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FROM MALICE TO ASHES:

Forest of No Mercy - Part II

(coming October 1)

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A World War II novel inspired by actual events

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Spanning Nazi-occupied Lithuania, Soviet labor camps, and the refugee corridors of wartime Europe, From Malice to Ashes traces the interwoven fates of three families caught between two totalitarian regimes.

 

At its center is Olek Kosmen, a young Jewish man who becomes an unwitting chronicler of the Ponary massacre—one of the Holocaust’s least-known mass executions. As he hides a wounded child and risks discovery, his fiancée flees to Sweden, while her parents are deported to Siberia. Their stories converge in a harrowing yet redemptive narrative of exile, resistance, and resilience.

 

Inspired by true events, this novel offers an unflinching portrait of survival under dueling genocides. With lyrical detail and moral gravity, From Malice to Ashes illuminates a little-known chapter of WWII history, asking what remains when the world burns—and who lives to bear witness.

 

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Author: Gary W. Toyn

Publisher: American Legacy Media

322 pages

Retail price: $15.95

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FOR MALICE AND MERCY:

A World War II Novel - Part I

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German immigrants Karl and Marta Meyer are loyal Americans, especially after a startling visit to see their family during Hitler’s pre-war rise to power. When America enters the war, the FBI wrongly arrests the Meyers as spies, then strips them of their citizenship, rights and livelihood. They are banished to a German/Japanese internment camp, but then violently targeted by Hitler loyalists. Deportation back to war-torn Germany seems their only hope of survival.

 

Their son Hank enlists in the US Army Air Corps, hoping his pay can save the family’s home. After his B-17 is shot down, his ability to speak fluent German helps him evade capture. When the Gestapo is on his trail, he’s pursued as a spy and faces certain death if they can catch him. His life depends on the daring plan of two unlikely collaborators. 

This meticulously researched novel reveals untold stories of legalized hatred and the cost of unjustified suspicion. For Malice and Mercy has great relevance for our day, weaving a spellbinding saga of treachery, survival, and unmerited forgiveness.

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Order Paperback

 

Author: Gary W. Toyn

Publisher: American Legacy Media

586 page

Signed: $9.95

Unsigned: $9.95

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Order Audiobook

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Author: Gary W. Toyn

Narrator: Matt Armstrong

Publisher: American Legacy Media

Run time: 22 hours 20 minutes

Retail price: $29.95

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"Dramatically engaging and unsettling."
- Kirkus Reviews

"Multifaceted, complex, and satisfyingly realistic.
- Midwest Book Review

"A well-crafted account of sacrifice and betrayal, triumph and forgiveness."
- Blue Ink Reviews
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"This book serves as a means of preserving the legacy of a genuine American hero."

Former Senator Bob Dole

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"This well-illustrated account of the intense battle that Wahlen and his fellow Marines went through is in stark contrast to Joe Rosenthal's calm, yet heroic photo of the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi."  —

College and Research Library News

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"....An extraordinary peek into the making of one of our nation's most distinguished war heroes."

James Bradley, Author of "Flags of Our Fathers"

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