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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Crime & mystery > Historical mysteries
When Rowland Sinclair volunteers his services as a pilot to fly the
renowned international peace advocate, Egon Kisch, between
Freemantle and Melbourne, he is unaware of how hard Australia's new
Attorney General will fight to keep the reporter off Australian
soil. In this, it seems, the government is not alone, as
clandestine right-wing militias target Kisch... A Communist agent
is murdered on the steps of Parliament House and Rowland finds
himself drawn into a dangerous world of politics and assassination.
Once again, he stands against the unthinkable with an artist, a
poet and brazen sculptress by his side...
The Moonstone is one of the most famous suspense novels of all
time: a masterpiece of construction and the ultimate page-turner,
it introduced one of the world's most beloved genres, the detective
story. At a party celebrating her eighteenth birthday, Rachel
Verinder wears the stunning yellow diamond she unexpectedly
inherited from her uncle, Colonel John Herncastle. She is not aware
that the precious gem, known as the Moonstone, has been missing
since it was plundered from a sacred Hindu shrine in southern India
where her uncle had served with the British army fifty years ago.
But someone knows the secret of the Moonstone and will go to
desperate measures to retrieve it. When it goes missing later that
night, suspicions are raised and accusations fly. Could it be a
trio of mysterious Indian jugglers seen near the house? Or a
love-struck housemaid suddenly behaving strangely? And there is
Rachel herself, who becomes furious when her paramour, Franklin
Blake, directs attempts to find it. As divergent accounts reveal
more details, the diamond's recovery is complicated by unexpected
twists and turns. Sifting through a compelling list of suspects,
the indomitable Sergeant Cuff must find the truth about the
Moonstone and its mysterious disappearance. The Moonstone features
66 black and-white woodcut illustrations throughout.
It is the autumn of 1367. Master Hugh is enjoying the peaceful life
of Bampton, when a badly beaten man is found under the porch of St.
Andrew's Chapel. The dying man is a chapman - a traveling merchant.
Before he is buried in the chapel grounds an ancient, corroded coin
is found in the man's mouth. Master Hugh's quest for the chapman's
assailants, and his search for the origin of the coin, makes steady
progress - but there are men of wealth and power who wish to halt
his search, and an old nemesis, Sir Simon Trillowe, is in league
with them. But Master Hugh, and his assistant, the groom Arthur,
are determined to uncover the thieves and murderers, and the source
of the chapman's coin. They do, but not before they become involved
with a kidnapped maiden, a tyrannical abbot, and a suffering monk -
who needs Master Hugh's surgical skills and in return provides
clues which assist Hugh in solving the mystery of the tainted coin.
"One of the best novels I've read this century. Kate Atkinson is a
marvel. There aren't enough breathless adjectives to describe LIFE
AFTER LIFE: Dazzling, witty, moving, joyful, mournful,
profound."--Gillian Flynn, author of Gone GirlWhat if you could
live again and again, until you got it right?
On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born, the third
child of a wealthy English banker and his wife. She dies before she
can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night,
Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life
that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also
dies, repeatedly, in any number of ways. Ursula's world is in
turmoil, facing the unspeakable evil of the two greatest wars in
history. What power and force can one woman exert over the fate of
civilization -- if only she has the chance?
Wildly inventive, darkly comic, startlingly poignant -- this is
Kate Atkinson at her absolute best.
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Sacrilege
(Paperback)
S J Parris
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The No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling series The third book in S. J.
Parris's bestselling, critically acclaimed series following
Giordano Bruno, set at the time of Queen Elizabeth I London, 1584.
Giordano Bruno travels to Canterbury for love. But finds only
murder ... Giordano Bruno is being followed by the woman he once
loved - Sophia Underhill, accused of murder and on the run. With
the leave of the Queen's spymaster, he sets out to clear Sophia's
name. But when more brutal killings occur a far deadlier plot
emerges. A city rife with treachery. A relic steeped in blood. His
hunt for the real killer leads to the shadows of the Cathedral -
England's holiest shrine - and the heart of a sinister and powerful
conspiracy ... Heretic, maverick, charmer: Giordano Bruno is always
on his guard. Never more so than when working for Queen Elizabeth
and her spymaster - for this man of letters is now an agent of
intrigue and danger ... Perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and Hilary
Mantel Praise for S. J. Parris 'A delicious blend of history and
thriller' The Times 'An omnipresent sense of danger' Daily Mail
'Colourful characters, fast-moving plots and a world where one
false step in religion or politics can mean a grisly death' Sunday
Times 'Pacy, intricate, and thrilling' Observer 'Vivid, sprawling
... Well-crafted, exuberant' Financial Times 'Impossible to resist'
Daily Telegraph 'Twists and turns like a corkscrew of venomous
snakes' Stuart MacBride 'It has everything - intrigue, mystery and
excellent history' Kate Mosse 'The period is incredibly vivid and
the story utterly gripping' Conn Iggulden 'A brilliantly unusual
glimpse at the intrigues surrounding Queen Elizabeth I' Andrew
Taylor
A priceless manuscript. A missing scholar. A trail of riddles.
Bombay, 1950 For over a century, one of the world's great
treasures, a six-hundred-year-old copy of Dante's The Divine
Comedy, has been safely housed at Bombay's Asiatic Society. But
when it vanishes, together with the man charged with its care,
British scholar and war hero, John Healy, the case lands on
Inspector Persis Wadia's desk. Uncovering a series of complex
riddles written in verse, Persis - together with English forensic
scientist Archie Blackfinch - is soon on the trail. But then they
discover the first body. As the death toll mounts it becomes
evident that someone else is also pursuing this priceless artefact
and will stop at nothing to possess it . . . Harking back to an era
of darkness, this second thriller in the Malabar House series pits
Persis, once again, against her peers, a changing India, and an
evil of limitless intent. Gripping, immersive, and full of Vaseem
Khan's trademark wit, this is historical fiction at its finest.
Missing diamonds. Mysterious deaths. And all that jazz. London,
1925. With their band the Dizzy Heights, jazz musicians Ivor
'Skins' Maloney and Bartholomew 'Barty' Dunn are used to
improvising as they play the Charleston for flappers and toffs, but
things are about to take a surprising turn. Superintendent
Sunderland has had word that a deserter who stole a fortune in
diamonds as he fled the war is a member of the Aristippus private
members' club in Mayfair-where the Dizzy Heights have a residency.
And the thief is planning to steal a hoard of jewels hidden there
under the cover of a dance contest. As mutual pal Lady Hardcastle
has suggested, Skins and Dunn are perfectly placed to be
Sunderland's eyes and ears-and Skins's wife Ellie soon lends a hand
with a bit of light snooping. But the stakes change dramatically
when a mysterious death at the club brings a sinister note to the
investigation. With the dance contest fast approaching, the trio
must solve the mystery of the missing diamonds, unmask the
murderer, and prevent more deadly crimes-all without missing a
beat.
A rare shopping trip for the Reverend Mother ends in brutal murder
Despite its regal name, the Queen's Old Castle is nothing but a
low-grade department store, housed within the decrepit walls of
what was once a medieval castle, built at the harbour entrance to
Cork city. On her first visit for fifty years, the Reverend Mother
is struck by how little has changed - apart, that is, from the
strange smell of gas . But when the store's owner staggers from his
office and topples over the railings to his death, Mother Aquinas
is once again drawn into a baffling murder investigation where
suspects are all too plentiful. An unpopular man, Joseph
Fitzwilliam had been disliked and feared by all who worked for him.
And when the contents of his will are revealed, suspicion widens to
include his own family ...
The brand-new novel from the winner of the Richard and Judy Search
for a Bestseller competition. 'THIS ATMOSPHERIC WARTIME MYSTERY IS
PERFECT FOR FANS OF FOYLE'S WAR' CANDIS June 1944, Romsey, England.
Josephine 'Jo' Fox is at an impasse since the unwelcome return of
her wayward husband Richard. So, when he disappears again, she is
neither concerned nor surprised - until a burning car is discovered
with a body inside. And there are signs that Richard is somehow
involved. Jo is determined to find both her husband and answers,
yet with her friend Bram Nash in hospital suffering an infection of
his old war wound, she must do so alone. When information comes to
light that implicates Bram too, Jo finds herself on a dangerous
path to the truth. But what will be left for her when all is
revealed? PRAISE FOR THE JOSEPHINE FOX SERIES: ' Terrific ...
captures brilliantly the atmosphere of wartime Britain' ANN CLEEVES
' Feisty, determined and brave - I loved Josephine Fox' JUDY
FINNIGAN 'A complete delight ... sings with authenticity' CAZ FREAR
A TRULY GRIPPING READ' - GUARDIAN 'FABULOUS, A DELIGHT' - S.G.
MACLEAN 'A FINE ADVENTURE REMINISCENT OF PATRICK O'BRIAN' - SUNDAY
TIMES This is the secret report of Laurence Jago. Ex-clerk.
Unwilling spy. Reluctant sailor. Accidental detective. New Year
1795, and Laurence Jago is aboard the Tankerville mail ship, en
route to Philadelphia. Ostensibly travelling as assistant to the
irrepressible journalist William Philpott, Laurence's real mission
is to aid the civil servant carrying a vital treaty to Congress. A
treaty that will prevent the Americans from joining with the French
in the war against Britain. However, when the civil servant meets
an unfortunate - and supposedly accidental - end and the treaty
disappears, Laurence realises only he can now prevent war with the
US. Trapped on the ship with travellers including two penniless
French aristocrats, an Irish actress and a dancing bear, Laurence
must hunt down both the lost treaty and the murderer, before he has
a tragic 'accident' himself... The new page-turning historical
mystery from the author of BLACK DROP, a 2021 TIMES Book of the
Year. Perfect for readers of Andrew Taylor, Laura Shepherd-Robinson
and S.J. Parris.
Sister Fidelma returns in THE HOUSE OF DEATH, the thirty-second
Celtic mystery by Peter Tremayne, acclaimed author of THE
SHAPESHIFTER'S LAIR, BLOOD IN EDEN, and BLOODMOON. If you love
Ellis Peters, you'll be gripped by THE HOUSE OF DEATH and the
Sister Fidelma series. Ireland. AD 672. The Feast of Beltaine is
approaching and the seven senior princes of the kingdom of Muman
are gathering at Cashel to discuss King Colgu's policies. Just days
before the council meets, Brother Conchobhar, the keeper of the
sacred sword, is found murdered. Sister Fidelma and her brother
Colgu fear that the killer had been trying to steal the sword that
symbolises the King's authority to rule. And as rumours begin to
spread of an attempt to overthrow Colgu, news reaches Cashel that a
plague ship has landed at a nearby port, bringing the deadly
pestilence to its shores. Amid fear and panic, Fidelma, Eadulf and
Enda must work together to catch a killer as the death toll starts
to mount... What readers are saying about the Sister Fidelma
series: 'Tremayne is one of those very few historical mystery
writers who can perplex and bewilder. He weaves the twisty plots
into a complex historical narrative' 'A must-read for anyone
looking for a good mystery' 'The characters are original, the
settings are imaginative and true-to-life and the intricate plots
form enough threads to keep you guessing at every turn'
If you love Lucinda Riley and Elizabeth Edmondson, you'll love this
perfect summer read from the author of Islands of Secrets and Villa
of Secrets. Sent away to a convent school in Dublin at the age of
five, Irini McGuire has always had a strained and distant
relationship with her mother, Bridget, a celebrated archaeologist
who lives on the paradise island of Santorini. So, when Irini
receives news that Bridget has been injured at a dig and is in a
coma, she knows it is finally time to return to the island of her
birth. Reading through her mother's notes at her bedside, Irini
starts to realise how little she knows about Bridget's life. Now,
driven by rumours that her mother's injury was no accident, Irini
must uncover the dark secrets behind her family's separation. Will
she discover the truth about her parents and her past before it is
too late? What readers have said about Patricia Wilson's Islands of
Secrets and Villa of Secrets: 'Island of Secrets is a book full of
raw emotions, family vendettas, hidden secrets and three very
strong women. It's a book I enjoyed very much and one which fans of
Victoria Hislop and Debbie Rix are sure to enjoy' 'So well written
and utterly heartbreaking . . . a story that needs to be told'
'Page-turning, enthralling and heartbreaking by turns' 'Made me
laugh and cry, just couldn't put this book down' 'A perfect read'
'Heart-wrenching and heart-warming at the same time' 'What a
thoroughly engrossing book' 'Written with such depth and
understanding'
Sherlock Holmes Historical Fiction Thriller"Novelist and literary
historian, Breck England, sheds light on the little-known detective
work of super sleuth Sherlock Holmes in America. " Leonard
Carpenter, author of Conan the Barbarian series Learn the answers
to many tantalizing Sherlock Holmes questions in a book that takes
you into the dark place in the life of Holmes B.W. (Before Watson),
or, as he said, "before my biographer came to glorify me."
Historical fiction thriller. The Tarleton Murders, the record of
"one of those pretty little problems" Holmes solved in the
pre-Watson years, has never been brought to light until now. The
discovery of this previously unknown manuscript opens a window onto
the mysterious early years when Holmes was struggling to set
himself up as a "consulting detective" a previously unknown
profession. The early Sherlock Holmes. So begins a frantic journey
that takes Holmes and his friend from Rome (where they save the
Pope) to Paris to London to Liverpool, across the Atlantic during
the most dangerous hurricane in twenty years, to the backwoods of
Georgia (infested by the Klan), and eventually into the midst of
Atlanta's highest society with growing awareness of a plot that
threatens the very existence of the United States. Along the way we
encounter George Bernard Shaw, Joel Chandler Harris, Pope Leo XIII,
the artist Mary Cassatt, Moriarty himself and Moriarty's wife! And
in the midst of the fun we make some astounding discoveries, such
as the true identity of Moriarty, the fate of the Vatican Cameos,
and to top it all off, Mycroft's schoolboy nickname. Also discover:
How did Holmes know so much about the Ku Klux Klan? How did he
acquire such a rich acquaintance with America? Did he really
prevent a Second Civil War? If you've read Sherlock Holmes in
America by Martin H. Greenberg or Sherlock Holmes and the Case of
the Undead Client by M. J. Downing, you'll love Breck England's The
Tarleton Murders.
1894. A well-respected academic is found dead in a gentlemen's
convenience cubicle at the British Museum, the stall locked from
the inside. Professor Lance Pickering had been due to give a talk
promoting the museum's new `Age of King Arthur' exhibition when he
was stabbed repeatedly in the chest. Having forged a strong
reputation working alongside the inimitable Inspector Abberline on
the Jack the Ripper case, Daniel Wilson is called in to solve the
mystery of the locked cubicle murder, and he brings his expertise
and archaeologist Abigail Fenton with him. But it isn't long before
the museum becomes the site of another fatality and the pair face
mounting pressure to deliver results. With enquiries compounded by
persistent journalists, local vandals and a fanatical society,
Wilson and Fenton face a race against time to salvage the
reputation of the museum and catch a murderer desperate for
revenge.
Figure out whodunnit in this exciting new 1930s crime series that
whisks you away to the most gorgeous escapist destinations! A
beautiful French estate A wedding A murder And a novice detective
intent on solving her first case! Fresh from teaching at her
prestigious Swiss boarding school, Miss Atalanta Ashford suddenly
finds herself the most eligible young lady in society when she
inherits her grandfather's substantial fortune. But with this
fortune, and an elegant new Parisian home, comes a legacy passed
down from grandfather to granddaughter...sleuthing discreetly for
Europe's elite. This young lady isn't one to back down from a
challenge and Miss Ashford must depend on her sharp wit and charm
to solve her first case, which takes her to the lush lavender
fields of Provence and a wedding at the mansion of the Comte de
Surmonne. Now, as murder strikes twice, Atalanta will have to race
to solve the case but will she be able to stop the blushing bride
from facing a fatal 'I do'? Look out for more Miss Ashford
mysteries and get your passports ready as you travel with her to
some of the most sought-after destinations on the continent... Book
1: Mystery in Provence Book 2: Last Seen in Santorini Book 3: A
Fatal Invitation in Tuscany Book 4: Last Dance in Salzburg Readers
love Mystery in Provence: 'Take me back to the mysteries of
old...this talented and gifted author kept me entertained' 'Loved
the characters and loved the mystery too...Look forward to more in
the series' 'An engaging and entertaining whodunnit with a likeable
and feisty protagonist and a colourful cast of supporting
characters in the most delicious settings' 'Let the sleuthing begin
and the twists and red herrings multiply ... Excellent read!' 'Who
doesn't want to be transported to a wonderful location for a
thrilling murder mystery?' 'Fun, engaging and spirited'
A grisly death near her new homestead draws Brigid Reardon into a
complicated mystery soon after her arrival in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in
1881 After the harrowing events that entangled her in Deadwood,
Brigid Reardon just wants to move west and get on with her new life
in America. But shortly after traveling to Cheyenne to join her
brother Seamus, she finds herself caught up in another deadly
mystery-beginning with her discovery of a neighbor's body on the
plains near their homes. Was Ella murdered? Are either of the two
men in Ella's life responsible? With Seamus away on a cattle drive,
her friend Padraic possibly succumbing to a local's charms, and the
sheriff seemingly satisfied with Ella's fate, it falls to Brigid to
investigate what really happened, which puts her in the crosshairs
of one of Cheyenne's cattle barons, called "big sugars" in these
parts. All she really wants is something better than a crumbling,
soddy homestead on the desolate plains of Wyoming-and maybe, just
maybe, she wants Padraic-but life, it seems, has other plans: this
young immigrant from Ireland is going to be a detective on the
western frontier of 1880s America, even if it kills her. Loosely
based on the true story of Ellen Watson in Cheyenne in 1889, The
Big Sugar continues the adventure begun in Mary Logue's celebrated
mystery The Streel, which introduced a "gritty, charming, clever
protagonist" (Kirkus Reviews). With a faultless sense of history, a
keen eye for suspense, and a poet's way with prose, Mary Logue all
but guarantees that readers, like Brigid, will find the mystery at
the heart of The Big Sugar downright irresistible.
Cleo Sherwood disappeared eight months ago. Aside from her parents
and the two sons she left behind, no one seems to have noticed. It
isn't hard to understand why: it's 1964 and neither the police, the
public nor the papers care much when Negro women go missing. Maddie
Schwartz - recently separated from her husband, working her first
job as an assistant at the Baltimore Sun - wants one thing: a
byline. When she hears about an unidentified body that's been
pulled out of the fountain in Druid Hill Park, Maddie thinks she is
about to uncover a story that will finally get her name in print.
What she can't imagine is how much trouble she will cause by
chasing a story that no-one wants her to tell.
Was the wrong man hanged for a young woman's murder, or is a
copycat killer on the loose? DCI Henry Johnstone and DS Mickey
Hitchens must crack a darkly complex case when the community close
ranks. 1930, Leicestershire. Everyone in the quiet market town of
East Harborough is convinced that local miscreant Brady Brewer is
responsible for the brutal murder of Sarah Downham. Despite
Brewer's protestations of innocence, and his sister's pleas for
help from DCI Henry Johnstone and DS Mickey Hitchens, he is
convicted and hanged. Two weeks after the hanging, a farmworker
finds the body of another young woman less than a mile from where
Sarah was found - and there are other disturbing similarities
between the two murders. Is a copycat killer on the loose, or was
Brewer innocent after all? Where is the missing yellow dress that
Sarah wore the night she was murdered? As the locals close ranks,
Henry and Mickey soon discover that reputations - and the truth -
are all on the line . . .
Apprentice healer Lassair heads on a perilous journey north in the
absorbing new Aelf Fen medieval mystery. October, 1093. Two young
men have been brutally beaten to death; a third viciously attacked.
All three men are of similar appearance. But could there be another
connection? Lassair meanwhile has agreed to accompany her former
lover Rollo on a perilous journey north in search of King William.
On their trail is a skilled, relentless and ruthless assassin. Who
is he - and why has he targeted Rollo? If they are to survive, the
hunted must become the hunters: Rollo and Lassair must lure their
pursuer to the treacherous fenland terrain Lassair knows so well
and turn the tables on their would-be killer.
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