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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Crime & mystery > Historical mysteries
'Has a charm, and mystery, all of its own' THE TIMES 'Frances Brody
has made it to the top rank of crime writers' DAILY MAIL The first
historical mystery in a new classic crime series from bestselling
author Frances Brody. This is the perfect locked room page-turner
for fans of Agatha Christie and Jacqueline Winspear. ___________
1969. A job in the Prison Service is not for everyone. The training
is hard, the cells are bleak and a thick skin is needed. But for
Nell Lewis, helping prisoners is something she cares about deeply,
and when she's promoted into a new post as governor of HMP
Brackerley in Yorkshire, she's tasked with transforming the
renowned run-down facility into a modern, open prison for women.
Just as Nell is settling into her new role, events take a dark turn
when a man's body is discovered in the prison grounds. The mystery
deepens still when one of their female inmates goes missing,
ensuing a search across the country. Can Nell resolve the sinister
happenings at HMP Brackerley, before anyone else is put in danger?
___________ What readers are saying about Frances Brody: 'Witty,
acerbic and very, very perceptive' Ann Cleeves 'A splendid heroine'
Ann Granger 'An engagingly forthright and indefatigable
investigator' Irish Times 'Frances Brody matches a heroine of free
and independent spirit with a vivid evocation of time and place . .
. a novel to cherish' Barry Turner, Daily Mail 'The series is right
up there with Miss Marple' Sunday Sport 'Delightful' People's
Friend 'Kate Shackleton joins Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs in
a subgroup of young, female amateur detectives who survived and
were matured by their wartime experiences' Literary Review 'Brody's
excellent mystery splendidly captures the conflicts and attitudes
of the time with well-developed characters' RT Book Reviews 'In
Yorkshire we are proud to have such a first-rate crime novelist in
our county' Yorkshire Gazette & Herald
Who said nothing ever happens in the French countryside?Picardie,
1964. On a deserted country road, three Moroccan nationals are shot
dead with precision, a cold-blooded execution, one bullet each. To
Inspector Lucas Rocco, it's a mystery. Why them and why here? A
short time later, he happens upon two police officers who have been
assaulted by an enraged motorist, one of them seriously. The
unapologetic assailant, found to have an unregistered gun in his
possession, claims to be the secretary of a high-profile and
influential Parisian lawyer, Guy De Lancourt. The two cases
seemingly have nothing in common. But on closer examination Rocco
feels something isn't quite right. Just what lies beneath De
Lancourt's carefully-cultivated public persona? And what secrets
are hidden at Les Cypres, the heavily-guarded former mental asylum
De Lancourt has made his home? A scintillating French historical
crime thriller, perfect for fans of Martin Walker, Donna Leon and
Maigret.
THE GRIPPING SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER What happens when the person
closest to you has led a life of deception? 'Full of suspense and
intriguing characters' MY WEEKLY 'A gritty, gripping drama' WOMAN'S
WEEKLY _______ After the funeral of her mother, Sally, Alice Kent
is approached by a man named Angus Tweedy. He claims to be her
father and tells her that he served time in prison for marrying
Sally bigamously. What does he hope to gain by telling her this
now, thirty years on? How can her adored dad Ralph not be her true
father? And why did her mother betray her so badly? She had
accepted Sally's many faults, and her reluctance to ever speak of
the past. But faced with this staggering deception, Alice knows she
must uncover the whole truth about her mother. Whatever the cost.
As Alice journeys into the past she discovers her mother may never
have been the woman she claimed to be . . . _______ 'Brilliantly
builds intrigue' WOMAN & HOME 'A raw, truthful and moving
account, building intrigue as Alice gradually uncovers her mother's
life of deception, lies - and love' WOMAN'S WEEKLY 'Written with
Pearse's typically engaging and effortless style of storytelling,
Deception is an intriguing book of highs, lows, struggles and
perseverance' CULTUREFLY Praise for Lesley Pearse 'Storytelling at
its very best' Daily Mail 'Gripping and suspenseful' Daily Express
'A twisting and intense read' Woman's Own
Praise for Punishment of A Hunter: 'The most successful
retro-detective since Akunin' Literratura 'Gritty and gripping'
Will Ryan 'It will pull you in and leave you breathless' Chris
Lloyd 'Yulia Yokovleva's thrilling debut was a bestseller in her
native Russia. It's not difficult to see why' The Times, Best New
Crime Fiction ________________ On the eve of Stalin's deadly great
purge, a rider and his horse mysteriously collapse in the middle of
a race in Leningrad. Weary detective Zaitsev, still reeling from
his last brush with the Party, is dispatched to the soviet state
cavalry school near Ukraine to investigate. There he witnesses the
horror of the man-made Holodomor Famine as he struggles to
penetrate the murky, secretive world of the school. Why has this
murder attracted so much attention from Soviet officials? Zaitsev
needs to answer this question and solve the case before the
increasingly paranoid authorities turn their attention to him...
A stunning debut historical thriller set in the turbulent 14th
Century for fans of CJ Sansom, The Name of the Rose and An Instance
of the Fingerpost. London, 1385. A city of shadows and fear, in a
kingdom ruled by the headstrong young King Richard II, haunted by
the spectre of revolt. A place of poetry and prophecy, where power
is bought by blood. For John Gower, part-time poet and full-time
trader in information, secrets are his currency. When close
confidant, fellow poet Geoffrey Chaucer, calls in an old debt,
Gower cannot refuse. The request is simple: track down a missing
book. It should be easy for a man of Gower's talents, who knows the
back-alleys of Southwark as intimately as the courts and palaces of
Westminster. But what Gower does not know is that this book has
already caused one murder, and that its contents could destroy his
life. Because its words are behind the highest treason - a
conspiracy to kill the king and reduce his reign to ashes...
"Downton Abbey meets Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries!" "A Child Lost
is undoubtedly a novel that should not be missed-the story is
genius, flawlessly written, and wildly entertaining! A thrilling
five stars!" - The Red Headed Book Lover "Once again, Cox delivers
the passion and intrigue of Henrietta and Clive with a story that
leaps right off the page. A Child Lost is a true thrill . . . " -
Paperback Paris "The characters' depth and complexity is
beautifully written...this is a truly enjoyable and addicting
series." - Nurse Bookie A spiritualist, an insane asylum, a lost
little girl . . . When Clive, anxious to distract a depressed
Henrietta, begs Sergeant Frank Davis for a case, he is assigned to
investigating a seemingly boring affair: a spiritualist woman
operating in an abandoned schoolhouse on the edge of town who is
suspected of robbing people of their valuables. What begins as an
open and shut case becomes more complicated, however, when
Henrietta-much to Clive's dismay-begins to believe the
spiritualist's strange ramblings. Meanwhile, Elsie begs Clive and
Henrietta to help her and the object of her budding love, Gunther,
locate the whereabouts of one Liesel Klinkhammer, the German woman
Gunther has traveled to America to find and the mother of the
little girl, Anna, whom he has brought along with him. The search
leads them to Dunning Asylum, where they discover some terrible
truths about Liesel. When the child, Anna, is herself mistakenly
admitted to the asylum after an epileptic fit, Clive and Henrietta
return to Dunning to retrieve her. This time, however, Henrietta
begins to suspect that something darker may be happening. When
Clive doesn't believe her, she decides to take matters into her own
hands . . . with horrifying results.
From the author of the international bestsellers The Light Over
London and The Whispers of War comes "a compelling read, filled
with lovable characters and an alluring twist of fates" (Ellen
Keith, author of The Dutch Wife) about five women living across
three different times whose lives are all connected by one very
special garden. Present day: Emma Lovett, who has dedicated her
career to breathing new life into long-neglected gardens, has just
been given the opportunity of a lifetime: to restore the gardens of
the famed Highbury House estate, designed in 1907 by her hero
Venetia Smith. But as Emma dives deeper into the gardens' past, she
begins to uncover secrets that have long lain hidden. 1907: A
talented artist with a growing reputation for her work, Venetia
Smith has carved out a niche for herself as a garden designer to
industrialists, solicitors, and bankers looking to show off their
wealth with sumptuous country houses. When she is hired to design
the gardens of Highbury House, she is determined to make them a
triumph, but the gardens--and the people she meets--promise to
change her life forever. 1944: When land girl Beth Pedley arrives
at a farm on the outskirts of the village of Highbury, all she
wants is to find a place she can call home. Cook Stella Adderton,
on the other hand, is desperate to leave Highbury House to pursue
her own dreams. And widow Diana Symonds, the mistress of the grand
house, is anxiously trying to cling to her pre-war life now that
her home has been requisitioned and transformed into a convalescent
hospital for wounded soldiers. But when war threatens Highbury
House's treasured gardens, these three very different women are
drawn together by a secret that will last for decades. "Gorgeously
written and rooted in meticulous period detail, this novel is
vibrant as it is stirring. Fans of historical fiction will fall in
love with The Last Garden in England" (Roxanne Veletzos, author of
The Girl They Left Behind).
Every gift has a price . . . every piece of lace has a
secret.
Towner Whitney, the self-confessed unreliable narrator, hails
from a family of Salem women who can read the future in the
patterns in lace, and who have guarded a history of secrets going
back generations. Now the disappearance of two women is bringing
Towner back home to Salem--and is bringing to light the shocking
truth about the death of her twin sister.
Brighton, 1950s, mid-winter. Two missing children are found buried
under snow in this chilling new case for DI Stephens and Max
Mephisto. Max's star turn in Aladdin has been overshadowed by the
murder of two local children. With fairy tales in the air, it's not
long before the press have found a nickname for the case: 'Hansel
and Gretel'. 'An excellent whodunnit, matched by the terrific
down-at-heel atmosphere of postwar Brighton' - The Times DI Edgar
Stephens has plenty of leads to investigate. The missing girl,
Annie, used to write plays and perform them with her friends. Does
the clue lie in Annie's unfinished - and rather disturbing - last
script? Or might it lie with the eccentric actor types who have
assembled for the pantomime? Once again Edgar enlists Max's help in
penetrating the shadowy theatrical world that seems to hold the
key. But is this all just classic misdirection?
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...
The world's greatest detective, Hercule Poirot-legendary star of
Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the
Nile-returns to solve a fiendish new mystery. Hercule Poirot is
travelling by luxury passenger coach from London to the exclusive
Kingfisher Hill estate, where Richard Devonport has summoned him to
prove that his fiancee, Helen, is innocent of the murder of his
brother, Frank. But there is a strange condition attached to this
request: Poirot must conceal his true reason for being there. The
coach is forced to stop when a distressed woman demands to get off,
insisting that if she stays in her seat, she will be murdered.
Although the rest of the journey passes without anyone being
harmed, Poirot's curiosity is aroused, and his fears are later
confirmed when a body is discovered with a macabre note attached...
Could this new murder and the peculiar incident on the coach be
clues to solving the mystery of who killed Frank Devonport? And if
Helen is innocent, can Poirot find the true culprit in time to save
her from the gallows?
Scandal, murder and treason... Athelstan and Cranston are back with
a bang.Winter, 1379. French privateers are attacking the southern
coast and threaten London itself, the very heart of the nation. The
situation becomes dire when an English flotilla of warships, with
the colossal God's Bright Light among them, drops anchor in the
Thames; during the first night, the entire watch of the ship
disappears without a trace. The series of murderous and strange
incidents leads to Sir John and Brother Athelstan being summoned to
resolve the mysteries on board the ill-omened warship. Their
investigations uncover some shocking truths - and they find
themselves in the thick of a bloody battle on the Thames. A
gripping and suspenseful historical mystery with plenty of action,
perfect for fans of Michael Jecks, S. G. MacLean and Susanna
Gregory.
'A brilliant idea to turn a "lady novelist" into a sleuth . . . a
fascinating blend of biography, intrigue and melodrama . . .
Ingenious' EVENING STANDARD 'Set on a luxury ocean liner and in an
opulent hotel, this clever whodunit is a fitting tribute to
Christie' -The Lady In January 1927 - and still recovering from the
harrowing circumstances surrounding her disappearance a month
earlier - Agatha Christie sets sail on an ocean liner bound for the
Canary Islands. She has been sent there by the British Secret
Intelligence Service to investigate the death of one of its agents,
whose partly mummified body has been found in a cave. Early one
morning, on the passage to Tenerife, Agatha witnesses a woman throw
herself from the ship into the sea. At first, nobody connects the
murder of the young man on Tenerife with the suicide of a mentally
unstable heiress. Yet, soon after she checks into the glamorous
Taoro Hotel situated in the lush Orotava Valley, Agatha uncovers a
series of dark secrets. The famous writer has to use her novelist's
talent for plotting to outwit an enemy who possesses a very
different kind of evil. 'The queen of crime is the central
character in this audacious mystery, which reinvents the story of
her mysterious disappearance with thrilling results' GUARDIAN What
readers are saying about Andrew Wilson's books: 'Wilson not only
knows his subject but he deftly moves the tale away from mere
literary ventriloquism and into darker territory. Great fun, too'
Observer 'A crafty whodunit worthy of the queen of mystery herself
. . . . Wilson does a superior job of balancing surprising plot
developments with a sensitive portrayal of his lead's inner life'
Publishers Weekly 'The initial premise of the story is pure genius,
and when the reader realises by the end of chapter one whose head
they are inside, goose bumps are guaranteed to occur' Greg,
Goodreads, 4 stars 'A darkly twisting tale of murder and
manipulation' Erin Britton, NetGalley, 4 stars
From the No. 1 bestseller and author of Richard & Judy pick The
Savage Garden: a riveting tale of passion and murder set on the
French Riviera in the 1930s for fans of Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Jed
Rubenfeld France, 1935: At the poor man's end of the Riviera sits
Le Rayol, a haven for artists, expatriates and refugees. Here, a
world away from the rumblings of a continent heading towards war,
Tom Nash has rebuilt his life after a turbulent career in the
Secret Intelligence Service. His past, though, is less willing to
leave him behind. When a midnight intruder tries to kill him, Tom
knows it is just a matter of time before another assassination
attempt is made. Gathered at Le Rayol for the summer months are all
those he holds most dear, including his beloved goddaughter Lucy.
Reluctantly, Tom comes to believe that one of them must have
betrayed him. If he is to live, Tom must draw his enemy out, but at
what cost to himself and the people he loves...?
'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 well-to-do Hester learns of her sister Mercy's death at a
Nottinghamshire workhouse, she travels to Southwell to find out how
her sister ended up at such a place. Haunted by her sister's ghost,
Hester sets out to uncover the truth, when the official story
reported by the workhouse master proves to be untrue. Mercy was
pregnant - both her and the baby are said to be dead of cholera,
but the workhouse hasn't had an outbreak for years. Hester
discovers a strange trend in the workhouse of children going
missing. One woman tells her about the Pale Lady, a ghostly figure
that steals babies in the night. Is this lady a myth or is
something more sinister afoot at the Southwell poorhouse? As Hester
investigates, she uncovers a conspiracy, one that someone is
determined to keep a secret, no matter the cost...
Based on a true story, mystery and intrigue in pre-Civil War New
York. The sensational murder of Dr. Harvey Burdell in his lower
Manhattan home made front-page news across the United States in
1857. "Who killed Dr. Burdell?" was a question that gripped the
nation. 31 Bond Street, a debut novel by Ellen Horan, interweaves
fiction with actual events in a clever historical narrative that
blends romance, politics, greed and sexual intrigue in a
suspenseful drama. The story opens when an errand boy discovers
Burdell's body in the bedroom of his lavish Bond Street home. The
novel's central characters are Dr. Harvey Burdell, a dentist and
unscrupulous businessman; his lover, the ambitious, Brooklyn-born
Emma Cunningham; the District Attorney, Abraham Oakey Hall (later
to become mayor of New York); and Henry Clinton, a prominent
defense lawyer. The enigmatic relationship between Emma and Dr.
Burdell makes her the prime suspect, and her trial is nothing less
than sensational. Will she hang? Were her teenaged daughters
involved? What did the servants know? Who was the last person to
see Burdell alive? During the trial, the two lawyers fight for
truth, justice and their careers. This novel is set against the
background of bustling, corrupt New York City, just four years
before the Civil War. The author intertwines two main narratives:
the trial through the perspective of the defense attorney Henry
Clinton, and the story of the lovely young widow Emma Cunningham
whose search for a husband brings her into the arms and home of Dr.
Burdell.
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
"Another great series." -- San Jose Mercury News "A dazzlingly
tricky mystery." -- Kirkus Reviews "A tremendous skein of red
herrings, sharp and thorough police work, [and] mysterious
connections." -- Bookgasm It's Christmastime in Brighton, and the
city is abuzz about magician Max Mephisto's star turn in Aladdin.
But the holiday cheer is lost on DI Edgar Stephens. He's
investigating the murder of two children, Annie and Mark, who were
found in the woods alongside a trail of candy--a horrifying scene
eerily reminiscent of "Hansel and Gretel." Edgar has plenty of
leads. Annie, a dark child, wrote gruesome plays based on the
Grimms' fairy tales. Does the key to the case lie in her final
script? Or does the macabre staging of the bodies point to the
theater and the capricious cast of Aladdin? Edgar enlists Max's
help in penetrating the shadowy world of the theater. But is this
all just classic misdirection? "Excellent . . . Evoking both the
St. Mary Mead of Agatha Christie and the theater world of Ngaio
Marsh." -- Booklist
An impossible mystery must be solved, and he is running out of
time.Men have been found dead in the scarlet chamber of an Italian
manor. They have no marks upon them, they have not ingested poison,
there are no secret passageways in to the room. And they all have
awful expressions of terror upon their faces. London, 1379. Sir
John Cranston is invited to a banquet at the Regent's palace on the
Thames. There he is trapped into a wager with Signor Gian Galeazzo,
Lord of Cremona and owner of the manor, who challenges him to
resolve the mystery within two weeks. Realising that his reputation
and future wealth now depend upon him solving this mystery,
Cranston seeks the help of his faithful secretarius Brother
Athelstan. However, Athelstan has problems of his own... A
thrilling mystery with a twist you won't see coming, perfect for
fans of Susanna Gregory and S. G. MacLean. Praise for Paul
Doherty'If you like Inspector Morse, you'll love Brother Athelstan'
Prima 'The best of its kind since the death of Ellis Peters' Time
Out
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