Neil Olson

An old-money East Coast family faces the suspicious death of its patriarch and the unsolved theft of a Goya painting rumored to be cursed. There are four cousins in the Morse family: perfect Kenny, the preppy West Coast lawyer; James, the shy but brilliant medical student; his seductive, hard-drinking sister Audrey; and Teresa, youngest and most fragile, haunted by the fear that she has inherited the madness that possessed her father. Their grandfather summons them to his mansion at Owl's Point. None of them have visited the family estate since they were children, when a prized painting disappeared: a self-portrait by Goya, rumored to cause madness or death upon viewing. Afterward, the family split apart amid the accusations and suspicions that followed its theft.

The Black Painting

“Equal parts engaging and creepy, this twisty tale deftly examines how secrets and regret can continue to reverberate through generations. A suspenseful story that examines how families haunt each other in life and death; possibly too creepy for late-night reading.” —Kirkus Reviews Will Connor returns to his hometown, a village north of Boston, to care for his injured mother. He’s kept his distance from the town since high school, but once home he finds himself reexamining a horrific incident that took place during one of his mother’s “spirit circles.” His mother had embraced the hippie generation’s fascination with New Age and the arcane, but the unexpected death of a close friend put an end to the meetings of the modern-day coven. Or did it? As Will looks deeper into his family’s history he discovers that her practices weren’t so much a passing fad but the latest link in a long tradition of New England witchcraft, which still seems to hold a strange power over the town. Will hopes that unearthing the facts about the death will put his questions to rest, but there are those willing to resort to violence to keep those secrets buried.

A Novel

Before the Devil Fell

An enthralling well-written mystery for readers who enjoyed The Keeper of Lost Things and The Improbability of Love. A dead body. A family torn apart. Someone is lying.Years ago, a forgotten Goya masterpiece was stolen from Teresa's family home, a crumbling mansion at Owl's Point. Ever since, Teresa has stayed away, terrified of the rumours surrounding the Black Painting and the jealous accusations that tore apart her family. Now her grandfather has summoned his descendants back to the mansion to discuss his will, and Teresa knows she has no choice except to return. But when she arrives, she finds the door hanging open and her grandfather dead, his eyes open and staring at the empty space where the Goya once hung. Someone in the family is lying, but will Teresa unravel the mystery of the missing painting before it is too late?

Ikona

Sixty years after Nazi resistance captain Elias witnesses the destruction of a Greek church that housed a religious icon, the icon resurfaces on the New York art market, sparking a violent rivalry among potential buyers.

The Icon

A prize-winning journalist tells the troubling story of Canadian Omar Khadr, who has spent a quarter of his life growing up in Guantanamo Bay.Khadr was captured in Afghanistan in July 2002 at the age of 15. Accused by the Pentagon of throwing a grenade that killed U.S. soldier Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer, Khadr faces charges of conspiracy and murder. His case is set to be the first war crimes trial since World War II.In Guantanamo's Child, veteran reporter Michelle Shephard traces Khadr's roots in Canada, Pakistan and Afghanistan, growing up surrounded by al Qaeda's elite. She examines how his despised family, dubbed "Canada's First Family of Terrorism," has overshadowed his trial and left him alone behind bars for more than five years. Khadr's story goes to the heart of what's wrong with the U.S. administration's post-9/11 policies and why Canada is guilty by association. His story explains how the lack of due process can create victims and lead to retribution, and instead of justice, fuel terrorism.Michelle Shephard is a national security reporter for the Toronto Star and the recipient of Canada's top two journalism awards."You will be shocked, saddened and in the end angry at the story this page turner of a book exposes. I read it straight through and Omar Khadr's plight is one you cannot forget."-Michael Ratner, New York, President of the Center for Constitutional Rights."Michelle Shephard's richly reported, well written account of Omar Khadr's trajectory from the battlefields of Afghanistan to the cells of Guantanamo is a microcosm of the larger "war on terror" in which the teenaged Khadr either played the role of a jihadist murderer or tragic pawn or, perhaps, both roles."-Peter Bergen, author of Holy war, Inc. and The Osama bin Laden I know.

It's been years since Will Connor has visited his hometown, a small village north of Boston. But when he's summoned home to care for his injured mother, he finds himself confronting a horrific incident that took place during one of her New Age "spirit circles." As he investigates the accident and looks deeper into his family's history, Will discovers forces much more sinister than his mother's modern-day coven, and a tradition of witchcraft that can be traced back for centuries.

Neil Olson

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