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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Crime & mystery > Historical mysteries
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'
In A Death in Harlem, famed scholar Karla Holloway weaves a mystery
in the bon vivant world of the Harlem Renaissance. Taking as her
point of departure the tantalizingly ambiguous "death by
misadventure" at the climax of Nella Larsen's 1929 best-selling
novel Passing, Holloway takes readers back to the sunlit boulevards
and shaded sidestreets of Jazz Age New York. A murder there will
test the mettle, resourcefulness, and intuition of Harlem's first
"colored" policeman, Weldon Haynie Thomas. Clear glass towers
rising in Manhattan belie a city where people are often not what
they seem. For some here, identity is a performance of
passing-passing for another race, for another class, for someone
safe to trust. Thomas's investigation illuminates the societies and
secret societies, the intricate code of manners, the world of
letters, and the broad social currents of 1920s Harlem. A Death in
Harlem is an exquisitely crafted, briskly paced, and impeccably
stylish journey back to a time still remembered as a peak of
American glamour. It introduces Holloway as a fresh voice in
storytelling, and Weldon Haynie Thomas as an endearing and
unforgettable detective.
On a beach at dusk, while Bud Mitchell and Jill Winslow conduct
their illicit love affair in front of a video camera set to record
each steamy moment, a terrible explosion suddenly lights up the
sky. Grabbing the camera, the couple make their getaway, as
approaching police cars speed toward the scene.
Five years later, the fate of TWA Flight 800 has been attributed to
a mechanical malfunction. But for John Corey and his wife Kate
Mayfield, both members of the elite Anti-Terrorist Task Force, the
case is not closed. Suspicious of a cover-up, they set out to find
the one piece of evidence that will prove their theory-that at
least two other people are determined to keep hidden: a videotape
of the unbelievable truth.
On a busy Friday night in 1964, a woman's partially clothed body is
discovered in London's Soho Square. She has been raped and
strangled. With no one reported missing, her identity remains a
mystery. Assuming the victim to be a prostitute, DCI Jackson is
inclined to dismiss the case. Detective Sergeant Harry Barnard
disagrees. Harry's partner Kate meanwhile has been despatched to
her native Liverpool to work on a magazine feature about the city's
remarkable regeneration, timed to coincide with the release of the
Beatles' movie, A Hard Day's Night. As Harry's investigations point
to evidence of a cover-up at the highest level, Kate's assignment
leads her to uncover a darker side to 1960s' Liverpool - and a
possible link to the Soho murder victim. Are she and Harry getting
into something too deep and dangerous for them to handle?
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Back Bay
(Paperback)
William Martin
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R509
R479
Discovery Miles 4 790
Save R30 (6%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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First Published as Fifth Column. September, 1940. As the Blitz
takes its nightly toll on London and Hitler prepares his invasion
fleet just across the Channel in occupied France, Britain is full
of talk about enemy agents. Suspicion is at an all time high and no
one is sure who can be trusted. In Canning Town, rescue workers are
unsettled when they return to a damaged street and discover a body
that shouldn't be there. When closer examination of the corpse
reveals death by strangling, Detective Inspector John Jago is
called upon to investigate. But few seem to really care about the
woman's death - not even her family. As Jago digs deeper he starts
to uncover a trail of deception, betrayal, and romantic
entanglements.
Set in 1884, this is the first installment in what has become a
beloved bestselling series. At thirty-two, strong-willed Amelia
Peabody, a self-proclaimed spinster, decides to use her ample
inheritance to indulge her passion, Egyptology. On her way to
Egypt, Amelia encounters a young woman named Evelyn Barton-Forbes.
The two become fast friends and travel on together, encountering
mysteries, missing mummies, and Radcliffe Emerson, a dashing and
opinionated archaeologist who doesn't need a woman's help -- or so
he thinks.
Ursula's quiet life on her Surrey estate is thrown into chaos by
the arrival of a new neighbour in this absorbing Tudor mystery.
August, 1582. The queen's spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, has
ordered Ursula to keep an eye on her new neighbour, Giles Frost,
who is rumoured to be spying for King Philip of Spain. Arriving at
Knoll House on the pretext of teaching his two daughters
embroidery, Ursula's secret mission is to feed false information to
Frost to pass on to the Spanish. Walsingham has assured Ursula that
she'll be in no danger. But events take a decidedly sinister turn
when a body is found in the woods near Ursula's home, a stained
glass window is smashed and a bridal dowry is stolen. What secrets
are contained within the Knoll House . and is Ursula being lured
into a lethal trap?
A HAUNTED HOUSE
Sherlock Holmes receives a request for aid from Lord Cary, whose family home, Torre Abbey, is seemingly haunted. While skeptical, Holmes believes that the Carys are in danger, a belief that proves horrifyingly accurate when a household member dies mysteriously. As strange sightings and threatening apparitions become almost commonplace, Holmes and Watson must uncover the secrets of the abbey if they are to have any hope of protecting the living and avenging the dead.
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The Coven
(Paperback)
Graham Masterton
1
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R252
R231
Discovery Miles 2 310
Save R21 (8%)
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Ships in 9 - 17 working days
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They say the girls were witches. But Beatrice Scarlet, the apothecary's daughter, is sure they were innocent victims...
London, 1758:
Beatrice Scarlet, the apothecary's daughter, has found a position at St Mary Magdalene's Refuge for fallen women. She enjoys the work and soon forms a close bond with her charges.
The refuge is supported by a wealthy tobacco merchant, who regularly offers the girls steady work to aid their rehabilitation. But when seven girls sent to his factory disappear, Beatrice is uneasy.
Their would-be benefactor claims they were a coven of witches, beholden only to Satan and his demonic misdeeds. But Beatrice is convinced something much darker than witchcraft is at play...
Healer Lassair returns to England and uncovers a secret that puts
the lives of everyone she knows in grave danger, in the final Aelf
Fen medieval mystery. It is the summer of 1100, and after seven
long years away in Spain, Lassair is finally going home. Back to
her beloved mentor Gurdyman. Back to her family. And back to young
lawman Jack Chevestrier, who Lassair hopes still carries the same
deep feelings for her as she does for him. Before she can reunite
with her loved ones, however, Lassair has a long-overdue task to
perform. Old flame - and king's spy - Rollo Guiscard left her a
chest before he died, and it is finally time for her to collect it.
But the chest contains more than gold, and soon Lassair is caught
up in a web of danger and deception that threatens not just her own
life, but the lives of everyone she holds dear. And this is not the
only peril Lassair must face. For although she's left the south
behind her forever, the south is not done with her yet . . .
Gripping, tense and moving, the last installment of the Aelf Fen
series provides both a twisty and compelling historical murder
mystery and a hugely satisfying end to Lassair's story, which began
over a decade ago with OUT OF THE DAWN LIGHT.
'Horowitz has captured Holmes Heaven' THE TIMES THE HOUSE OF SILK
was the first official new Sherlock Holmes mystery and a SUNDAY
TIMES bestseller from the author of MAGPIE MURDERS THE GAME'S AFOOT
. . . It is November 1890 and London is gripped by a merciless
winter. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are enjoying tea by the fire
when an agitated gentleman arrives unannounced at 221b Baker
Street. He begs Holmes for help, telling the unnerving story of a
scar-faced man with piercing eyes who has stalked him in recent
weeks. Intrigued, Holmes and Watson find themselves swiftly drawn
into a series of puzzling and sinister events, stretching from the
gas-lit streets of London to the teeming criminal underworld of
Boston and the mysterious 'House of Silk' . . .
When Jack Blackjack disobeys the orders of his spymaster, he enters
dangerous waters in this lively Tudor mystery. London, 1555. Queen
Mary is newly married to Philip II of Spain - and not everyone is
happy about the alliance. The kingdom is divided between those
loyal to Catholic Mary and those who support her half-sister, Lady
Elizabeth. Former cutpurse turned paid assassin Jack Blackjack has
more immediate matters to worry about. Having been ordered to kill
a man, he determines to save him instead. But Jack defies his
spymaster at his peril . and even the best-laid plans can sometimes
go awry. When it appears that Jack has killed the wrong man, he
reluctantly finds himself drawn into affairs of state, making new
enemies wherever he turns. Can he survive long enough to put
matters right? This engaging Tudor mystery will appeal to fans of S
J PARRIS and RORY CLEMENTS.
Second historical thriller in the Alexander Seaton series sweeps
the hero back to his roots in Ulster, and a family living under a
curse and riven with long-held secrets Aberdeen, 1628. Alexander
Seaton's happily settled life as a university teacher is shattered
by the arrival in town of a stranger who looks like his twin and
who carries a plea for help from Alexander's dead mother's family
in Ireland. The family has been placed under a poet's curse,
threatening death to various members. Elements of the curse have
already begun to play out. Reluctantly answering the call, Seaton
travels to Ulster, to find himself among a family torn apart by
secrets and deep resentments. As he seeks out the author of the
curse, he becomes deeply entangled in a conflict that involves
fugitive priests, displaced poets, rebellious plotters and agents
of the king. Confronted by murder within his family, he finds the
lines between superstition and faith, duty and loyalty are becoming
increasingly blurred, while his Scottish homeland grows ever more
remote.
Lover or leader? Weakling or warrior? Madwoman or misfit? Escape
into the untold story of Shakespeare's Ophelia . . . As a young
girl, Ofelia stood frozen as her mother threw herself on her
father's funeral pyre. Such is the fate, she learned, of the
devoted wife and in that moment, she swore never to belong to any
man. Years later, she is a force to be reckoned with: right hand
woman to the newly crowned Prince Hamlet, to whom she has sworn her
sword and her undying loyalty, but refuses his true desire . . .
her hand in marriage. When Hamlet's jealous uncle plots against
him, Ofelia will have to use every wile at her disposal to keep her
prince safe from those who wish him harm. Yet in the end, it could
be her unruly heart that is the greatest betrayer of all. A brand
new Historical fiction series by the bestselling author of the
Queens of Conquest series, her new trilogy unearths the real women
behind Shakespeare's most infamous queens . . . If you love
Elizabeth Chadwick and Anne O'Brien you will adore Joanna Courtney
Praise for Joanna Courtney: 'A glorious, rich, epic story of love,
friendship and sacrifice which will sweep you up and transport you
to another time. I absolutely loved this and can't wait for the
next book in the series' Rachael Lucas, author of Sealed With A
Kiss and Coming Up Roses 'Lovely writing and a terrific sense of
narrative drive. Superb!' Carol McGrath, author of The Daughters of
Hastings trilogy
Greed and ambition threaten to tear the north apart. War rages
between the two kingdoms of Northumbria. Kin is pitted against kin
and friend becomes foe as ambitious kings vie for supremacy. When
Beobrand travels south into East Angeln to rescue a friend, he
unwittingly tilts the balance of power in the north, setting in
motion events that will lead to a climactic confrontation between
Oswiu of Bernicia and Oswine of Deira. While the lord of Ubbanford
is entangled in the clash of kings, his most trusted warrior,
Cynan, finds himself on his own quest, called to the aid of someone
he thought never to see again. Riding into the mountainous region
of Rheged, Cynan faces implacable enemies who would do anything to
further their own ends. Forced to confront their pasts, and with
death and betrayal at every turn, both Beobrand and Cynan have
their loyalties tested to breaking point. Who will survive the
battle for a united Northumbria, and who will pay the ultimate
price for lord and land? Praise for Matthew Harffy: 'Nothing less
than superb... The tale is fast paced and violence lurks on every
page' Historical Novel Society 'Beobrand is the warrior to follow'
David Gilman 'Historical fiction doesn't get much better than this'
Angus Donald 'A brilliant characterization of a difficult hero in a
dangerous time. Excellent!' Christian Cameron 'Battles, treachery,
revenge and a healthy dose of Dark Age adventure' Simon Turney
'Matthew Harffy tells a great story' Joanna Hickson 'Harffy's
writing just gets better and better... He is really proving himself
the rightful heir to Gemmell's crown' Jemahl Evans 'Harffy has a
real winner on his hands... A genuinely superb novel' Steven McKay
'A breathtaking novel that sweeps the reader into a dark and
dangerous world' Paul Fraser Collard 'Harffy has created a gritty,
authentic world, home to a hero who shows us the complexity of what
it means to be human - the darkness and the delight' Stephanie
Churchill
Pitch-perfect World War Two crime for fans of Agatha Christie and
Jasper Fforde. Detective Betty Church is forced to revisit ghosts
from her past when a skeleton is found buried in the woods. July,
1914: Sixteen-year-old Etterly, running from something, hides
inside the trunk of a tree and disappears. The police search but
find no trace. Her family and friends wrack their brains, but come
up with nothing. And so slowly life returns to normal. The hole in
the tree is boarded up and the town of Sackwater moves on. Only
Etterly's best friend, Betty, clings to hope, insisting she can
hear her friend crying for help. June, 1940: A skeleton is
discovered buried in the woods. Though most clues have long since
decayed, it is wearing an unusual necklace. As soon as Inspector
Betty Church sees the evidence she recognises it. The necklace
belonged to Etterly. Fearing the worst, Betty is determined to
solve this strange case once and for all. What happened to Etterly?
And why has this secret remained buried for so long?
Poor judgements have tragic consequences... The latest in the
unputdownable Teifi Valley seriesThe Teifi Valley's coroner, Harry
Probert-Lloyd, is struggling: with the blindness that drove him
home from London, with the county magistrates and with an estate
teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. He needs an escape, so when Dr
Benton Reckitt is asked to give a second opinion on the apparently
natural death of young Lizzie Rees, Harry willingly goes with him.
But mistakes are made. Harry becomes embroiled in local rumours and
in Esther Rees's search for the truth behind her daughter's sudden
death. What is Lizzie Rees's father hiding? Was somebody else in
the farmhouse on the night she died? And, most crucially for Harry,
will he be able to uncover the mystery, and solve personal
difficulties that threaten to tear him apart? Perfect for readers
of Laura Shephard-Robinson, Stuart Turton or Elly Griffiths, this
is a superb historical mystery that will keep you hooked until the
very end.
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