The Sunday Times No.1 Bestseller Nothing Ventured is the incredible and thrilling novel by the master storyteller and bestselling author of the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel, Jeffrey Archer. This is not a detective story, this is a story about a detective. William Warwick is eight when he decides to join the police force. Resolute in the face of his prominent QC father's objections, William graduates in Art History from university and immediately enrols as a constable in the Metropolitan Police. Gaining insight from his first mentor, an experienced, world-weary constable, his keen mind quickly takes him into a role in Scotland Yard's Art and Antiques unit and his first case: the recovery of a Rembrandt stolen from the Fitzmolean Museum. It will take skill and tenacity for William to solve the crime, and along the way he will encounter many who will change his life, from Miles Faulkner, a crooked art collector, and his influential lawyer - who bends the law to the point of breaking - to research assistant Beth Rainsford, a woman with secrets who he falls hopelessly in love with . . . William Warwick's destiny is set, the only question is, how far will his ambition take him? Thrilling, absorbing and entertaining, Nothing Ventured heralds the start of a brand new series from master storyteller Jeffrey Archer and introduces a character destined to become one of his most enduring legacies.

Discover Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson through the eyes of those who knew them best. From familiar faces like Mrs Hudson to minor characters like Lomax the sub-librarian, Observations by Gaslight - told through diaries, telegrams, and even grocery lists - paints a masterful portrait of Holmes and Watson as you have never seen them before. See Irene Adler team up with her former adversary in an eerie and near-deadly enquiry. Learn of the case that cemented the friendship between Holmes and Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard. And witness Stanley Hopkins' first meeting with the remote logician he idolizes. Lyndsay Faye, two-time Edgar Award nominee, debuted with Dust and Shadow, her much-admired novel pitting Sherlock Holmes against Jack the Ripper. Now Faye is back with a thrilling volume of new and previously published short stories and novellas narrated by those who knew the Great Detective best. Reviewers on Observations by Gaslight: 'Faye is an expert on all things Sherlockian, she has unparalleled flair.' CrimeReads 'Meat and drink for fans of the Canon of the Sacred Writings.' Kirkus

Captain Hazard's Game, third in the Chocolate House Mysteries series, conjures up the vibrant life of early eighteenth-century gamesters and money-men, a world of deception where risk could bring huge rewards - especially when you turned the stock-market by false news or shortened the odds by cheating. It was a scene where all was in hazard and life lived on the edge. The book weaves its classic murder mystery around actual events of October 1708, and we move among a rich cast of characters, both in Vandernan's gaming-house, Covent Garden, and the notorious Exchange Alley. Playing Captain Hazard's Game brings murder and scandal uncomfortably close, and Widow Trotter and her friends at the Bay-Tree are drawn into a frenzied game of chance and speculation at a time when the market was unregulated. Fortunes were made overnight, and ruin could descend in a single hour. People played for the highest stakes, and men of power manipulated things for their own ends. In this book the chocolate house itself comes under threat as Mary Trotter, with help from her young friends Tom and Will, struggles to find the truth behind an ingenious system of deception. Once again, she presides over the novel, as she does over the Bay-Tree, with good humour, fierce integrity, and resolute determination.

There's a damsel in distress and accusations of attempted murder flying around, but it's not in the comfortable confines of the English countryside, it's in the very distant city of Damascus. Lennox must go and investigate, although he's not too keen on exotic locations, and his old retainer, Greggs is distinctly averse to the very idea. Nevertheless, ex-Chief Inspector Swift persuades them and they reach the ancient city to discover a movie crew, a spy and a couple of mysterious ladies. Nobody seems to be telling the truth, they all have secrets, and there's one secret in particular that's drawn them like bees to the honeypot. But what is it? And then there's murder, and mysteries from the ancient past, and a handsome Sheik who remains in the shadows. Heathcliff Lennox and Swift must investigate and use all their ingenuity to unravel the enigma that lies hidden in the dusty streets of ancient Damascus. Major Heathcliff Lennox, ex-WW1 war pilot, six feet 3 inches, unruly dark blond hair, age around 30 - named after the hero of Wuthering Heights by his romantically minded mother - much to his great annoyance. Death in Damascus is the fourth book in the Lennox series.

Disrespect, disdain - and dead bodies! It's all in a day's work for WPC Billie Harkness, a pioneering female police officer protecting the home front in this gripping WWII British historical mystery. "A fresh and different take on WWII stories with an appealing young heroine" New York Times bestselling author Rhys Bowen on Death in a Blackout 1940. It's been a month since rector's daughter Billie Harkness left her rural village to make a fresh start in the northern city of Hull. Now she has a new home and an exciting new job as one of only two female police constables in the whole city. But Hull still feels like a foreign country, and some people are less than impressed by the idea of a woman doing a 'man's job'. Facing disrespect from her colleagues and suspicion from the public, Billie throws herself into her work. The tasks she's assigned might be menial, but she's determined to do her bit for the war effort. The chance to prove her worth comes during a search for a missing air raid shelter inspector, when Billie makes a shocking discovery: his dead body, in a shelter that's been stripped of all its valuables. The officers summoned to investigate the scene believe it's an open and shut case, but Billie's not so sure. Asking questions means making enemies though - and little does she know that vile rumors about her are spreading, with the power to erase everything she's tried so hard to achieve . . . Murder on the Home Front is the second stunning mystery in the new WPC Billie Harkness series. It's a great choice for readers of Jacqueline Winspear, Rhys Bowen and Susan Elia MacNeal.

The second installment in the Marion Lane mysteries series. The envelope was tied with three delicate silk ribbons: "One of the new recruits is not to be trusted..." It's 1959 and a new killer haunts the streets of London, having baffled Scotland Yard. The newspapers call him The Florist because of the rose he brands on his victims. The police have turned yet again to the Inquirers at Miss Brickett's for assistance, and second year Marion Lane is assigned the case. But she's already dealing with a mystery of her own, having received an unsigned letter warning her that one of the three new recruits should not be trusted. She dismisses the letter at first, focusing on The Florist case, but her informer seems to be one step ahead, predicting what will happen before it does. But when a fellow second-year Inquirer is murdered, Marion takes matters into her own hands and must come face-to-face with her informer-who predicted the murder-to find out everything they know. Until then, no one at Miss Brickett's is safe and everyone is a suspect. With brilliant twists and endless suspense, all set within the dazzling walls and hidden passageways of Miss Brickett's, Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose is a deliciously fun new historical mystery you won't be able to put down. 'The most fun I've had with a book this year. Every page is a delight' Stuart Turton, author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

1853. When the body of a prostitute is found in Hyde Park, veteran sleuth Charley Field is disinclined to believe the official verdict of suicide. Convinced the woman was murdered, he determines to track down the mysterious client who visited her the day she died. But there is more to this murder than even Charley could have imagined.

On the eve of a new crusade, Cyprus, the last Christian stronghold in the Levant, is torn apart when the Templars connive against King Henry in favor of his brother Amaury. The enigmatic Lois, with the assistance of the Seneschal's scribe, Nicholas, undertakes to spy on Amaury while a serfs' rebellion is underway. The arrest of the Templars in Europe changes the status quo, and the Templars on the island bury some of their possessions, drawing maps with their exact location. Seven hundred years later, one such map resurfaces in Covent Garden and a treasure hunt begins. Cyprus 2013. The banks raid their clients' deposits in the 'bail-in'. Michael Costa goes to bed a millionaire and wakes up struggling to make ends meet. Unexpected help comes when Lucy Hernandez buys his house. Unbeknownst to them, the location of the house is the X-location on the Templar map. --- By Lina Ellina, author of "The English Scholar's Ring" LISTED for the EUROPEAN BOOK PRIZE 2016 and "The Venetian" LISTED FOR THE EUROPEAN BOOK PRIZE 2012.

Longlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Historical Fiction Dagger, 2019 A Walter Scott Prize Academy Recommended Read 2019 'Rich, intelligent and dark in equal measure, leaving you wrung out with terror. Historical fiction at its most sumptuous.' Rory Clements ________________________ Heresy. Conspiracy. Murder... London, 1590: Amidst a tumultuous backdrop of Spanish plotters, Catholic heretics and foreign wars, Queen Elizabeth I's control over her kingdom is wavering. And a killer is at work, preying on the weak and destitute of London... Idealistic physician Nicholas Shelby becomes determined to end these terrible murders. Joined in his investigations by Bianca, a beautiful but mysterious tavern keeper, the pair find themselves caught in the middle of a sinister plot. With the killer still at large, Bianca finds herself in terrible danger. Nicholas's choice seems impossible - to save Bianca, or save himself... 'Wonderful! Perry's Elizabethan London is so skilfully evoked, so real that one can almost smell it.' Giles Kristian

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.

DCI Monika Paniatowski faces an old enemy - and makes a fatal mistake with the potential to poison her whole career. Jordan Gough is an important man. He's the town's biggest benefactor. He is the proprietor of the Whitebridge Evening Telegraph. He owns the local football team. He is also, DCI Monika Paniatowski thinks, as bent as a corkscrew - and if she had any evidence, she'd put him away like a shot. A single encounter with him as a young detective sergeant left an impression she's never forgotten. And neither, she is certain, has he. So when Jordan calls and demands to speak to Monika - and only Monika - she is on immediate high alert. He claims someone's trying to kill him, but why has he destroyed the evidence? Why turn for help to an officer he hates? Certain she's the target of a twisted practical joke, Monika makes a terrible mistake - one that could destroy everything she holds dear. The fourteenth DCI Monika Paniatowski mystery is a powerful and dark tale of revenge, secrets and lies, which grips you tight as it reveals twist after stunning twist.

'Echoes of Daphne Du Maurier . . . an intriguing, elegantly constructed gothic mystery' Sunday Times 'The Key in the Lock demands to be devoured whole' Stacey Halls, author of Mrs England A captivating story of burning secrets and buried shame, and of the loyalty and love that rises from the ashes. -------------- 'I still dream, every night, of Polneath on fire...' By day, Ivy Boscawen mourns the loss of her son Tim in the Great War. But by night she mourns another boy - one whose death decades ago haunts her still. For Ivy is sure that there is more to what happened all those years ago: the fire at the Great House, and the terrible events that came after. A truth she must uncover, if she is ever to be free. A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION PICK -------------- 'Intriguing, beguiling and surprising until the very end - I was transfixed' Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground 'Absorbing, beautifully written . . . Everything I enjoy in a gothic mystery' Rosie Andrews, author of The Leviathan 'The Key in the Lock is an absolute triumph! Dark, clever and utterly enthralling, this is historical fiction - and storytelling - at its absolute best' Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory and Circus of Wonders 'A beautifully observed novel. Intriguing, beguiling and surprising until the very end - I was transfixed and moved by Underdown's storytelling' Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground 'Brilliantly twisty, dripping with mystery and utterly heartbreaking' Emily Koch, author of Keep Him Close 'A gothic mystery of the highest order. Chilling, sad, beautiful, and so elegantly conjured' Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters 'The perfect gothic novel' Stuart Turton 'Deliciously intriguing from the very first sentence' Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton 'Captivating and elegant and undoubtedly a future classic' Lucie McKnight Hardy, author of Water Shall Refuse Them 'A masterclass in atmosphere... haunting, vivid and urgent. The Key in the Lock demands to be devoured whole' Stacey Halls, author of Mrs England 'Atmospheric and rich with evocative detail, I found myself in tears by the end' Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange 'A Cornish landscape evocative of Daphne du Maurier . . . brilliantly plotted' Louise Hare, author of This Lovely City 'I was captivated by the characters, the story and the sinuous, seamless plotting' Sarah Hilary, author of Fragile 'This is a novel of true elegance, deftly and satisfyingly plotted' Imogen Hermes Gowar, author of The Mermaid and Mr Hancock 'An ingenious page-turner' The Times 'A compelling gothic mystery' - Good Housekeeping 'An evocative, emotional and compelling gothic read' - CultureFly, Books to Look Forward to Reading in 2022 'With echoes of Daphne du Maurier from its very first, Underdown's second novel is an intriguing, elegantly constructed gothic mystery' Sunday Times 'A captivating and atmospheric read' My Weekly 'Packed full of secrets, eerily atmospheric, this is a darkly gothic tale' Daily Mail 'The gloriously Gothic second novel from Beth Underdown tells a story of smouldering secrets, lingering guilt and hidden love' Daily Express 'A clever, chilling and emotionally charged journey makes The Key In The Lock the perfect novel for a winter's night' Buzz Magazine

WINNER OF THE 2019 CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER 'A gripping tale of crime and sedition' Sunday Times on The Black Friar 'The best historical crime novel of the year' Sunday Express on The Seeker Captain Damian Seeker has gone north. Charged with preparing the way for the rule of the major-generals, he is now under the command of Colonel Robert Lilburne at York. But when Lilburne orders him to a small village on the North York moors with details of the stringent new anti-Royalist laws, Seeker finds that what should be a routine visit will reveal a plot to rival anything in scheming London An invitation to dinner at the house of local businessman Matthew Pullan lifts the lid on the bubbling cauldron of grudges and resentment that is Faithly village. The local constable, drunk on the tiny bit of power he holds, using it to avenge old resentments. The hated lord of the manor, the last of a staunchly Royalist family who has managed to avoid suspicion of treachery - for now. The vicar on trial for his job and his home, accused of ungodly acts. And the Pullans themselves, proudly Puritan but disillusioned with Cromwell's government, respected and despised in Faithly in equal measure. The man for whom this unlikely gathering was organised - The Trier, the enforcer of Puritan morality for the local villages - hasn't shown up. And by the end of the night, on of those gathered around Matthew Pullan's table will be fatally poisoned. Seeker must find out the motive behind the death - mushroom misidentification, petty revenge, or part of a larger plot against Cromwell's government in the north? But who in Faithly, if anyone, can he trust? And when the most painful part of his past reappears after eleven years, will the Seeker meet his match?

In 1851 England, the city of London anticipates the grand opening of the Great Expedition. Excitement is mounting with each engineering triumph of the railways, but not everyone feels like celebrating. A sudden attack hits the London to Birmingham mail train and it is looted and derailed. Planned with military precision, Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck fights to untangle a web of murder, blackmail and destruction. As Colbeck closes in on the criminal masterminds, events take an unexpected turn when the beautiful Madeline, daughter of the injured train driver, becomes a pawn in the criminals game. With time running out, good and evil, new and old, battle against each other. But will the long arm of the law have speed on its side? Full of historical detail, unexpected twists and memorable characters, this is a mystery that will surprise you at every turn.REVIEWS "A thoroughly enjoyable Victorian crime novel, a must for aficionados. For the general reader in search of fresh entertainment, and well worth reading."Historical Novels Review"

'One of the most reliable thriller writers in the world' Daily Mail Guernica, 1937 When the bombers appear like a flock of birds over the horizon, Sibil Helinger, 17, is enjoying market day in the small Spanish town of Guernica. With no warning, clouds of German planes are upon them and bombs fall on the town like rain. Reeling with shock, Sibil spends the next few days frantically searching for her relatives in the smouldering rubble. Though she finds her little sister trapped in the ruins, she discovers her mother and the others are dead. Years later, while WWII rages, Sibil and her sister are living with their father - an eminent scientist reluctantly working with the Nazis and a member of the undercover German resistance. Sibil has grown into a beautiful young woman fuelled by a dark rage. In short, she has grown into the perfect spy to join the resistance and fight back against those responsible for her mother's death. From the bestselling author of The Black Swan of Paris, Fire in the Sky is novel of bravery, danger, love and a woman's unbelievable reserves of strength. Readers of Jane Thynne, Heather Morris, Nora Roberts and Danielle Steel will adore Robards' storytelling. PRAISE FOR THE BLACK SWAN OF PARIS 'A truly outstanding novel, brilliantly written, that captured me and held me in its grip from page one. The Black Swan of Paris reminds us of the power of love, hope and courage' Heather Morris, #1 bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz 'Emotional and powerful' Pam Jenoff, bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris 'Beautifully written and completely absorbing. ' Noelle Salazar, bestselling author of The Flight Girls 'An extraordinarily suspenseful, emotional read' Kelly Rimmer, bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say

"Excellent . Clare matches well-drawn characters, in particular the charismatic lead, with a head-scratching puzzle and creepy atmospherics. Imogen Robertson fans will be pleased" - Publishers Weekly Starred Review In this gripping forensic mystery set in Stuart England, Gabriel Taverner uncovers a series of shocking secrets when he's summoned by his former naval captain to investigate strange goings-on aboard his ship. October, 1604. Former ship's surgeon turned country physician Gabriel Taverner is surprised to receive an urgent summons from his old naval captain. Now docked in Plymouth harbour, having recently returned from the Caribbean, Captain Colt believes his ship is haunted by an evil spirit, and has asked Gabriel to investigate. Dismissive of the crew's wild talk of mysterious blue-skinned ghosts, Gabriel is convinced there must be a rational explanation behind the mass hallucinations. But matters take a disturbing turn when he and the captain discover a body hidden behind one of the bulkheads. Calling on the help of his old friend, Coroner Theophilus Davey, piece by piece Gabriel uncovers a terrifying tale of treachery, dark magic, unimaginable cruelty - and cold-blooded murder.