The second instalment in the dramatic new series... Joshua, Maria, and Linus Flavian now determine their destinies. From the Nazarenes and the Essenes to the burgeoning fishing industry on the Sea of Galilee, Joshua and his band of followers are led from obscurity to the portals of the Roman Prefect in a movement poised to change the world. Maria of Magdala becomes a part of this movement and is left with an awesome responsibility. Linus Flavian pits Roman pride against a Galilean past. FISHERS OF MEN provides a fascinating commentary on the origins of Christianity that is both challenging, and yet plausible, incorporating traditional beliefs, fictitious thoughts, and new controversial interpretations. With vivid prose and compelling characters, FISHERS OF MEN offers a captivating glimpse into the first century and Roman worlds.

‘A provocative new picture of the historical Jesus’

— Kirkus Discoveries

‘Peter Longley’s unique interpretations of the life of the Messiah, along with his interesting and plausible explanations of miraculous events and his indications that Maria of Magdala played a vital role in the ministry of God’s son , make for a fascinating and intriguing story and increases anticipation for the third and final book in the series.’

— San Francisco and
Sacramento Book Reviews

‘From the descriptive nature, it is obvious that this author has personal knowledge of these important first-century sites, giving authenticity to his work often missing in Biblical narratives.’

— Beecher,
Springfield, Missouri

Flavius Septimus, the commander of the Sepphoris garrison in Galilee, harbors a dark secret that casts a shadow over the lives of his son, Linus Flavian, and Maria of Magdala. In these novels, Linus, Maria, and Joshua, the Biblical Jesus, are born under a mysterious star in a world steeped in superstition and intrigue. As the Jewish Temple hierarchy, the Herodian dynasty, and the Romans vie for power in tumultuous first-century Judea, their adolescent lives unfold, intertwined with personal destinies shaped by the beliefs surrounding their births under that enigmatic star.

‘Longley's feeling for the Roman and Jewish point of view is superb.’

— Dorothy Thompson, Scotland

‘In providing historical, economic, and religious details, Peter Longley builds a bridge between spiritual divinity and traditional Christianity. Finally, it's a relief to find a theologian that makes sense of the Bible and its many translations!’

— Jeanette Parker, USA

‘Longley blends a fantastic mixture of historical and fictional figures and events to narrate the early lives of Joshua, (also known as Jesus of Nazareth,) Maria, (also known as Mary Magdalene,) and Linus Flavius, (the fictitious son of a high-ranking Roman official.) Using simple, effective prose, Longley tells an engaging tale that offers plausible explanations of those well-known stories of the miraculous, such as the virgin birth and the turning of water into wine. Longley tells an intriguing story in a setting that is both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.’

— San Francisco and
Sacramento Book Reviews

‘I very much enjoy your interpretation of the life of Jesus and feel it is much more logical than the accepted version. I have always had a fascination with Mary Magdalene and her life as well. I found this book to be very interesting. Nothing I have read on Mary Magdalene has had the same sort of story line including that of her mother.’

— Cheryl Huffman, USA

War rarely starts with invasion-but invasion, devastating though it is, is often the moment when diplomacy gives way to conflict. Sadly, for Ukraine it has marked the start of a long and brutal chapter that has continued since 2022.

With no clear end in sight, Peter Longley's UKRAINE is a sweeping family saga spanning 1900 to the present day. Through the fictional Lemontov-Sokolov family, the story moves from the last years of the Russian Empire into the upheavals of 1905, the revolutions of 1917, the fall of the Tsar, and the civil war that leads to the formation of the USSR, including Soviet Ukraine.

The family then endures the Nazi invasion in the Second World War and the Soviet "liberation" under Stalin, followed by decades of life inside the Soviet system. After 1991, Ukraine becomes independent-but tensions deepen between regions with strong Russian ties (especially Crimea and the Donbas) and the Kyiv-centred west and north, leading to separatist conflict, the 2014 takeover of Crimea, and rising confrontation.

As politics swings between pro-European and pro-Russian directions, the Sokolov family is split-brother against brother-across Kyiv, Kherson, and Sevastopol, until the standoff between Putin and Zelenskyy erupts into full invasion. In the aftermath, family members become refugees scattered across Britain, Germany, and the United States, holding different views of their homeland but sharing the same longing for peace.

"Sofia Sokolov died a refugee in a foreign land, dreaming of that little wooden house... amidst those fields of sunflowers in the Donbas-where blue skies meet a sea of waving yellow."

Ukraine is a twentieth- and twenty-first-century tragedy-told through one family's survival, division, and hope.