Before Al Qaeda; before ISIS; there was the Aum Cult.

“Shoko Asahara founded Aum Shinrikyo in 1987. The doctrines of Aum Shinrikyo are based on ancient yoga and primitive Buddhism, and require worshipping the Hindu God Siva, believed to preside over both destruction and creation. The sect has tried to build its own "kingdom" within its controlled compound facilities by establishing ministries and agencies under Asahara, its paramount leader. Among these, the sect "Science and Technology Agency" consists of scientists who graduated from prestigious universities in Japan. It is divided into several teams specialized in chemistry, biology, physics and medicine. This organization provided the technical information required to synthesize the Sarin.” –The Japan Times, 1992

A broken-down Navy Intel operative swimming in a sea of alcohol. The Japanese girl who loves him despite the tragic price she may have to pay. The "old salt" with a dark past who nonetheless tries to save them both. All coming together to face a madman more dangerous than Hitler himself with the very survival of civilization itself on the line.

Fresh from his critically-acclaimed psychological thriller, Silver or Lead, James Cox brings us Roppongi, a ripped-from-the-headlines page-turner about an all-too-real terrorist group that many had never heard of but after this read will never forget.

In the tradition of the best legal and political thrillers, Friendly Fire is an explosive tale of greed, revenge, treason, and murder. 

When Geoffrey Tate, one of the world’s richest individuals and the CEO of Yukon, the country’s preeminent artificial intelligence company, is shot and killed by his young trophy wife, it’s going to grab headlines. And seasoned Newshound reporter Nik Byron intends to be the one generating them. But Nik’s investigation quickly leads him down a treacherous path he didn’t foresee. 

The sensational trial that follows Tate’s death threatens to derail Bullwhip—the military’s next generation of AI-inspired war machines—and scramble the fortunes of political heavyweights and Pentagon brass alike. His journalistic instincts aroused, Nik embarks on an uncertain hunt for the truth that takes him deep into the murky worlds of Washington lobbyists, the military-industrial complex, and the Saudi intelligence apparatus. 

Undermined by a vindictive boss and a jealous rival reporter, Nik turns to trusted Newshound colleagues, Mia Landry and Patrick “Mo” Morgan—as well as a Pentagon whistleblower—to land his story and unravel the mystery surrounding Tate’s death. But in doing so Nik risks alienating Samantha Whyte, the chief investigator for the Northern Virginia County Sheriff’s Department and his lover. Worse still, the story puts him in the sights of a contract killer. 

In book three of the Colorado Skies mystery series, Kim Jackson learns she isn’t the only one trying to outrun her past.

Murder has a way of finding Kim Jackson, even in the small mining town of Creede, Colorado. Forced to leave Durango behind and move on, Kim is now working in Creede’s tax accounting office, trying not to get attached. Her life is simple and quiet until the day an unusual young woman, Laurie Beltran, walks through her door with a sticky tax problem. Laurie is pious and seemingly naïve, living as a pauper but possessing a secret fortune she seems afraid to touch—and there’s a family tragedy lurking in her past.Kim offers to help her sort out her accounts, but what begins as a good deed quickly leads Kim into a dark web of greed, corruption, and lies.

When Laurie is arrested for the murder of a local businessman and father, Kim has her doubts. Without anyone else to help Laurie fight the charges, Kim steps in to investigate, throwing herself into the sights of the real killer. As Kim gathers evidence, she becomes convinced she knows who committed the heinous crime. Now she just needs a motive. But Kim has made one crucial mistake:she doesn’t know who she’s dealing with.

In this third book of the Colorado Skies mystery series, Kim discovers that she isn’t the only one trying to escape her past—and that some people will kill to keep their secrets safe.

 In book two of the Camille Delaney Mystery series, a mother turns to Camille for help investigating a top Seattle doctor after tragedy strikes the delivery room.

Seattle attorney Camille Delaney is cash-strapped and struggling to balance the demands of her new solo legal practice with raising her three daughters. But when an emergency C-section goes wrong and a baby dies in the delivery room, the mother, Helene Anderson, shows up at Camille’s office asking for help. Facing the challenge of a legal system where child-loss verdicts are limited by the dollar value placed on a child’s life, Camille considers a quick settlement for the family. But Helene insists: her child’s life had value, and Camille needs to prove it in court. 

Camille agrees to take the case to trial. The defendants are Dr. Jessica Kensington, one of Seattle’s top doctors and beloved volunteer and society hostess, and her medical practice partner, her father, the glad-handing, high-profile Dr. Kip Davenport. Dr. Kensington is respected in the community and stellar on the stand. But Camille and her friend PI Trish Seaholm begin to uncover what happened in the delivery room—and what lies behind Dr. Kensington’s seemingly flawless facade. Unstable behavior at work, flagrant breaches of care, and clues about a dark family past that lead to a high-security psychiatric facility are just some of what they unearth about Dr. Kensington. But pieces of the picture are missing: how could the doctor treat Helene and her baby so irresponsibly?  

As the case builds toward trial, and as she grapples with the deep inequities of the justice system, will Camille be able to uncover the evidence she needs to convince a jury of Dr. Kensington’s guilt? And can she offer some semblance of peace to a grieving mother?  

Stephen Detals played professional baseball before flaming out in whiskey-fueled catastrophe.

His father and grandfather killed themselves on their 39th birthdays. Stephen is 38. He battles alcoholism, abandonment, suicidal tendencies, and lethal family history to survive his impending birthday.

This novel chronicles the final eight days before Stephen Detals' 39th birthday. His relapse into addiction forces Stephen back to the Neches River and the Piney Woods of Southeast Texas. Detals returns home to face purported murderess and family matriarch, Rose Petal Detals, and unravel the secrets of the family and hometown he abandoned twenty years earlier.

Sojka's previous novels received glowing reviews and won awards. Still, those novels only paid the toll to guide him to this moment. The author nurtured his ability, to lay his soul bare, exposing his darkest secrets, raveled into the mysteries of 39.

Two dead girls, another one missing, and a secret that will rip a tight-knit community apart…

When a missing teen’s body shows up dismembered on the side of the road, Lt. Damien Kaine must crush her parent’s hopes of her safe return. The parents are pushing for details and answers. Two things he can’t give. The abduction of a second girl brings only one clue. The girls look alike.

As Damien searches for a sadistic killer, a disturbing pattern emerges. The more he digs into the community’s history, the more missing girls he finds.

With the lack of evidence or movement forward on the case, a quirky FBI profiler is pulled in to assist with the investigation. Damien wrestles with disdain for the agent and an equally strong sexual attraction to her, as he deals with mounting frustrations.

Tensions rise with the abduction of another girl. Damien and his team are in a race against time to save her. But the case is about to take a frightful turn. What they uncover will not only rock them to their core, it will haunt them forever.

Innocence Taken is the first crime fiction novel in the Damien Kaine Thriller series.

If you are a fan of CSI or Criminal Minds, believable characters, and sarcastic humor, then this book and series is for you.

Buy Innocence Taken and get sucked into Damien Kaine’s world.

Other books in this series:

Confession of Sin

Fatal Dominion

Web of Malice

Blind Vengeance

*Each book is a standalone story and can be read out of order. However, you will get more character insight reading from book 1. This book has cursing, sex, and graphic descriptions of crimes and crime scenes.*

Victoria M. Patton combines forensics and police work with just enough humor and sizzling romance in her books. Her unique way of writing will have you on a roller coaster ride of emotions and keep you turning pages well past your bedtime.

A gripping, fast-paced thriller for fans of Harlan Coben and Karin Slaughter.

They seemed like such a nice couple.

It was a typical evening at the restaurant. But when psychopaths show up for dinner, "typical" dies.

Hank Quinn moved to New York to chase his dream of becoming a writer. But he quickly finds that loneliness and lack of success aren't the worst things that can happen to a small-town kid in the big city. One night, during the dinner rush at the high-end restaurant where he works, his life takes an unimaginable turn.

The lovely, attractive couple seated at table 13 is not what they seem. They have a dark past and some even darker plans for Hank.

Hank desperately searches for a way out while the husband-and-wife killing team pulls him deeper into their world and their unspeakable crimes. As the nightmare unfolds, he learns about the chilling fate they have planned for him and the people he loves if he doesn't complete their sick, twisted tasks.

Can he stop them before it's too late? Can Hank survive their twisted agenda?

Table 13 is a heart-stopping suspense thriller that will keep you turning pages until you reach the shocking conclusion. If you like Harlan Coben and Karin Slaughter, you'll love best-selling author Mike McCrary's latest nail-biter.

What People Say About Mike McCrary

"Someone Savage delivers. Its mix of violence and secrets beautifully balanced with emotional depth and gorgeous prose kept me up, turning pages, late into the night." - Jess Lourey, Edgar-nominated author of Unspeakable Things

""Fast-paced and twisty, McCrary's latest is one you don't want to miss." — Vivian Barz, bestselling author or Forgotten Bones

"Dude... some kinda ride." - S.G. Redling, author of Flowertown, Baggage and At Risk

"Unmitigated energy... a Hollywood film in print form." - Austin American Statesman

"McCrary's prose practically bounces off the page ..." - Kirkus Reviews

"I honestly think I hate Mike McCrary... he goes beyond genre and writes a book that makes me read it because it is so well written." Goodreads Review

"Why oh why do I start a McCrary story after supper? Next thing I know, it's after midnight and I'm terrorized / bewildered / satisfied!" ★★★★★ Review

"I was hooked from page one." ★★★★★ Review

"It had everything and more." ★★★★★ Review

Perfect for fans of Scott Turow and John Lescroart, The Practical Navigator is a smart, fast-moving legal thriller where everyone’s motives—and desires—are in question.

Membership in the Great Arcadia, an exclusive East Coast yacht club, is pretty much limited to the rich and powerful in 1980s business, finance, and politics. But the sexually charged murder of Greek billionaire George Minot during their annual regatta off the coast of Maine opens a door into a secret world of addictive sexuality and excess beneath the starched sheets of the East Coast establishment.

Tim Bigelow is looking forward to spending a week at sea with the magical Cassie Sears, who has suddenly appeared in his life. He’s also there to celebrate his older brother, Harry—the retiring commodore of the Great Arcadia who’s on course for a major role in the White House. That prospect slips away when Minot is murdered and details start to come out, including the alarming fact that Minot saw himself as a latter-day embodiment of the Minotaur—the half-man, half-bull creature who lurked in the Labyrinth beneath the ancient city of Knossos in one of the oldest myths in the Western canon.

From the decks of the world’s finest yachts to the beds and boardrooms of some of the most powerful people in America to an electrifying courtroom trial in a dying coastal town, The Practical Navigator steers a course through its own labyrinth . . . a whirlpool of obsessive sexuality, murder, and despair.

You saved her life. You gave her a home. You know nothing about her…

Divorcee Claire is learning to begin again after discovering her ex-husband's affair. The last thing she expects to find is a young woman precariously balanced on the edge of a bridge. Vanessa is homeless and desperate, lacking options in her life. Claire takes Vanessa under her wing, saving her from the icy-cold waters of the churning river below.

Vanessa is grateful to Claire, especially when she offers her a room in her empty beach house in a quaint coastal town.

The two women find they have a lot in common and enjoy each other’s company immensely. Vanessa finds a job in the local town, and Claire takes up sketching again.

But their harmony is short-lived. When a brick comes crashing through a window, Claire must confront Vanessa about her past.

Did this sweet young girl bring someone dark into Claire’s life? And what if Vanessa has a hidden agenda?

Lucy Wang, a Chinese woman in her forties, leads an idyllic life in Montreal under the protective wing of her husband Patrick Harris, an English Canadian entrepreneurial millionaire whose career is on the rise and whom she loves deeply. However, her crystal castle cracks when she discovers that Patrick is having a passionate affair with an unknown woman. Chance leads her to learn of a new method for tackling the problem, unknown in the West but all the rage in China. She travels there to get more information and upon her return home decides to set her plan in motion. Torn between her internal conflicts and mixed feelings toward Patrick, Lucy ignores that in addition to standing up to her rival in love, she will have to face powerful adversaries in the shadows, to the point of risking her own life. Her dilemma: to accept defeat and quit or gather up the necessary courage to transform herself into a new woman and go further to meet the ultimate consequences.
A wonderful and gripping read that will most certainly stick with you long after you have finished reading it.

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
 
“Looking for a suspense novel that will keep you up until way past midnight? Look no further than Lock Every Door, by Riley Sager.”—Stephen King 
 
No visitors. No nights spent elsewhere. No disturbing the rich and famous residents. These are the rules for Jules Larsen’s new job apartment sitting at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile buildings. Recently heartbroken—and just plain broke—Jules is taken in by the splendor and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.
 
As she gets to know the occupants and staff, Jules is drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who reminds her so much of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew has a dark history hidden beneath its gleaming façade, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story—until the next day when Ingrid seemingly vanishes.
 
Searching for the truth, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew’s sordid past. But by uncovering the secrets within its walls, Jules exposes herself to untold terrors. Because once you’re in, the Bartholomew doesn’t want you to leave....

The first in the Camille Delaney Mystery series, The Complication is a fast-paced legal and medical mystery filled with greed, murder, and intrigue.

After her friend Dallas Jackson suffers a fatal complication during routine surgery, Seattle attorney Camille Delaney is determined to find out why. Dallas was like a father to Camille, and she feels she owes it to him and his family to get answers. Knowing she could lose her partnership at her high-profile law firm for undertaking such an investigation, Camille takes a huge risk and starts her own firm, determined to bring Dallas’s killer to justice. She turns for help to her friend Trish Seaholm, a quick-witted chameleonlike private investigator with an uncanny knack for blending into any situation.

As the two dive headfirst into a dangerous investigation, they discover disturbing evidence that Dallas’s case is not an isolated incident. A shocking number of patients are dying during run-of-the-mill surgeries at small-town hospitals—at the hands of the same two surgeons. Can Camille uncover the reason for these unexplained deaths before more patients fall victim? Or will her search for answers land her in the crosshairs of a killer?

When a top secret and powerful US surveillance technology is stolen and offered for sale on the black market, an exiled reporter races to expose the theft and untangle the plot—before the story is spiked, and he is silenced for good. 

Coming off a successful investigation into a major banking scandal, Newshound reporter Nik Byron arrives in Washington, DC, with high hopes for his career. But a disruptive corporate merger and a vengeful boss quickly dash his plans. Relegated to scut work and the graveyard shift, Nik’s career and emotions are in a tailspin. That is, until a late-night explosion levels a high-tech office park—home to some of the nation’s top clandestine programs—and provides Nik with an opportunity to reverse his fortunes. As Nik tries to unravel the mystery at the heart of the explosion, he suddenly finds himself confronting domestic terrorists, rogue American and Chinese spies, mercenaries, and a brilliant but temperamental computer expert. 

With the help of a small team of colleagues and his new girlfriend, Samantha Whyte—the chief investigator for the Northern Virginia Sheriff’s Department, who has her own secrets to conceal—Nik follows a bloody trail of bodies from DC to the upper Midwest. But as word gets out that what he has dug up threatens to expose the theft of highly sensitive US technology, now being sold to terrorists and repressive regimes, new enemies close in. How far is Nik willing to go for a story, and how much is he willing to risk to reveal the truth? 

With her tattoos and piercings, MIT tech genius Cami Lark is rebellious and anti-authoritarian—and finds herself in deep trouble when she hacks the FBI. Faced with the choice of prison or aiding the BAU hunt down serial killers, Cami reluctantly partners. Yet when she is faced with a killer with a penchant for Augmented Reality, and with future victims lives on the line, Cami may have found more than she bargained for.

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery.”
—Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

JUST ME (A Cami Lark FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 1) is the debut novel in a new series by #1 bestseller and USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose bestseller Once Gone (a free download) has received over 7,000 five star ratings and reviews.

With a list of suspects a mile long, and endless augmented reality dead ends, Cami’s first case does not look promising. Partnered with a condescending agent who resents her presence, Cami’ must find a connection to the physical world before time runs out. Working with the same people that fumbled her missing sister’s case when she was young, Cami must heal old wounds and lean into her tech genius to solve a case the FBI can’t.

Can Cami save the next victim—and herself—before it’s too late?

A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured FBI agent, the CAMI LARK series is a riveting mystery, packed with non-stop action, suspense, twists and turns, revelations, and driven by a breakneck pace that will keep you flipping pages late into the night. Fans of Rachel Caine, Teresa Driscoll and Robert Dugoni are sure to fall in love.

Books #2-#5 in the series—JUST OUTSIDE, JUST RIGHT, JUST FORGET, and JUST ONCE—are also available.

“An edge of your seat thriller in a new series that keeps you turning pages! ...So many twists, turns and red herrings… I can't wait to see what happens next.”
—Reader review (Her Last Wish)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jim has nowhere to turn. His mentor is dead. Millions of dollars are missing. And he can’t remember the last six months of his life.

Working as an accountant for a Long Island investment firm, Jim Garvey is far more comfortable reviewing financial statements than he is exploring the local dating scene. While working late one night, his uneventful life is torn apart when someone burns his firm to the ground. The brazen attack leaves Jim physically injured and suffering from severe memory loss, his mentor dead, and the firm on the brink of financial collapse.

Despite all that he has gone through, Jim is the only person his boss trusts to help get the firm back on its feet. Upon returning to work, it doesn’t take him long to discover that nearly $5 million had been wired to a mysterious company the day before the fire.

That discovery leads him down a path filled with treacherous questions he must answer before it’s too late. To uncover the truth, Jim must navigate the secretive worlds of shell companies, corporate fraud, and money laundering. However, he can’t trust a soul with what he comes to learn along the way.

Get your copy of Shell Games now but be prepared for where the truth leads you.

***

“This book is exactly how money laundering is completed through the banking system. While reading the captivating story, it was obvious that the author has intimate knowledge of common money laundering schemes. Awesome book for those who love reading about financial crimes.”

- Robert Nordlander, CPA, Host of Fraud Fighter Podcast

"It is very refreshing to see Mr. Krepp explain the actual mechanics of how money laundering can operate under the radar which is a key component of this fictional story. The plot incorporates the variety of methods that fraudsters use to hide the proceeds of crime. Readers will gain a true understanding of how we 'follow the money' from corporate fraud, consumer fraud and threat financing to find the bad guys."

- Suzanne Lynch, Director of Financial Crime Programs, Utica University

***

Thomas J. Krepp began his legal career through the Attorney General’s Honors Program as a Trial Attorney in the United States Department of Justice’s Tax Division, Criminal Enforcement Section. Since 2012, he has been an Assistant United States Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also an adjunct professor at Emory University School of Law, where he has taught the upper-level courses “Criminal Pretrial Motions” and “Asset Forfeiture and the Bank Secrecy Act.” Prior to attending law school, he was a National Security Agency intelligence analyst for three years.

Mr. Krepp is originally from Long Island and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and children. Shell Games is his first novel.

***

All of the views expressed on this page and in this book are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Department of Justice or the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

When a faceless body is found in a tranquil valley just south of the village of Swainshead, Chief Inspector Alan Banks soon finds that no one in the village is willing to talk about it, except to say, “Not again.” An unsolved murder from five years before and the unsolved disappearance of a prominent local man’s girlfriend appear to be connected. As Banks delves deeper into the mystery, someone begins to intentionally slow down the investigation. When events take a turn, Inspector Banks must track his killer across the Atlantic and find a way to make a break in the case before time runs out. Fourth in the critically acclaimed Inspector Banks Mystery Series.

The discovery of the defiled body of a local Jewish businessman in a Harbin back alley threatens to tip the city into mob violence...

It's 1932 and Borya Melnikov returns to police ranks after the Japanese take over Harbin and end Soviet control, only this time with the Judicial Police of the new state of Manchukuo. Now he has the opportunity to pay back the Soviets for the death of his Russian father by thwarting their subversive efforts.

Then the killing of a local Jewish businessman threatens to plunge the city into political turmoil. Borya is assigned to the case along with a police intern from Okinawa, whom Borya isn't sure is an ally or a spy for his Japanese handlers. They find their list of suspects run the gamut from Russian Fascists to Soviet agents to the Anti-Japanese resistance.

The closer Borya gets to the truth, the closer he comes to being the killer's next victim. Leaks and deadly attacks convince him he can trust no one except maybe his Japanese partner. Together they are in a race with the killer that takes them to the northern frontiers of Manchuria.

Special District: Harbin: Book 2, The Tigers of East Mountain is an International Mystery & Crime police detective novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is the second book of the award-winning Harbin Mystery Series.

If you like a story that is full of action and intrigue, this book is for you…

First place winner of the 2021 North Street Book Award for Genre Fiction

A mixed-race patrolman at the bottom ranks of Harbin's Special District police force. A dismembered body. A raging Red Terror campaign. A brewing war with the Soviet Union…

1929: Borya is at the bottom ranks of Harbin's Special District police force. His meager salary is the only thing that keeps his widowed mother and sisters fed. When fate takes him from chasing pickpockets to pairing him with one of the force's premier detectives, his life changes forever. They are assigned to investigate the dismembered body of one the city's foreign businessmen uncovered in the nearby Japanese zone.

The trail takes them from the upscale boulevards of Harbin’s New Town, to the seediest neighborhoods of the lower city, and beyond to the frontiers of Manchuria. Slowly they are drawn into a potential war with the Soviet Union that could tear apart the whole balance of life as they know it…

Can Borya and Inspector Chinn stay alive long enough to solve the crime?

Special District: Harbin, Drawing the Tiger’s Bones is an International Mystery & Crime police detective novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat. If you like fast-paced mystery thriller suspense and thriller crime novels that keep you surprised with every turn of the page, then you will definitely love this book by author Tim Stickel

Scroll up and click Read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited or Want to Buy to order this book now and dive into the adventure…

The winner will be crowned Ambassador's Bride. The losers will meet certain death.
 
When you're living inside a dwarf planet in the cold abyss of space, life is only easy if you're rich. 17-year-old Marishel Vance works as a seamstress - but when she's selected to compete in a brutal contest for the Ambassador's hand in marriage, she's quickly catapulted into a life-threatening struggle.

Marishel hates the idea of fighting for some stuck-up rich guy - no matter how handsome he is. But after her attempts to escape are thwarted, she becomes desperate to find a way to end the Blood Match and save the lives of the girls she's training with. The key could lie in Ambassador Quin himself ... but as she tries to win his friendship, her growing feelings for him only complicate the matter.

As the Blood Match looms closer, Marishel spirals deeper into a world of intrigue, danger, punishment, and secrets. Trusting the wrong people means game over. If Marishel wants to save herself - and the other fifty-nine girls sentenced to death - she'll have to break every rule in the book to do it...

As a riveting and imaginative science fiction novel that expertly weaves exhilarating action and nail-biting suspense with a futuristic death game like no other, Hierarchy of Blood is a page-turning read that's perfect for fans of books like The Selection and The Hunger Games. Scroll up and grab your copy today...

Southern California Book Festival: 2022 Winner--Young Adult
Paris Book Festival: 2022 Second-place Runner up--Young Adult
New England Book Festival: 2022 Second-place Runner up--Science Fiction
New York Book Festival: 2022 Honorable Mention--Science Fiction
Hollywood Book Festival: 2022 Honorable Mention--Science Fiction

• enemies to lovers
• coming of age
• action adventure
• dystopian society
• first love
• opposites attract

The world’s banks have adopted a new technology called blockchain. But is it safe? To be sure, they hire cybersecurity super-sleuth Frank Adversego. Soon, he’s faced with massive hacker attacks, a crisis between Russia and the US, and an unstable genius bent on overthrowing global governments to create a brave, new, anarchist world.

Andrew Updegrove brings a rare combination of drama, satire and technical accuracy to his writing. The result is a book you can't put down that tells you things you might wish you didn't know.

- Admiral James G. Stavridis, retired Commander, U.S. European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and current Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

Andrew Updegrove's Frank Adversego thrillers are realistic page-turners, making it clear that if you're not worried about cybersecurity you're not paying attention.
- Internationally renowned security technologist Bruce Schneier