Murder always sells. But when a series of dark and puzzling crimes takes place in seventeenth-century London, will printer's apprentice Lucy Campion be publishing the news - or starring in it? London, 1667. Printer's apprentice Lucy Campion is unsettled when, on a frozen December morning after church, an elderly woman dressed in mourning clothes whispers an ominous warning in her ear. Lucy sternly tells herself it's nonsense, but then her much-loved former master, Magistrate Hargrave, is viciously attacked with a brass hourglass during a break-in. But what exactly was the intruder searching for? And why did they first stop to steal a piece of Cook's lamb and lentil pie? The puzzling case is just the start of a series of dark, bizarre crimes. Lucy's determined to uncover the truth and see that justice is done. But someone is equally determined to stop her - whatever it takes. This page-turning historical mystery set in Renaissance London is a great choice for readers who like their heroines lively, their mysteries twisty and their historical settings brimming with authenticity.

The Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller. Two women, centuries apart. Linked in a place haunted by its history . . . Separated by more than six hundred years of history, two women are drawn together by Sleeper's Castle, a house steeped in memory and magic. This is an epic tale of forbidden love, cruel revenge and a war that time can't forget. Grieving and lost, Miranda has moved to Hay to escape, and slowly she feels herself coming to life in the solitude of the mountains. But her vivid dreams at Sleeper's Castle introduce her to Catrin, a young women whose gift for foretelling the future embroiled her in a bloody revolt against English rule - many centuries ago. An unbreakable connection is forged across history. Catrin is reaching out . . . and only Miranda can help. But time is running out... Sunday Times bestselling author Barbara Erskine returns to Hay in the year that marks the 30th anniversary of her sensational debut bestseller, Lady of Hay.

It is New Year's Eve 1915 and the Hardcastle family are welcoming 1916 at their home in Kennington, London. But an hour into the New Year, Hardcastle is called to a murder in a jeweller's shop in Vauxhall. In a first for the A Division senior detective, the killers apparently made their escape in a motor car. As Hardcastle's enquiry progresses, what he believed to be a fairly straightforward investigation turns into one with ramifications extending from Chelsea via Sussex and Surrey to France, close to the fighting on the Western Front. And as is so often the case in wartime, the army becomes involved and so, to Hardcastle's dismay, does Scotland Yard's Special Branch . . .

"Todd's astute character studies . . . offer a fascinating cross section of postwar life. . . . A satisfying puzzle-mystery." - The New York Times Book Review Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge is assigned one of the most baffling investigations of his career: an unsolved murder case with an unidentified victim and a cold trail with few clues to follow A woman has been murdered at the foot of a megalith shaped like a great shrouded figure. Chief Inspector Brian Leslie, one of the Yard's best men, is sent to investigate the site in Avebury, a village set inside a prehistoric stone circle not far from Stonehenge. In spite of his efforts, Leslie is not able to identify her, much less discover how she got to Avebury-or why she died there. Her killer has simply left no trace. Several weeks later, when Ian Rutledge has returned from successfully concluding a similar case with an unidentified victim, he is asked to take a second look at Leslie's inquiry. But Rutledge suspects Chief Superintendent Markham simply wants him to fail. Leslie was right-Avebury refuses to yield its secrets. But Rutledge slowly widens his search, until he discovers an unexplained clue that seems to point toward an impossible solution. If he pursues it and he is wrong, he will draw the wrath of the Yard down on his head. But even if he is right, he can't be certain what he can prove, and that will play right into Markham's game. The easy answer is to let the first verdict stand: Person or persons unknown. But what about the victim? What does Rutledge owe this tragic young woman? Where must his loyalty lie?

Longlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger 'An intelligent and intriguing crime novel set in the heart of Victorian London. Its atmospheric and twisting narrative had me hooked.' Sarah Ward London, 1863: prostitutes in the Waterloo area are turning up dead, their sexual organs mutilated and removed. When another girl goes missing, fears grow that the killer may have claimed their latest victim. The police are at a loss and so it falls to courtesan and professional detective, Heloise Chancey, to investigate. With the assistance of her trusty Chinese maid, Amah Li Leen, Heloise inches closer to the truth. But when Amah is implicated in the brutal plot, Heloise must reconsider who she can trust, before the killer strikes again. Tjia brings us a pacey and exciting murder mystery set in Victorian London. This historical crime thriller sees a young female detective work with the police to evade a violent killer. What Reviewers and Readers Say: `Tjia transports the reader to the mid nineteenth century so effectively through all the senses; sound, smell, touch, vision and feeling; contrasting the opulence of London's Mayfair with the squalor of Thames-side Waterloo ... The writing is accomplished and economic, taking the reader on various twists and turns on the journey ... We have discovered a new sleuth in Heloise Chancey.' David Evans, author of The Wakefield Series, shortlisted for CWA Debut Dagger in 2013 `Compulsive reading ... I was enthralled from the very first page. A beautifully written book with such authenticity, that each page whisked me back in time. The story galloped along as I followed the characters that were all too real. I could not put it down.' Caroline Mitchell, author of the DC Jennifer Knight series `A gripping and refreshingly different historical crime novel.' Angela Buckley, author of The Real Sherlock Holmes `Fun, thrilling and very well written - She Be Damned is a carefully crafted adventure that I hugely enjoyed, and I look forward to seeing what the delightful Mrs Chancey gets up to next.' Luke Marlowe, TheBookbag `If you like your heroines flamboyant, your servants mouthy, and your murders bloody, She Be Damned is the perfect book to get both your historical fiction fix and a head start on an excellent upcoming series.' The AU Review `an entertaining tale with entertaining characters and many plot twists.' Historical Novels Review

Introducing Elizabethan cutpurse and adventurer Jack Blackjack in the first of a brand-new historical mystery series January, 1554. Light-fingered Jack Blackjack knows he's not going to have a good day when he wakes with a sore head next to a dead body in a tavern's yard. That would be bad enough - but when he discovers what's in the dead man's purse, the one he'd stolen, his day is set to get much worse. The purse explains why the mysterious man with the broad-brimmed hat wants to catch him. But so does the Lord Chancellor, as does the enigmatic Henry. In fact, almost everyone seems to be after Jack Blackjack. If it weren't for the rebel army marching on London determined to remove Queen Mary from her throne and install Lady Jane Grey in her place, Jack could leave the city - but with the bridge blocked and every gate manned, there's no escape. Instead he must try to work out who killed the man in the yard, and why. But it won't be easy as the rebel army comes ever closer and the death toll mounts .

Young widow Louise Pearlie seizes a chance to escape the typewriters and files of the Office of Strategic Services, the US s World War II spy agency, when she s asked to investigate a puzzling postcard referred to OSS by the US Censor. She and a colleague, Collins, head off to St. Leonard, Maryland, to talk to the postcard s recipient, one Leroy Martin. But what seemed like a straightforward mission to Louise soon becomes complicated.
Leroy and his wife, Anne, refuse to talk, but as Louise and Gray investigate, it soon becomes clear that Leroy is mixed up in something illegal. But what? Louise is determined to find out the truth, whatever the cost . . ."

A story of class and corruption, sex and the Sixties, for fans of A Very English Scandal and The Trial of Christine Keeler Nik felt the mistake in his bones. The man in the snakeskin suit reached down towards him and pulled Nik upright by the collar of his coat. Nik didn't see what happened next but he felt the wall. He cried out and then someone hit him and he closed his eyes and waited for it to be over. London. 1967. Nik Christou has been a rent boy since he was 15. He knows the ins and outs of Piccadilly Circus, how to spot a pretty policeman and to interpret a fleeting glance. One summer night his life is turned upside down, first by violence and then by an accusation of murder. Anna Treadway, fleeing the ghosts of her past, works as a dresser in Soho's Galaxy theatre. She has learned never to place too much trust in the long arm of the law and, convinced Nik is innocent she determines to find him an alibi. Merrian Wallis, devoted wife to an MP with a tarnished reputation, just wants proof that her husband couldn't have been involved. But how do you recognise the truth when everyone around you is playing a role - and when any spark of scandal is quickly snuffed out by those with power? As Anna searches for clues amongst a cast of MPs, actors, members of gentlemen's clubs and a hundred different nightly clients, will anyone be willing to come forward and save Nik from his fate?

The arrival of a band of Spanish mercenaries brings new danger for Margaret Beaufort and the House of Lancaster in this richly-imagined medieval mystery. November, 1471. With Edward of York on the English throne and her son, Henry Tudor, in exile in Brittany, the newly-widowed Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond, is alone, without protectors. All she can do is wait and watch, planning for a time when she's in a position to make her move. But new dangers are emerging. En route to England is a band of Spanish mercenaries known as the Garduna. With no allegiance to prince, prelate or people, they are a lethal fighting force, utterly ruthless and implacable killers. But who has hired them . . . and why? The discovery of the body of an unexpected visitor, found murdered in a locked room in her London townhouse, heralds the start of a series of increasingly menacing incidents which threaten Margaret and her household. Is there an enemy within? It's up to Margaret's wily clerk Christopher Urswicke to uncover the truth and ensure Margaret survives to fulfil her destiny.

Cornwall, 1845. Shilly has always felt a connection to happenings that are not of this world, a talent that has proved invaluable when investigating dark deeds with master of disguise, Anna Drake. The women opened a detective agency with help from their newest member and investor, Mathilda, but six long months have passed without a single case to solve and tensions are growing. It is almost a relief when a man is found dead along the Morwenstow coast and the agency is sought out to investigate. There are suspicions that wreckers plague the coast, luring ships to their ruin with false lights - though nothing has ever been proved. Yet with the local talk of sirens calling victims to the sea to meet their end, could something other-worldly be responsible for the man's death?

Hailed by critic Anthony Boucher as "one of the best detective stories of modern times," this classic tale by Grand Master Dorothy Salisbury Davis combines suspense and psychological insight as a priest and a police detective both race to find a self-confessed murderer before he is compelled to kill again. "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned ..." Father Duffy has heard many confessions through the years, but none quite so disturbing as the one he's heard tonight. A young man enters the confessional just as the priest is readying to leave for the evening; he's distraught that he has killed a woman in a paroxysm of uncontrollable rage-and he's still wielding the hammer he used to do the deed. Father Duffy tries to convince the young man to turn himself in to the police, but he flees just as suddenly as he had appeared. When the priest learns the next day that an escort was found bludgeoned to death on the East Side, he sets out to search for the troubled confessor. Meanwhile, Sergeant Ben Goldsmith of the NYPD is drawn deep into the official investigation. Neither is aware that the other is searching for the murderer, and both hope against hope that they're able to find the killer before he strikes again.

'Fiendishly well-plotted, hugely entertaining - one feels Agatha Christie would have been delighted' - LUCY FOLEY, bestselling author of The Hunting Party I'm Mrs Christie. I think you are expecting me... Baghdad, 1928. Agatha leaves England for the far-flung destination, determined to investigate an unresolved mystery: two year ago, the explorer and the writer Gertrude Bell died there from a drugs overdose. At the time, the authorities believed that Bell had taken her own life, but a letter now unearthed reveals she was afraid someone wants to kill her... In her letter, Bell suggests that if she were to die the best place to look for her murderer would be Ur, the archaeological site in ancient Mesopotamia famous for its Great Death Pit. But as Agatha stealthily begins to look into the death of Gertrude Bell, she soon discovers the mission is not without its risks. And she has to use all her skills to try and outwit a killer who is determined to stay hidden among the desert sands... 'A heart of darkness beats within this sparkling series. Fizzy with charm yet edge with menace, Andrew Wilson's Christie novels do Dame Agatha proud' A. J. FINN, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window 'Beautifully written. Both lyrical and compelling. I felt as though I was walking by Agatha Christie's side' JANE CORRY 'An affectionate homage to Agatha Christie's desert dramas with a cheeky nod to Paul Bowles' The Sheltering Sky. A superior blend of fact and fiction, it's a hugely entertaining riot of red herrings, poisonous plots and boiling passions under the white hot desert sun. A must for connoisseurs of Golden Age crime fiction' SEAN O'CONNOR 'There is no reason why this excellent series shouldn't run till the sun don't shine' EVENING STANDARD 'While Wilson tempts providence by inviting comparison with the real Agatha Christie, on the evidence of this book he succeeds admirably' DAILY MAIL 'He shares with the great Dame the gift of sheer readability' S MAGAZINE 'Five stars . . . Brilliantly plotted, stylishly written. A treat!' AMANDA CRAIG

It's tough to be a preacher's kid, and for Leo Stanhope it may be harder than for most. He was born Charlotte, and in the Reverend Pritchard's home-as in all of Victoria's England-there is little room for persons unwilling to know their place and stick to it. And things are about to get harder: There's a gentleman who knows the secret that could get Leo locked up for life, and this so-called gentleman is not above a spot of blackmail. There is a bright spot, though, in the form of two little kids who are teaching Leo's heart to open again, after a wretched year. In warming to them, he realizes how much more he has to learn. Leo knows how to be a man. Now he must learn to be a father.

An ancient and mysterious book leads Crispin Guest into a deadly maze in this latest medieval noir mystery. 1394, London. Crispin Guest, Tracker of London, is enjoying his ale in the Boar's Tusk tavern - until a stranger leaves a mysterious wrapped bundle on his table, telling him, "You'll know what to do." Inside is an ancient leather-bound book written in an unrecognizable language. Accompanied by his apprentice, Jack Tucker, Crispin takes the unknown codex to a hidden rabbi, where they make a shocking discovery: it is the Gospel of Judas from the Holy Land, and its contents challenge the very doctrine of Christianity itself. Crispin is soon drawn into a deadly maze involving murder, living saints, and lethal henchmen. Why was he given the blasphemous book, and what should he do with it? A series of horrific events confirm his fears that there are powerful men who want it - and who will stop at nothing to see it destroyed.

'I am in awe of Dan Simmons' Stephen King This story shall be about my friend (as at least about the man who was once my friend) Charles Dickens and about the accident that took away his peace of mind, his health, and, some might whisper, his sanity... In 1865 Charles Dickens, the world's most famous writer, narrowly escapes death in the Staplehurst Rail Disaster. He will never be the same again. A public hero for rescuing survivors, he slowly descends into madness as he hunts the individual he believes to be responsible for the carnage: a spectral figure known only as Drood. His best friend, Wilkie Collins, is enlisted for the pursuit. Together they venture into Undertown, the shadowy, lawless web of crypts and catacombs beneath London. Here Drood is rumoured to hold sway over a legion of brainwashed followers. But as Wilkie spirals ever further into opium addiction and jealousy of the more successful novelist, he must face a terrifying possibility: is Charles Dickens really capable of murder? Readers are loving Drood 'Beautifully written, fiction heaven!' ***** 'One of my favourite reads ever' ***** 'A masterpiece' ***** 'Epic adventure' ***** 'Surprising - I enjoyed every page' *****

Sweet Honey Deal's not sure what compelled her to marry Walter Schoen, possibly the most boring man on Earth. So she quickly rectified the situation by leaving the dour German-born butcher to start a new life. A good thing, too, now that America's at war with Adolf Hitler and Walter's loyalty to his adopted country was always questionable. Even better, now U.S. Marshal Carl Webster wants to come up to Honey's room for an official "chat" . . . and for something more intimate, if Honey has anything to say about it.

The feds' legendary "Hot Kid," Carl's hunting two German POWs who escaped from an Oklahoma internment camp. Maybe Honey's estranged hubby knows something. Maybe Honey knows something. Maybe Carl can stay faithful to his wife. Or maybe they're all about to get tangled up--along with a sultry Ukrainian spy and her transvestite manservant--in a nutty assassination plot that can't possibly succeed.

It is Istanbul, 1838, and Lefevre, a French archaeologist, has arrived in Istanbul determined to uncover a lost Byzantine treasure. Yashim is hired to investigate him, but when the man turns up dead, there is only one suspect: Yashim himself. Once again, the investigator finds himself in a race against time to uncover the startling truth behind a shadowy secret society dedicated to the revival of the Byzantine Empire, caught in a deadly game deep beneath the city streets, a place where the stakes are high - and betrayal is death.

'Spectacular' Gillian Flynn. THE FATAL FLAME is the stunning third novel in Lyndsay Faye's Edgar Award-nominated series, for fans of Andrew Taylor and Antonia Hodgson's The Devil in the Marshalsea. A scarred barman turned copper star, the birth of the NYPD, gangs, murder, brothels and bedlam in the dark underworld of nineteenth-century New York. Timothy Wilde - copper star, tough with a warm heart, learning his craft as a detective. Valentine Wilde - Timothy's gregarious, glamorous, depraved rogue of a brother. Mercy Underhill - The intelligent, creative but unstable love of Timothy's life. Silky Marsh - The beautiful brothel owner whose scheming knows no bounds. Against the gritty backdrop of the notorious Five Points in 1848, Timothy Wilde is drawn yet again into a disturbing mystery, leading him to the heart of the Bowery girls, the original 'factory girls' in downtown Manhattan. Someone is starting fires on the streets of New York and Timothy has to unravel a knot of revenge, murder and blackmail if he's to find out who is behind it all and stop them before the whole city goes up in flames...

Introducing thief-taker Simon Westow in the first in a new historical mystery series set in Regency Leeds. Leeds, 1820. Simon Westow makes a good living as a thief-taker. The boy who grew up in the workhouse has become a success, finding and returning the stolen possessions of the rich - for a fee. But when mill owner John Milner hires Simon to find his kidnapped daughter, Hannah, he faces a challenge like no other. With his enigmatic and deadly young assistant, Jane, by his side, Simon's search takes him through the dark underbelly of Leeds, where poverty, industry and death live cheek by jowl. But he soon comes to understand that the real answers lie in his own past, and an old enemy seeking revenge . . .

An enthralling mystery of dangerous secrets, desperate men and macabre murder April 1808: A storm sweeps across the islands of the Baltic Sea, destroying the village of Lower Slaughter as it goes. Into this ruined land comes missing-persons finder Whilbert Stroop, on the trail of a lost miniature library and its protector. Almost crossing his path is Griselda Liit, a refugee from Lower Slaughter, carrying her father's secrets back to the island of her birth. Behind Griselda, in the shadows, a strange figure follows for a very different reason. Stroop's investigation will lead him from the flooded valley to sinister printworks, and to the strange island archipelago of Saaremaa in the Baltic Sea. Once there, he must unravel the increasingly tangled strands of past and present that surround the islands, and delve into a mysterious world of ancient Brotherhoods, insurrection, piracy, and death.

In the latest thrilling Cotton Malone adventure from international bestseller Steve Berry, one by one the seven precious relics of the Arma Christi, the weapons of Christ, are disappearing from sanctuaries across the world.

After former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone witnesses the theft of one of them, he learns from his old boss, Stephanie Nelle, that a private auction is about to be held where incriminating information on the president of Poland will be offered to the highest bidder - blackmail that both the United States and Russia want, but for vastly different reasons.

The price of admission to that auction is one of the relics, so Malone is first sent to a castle in Poland to steal the Holy Lance, a thousand-year-old spear sacred not only to Christians but to the Polish people, and then on to the auction itself. But nothing goes as planned and Malone is thrust into a bloody battle between three nations over information that, if exposed, could change the balance of power in Europe.

From the tranquil canals of Bruges, to the elegant rooms of Wawel Castle, to deep beneath the earth in an ancient Polish salt mine, Malone is caught in the middle of a deadly war - the outcome of which turns on a secret known as the Warsaw Protocol.

In a strange room in Morocco, Mary Russell is trying to solve a pressing mystery: Who am I? She has awakened with shadows in her mind, blood on her hands, and soldiers pounding at the door. She is clothed like a man, and armed only with her wits and a scrap of paper showing a mysterious symbol. Overhead, warplanes pass ominously north. Meanwhile, Holmes is pulled into the growing war between France, Spain, and the Rif Revolt. He badly wants the wisdom and courage of his wife, whom he discovers, to his horror, has gone missing. As Holmes searches for her, and Russell searches for herself, each tries to crack deadly parallel puzzles before it's too late for them, for Africa, and for the peace of Europe.

From the international bestselling author-"a sprawling and ambitious literary mystery" ("The Seattle Times").

From a true and shocking event-the bombing of lower Manhattan in September 1920-Jed Rubenfeld weaves a twisting and thrilling work of fiction as a physician, a female radiochemist, and a police official come to believe that the inexplicable attack is only part of a larger plan. It's a conspiracy that takes them from Paris to Prague, from the Vienna home of Sigmund Freud to the corridors of power in Washington, D.C., and ultimately to the depths of our most savage human instincts where there lies the shocking truth behind that fateful day.