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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Crime & mystery > Historical mysteries
'A riotous delve into the dark medical world of Restoration London'
- S.G. MACLEAN 'An infectious read, packed with atmosphere and
colourful characters' - OSCAR DE MURIEL 'A gripping whodunnit with
a sinister twist' - JENNIFER RYAN
________________________________________ WHO WOULD MURDER THE
DYING... London, 1665. Hidden within the growing pile of corpses in
his churchyard, Rector Symon Patrick discovers a victim of the
pestilence unlike any he has seen before: a young woman with a
shorn head, covered in burns, and with pieces of twine delicately
tied around each wrist and ankle. Desperate to discover the
culprit, Symon joins a society of eccentric medical men who have
gathered to find a cure for the plague. Someone is performing
terrible experiments upon the dying, hiding their bodies amongst
the hundreds that fill the death carts. Only Penelope - a new and
mysterious addition to Symon's household - may have the skill to
find the killer. Far more than what she appears, she is already on
the hunt. But the dark presence that enters the houses of the sick
will not stop, and has no mercy... This hugely atmospheric and
entertaining historical thriller will transport readers to the
palaces and alleyways of seventeenth-century London. Perfect for
fans of Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Andrew Taylor and C.J. Sansom.
________________________________________ 'A sickening, desperate
London, wonderfully evoked. A terrific read!' - ALIX NATHAN 'A
rollicking, roistering tale with humour horror and human decency at
its dark heart' - KATE GRIFFIN 'Brilliantly convincing and
thrillingly infectious' - S.W. PERRY 'A gorgeous, darkly witty
novel that transports readers to the London of Charles II' - MARIAH
FREDERICKS 'Dark, haunting and unexpectedly witty' - SUSAN ELIA
MACNEAL
1857. Joel Heygate is the popular stationmaster at Exeter St
David's railway station. So when the charred remains of a body are
discovered in the embers of the town's annual Bonfire Night
celebration, everyone is horrified to discover that they belong to
Mr Heygate. Inspector Robert Colbeck and his assistant Victor
Leeming are dispatched to Exeter with all due haste, and quickly
unearth a number of suspects. But as Colbeck closes in on the
killer, he finds himself in mortal danger. Can justice prevail, or
will his beloved Madeleine be robbed of a husband on the very eve
of their marriage?
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Bess Crawford mystery series, a short story that unravels dark secrets from her close friend Simon Brandon’s past.
Years before the Great War summoned Bess Crawford to serve as a battlefield nurse, the indomitable heroine spent her childhood in India under the watchful eye of her friend and confidant, the young soldier Simon Brandon. The two formed an inseparable bond on the dangerous Northwest Frontier where her father’s Regiment held the Khyber Pass against all intruders. It was Simon who taught Bess to ride and shoot, escorted her to the bazaars and the Maharani’s Palace, and did his best to keep her out of trouble, after the Crawford family took an interest in the tall, angry boy with a mysterious past.
But the Crawfords have long guarded secrets for Simon and he owes them a debt that runs deeper than Bess could ever know. Told through the eyes of Melinda, Richard, Clarissa, and Bess, A Hanging at Dawn pieces together a mystery at the center of Bess’s family that will irrevocably change the course of her future.
'An ingenious marriage of comedy and crime.' Olga Tokarczuk, 2018
winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Shortlisted for the EBRD
Literature Prize 2022 For fans of The Thursday Murder Club and
Frank Tallis's Vienna Blood comes the thrilling sequel to the
critically-acclaimed Mrs Mohr Goes Missing Easter, 1895. The
biggest event in the Catholic calendar is a disaster in Zofia
Turbotynska's household. Her maid Karolina has handed in her notice
and worse, gone missing. When Karolina's body is discovered,
violated and stabbed, Zofia knows she has to investigate. Following
a trail that leads her from the poorest districts of Galicia to the
highest echelons of society, Zofia uncovers a web of gang crimes,
sex-trafficking and corruption that will force her to question
everything she knows. Set against the backdrop of the women's
cause, Karolina, or the Torn Curtain refuses to turn a blind eye to
the injustices and inequalities of its era - and ours. Praise for
the series: 'The sprightly narrative and vivid evocation of
turn-of-the-century Poland make for an enjoyable tale.' Guardian
'It's fun and sparky and the glimpse of turn-of-the-century Polish
manners and mores is beguiling.' Daily Mail 'The story fuses high
comedy with an evocative portrayal of the period.' Sunday Express
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The Album
(Hardcover)
Mary Roberts Rinehart; Series edited by Otto Penzler
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R678
Discovery Miles 6 780
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Told through four interlinked cases, this Gothic horror mystery
sees Sherlock Holmes and Count Dracula join forces to banish a
terrible enemy 1902. Sherlock Holmes's latest case begins with a
severed finger. With no signs of decomposition and an adverse
reaction to silver, it is the most perplexing mystery yet - one
that relates to their next client - and the moment Sherlock's and
Watson's lives are irrevocably changed. A Transylvanian nobleman
called Count Dracula arrives at Baker Street seeking Sherlock's
help, for his beloved wife Mina has been kidnapped. But Dracula is
a client like no other and Sherlock and Watson must confront -
despite the wild, unbelievable notion - the existence of vampires.
And before long, Sherlock, Watson and their new vampire allies must
work together to banish a powerful enemy growing in the shadows...
The new Sherlock Holmes novel from the New York Times bestselling
author of The Age of Odin. It is 1890, and in the days before
Christmas Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson are visited at Baker
Street by a new client. Eve Allerthorpe - eldest daughter of a
grand but somewhat eccentric Yorkshire-based dynasty - is greatly
distressed, as she believes she is being haunted by a demonic
Christmas spirit. Her late mother told her terrifying tales of the
sinister Black Thurrick, and Eve is sure that she has seen the
creature from her bedroom window. What is more, she has begun to
receive mysterious parcels of birch twigs, the Black Thurrick's
calling card... Eve stands to inherit a fortune if she is sound in
mind, but it seems that something - or someone - is threatening her
sanity. Holmes and Watson travel to the Allerthorpe family seat at
Fellscar Keep to investigate, but soon discover that there is more
to the case than at first appeared. There is another spirit
haunting the family, and when a member of the household is found
dead, the companions realise that no one is beyond suspicion.
Dense fog masks foul play in the streets of London, as Ann Granger
brings us her seventh Victorian mystery featuring Scotland Yard's
Inspector Ben Ross and his wife Lizzie. It is March 1870. London is
in the grip of fog and ice. But Scotland Yard's Inspector Ben Ross
has more than the weather to worry about when the body of a young
woman is found in a dustbin at the back of a Piccadilly restaurant.
Ben must establish who the victim is before he can find out how and
why she came to be there. His enquiries lead him first to a
bootmaker in Salisbury and then to a landowner in Yorkshire.
Meanwhile, Ben's wife, Lizzie, aided by their eagle-eyed maid,
Bessie, is investigating the mystery of a girl who is apparently
being kept a prisoner in her own home. As Ben pursues an
increasingly complex case, Lizzie reveals a vital piece of evidence
that brings him one step closer to solving the crime... Praise for
Ann Granger's crime novels: 'Characterisation, as ever with
Granger, is sharp and astringent' The Times 'Her usual impeccable
plotting is fully in place' Good Book Guide 'A clever and lively
book' Margaret Yorke 'This engrossing story looks like the start of
a highly enjoyable series' Scotsman
An intriguing medieval mystery featuring sleuthing monk Brother
Athelstan. February, 1381. A ruthless killer known as the Ignifer -
Fire Bringer - is rampaging through London, bringing agonising
death and destruction in his wake. He appears to be targeting all
those involved in the recent trial and conviction of the beautiful
Lady Isolda Beaumont, burned at the stake for the murder of her
husband. As the late Sir Walter Beaumont was a close friend of the
Regent, John of Gaunt orders Sir John Cranston and Brother
Athelstan to investigate. In the dead man's possession was a copy
of the mysterious 'Book of Fires', containing the secret formula of
a devastating weapon, the so-called Greek Fire. The manuscript has
since disappeared, and Gaunt is desperate for it not to fall into
the hands of the Upright Men, who are busy plotting the Great
Revolt. Was Isolda really guilty of murder? Who is the terrifying
Fire Bringer - and what does he want? Brother Athelstan is about to
tackle his most challenging, and potentially dangerous, case yet.
"Another triumph with this pioneering crime novel."-Publishers
Weekly The sixth book in the Library of Congress Crime Classics, an
exciting new classic mystery series created in exclusive
partnership with the Library of Congress. This classic crime
fiction mystery features a love triangle with a murderous twist. An
undelivered letter with a cryptic message holds the key to an
unsolved murder When Henry Moreland is found dead on a lonely New
York road after a violent storm, it seems he died of natural causes
while walking to the home of his betrothed, Eleanor Argyll. An
examination of the corpse reveals, however, that he was killed by a
single, powerful stab wound. His wallet was untouched, eliminating
robbery as the motive-but who would want to murder the well-liked
and respected man? Richard Redfield, an old family friend who
harbors a secret love for Eleanor, vows to bring Henry's killer to
justice. Richard soon finds himself out of his element. Together
with a legendary detective named Mr. Burton, he embarks on an
unsuccessful mission to find the murderer. When suspicion turns to
Richard himself, he leaves the family behind and goes to work in
the "Dead Letter" office in Washington. Then a mysterious letter
from the past turns up, and a new hunt begins... This twisting tale
is the first full-length American detective novel, written under a
pseudonym by Metta Victor in the 1860s. It revived American crime
fiction, which had languished after Edgar Allan Poe's short stories
of the 1840s. Combining elements of Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone
and the "sensation" novels popular in England, it opened the doors
for generations of American crime writers to follow.
Discover Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson through the eyes of those
who knew them best. From familiar faces like Mrs Hudson to minor
characters like Lomax the sub-librarian, Observations by Gaslight -
told through diaries, telegrams, and even grocery lists - paints a
masterful portrait of Holmes and Watson as you have never seen them
before. See Irene Adler team up with her former adversary in an
eerie and near-deadly enquiry. Learn of the case that cemented the
friendship between Holmes and Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard.
And witness Stanley Hopkins' first meeting with the remote logician
he idolizes. Lyndsay Faye, two-time Edgar Award nominee, debuted
with Dust and Shadow, her much-admired novel pitting Sherlock
Holmes against Jack the Ripper. Now Faye is back with a thrilling
volume of new and previously published short stories and novellas
narrated by those who knew the Great Detective best. Reviewers on
Observations by Gaslight: 'Faye is an expert on all things
Sherlockian, she has unparalleled flair.' CrimeReads 'Meat and
drink for fans of the Canon of the Sacred Writings.' Kirkus
'One of the best historical crime series out there' Crime Review
'Could challenge CJ Sansom for dominion' Sunday Times Summer, 1658,
and the Republic may finally be safe: the combined Stuart and
Spanish forces have been heavily defeated by the English and French
armies on the coast of Flanders, and the King's cause appears
finished. Yet one final, desperate throw of the dice is planned.
And who can stop them if not Captain Damian Seeker? The final
gripping book in this acclaimed and award-winning series of
historical thrillers. Will Seeker's legacy endure?
June 1890. Leeds is close to breaking point. The gas workers are on
strike. Supplies are dangerously low. Factories and businesses are
closing; the lamps are going unlit at night. Detective Inspector
Tom Harper has more urgent matters on his mind. The beat constable
claims eight-year-old Martha Parkinson has disappeared. Her father
insists she's visiting an aunt in Halifax - but Harper doesn't
believe him. When Col Parkinson is found dead the following
morning, the case takes on an increasing desperation. But then
Harper's search for Martha is interrupted by the murder of a
replacement gas worker, stabbed to death outside the Town Hall
while surrounded by a hostile mob. Pushed to find a quick solution,
Harper discovers that there's more to this killing than meets the
eye - and that there may be a connection to Martha's disappearance.
A deftly crafted, scintillating mash-up of Victorian mystery and
horror - Sherlock Holmes and Mr Hyde encounter villains with
unfathomable, terrifying abilities... 1903. A darkness has
descended on London. A series of grisly murders are uncovered,
trophies taken, bodies arranged and soon there are whispers of Jack
the Ripper's return. A new client arrives at Baker Street seeking
Sherlock Holmes's help: Dr Jekyll claims his friend has been
wrongfully accused of the hideous crimes, a friend called Mr Edward
Hyde, whose very existence relies on a potion administered by the
doctor himself. But the case becomes more complicated, more
unsettling than simply proving Mr Hyde's innocence - for Holmes and
Watson unearth beastly transformations, a killer who moves unseen,
a secret organisation and then find a traitor in their midst...
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.
"It's time to let bygones be bygones. Water under the bridge,
right? What happened . happened a long time ago." When Langham's
literary agent receives a cryptic letter inviting him to spend the
weekend at the grand Cornish home of successful novelist Denbigh
Connaught, Charles Elder seems reluctant to attend. What really
happened between Elder and Connaught during the summer of 1917,
nearly forty years before - and why has it had such a devastating
effect on Charles? Accompanying his agent to Connaught House,
Langham and his wife Maria discover that Charles is not the only
one to have received a letter. But why has Denbigh Connaught
gathered together a group of people who each bear him a grudge?
When a body is discovered in Connaught's study, the ensuing
investigation uncovers dark secrets that haunt the past of each and
every guest - including Charles Elder himself .
Two hearts. Twice as vulnerable. Manhattan, 1850. Born out of
wedlock to a wealthy socialite and a nameless immigrant, Cora Lee
can mingle with the rich just as easily as she can slip unnoticed
into the slums and graveyards of the city. As the only female
resurrectionist in New York, she's carved out a niche procuring
bodies afflicted with the strangest of anomalies. Anatomists will
pay exorbitant sums for such specimens-dissecting and displaying
them for the eager public. Cora's specialty is not only profitable,
it's a means to keep a finger on the pulse of those searching for
her. She's the girl born with two hearts-a legend among grave
robbers and anatomists-sought after as an endangered prize. Now, as
a series of murders unfolds closer and closer to Cora, she can no
longer trust those she holds dear, including the young medical
student she's fallen for. Because someone has no intention of
waiting for Cora to die a natural death.
Jack Blackjack stands accused of killing a priest in the wickedly
entertaining new Bloody Mary Tudor mystery. April, 1555. A priest
has been stabbed to death in the village of St Botolph, to the east
of the City of London, his body left to rot by the roadside - and
Jack Blackjack stands accused of his murder. As well as clearing
his name, Jack has his own reasons for wanting to find out who
really killed the priest - but this is an investigation where
nothing is as it seems. Was it a random attack by a desperate
outlaw, or do the answers lie in the murdered priest's past? As he
questions those who knew the dead man, Jack is faced with a number
of conflicting accounts - and it's clear that not everyone can be
telling him the whole truth. But Jack is about to be sidetracked
from the investigation . with disastrous consequences.
The second in the delightfully witty and diverting new crime series
set in Tsarist Russia from the award-winning Michael Pearce. A
dreamy province of Tsarist Russia. An ambitious young lawyer of
Scottish-Russian descent anxious to make his way. And the
One-Legged Lady goes missing. A nasty case of kidnapping? Not
quite, for the One-Legged Lady is just the popular name of one of
the most important ikons in the district. Exactly how important,
the sceptical Dmitri, whose task it is to track her down, comes to
see. Who has taken her and for what reason? Is it someone
interested in adding to his art collection? Is it, as some darkly
suggest, just the monastery cashing in on its assets? Or has it
something to do with a wave of popular feeling at a time of famine?
The sinister Volkov, from the Tsar's Corps of Gendarmes, suspects
the latter -- which means trouble for some innocent people unless
Dmitri gets there first Dmitri finds, to his surprise, that the
ikon, which he had taken merely as an irrelevant relic from the
past, raises some awkward issues about the present and that the
One-Legged Lady is very much alive and kicking. Dmitri and the
One-Legged Lady is the second novel in the
LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2022 A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORICAL
NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2022 A TELEGRAPH BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR
2022 A WATERSTONES BEST HISTORICAL NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2022 AN
EVENING STADARD MUST-READ NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2022 AS HEARD ON BBC
RADIO 4 OPEN BOOK 'Accomplished, immersive and profoundly
satisfying' Cathy Rentzenbrink 'Effortlessly resonant ... breathes
rich imaginative colour in her characters' Daily Telegraph From the
million-copy bestselling author of We Are All Completely Beside
Ourselves comes an epic novel about the infamous, ill-fated Booth
family. SIX BROTHERS AND SISTERS. ONE INJUSTICE THAT WILL SHATTER
THEIR BOND FOREVER. Junius is the patriarch, a celebrated
Shakespearean actor who fled bigamy charges in England, both a
mesmerising talent and a man of terrifying instability. As his
children grow up in a remote farmstead in 1830s rural Baltimore,
the country draws ever closer to the boiling point of secession and
civil war. Of the six Booth siblings who survive to adulthood, each
has their own dreams they must fight to realise - but it is Johnny
who makes the terrible decision that will change the course of
history - the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Booth is a riveting
novel focused on the very things that bind, and break, a family.
'In its stretch and imaginative depth, Booth has an utterly
seductive authority' Guardian 'Karen Joy Fowler's novels are wildly
inventive and deservedly popular' Daily Mail 'Booth is a triumph!'
Ruth Ozeki 'Captures with enthralling vividness a country caught in
the grip of fanatical populism, ripped apart by irreconcilable
political differences and boiling with fury and rage ... An
unalloyed triumph' Literary Review 'Brilliantly recounts the story
of the American theatrical dynasty that produced Lincoln's
assassin' Sunday Times Book of the Month 'Her finest, most
beautiful novel to date' Neel Mukherjee
April, 1933. To the costermongers of London, Eddie Pettit is simply
a gentle soul with a near-magical gift for working with horses.
When he is killed in a violent accident, the costers are sceptical
about the cause of his death, and recruit Maisie Dobbs to
investigate. Maisie, who has known these men since childhood and
remembers Eddie fondly, is eager to help. But it soon becomes clear
that powerful political and financial forces are equally determined
to prevent her from learning too much about Eddie's death. As
Maisie uncovers lies and manipulation on a national scale, she must
decide whether to risk all to see justice done.
The arrival of a high-ranking spy for the Emperor Severus spells
trouble for Libertus in this gripping historical mystery set in 2nd
century Britain. On a misty day in February, CE 194, Libertus,
pavement maker by trade and now reluctant councillor, is summoned
to meet his patron at the local public baths. Marcus Septimus is
concerned because a distant cousin from Rome has announced his
impending arrival and Marcus is convinced he is a spy for the
Emperor Severus, despatched to Glevum to investigate reports of an
'act of treason.' Meanwhile, Libertus has concerns of his own. The
local money-lender has been seeking his counsel, but before they
can meet, a violent and untimely death occurs . and before long
Libertus finds himself a prisoner of his new-found rank, fighting
for the truth amidst accusations of treason and murder
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