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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Crime & mystery > Historical mysteries
DI Herbert Reardon is drawn into a world of secrets and lies when a
body is discovered at a girls' boarding school. 1930. When a body
is discovered on the premises of the newly-established Maxstead
Court School for Girls, Detective Inspector Herbert Reardon is
called in to investigate. His wife Ellen having just accepted a job
as French teacher, Reardon is alarmed to find the school a hotbed
of scandalous secrets, suppressed passions, petty jealousies and
wanton schoolgirl cruelty. As he pursues his enquiries, it becomes
clear that the dead woman was not who - or what - she claimed to
be. Who was she really - and why is Reardon convinced that more
than one member of staff is not telling him the whole truth? Then a
pupil goes missing - and the case takes a disturbing new twist .
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'It's hard to believe that such
an accomplished novel could be a debut - The Leviathan is a
gloriously dark story that sweeps you along to its harrowing yet
satisfying conclusion. Superb' Susan Stokes-Chapman, number one
bestselling author of Pandora 'Darkly compelling and dripping with
atmosphere... bewitching' Stacey Halls, Sunday Times bestselling
author of THE FAMILIARS SHE IS AWAKE... Norfolk, 1643. With civil
war tearing England apart, reluctant soldier Thomas Treadwater is
summoned home by his sister, who accuses a new servant of improper
conduct with their widowed father. By the time Thomas returns home,
his father is insensible, felled by a stroke, and their new servant
is in prison, facing charges of witchcraft. Thomas prides himself
on being a rational, modern man, but as he unravels the mystery of
what has happened, he uncovers not a tale of superstition but
something dark and ancient, linked to a shipwreck years before.
Something has awoken, and now it will not rest. Richly researched,
incredibly atmospheric, and deliciously unsettling, The Leviathan
is set in England during a time of political and religious
turbulence. It is a tale of family and loyalty, superstition and
sacrifice, but most of all it is a spellbinding mystery and a story
of impossible things... 'Outstanding... a seething, haunting
delight' Beth Underdown, award-winning author of THE WITCHFINDER'S
SISTER 'Thoroughly gripping and utterly absorbing' Jennifer Saint,
author of ARIADNE *ROSIE ANDREWS'S The Puzzle Wood coming in 2024*
A 'Canterbury Tales' medieval mystery As Chaucer's pilgrims shelter
for the night in a well-stocked tavern, it's the physician's turn
to enthral his fellow travellers with a terrifying tale of mystery
and intrigue. When Brother Anselm and his novice Stephen are
summoned to the Church of St Michael's, Candlewick, to perform an
exorcism, little are they prepared for the horror that awaits. The
demons and apparitions that plague the church would appear to have
been summoned by an infamous sorcerer known as the Midnight Man.
But what has he unwittingly unleashed - and why? Is someone using
the haunting as the perfect cover for their murderous intent? And
is there any link with the sudden disappearances of a number of
young women in the area? The answers lie in the past and an
unresolved wickedness from many decades before. But before Anselm
can get to the truth, he must uncover the identity of the
mysterious Midnight Man.
The world's most beloved literary characters. The gilded opulence of the Roaring Twenties. A murder that scandalises high society. And a clever young woman of unusual persistence... Be ready to re-think the world of Gatsby.
1922: You are cordially invited to summer at the Gatsby Mansion in West Egg, with the most illustrious - and the deadliest - guest list.
Freshly twenty-one and sporting a daring new bob, Greta Gatsby - younger sister to the infamous Jay - is finally free of finishing school. An idyllic summer stretches ahead of her at the Gatsby Mansion, the jewel of West Egg. But when Greta arrives at the secluded white-stone estate bathed in the late-afternoon light, she finds she isn't the only visitor. Jay is hosting an intimate gathering of New York's fashionable set: Daisy and Tom Buchanan, along with his brother Edgar, Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker.
That evening, the guests enjoy a candelabra-lit dinner party. That night, they dance to the lilt of the gramophone. The next morning, one of them is missing.
Murder has come to West Egg, the warm breeze tainted by scandal, betrayal and secrets. Turning sleuth isn't how Greta meant to spend her summer - but what choice does she have when one of them could be next?
A deliciously unputdownable whonunnit perfect for fans of The Christie Affair and Miss Austen Investigates.
'Here ends one of the finest achievements of recent crime fiction'
- Sunday Telegraph 'Outstanding' - The Times *Winner of the 2022
CWA Historical Dagger and Gold Dagger* Los Angeles. Christmas,
1967. A devil is loose in the City of Angels . . . A young nurse,
Kerry Gaudet, travels to the City of Angels desperate to find her
missing brother, fearing that something terrible has happened to
him: a serial killer is terrorising the city, picking victims at
random, and Kerry has precious few leads. Ida Young, recently
retired Private Investigator, is dragged into helping the police
when a young woman is discovered murdered in her motel room. Ida
has never met the victim but her name has been found at the crime
scene and the LAPD wants to know why . . . Meanwhile mob fixer
Dante Sanfelippo has put his life savings into purchasing a winery
in Napa Valley but first he must do one final favour for the Mob
before leaving town: find a bail jumper before the bond money falls
due, and time is fast running out. Ida's friend, Louis Armstrong,
flies into the city just as her investigations uncover mysterious
clues to the killer's identity. And Dante must tread a dangerous
path to pay his dues, a path which will throw him headlong into a
terrifying conspiracy and a secret that the conspirators will do
anything to protect . . . Completing his American crime quartet,
Ray Celestin's Sunset Swing is a stunning novel of conspiracy,
murder and madness, an unforgettable portrait of a city on the
edge.
A Hawkenlye medieval mystery February, 1212. Sir Josse d'Acquin and
Helewise are summoned to Southfire Hall, where Josse's elderly
uncle, Hugh, lies dying, surrounded by his children. But the pair
soon discovers that Hugh's ill health is not the only cause of
distress in the house: for Hugh's son and heir, Herbert, has taken
an unpleasant new wife, the widowed Lady Cyrille. Josse and
Helewise are distracted by the discovery of an injured young man on
the road outside on the evening of their arrival, but the longer
they remain in the house, the more they feel that something is very
wrong. What happened to Josse's cousin Aeleis, who no one speaks
of? Where is Lady Cyrille's small son? And why do they both feel as
if the house itself is alive - and threatened by approaching evil?
'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.
***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?
'Exquisite' - Will Dean, author of Dark Pines 'This is a book that
will stay with you' - Ann Cleeves, bestselling author of the Vera
series 'Compelling, twisty and wonderfully suspenseful' - Claire
Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground In a lonely cottage on a
deserted stretch of shore, a moment of tragedy between lovers
becomes a horrific murder. And two women who should never have met
are connected for ever . . . Six years after the end of the Great
War, a nation is still in mourning. Thousands of husbands, fathers,
sons and sweethearts were lost in Europe; millions more came back
wounded and permanently damaged. Beatrice Cade is an orphan,
unmarried and childless - and given the dearth of men, likely to
remain that way. London is full of women like her: not wives, not
widows, not mothers. There is no name for these invisible women,
and no place for their grief. Determined to carve out a richer and
more fulfilling way to live as a single woman, Bea takes a room in
a Bloomsbury ladies' club and a job in the City. Then a fleeting
encounter changes everything. Bea's emerging independence is
destroyed when she falls in love for the first time. Kate Ryan is
an ordinary wife and mother who has managed to build an enviable
life with her handsome husband and her daughter. To anyone looking
in from the outside, they seem like a normal, happy family - until
two policemen knock on her door one morning and threaten to destroy
the facade Kate has created. From the author of Little Deaths,
longlisted for the Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction, comes the
sensational Other Women. Mesmerising, haunting and utterly
remarkable, this is a devastating story of fantasy, obsession
inspired by a murder that took place almost a hundred years ago.
August 1911. Emily Hardcastle and her inimitable lady's maid
Florence Armstrong are enjoying a fine summer until Harry, Lady H's
brother, turns up out of the blue with a mystery for them to solve.
A routine parachute test at a local aeroplane factory has gone
horribly wrong-with pilot Dickie Dupree plummeting to his death.
Harry is certain there is more to this 'tragic accident' than meets
the eye, having discovered that someone at the airfield is leaking
top secret intelligence to foreign rivals. In between strolls to
the Dog & Duck and planning for the annual village show, the
daring duo dust off the Crime Board and go undercover at Bristol
Aviation. With international powers investing heavily in
aeronautics, the stakes are high-sky high-and the suspects soon
mount up. Can Lady Hardcastle find the culprit before someone else
falls down dead?
Turn a Blind Eye is the third instalment in the gripping story of
Detective Inspector William Warwick, by the master storyteller and
Sunday Times number one bestselling author of the Clifton
Chronicles. William Warwick, now a Detective Inspector, is tasked
with a dangerous new line of work, to go undercover and expose
crime of another kind: corruption at the heart of the Metropolitan
Police Force. His team is focused on following Detective Jerry
Summers, a young officer whose lifestyle appears to exceed his
income. But as a personal relationship develops with a member of
William's team, it threatens to compromise the whole investigation.
Meanwhile, a notorious drug baron goes on trial, with the
prosecution case led by William's father and sister. And William's
wife Beth, now a mother to twins, renews an old acquaintance who
appears to have turned over a new leaf, or has she? As the
undercover officers start to draw the threads together, William
realizes that the corruption may go deeper still, and more of his
colleagues than he first thought might be willing to turn a blind
eye. 'Peerless master of the page-turner' - Daily Mail
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