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    A Christmas To Die For
    A Christmas To Die For
    A Christmas To Die For
    Ebook29 pages14 minutes

    A Christmas To Die For

    By Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Sophia del Morte, the enigmatic Italian beauty with a penchant for espionage, is back in her picturesque Italian village for the holidays. Known for her lethal skills in the clandestine world of espionage, Sophia now faces an opponent more formidable than any adversary she's encountered—her own family. As the year draws to a close, Sophia grapples with the prospect of awkward dinner conversations and familial intrigue.

    ​​​​​​​Will the secrets of the del Morte clan be laid bare under the twinkling holiday lights, or will Sophia's skills be put to the ultimate test in this festive season of homecoming? Brace yourself for a holiday like no other, where the deadliest weapon may just be the truth.

    Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the steampunk world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherImagineThat Studios
    Release dateJan 6, 2015
    ISBN9781311599223
    A Christmas To Die For
    Author

    Pip Ballantine

    Born in New Zealand, Philippa (Pip) Ballantine has always had her head in a book. A corporate librarian for thirteen years, she has a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Library and Information Science. She is New Zealand's first podcast novelist and has produced four podiobooks. Many of these have been shortlisted for the Parsec Awards, and she has won a Sir Julius Vogel Award. She is also the author of Geist and the soon-to-be-published Spectyr. While New Zealand calls, currently Philippa calls America home.

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      Book preview

      A Christmas To Die For - Pip Ballantine

      A Christmas to Die For

      A CHRISTMAS TO DIE FOR

      PIP BALLANTINE

      TEE MORRIS

      ALSO FROM PIP AND TEE

      The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series

      Phoenix Rising

      The Janus Affair

      Dawn’s Early Light

      The Diamond Conspiracy

      The Ghost Rebellion

      Operation Endgame

      Verity Fitzroy and the Ministry Seven

      The Curse of the Silver Pharaoh

      The Mystery of Emerald Flame

      The Secret of the Monkey God

      Steampunk Anthologies

      The Books and Braun Dossier

      Magical Mechanications

      Ministry Protocol: Thrilling Tales from the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences

      From Pip Ballantine

      Books of the Order

      Geist

      Spectyr

      Wrayth

      Harbinger

      The Chronicles of Art

      Chasing the Bard

      Digital Magic

      The Shifted World

      Hunter and Fox

      Kindred and Wings

      Siena, Italy

      December, 1894

      Even an assassin must go home for Christmas.

      Sophia del Morte was not smiling when she stepped down onto the airship's gangway, and looked around at the swells of people within the aeroport; some embracing one another in delight while others familiar counterparts greeted one another in a distinctly chilly manner. There was no need to take survey of the tiny travel centre as Sophia knew it intimately. It was packed with a crowd of bustling travellers, but considering the time of year, this was to be expected.

      A quick hairpin into the nape of the neck of those plodding in front of her would move things along, but such initiative would not win Nonna’s approval. The matriarch of the del Morte family did not appreciate attracting such attention this close to the family village. Nonna's wrath was not something even Sophia wanted to face.

      The town of Siena was pretty, with its caramel coloured buildings, rooftops sprinkled with snow, and the elegant Torre del Mangia towering above the Piazza del Campo, but it was not her final destination. This was merely a waypoint before reaching Monteriggioni, because this was as close as conventional transportation could get her. Her Nonna and relatives would not allow anything as dangerous as an

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