"A compelling new mystery for Libertus, set against the backdrop of the Roman Empire in turmoil and fighting for its survival . . ."
Libertus is passing the villa of his patron, Marcus Septimus Aurelius, when he sees an elaborate travelling carriage which has pulled up outside and is now blocking the road. Recognising that this may be an important visitor, Libertus approaches the carriage, intending to explain that Marcus is away, gone to Rome to visit his old friend Pertinax, who has recently been installed as Emperor. However, for his efforts, Libertus instead receives a torrent of abuse and the carriage-driver almost runs him down as he departs.
Libertus is badly shaken, but goes back to the villa the next day to find out why there was no gate-keeper in evidence to deal with the stranger. There he finds a gruesome discovery: the man is dead and hanging in his hut, and none of the other house-slaves are to be found. Worse things are to follow as news arrives from Rome which will turn the lives, not only of Libertus and his family, but the whole Empire upside down . . .

"The Silver Pigs" is the classic novel which introduced readers around the world to Marcus Didius Falco, a private informer with a knack for trouble, a tendency for bad luck, and a frequently incovenient drive for justice. When Marcus Didius Falco encounters the young and very pretty Sosia Camillina in the Forum, he senses immediately that there is something amiss. When she confesses that she is fleeing for her life, Falco offers to help her and, in doing so, he gets himself mixed up in a deadly plot involving stolen ingots, dangerous and dark political machinations, and, most hazardous of all, one Helena Justina, a brash, indominable senator's daughter connected to the very traitors that Falco has sworn to expose.

In the latest Richard Nottingham historical mystery, the Constable must track down a predatory child-killer who roams the city. Leeds, 1733. Three children are found dead in a disused bell pit; their bodies battered and bruised, each of them stabbed through the heart. As an atmosphere of fear and suspicion pervades the city, Richard Nottingham and his team find themselves hunting a ruthless child-killer, a monster who preys on abandoned street children, those with no one to care about them, no one to report them missing. The Constable has his suspicions as to who the culprit might be - but how can he prove it when the wealthy and powerful protect their own? He could also do without the interference of the new mayor, who's taking a close personal interest in the case. Nottingham's efforts to bring the killer to justice will have tragic consequences for himself and his family.

'Mesmerising from beginning to end' Lizzie LaneYorkshire Dales 1850 As a terrible storm rages, Annabelle Wallis is shocked to find a distressed young woman at her cottage door, heavy with child. Moments later a baby girl is born. But by dawn, the mother has vanished, leaving behind the helpless child wrapped only in a silk peacock shawl. When news spreads that Lady Eliza Hartley, sister to wealthy estate owner, John Hartley, has been found dead, Annabelle realises the terrible secret she has stumbled on. Terrified she'll be blamed for Eliza's death, Annabelle flees to the filthy slums of York, where she plans to raise the precious orphan as her own. The cobbled streets of York's slums are no place for a young woman like Annabelle or a Hartley babe and John Hartley is determined to bring them both home. But Annabelle proves impossible to find. Annabelle can't hide forever from the wealthy Hartley family, but can she ever give up the baby she loves? Praise for AnneMarie Brear: 'AnneMarie Brear writes gritty, compelling sagas that grip from the first page.' Fenella J Miller 'Poignant, powerful and searingly emotional, AnneMarie Brear stands shoulder to shoulder with the finest works by some of the genre's greatest writers such as Catherine Cookson, Audrey Howard and Rosamunde Pilcher.'

In the 1930s, Port St. Joe, on the Gulf in Florida's panhandle, had more than its share of secrets. Morphine-addicted old Doc Berber, the town's only general practitioner, thought he knew most of them. But a murder out at the Cape San Blas lighthouse pulls him into series of intrigues that even he does not know how to cure.

'Pretty much everything I want in an historical thriller - an absolutely terrific read' - Philip Gwynne Jones 'A great insight into Renaissance Florence. What I love about these books is the seamless weaving of factual history with a great story' - Abir Mukherjee Florence. Spring, 1537. When Cesare Aldo investigates a report of intruders at a convent in the Renaissance city's northern quarter, he enters a community divided by bitter rivalries and harbouring dark secrets. His case becomes far more complicated when a man's body is found deep inside the convent, stabbed more than two dozen times. Unthinkable as it seems, all the evidence suggests one of the nuns must be the killer. Meanwhile, Constable Carlo Strocchi finds human remains pulled from the Arno that belong to an officer of the law missing since winter. The dead man had many enemies, but who would dare kill an official of the city's most feared criminal court? As Aldo and Strocchi close in on the truth, identifying the killers will prove more treacherous than either of them could ever have imagined . . . The Darkest Sin is an atmospheric locked-room thriller by D. V. Bishop, set in Renaissance Florence and is the sequel to City of Vengeance.

Private investigator Liberty Lane's latest case takes her to rural Gloucestershire to uncover the truth of a brutal murder. July, 1840. Did young Jack Picton, a known rebel and political agitator, kill governess Mary Marsh? Liberty Lane has left London for Cheltenham to find out, sharing the magistrate's doubts. He is, however, hiding something ...but what? As Liberty is about to discover, behind Cheltenham's genteel facade lies a hotbed of vice. It is a place where the poor are driven to desperate lengths to escape the horror of the workhouse. A place which is harbouring a ruthless killer. Can Liberty uncover the truth in time?

***A TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR*** 'A joy from start to finish' - ANDREW TAYLOR 'Thrilling... Deserves to be huge' - EMMA STONEX This is the confession of Laurence Jago. Clerk. Gentleman. Spy. July 1794, and London is filled with rumours of revolution. The war against the French is not going in Britain's favour, and negotiations with America are on a knife edge. Laurence Jago, Foreign Office clerk, is ever more reliant on opium - the Black Drop - to ease his nightmares. A highly sensitive letter, whose contents could lead to the destruction of the British Army, has been leaked to the press and Laurence is a suspect. Then he discovers the body of a fellow clerk - a supposed suicide - and it seems clear where the blame truly lies. But Laurence is certain both of his friend's innocence, and that he was murdered. But after years of hiding his own secrets from his powerful employers, can Laurence find the true culprit without ending up on the gallows himself?

'a tour de force work of art' - The Wall Street Journal, Best Books of the Year Longlisted for the 2022 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award It's Saturday evening, 9 March 1566, and Mary, Queen of Scots, is six months pregnant. She's hosting a supper party, secure in her private chambers. She doesn't know that her Palace is surrounded - that, right now, an army of men is creeping upstairs to her chamber. They're coming to murder David Rizzio, her friend and secretary, the handsome Italian man who is smiling across the table at her. Mary's husband, Lord Darnley, wants it done in front of her and he wants her to watch it done ... Denise Mina brilliantly portrays the sexual dynamics and politics of power - between men and women, monarch and subjects, master and servants. The period is masterfully researched yet lightly drawn, the characterisation quick, subtle and utterly convincing. This breathtakingly tense work is a tale of sex, secrets and lies, one that explores the lengths that men - and women - will go to in the search for love and power.

In its 300-year history, there has never once been a scandal at Mullings, ancestral home of the decent but dull Stodmarsh family. Until, that is, Edward Stodmarsh makes an ill-advised second marriage to the scheming Regina Stapleton, who insists on bringing her family's 'ornamental hermit' to live on the estate. Suddenly everyone wants to visit Mullings to glimpse this mysterious figure. Strange but harmless, thinks Florence Norris, the family's longstanding housekeeper. But events take a sinister turn with the arrival of sudden, violent death - and suddenly the hermit doesn't seem so harmless after all.

The world is classic Jane Austen. The mystery is vintage P.D. James.

In their six years of marriage, Elizabeth and Darcy have forged a peaceful, happy life for their family at Pemberley, Darcy's impressive estate.

But on the eve of their annual autumn ball, chaos descends. A chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley's wild woodland. As it pulls up, Lydia Wickham - Elizabeth Bennet's younger, unreliable sister - stumbles out screaming that her husband has been murdered.

Plunged into frightening mystery and a lurid murder trial, the lives of Pemberley's owners and servants alike may never be the same . . .

A Times Best New Historical Fiction pick, perfect for fans of The Familiars and The Binding. 'KEEPS THE READER HOOKED TO THE END' - THE TIMES ___________ Halloween night, 1906. Lotta Rae is assaulted by a wealthy gentleman and bravely takes him to trial alongside her barrister, William. But the verdict is devastating, the consequences unimaginable. When Lotta discovers she has been betrayed, she vows to deliver her own justice. Twelve years later, William and Lotta meet again: this night, their final reckoning. The day in court is done. But tonight he will hear her testimony. ___________ 'A masterclass in storytelling' - Donal Ryan 'Utterly absorbing and vividly realised' - Irish Independent 'An enthralling drama' - Best 'A sweeping, heart-breaking quest for justice' - Fiona Looney 'A tale told with such ominous beauty. Lotta will stay with me forever' - Chas Newkey-Burden 'Weaves historical fact with an engaging and page-turning plot' - Sinead Moriarty 'This is a sit-down-and-do-not-get-up-until-you've-finished read' - Belfast Telegraph 'A brilliant tale' - Sunday Business Post 'A gripping story of injustice, intrigue and revenge set at the turn of the 20th century' - Irish Times