Date Published: 12/10/2025
Publisher: Manhattan Book Group
In Reign of Secrets, diplomacy meets danger, and the past may be the deadliest weapon of all.
Praise for Reign of Secrets
"A gripping, timely story... that masterfully blends that warrior ethos with today's geopolitical reality, as Whit Ransom confronts Vladimir Putin's ruthless ambition to resurrect an empire."
- Lt. Col. James Reese (Ret.), US Army Delta Force Operator
"Through this historical thriller, Reign of Secrets offers a captivating glimpse into the essence of what it means to follow in the footsteps of legends..."
- Morten Andersen, "The Great Dane", Member, NFL Hall of Fame
"A masterfully crafted tale that explores how the West's adversaries subtly challenge the narratives of history - reshaping symbols, exploiting weaknesses, reframing legacies, and testing the resilience of democratic values and the international order."
-Lt. General Ed Cardon (Ret.), former Commander, US Army Cyber Command
Her body had lain undisturbed in its royal crypt for almost a century; but when the man in the front row discovered the letter sewn in the lining of her murdered granddaughter’s nightgown, he knew the long dead Empress had to return to Russia, to fulfill his destiny, and change the course of history.
Whit Ransom studied that man. From his seat in the balcony of Roskilde Cathedral he had a clear view of the back of the man’s bald head, square shoulders, and dark blue suit. The skill of observing small details had been part of his Delta Force training. The bald man seemed a bit smaller in stature than media photos suggested. And the man clearly wasn’t paying attention to the homily the bishop was delivering. Instead, he was glancing around the interior of the cathedral, studying the architecture, the multiple monuments, and the recesses in the walls as if he were looking for something. What?
On one side of the aisle sat the royal family of Denmark, headed by Her Majesty the Queen. On the other side of the aisle, in seats surrounding the bald man, the political leadership of Denmark sat stoically. Ransom scrutinized the face of Prime Minister Ida Samuelsen for any sign of what she was thinking as she sat next to the man. But the Prime Minister sat unmoving, betraying no discomfort except for one brief instant when Ransom saw her eyes dart to the left, at the man who most of her counterparts considered the most dangerous person in the world, a man who had recently brought Europe to the brink of an unthinkable war, a man who tonight would be flying back to Moscow to resume his duties as the President of Russia. …
…What Ransom was unaware of, what only the man in the front row knew of, was the tattered letter sewn in the hem of the nightgown of the nineteen-year-old Grand Duchess Maria; a letter from Maria’s grandmother to Maria’s father. And other than the man in the front row, neither Whit Ransom nor the Queen of Denmark nor anyone else present in the cathedral that afternoon could have guessed the contents of that letter, or the secret buried therein, a secret the man in the front row was determined to unravel. A secret that would allow the new Russian empire to rule all of Europe, with him on the throne.
About the Author
A personal encounter with Islamic terrorism in 2016 became the catalyst for writing Reign of Secrets.
Reign of Secrets is the first in a series of Whit Ransom novels.
His first book, The American, written during the last few months of his diplomatic service, was a Bestseller in Denmark.
Ambassador Cain and his family live in North Carolina.
