Shelf Media hosts the annual Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition for best self-published or independently published book. In addition to prizes, the winner, finalists, long-listed, and more than 100 notable books from the competition are featured in the December/January issue of Shelf Unbound.
World War II—Hitler is obsessed with gathering ancient knowledge and artifacts from around the globe, in an effort to consolidate the wisdom and power of long-gone cultures and rule the modern world.
The División Azul—the Blue Division—is a Spanish military force fighting for the Nazis against the Russians on the Eastern Front. They are skilled, cunning, and capable, acting as a scalpel on the battlefield and bringing Hitler one victory after another.
But unknown to Hitler, an ancient secret order has infiltrated the ranks of the Blue Division, and are secretly working against Hitler’s interests, preserving the most dangerous and powerful artifacts in a vault hidden deep in the mountains of the Sonoran Desert, in Arizona.
Dan Kotler—Archaeologist and FBI Consultant—is back, along with his partner Agent Roland Denzel. Together they race to solve the riddle of the Spanish Papers and to prevent a rogue organization from using the vault of ancient treasures to succeed where Hitler’s forces failed.
The fate of the modern world—and that of billions of lives—is at stake.
About The Author: Kevin Tumlinson
Kevin Tumlinson is an award-winning and bestselling novelist, living in Texas and working in random coffee shops, cafés, and hotel lobbies worldwide. His debut thriller, The Coelho Medallion, was a 2016 Shelf Notable Indie award winner.
Kevin grew up in Wild Peach, Texas, where he was raised by his grandparents and given a healthy respect for story telling. He often found himself in trouble in school for writing stories instead of doing his actual assignments, and he doesn’t regret that in the least.
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Denzel studied Kotler for a moment, then slid to the ground, the gun resting against his knee. “What’s the story with the Jani? How do you know them?”
Kotler huffed and shook his head. “Remember about a year ago, when I went to Denver to give a talk? I … had a visitor. Someone knocked on my door, and when I opened it, he had a gun on me. He also had about a foot of height and a hundred pounds of muscle on me. The guy was massive.”
“You never told me this,” Denzel said, his voice stern.
Kotler shook his head. “No. I didn’t. And it’s because, in the end, that guy wasn’t my enemy. Not exactly. His name was Granger …”
“Granger? Jeez, Kotler, where do these guys get these names?”
“He said it was his call sign. Like Scope,” Kotler replied.
“Call sign,” Denzel said. “Like maybe ex-military?”
“I think these guys do have military training, but I think it goes deeper than that. The Knights of the Jani are a secret order, kind of like the Templars. In fact, Granger indicated they’re an offshoot of the Templars. They’ve been operating in secret for centuries, gathering artifacts and objects that could have some influence on the world stage. They store them in a vault, in the Temple of Jani.”
“And what do they do with them?” Denzel asked.
“Protect them,” Kotler said. “From the people who might use them to take control of the world.”
“People like Scope?” Denzel asked, dubious.
“People like Hitler,” Kotler replied. “During World War II, Hitler was obsessed with retrieving artifacts that he perceived as items of great power. He employed historians and other experts, and sent teams to all points on the globe, with orders to retrieve anything they could find.”
“Teams like the Blue Division,” Denzel nodded, putting it together. “He sent them here, to find something.”
“That’s what I think,” Kotler agreed. “Something hidden in these caves. Something we definitely do not want Scope and his men to find.”
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Article originally Published in the December/January 2020 Issue “2019 Indie Best Award Winners”