the other side of the war, Gerda Ziegler's heart aches over the monster her beloved Germany has become. But she confronts the Nazi soldiers who guard the Jewish-only sector in Zwickau and is appalled to learn that a Jewish baby will be killed because of a large birthmark. Can she manage to whisk the child away right under the noses of the brutal Nazis?

Sam and Gerda face their enemies head-on, but they also battle internal elements on their own sides of the fighting that violate their shared values of humanity. They meet under the worst of circumstances but find a way to help each other through the trauma of war.

“THE ROAD RENOUNCED”

In 2015 Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, Suzanne Ryan uncovers her grandmother’s diary embedded in the binding of a century-old photo album. Thrilled to learn about her grandmother, Maude, who died before Suzanne was born, she reads the first entry, written on Maude’s, 10th birthday.

In 1915 Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, Maude Brewer, her brother, Henry, and his best friend Buzz Ryan live a relatively care-free existence. But the darkening conflict in Europe looms, threatening all of them with the fight of their lives.

At the same time, across the ocean, darkness has already fallen as the Germans march into neutral Belgium and shatter the life of nurse Marthe Peeters, whose family is viciously killed right in front of her. She is captured and forced to travel with the German Army.

But as Maude’s story unfolds, it intersects with Marthe’s, and Suzanne learns that not only do these two women share their perspectives on the war, they also share the love of the same man, Buzz Ryan, Suzanne’s grandfather. Buzz, Suzanne learns, must not only fight the war on the battlefield, he must also fight the war within his heart.