Wildenstern Saga Series by Oisin McGann

"An exciting new steampunk adventure" featuring living machines, murderous betrayals, and Ireland's most ruthless family ( School Library Journal ).The slow collapse of the British Empire in the nineteenth century meant opportunity for anyone with ammunition and wit. Now the Wildensterns are by far the most powerful family--and the most ruthless... more"An exciting new steampunk adventure" featuring living machines, murderous betrayals, and Ireland's most ruthless family ( School Library Journal ).The slow collapse of the British Empire in the nineteenth century meant opportunity for anyone with ammunition and wit. Now the Wildensterns are by far the most powerful family--and the most ruthless. Trained from childhood in the arts of assassination and conspiracy and endowed with the supernatural ability to live for more than a century, the clan has grown rich, vicious, and seemingly invincible.After nearly two years away, eighteen-year-old Nate has returned. But his homecoming is shattered when his eldest brother, Marcus, is mysteriously killed. Following the Rules of Ascension, which allow one male family member to murder another, Nate is being blamed. Nate knows he isn't the murderer, but who is? With the help of his sister-in-law, Daisy, and his cousin Gerald, Nate intends to find out. Their investigation brings them into the underbelly of the Wildenstern empire, where living machines, conspiring relatives, and undercover mercenaries do their dirty work. But when a disaster uncovers the ancient remains of Wildenstern ancestors, the lives of the family members and their struggle for power will take a bizarre and gruesome turn. less

The young wife of the most powerful man in Ireland has been kidnapped, and Nate and Gerald must save her—from their own family, if necessary While her husband is away on business, Daisy Wildenstern buys a shape-shifting engimal from the charming adventurer Peter Barnum. The origins of the part-animal, part-machine being are a mystery. Life is cruel in Daisy’s family... moreThe young wife of the most powerful man in Ireland has been kidnapped, and Nate and Gerald must save her—from their own family, if necessary While her husband is away on business, Daisy Wildenstern buys a shape-shifting engimal from the charming adventurer Peter Barnum. The origins of the part-animal, part-machine being are a mystery. Life is cruel in Daisy’s family. Trained from childhood to be merciless predators, the Wildensterns are taught to trust no one—especially not their treacherous relatives. As long as their reputation stays intact, nothing is considered unacceptable on their quest for wealth and power. But Daisy belongs to a new generation of Wildensterns who are determined to defy their elders and live a more honorable life. When Daisy and the engimal go missing, it is of little surprise that most of her family doesn’t seem to care. It’s up to her brother-in-law, Nate, and his cousin Gerald to find Daisy and face her kidnapper, a ruthlessly cunning hunter. With relatives like these, who needs enemies? less

The British Empire is no longer the authority it once was. Instead, it's controlled by private business organizations--the most powerful of which is Ireland's ruthless Wildenstern family. Eighteen-year-old Nathaniel Wildenstern has given up his dreams of travel and adventure to devote himself to being his brother Berto's head of security. With the help of his wife, Daisy, Berto wants to change the barbaric ways of the clan... moreThe British Empire is no longer the authority it once was. Instead, it's controlled by private business organizations--the most powerful of which is Ireland's ruthless Wildenstern family. Eighteen-year-old Nathaniel Wildenstern has given up his dreams of travel and adventure to devote himself to being his brother Berto's head of security. With the help of his wife, Daisy, Berto wants to change the barbaric ways of the clan. But there are many among the Wildensterns who like things the way they are, and will resort to whatever devious methods necessary to keep it that way.Meanwhile, the burnt bodies of women are appearing around Dublin. When a connection to the Wildenstern family is discovered, Nate, Daisy, and Nate's sister Tatiana decide to investigate. Soon the young Wildensterns are digging into shadowy societies and dark family secrets that date back to the origin of the engimals, who are part animal, part machine. And what they find could shed light on the savage nature of the Wildensterns themselves. less