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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Crime & mystery > Historical mysteries
The peaceful atmosphere of the Reverend Mother's annual retreat is shattered by sudden, violent death in this gripping historical mystery. 1920s. Cork, Ireland. The Reverend Mother regrets the bishop's decision to invite the five candidates for the position of Alderman of the City Council to join them for their annual retreat. Constantly accosted by ambitious, would-be politicians hoping to secure the bishop's backing, she's finding the week-long sojourn at the convent of the Sisters of Charity anything but peaceful. What she doesn't expect to encounter however is sudden, violent death. When a body is discovered in the convent's apple orchard cemetery, blown to pieces by a makeshift bomb, it is assumed the IRA are responsible. But does the killer lie closer to home? Was one of the candidates so desperate to win the election they turned to murder? Does someone have a hidden agenda? Once again, the Reverend Mother must call on her renowned investigative skills to unearth the shocking truth.
In the spring of 1666 everyone's first reaction to a sudden death at the palace of White Hall is that the plague has struck, but the killing of Thomas Chiffinch was by design, not disease. Chiffinch was holder of two influential posts - Keeper of the Closet and Keeper of the Jewels - and rival courtiers have made no secret of their wish to succeed to those offices. To Thomas Chaloner, ordered to undertake the investigation, such avarice gives a whole host of suspects an ample motive for murder. The same courtiers are at the heart of the royal entourage endorsing the King's licentious and ribald way of life, and Chaloner has some sympathy with the atmosphere of outrage and disgust at such behaviour. London's citizens, already irked by the wealthy fleeing to the country at the outbreak of the plague, have scant patience with the Court on its return. The city is abuzz with rumours of dissent and rebellion, fuelled by predictions from a soothsayer in Clerkenwell of a rain of fire destroying the capital on Good Friday. Chaloner initially dismisses such talk as nonsense, but as he uncovers ever more connections to Clerkenwell among his suspects, he begins to fear that there is also design behind the rumours - and that, come Easter Day, the King and his Court might find themselves the focus of yet another rebellion.
"When Fredericka Wing arrives in South Sutton, Massachusetts, a tiny New England town, it seems an ideal place for a working summer vacation. She plans on managing Miss Hartwell's bookstore while working on her own writing. She never dreamed she would find a body in a hammock in her own backyard. Someone brutally murdered Catherine Clay, an heir to the Sutton family fortune. And more violence follows. Together with Peter Mohun, a professor at a local college, Fredericka sets out to discover the murderer's identity ... and unravel the secrets of the wealthy and powerful Sutton family ""Murders for Sale"" -- also published under the title ""Sneeze on Sunday"" -- is one of science fiction writer Andre Norton's rare excursions into the mystery field. "
Old King Brady and Alice, peering in between the curtains, saw enough. Harry had got himself into a bad fix. There he lay on the floor with three Chinamen bending over him. One held a box, another a long glass vial. What were they about? Originally published in 1910, this Dime Novel is #604 in the Secret Service series, which frequently featured the melodramatic exploits of Old King Brady.
November 1911. Lady Emily Hardcastle is celebrating her birthday by seeing a play at the Duke's Theatre in Bristol with her maid and confidante, the inimitable Flo. Act One is a triumph. Then Act Two opens with a body on stage-a real one. One of the cast has been brutally murdered during the interval. When other matters get in the way of Inspector Sunderland overseeing the case himself, he asks the ever-resourceful Lady H to keep a watchful eye on the suspects-and his police colleagues. Rustling up some cunning disguises of their own, she and Flo are soon in deep cover among the cast and crew, pulling back the curtain on some shocking secrets and rivalries... The problem is, everyone seems to have a motive, and everyone seems to have an alibi...In this locked-room mystery in which nothing is as it seems, the amateur sleuths need to put on the performances of their lives if they're to stand a chance of shining a spotlight on the truth...
When an American war correspondent's murder is concealed by British authorities, Maisie Dobbs agrees to work with an agent of the US Department of Justice to help an old friend discover the truth. With German bombs raining down on London, Maisie is torn between the demands of solving this dangerous case and the need to protect her young evacuee. And what will happen when she faces losing her dearest friend and the possibility that she might be falling in love again?
"""Charlie Chan Carries On"" -- the 1931 Fox motion picture starring Warner Oland as Chan-- is now considered a ""lost"" film (the original film materials were destroyed in a vault fire.) Unless a copy surfaces in some remote corner of the world, as happened with ""Charlie Chan in Paris,"" this original screenplay is the closest Chan fans will come to seeing the original film. (There is also a Portuguese-language version called ""Eran Trece"" -- ""There Were Thirteen"" -- with a different cast. The 1940 film, ""Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise,"" starring Sidney Toler, Oland's successor in the role of Charlie Chan, was also based on the same novel, but with a different script.) This addition to the series was penned by Barry Conners and Philip Klein, with added material suggested by Earl Derr Biggers, and based loosely on Biggers' original novel, ""Behind That Curtain."" "
An unforgettable picture of a young man's development into a criminal. Strength, drama, poignancy, and beauty of writing are here with a love story singularly touching in its appeal. August Wagner, old-time saloon keeper, faced the eve of Prohibition stoically. "No business now ... Still got the building ... Got to pay taxes just the same ... Got to start a new business ... Guess I can do it, though, if I have to ... Maybe open a restaurant . . . Use the bar for a lunch counter." From then on, life was cruel to August and to Benny, his son. The disintegration of a personality is shown with startling clarity through scenes of murder, of dope-peddling, of prison, and of speakeasy and night-club life. Those who have read Maynard's short stories in "The American Mercury" and elsewhere will not be surprised by the power of this novel. They will remember "Murder in the Making" and "The Zip of the Gat." Others will recognize a new writer of great force.
Cairo, 1912. The Pasha receives an unexpected gift: a traditional
Bride Box. When opened, however, the box contains an unwelcome jolt
from the past . . . At the same time, a little girl is discovered
riding under a train from Luxor - and the Mamur Zapt, Head of the
Khedive's Secret Police, is called in to investigate.
At her friend Ivy's behest, Lady Emily Ashton reluctantly agrees to attend a party at the sprawling English country estate of a man she finds odious. But the despised Lord Fortescue is not to be her greatest problem. Kristiana von Lange, an Austrian countess once linked romantically with Emily's fiancE, the debonair Colin Hargreaves, is a guest also. And a tedious evening turns deadly when their host is found murdered, and his protEgE, Robert Brandon--Ivy's husband--is arrested for the crime. Determined to right a terrible wrong, Emily embarks on a quest that will lead her from London's glittering ballrooms to Vienna's sordid backstreets--and into a game of wits with a notorious anarchist. But putting Colin in deadly peril may be the price for exonerating Robert--forcing the intrepid Emily to bargain with her nemesis, the Countess von Lange, for the life of her fiancE.
Crispin Guest is summoned to a London priory to unmask a merciless killer. Can he discover who is committing the deadliest of sins? 1399, London. A drink at the Boar's Tusk takes an unexpected turn for Crispin Guest, Tracker of London, and his apprentice, Jack Tucker, when a messenger claims the prioress at St Frideswide wants to hire him to investigate murders at the priory. Two of Prioress Drueta's nuns have been killed in a way that signifies two of the Seven Deadly Sins, and she's at her wits end. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing outside of London when the exiled Henry Bolingbroke, the new Duke of Lancaster, returns to England's shores with an army to take back his inheritance. Crispin is caught between solving the crimes at St Frideswide's Priory, and making a choice once more whether to stand with King Richard or commit treason again.
In an aging mansion on the south side of London's Putney Bridge, an old woman confesses a secret to her grandson, just returned home from the battlefields of World War II. Charlotte Stetchworth has always appeared to be a proper Englishwoman, though with a lively background as a suffragette and European traveler. Now, her grandson Freddy learns a sinister secret, that Charlotte and her son Rolly-Freddy's father-were involved in a complex web of spying for the Germans starting in World War I. In this captivating novel by historian and Army veteran Colonel David Fitz-Enz, we follow Rolly throughout the European theater of World War I. Rags, as he is known to friends and colleagues, is assigned to the staff of Major General Avery Hilliard Hopewell, an inspector general for the British Army whose work takes him from the battlefields of France to Alexandria and Gallipoli and beyond. Rags' travels lead him to army hospitals, a mysterious father figure, a beautiful nurse wracked with grief, and Churchill's War Rooms. Along the way, he and Charlotte learn the art of spycraft and use any means necessary to keep their secret. But while Freddy is told his family's covert history, he begins to suspect that Charlotte has just scratched the surface. Beginning his own investigation, Freddy learns that there is much more to discover about the spy on Putney Bridge.
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
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE 2014 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL WINNER OF THE 2014 DILYS AWARD A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF 2013 From New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger, a brilliant new novel about a young man, a small town, and murder in the summer of 1961. "That was it. That was all of it. A grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it. Yet I have never across the forty years since it was spoken forgotten a single word." New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson's Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder. Frank begins the season preoccupied with the concerns of any teenage boy, but when tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family-which includes his Methodist minister father; his passionate, artistic mother; Juilliard-bound older sister; and wise-beyond-his-years kid brother-he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years. Told from Frank's perspective forty years after that fateful summer, Ordinary Grace is a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.
The brand new mystery in the bestselling DI Wesley Peterson crime series! 'A beguiling author who interweaves past and present' The Times __________________ On a summer evening, Robert and Greta Gerdner are shot dead at their home in the Devon countryside. DI Wesley Peterson suspects the execution-style murders might be linked to Robert's past police career - until Robert's name is found on a list of people who've been sent tickets anonymously for a tour of Darkhole Grange, a former asylum on Dartmoor. Wesley discovers that other names on the list have also died in mysterious circumstances and, as he is drawn into the chilling history of the asylum, he becomes convinced that it holds the key to the case. When his friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, finds the skeleton of a woman buried in a sealed chamber dating back to the fifteenth century at his nearby dig, Wesley wonders whether there might be a connection between the ancient cell and the tragic events at Darkhole Grange. With the clock ticking, Wesley must solve the puzzle, before the next person on the list meets a terrible end . . . Whether you've read the whole series, or are discovering Kate Ellis's DI Wesley Peterson novels for the first time, this is the perfect page-turner if you love reading Ann Cleeves and Elly Griffiths. PRAISE FOR KATE ELLIS: 'Clever plotting hides a powerful story of loss, malice and deception' Ann Cleeves 'Haunting' Independent 'The chilling plot will keep you spooked and thrilled to the end' Closer 'Unputdownable' Bookseller 'A fine storyteller, weaving the past and present in a way that makes you want to read on' Peterborough Evening Telegraph |
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