Even as war rages, there are deep secrets lurking in the heart of Buckingham Palace... Windsor, 1942. War rages through Great Britain. Anna Duckworth, former lover of Prince George, Duke of Kent, is found dead after an enemy bomb blast at her country home. When courtier Guy Harford is called to dispose of incriminating love letters between Anna and the Duke, it becomes clear that there's more to the story than anyone is prepared to reveal. As the court begins to whisper of a lone gunshot heard in the house that day, another gruesome death befalls the royal circle. With the bodies stacking up, Guy rejoins his old accomplices, East End burglar Rodie Carr and undercover agent Rupert Hardacre, to unmask the dangerous secrets lurking beneath the glittering Crown. But with tensions rippling from London to Tangier as the Allied Forces prepare to invade North Africa, and Guy's reputation in the Palace hanging in the balance, can he solve the mystery before more heads roll?

An atmospheric, intricately plotted new mystery in which Sherlock Holmes and Henry Vernier race to catch a villainous murderer at large in the Vatican and Rome. Sherlock Holmes and Henry Vernier are visiting Rome on a diplomatic mission when the Pope asks the world's greatest detective to help find a stolen relic: the forefinger of "doubting" Saint Thomas. But when the relic is quickly and mysteriously returned, and all seems to be easily resolved, the forefinger is stolen again in a brutal attack. Holmes and Vernier must follow the trail of a sacrilegious murderer through the streets of Rome and the halls of the Vatican, uncovering dark ties between members of the church and an Italian crime family.

George Mann's Newbury & Hobbes steampunk mystery series concludes in this thrilling final volume as our Victorian special agent heroes discover a grand plot to that threatens the state of the world. The time has finally come. Queen Victoria has given the order for her agents to move against the Secret Service - to eliminate the fledgling organisation with extreme prejudice. Caught in the middle of the conflict, Newbury, Veronica and Bainbridge are forced to face up to the truth: that the Queen no longer represents the best interests of the Empire. Now rogue and in league with the Queen's enemies, they must enact the "Albion Initiative": a desperate plan to break Prince Edward out of Bedlam and install him on the throne in the Queen's stead. But with the Queen's executioner and his army on their trail, as well as a possible traitor in their midst, can they do enough to stop the malign tyrant from destroying everything they once swore to protect? With everything falling apart around them, Newbury and Veronica must uncover the macabre truth behind the crown, and in doing so, unravel the very foundations of the Empire.

A moving and powerful mystery, The Forgotten Garden is the bestselling second novel from Kate Morton. 1913. On the eve of the First World War, a little girl is found abandoned after a gruelling ocean voyage from England to Australia. All she can remember of the journey is that a mysterious woman she calls the Authoress had promised to look after her. But the Authoress has vanished without a trace. 1975. Now an old lady, Nell travels to England to discover the truth about her parentage. Her quest leads her to Cornwall, and to a beautiful estate called Blackhurst Manor, which had been owned by the Mountrachet family. What has prompted Nell's journey after all these years? 2005. On Nell's death, her granddaughter, Cassandra, comes into a surprise inheritance. Cliff Cottage, in the grounds of Blackhurst Manor, is notorious amongst the locals for the secrets it holds - secrets about the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is at long-abandoned Cliff Cottage, and in its forgotten garden, that Cassandra will uncover the truth about the Mountrachets - and why the young Nell was abandoned all those decades before . . .

In 1924, San Francisco is booming. The great fire and earthquake of 1906 cleared the ground for a modern city, but the closer she comes to the place she used to call home, the more troubling Mary Russell's dreams become... As Russell and her husband, the eminent Sherlock Holmes, attempt to settle their affairs in the City by the Bay, Mary's past isn't the only thing that catches up with them - a mysterious stranger is waiting for the pair, and may be the only one who holds the key to the locked rooms that have been haunting Mary's dreams... In Locked Rooms, internationally bestselling author Laurie R King portrays the 1920s in exuberant detail and, with near-lyrical prose, presents a compelling murder mystery that will keep your imagination and attention locked in its pages until the very end.

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.

The eighth book in the Sergeant Cribb series by Peter Lovesey

London, 1888. Though Miriam Cromer has confessed to the murder of her husband's assistant, she is still confident of her acquittal. However, the jury sentence her to hang.

Miriam then says her husband was the killer, but he has an alibi. Can Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray discover what really happened at Park Lodge on that fateful day in March before it's too late?

The seventh book in the Sergeant Cribb series by Peter Lovesey

London, 1889: After Jerome K Jerome's Three Men in a Boat became a Victorian bestseller, rowing on the Thames was the great craze of 1889. When an elementary school teacher in training takes a midnight swim in the Thames and witnesses a body being dumped, Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackerey are called to investigate.

The duo uncover strange parallels with the enormously popular Victorian novel, but nobody will take them seriously. Following their instincts, they stick doggedly to the trail, which leads upstream to Oxford.

As King Philip of Spain prepares to invade England, Ursula heads to Brussels on a desperate mission in this compelling Tudor mystery. March, 1588. With England in a state of high alert as King Philip of Spain amasses a vast fleet of warships ready to invade, Queen Elizabeth and her advisors seek a possible alliance with the Duke of Parma, Governor of the Netherlands. But their plans suffer a major setback when one of their most reliable spies is found murdered in the Hertfordshire countryside, shot dead by a crossbow bolt as he was transporting secret correspondence between the queen and the duke. The queen's half-sister and occasional secret agent, Ursula Stannard, is happy not to be involved for once. But when Ursula's ward Mildred elopes with the handsome yet mysterious Berend Gomez, Ursula is forced to follow the pair to Brussels, where she finds herself plunged into a hotbed of intrigue and rumour at the Duke of Parma's court, a place where no one is to be trusted. Can Ursula rescue Mildred, effect an alliance with the duke, and stay alive in the process? The future of England depends on it.

'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

1895. A senior executive at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford is found in his office with a bullet hole between his eyes, a pistol discarded close by. The death has officially been ruled as suicide by local police, but with an apparent lack of motive for such action, the museum's administrator, Gladstone Marriott, suspects foul play. With his cast-iron reputation for shrewdness, formed during his time investigating the case of Jack the Ripper alongside Inspector Abberline, private enquiry agent Daniel Wilson is a natural choice to discreetly explore the situation, ably assisted by his partner, archaeologist-cum-detective Abigail Fenton. Yet their enquiries are hindered from the start by an interfering lone agent from Special Branch, ever secretive and intimidating in his methods. With rumours of political ructions from South Africa, mislaid artefacts and a lost Shakespeare play, Wilson and Fenton soon find themselves tangled in bureaucracy. Making unlikely alliances, the pair face players who live by a different set of rules and will need their intellect and ingenuity to reveal the secrets of the aristocracy.

"Sir Hugh is in top form tracking down the wily killer of local clerics while eating his way through a feast of mediaeval dishes. A delightful mystery with an authentic historical touch." Fiona Veitch Smith, author and scriptwriter Keeping watch over the Easter Sepulchre, where the Host and crucifix are stored between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, is considered a privilege. So, it is shocking when it is discovered that Odo, the priest's clerk, has abandoned his post. But as the hours pass and Odo is not found, Hugh de Singleton is called upon. It is Hugh that finds the dried blood before the altar, and fear grows for the missing man... Will Hugh be called upon to investigate another murder, or will the man be found hale and hearty? But if so, where has the blood come from?

Introducing Will Somers, the king's jester but nobody's fool in this exuberant, intriguing and thoroughly entertaining mystery set in Tudor England - the first in a new series from the author of the critically acclaimed Crispin Guest Medieval Noir series. 1529, London. Jester Will Somers enjoys an enviable position at the court of Henry VIII. As the king's entertainer, chief gossip-monger, spy and loyal adviser, he knows all of the king's secrets - and almost everyone else's within the walls of Greenwich Palace. But when Will discovers the body of Spanish count Don Gonzalo while walking his trusted sidekick Nosewise in the courtyard gardens, and a blackmail note arrives soon after demanding information about the king, is one of his own closely guarded secrets about to be exposed? Trouble is afoot at the palace. Are the king's enemies plotting a move against him? Will must draw on all his wit and ingenuity to get to the bottom of the treacherous and deadly goings-on at the court before further tragedy strikes . . .

'For a totally exhilarating romp through Ancient Rome, Lindsey Davis' latest Flavia Alba novel won't be beaten and offers an immersive experience of a vibrant world full of real, recognisable characters' Mike Ripley, Shotsmag Don't go to the Grove . . . Julius Caesar left his gardens to the citizens of Rome, a peaceful sanctuary across the Tiber. Now the gardens and their sacred grove are dangerous haunts, especially for women alone. 'Don't go to the Grove,' people mutter, but when her husband has to leave Rome, it falls to Albia to supervise his building project in an old grotto. Why has someone buried tattered scrolls by obscure philosophers - and does it involve a worse crime than terrible writing? Soon that puzzle is overtaken. A woman disappears from her husband's birthday party; she meets a dire fate, then Albia learns that on the same night, two louche slaves given to her family by the brooding Emperor Domitian also vanished in the gardens. Apparently, it is well known that a killer lurks there. The vigiles have failed to investigate properly for decades and this won't improve when the sinister agent Karus arrives. Albia must co-operate, in order to give the many victims justice and find answers for grieving relatives. But can she herself remain safe? And, after others have failed, can she at last identify the predator who has made the Grove his killing ground? Praise for Lindsey Davis and the Flavia Albia series 'Lindsey Davis has seen off all her competitors to become the unassailable market leader in the 'crime in Ancient Rome' genre . . . Davis's squalid, vibrant Rome is as pleasurable as ever' - Guardian 'Davis's prose is a lively joy, and Flavia's Rome is sinister and gloriously real' - The Times on Sunday 'For fans of crime fiction set in the ancient world, this one is not to be missed' - Booklist 'Davis's books crackle with wit and knowledge . . . She has the happy knack of making the reader feel entirely immersed in Rome' - The Times

1930s Leningrad. As a mood of fear cloaks the city, Investigator Vasily Zaitsev is called on to investigate a series of bizarre and seemingly motiveless murders. In each case, the victim is curiously dressed and posed in extravagantly arranged settings. At the same time, one by one precious old master paintings are going missing from the Hermitage collection. As Zaitsev sets about his investigations, he meets with suspicion at practically every turn, and potential witnesses are reluctant to provide information. Soon Zaitsev himself comes under suspicion from the Soviet secret police. The embittered detective must battle increasingly complex political machinations in his dogged quest to uncover the truth.

A gruesome discovery at an aircraft hanger leads Albert Campion into a turbulent mystery set in Cambridge in the middle of the Cold War. "Ripley again marries a crafty plotline with a persuasive evocation of Allingham's style and characterizations. Fans of the originals will be delighted"- Publishers Weekly Starred Review "I have often said that my wife is a constant surprise to me." Cambridge, 1965. The honorary doctorate ceremony for Albert Campion's wife takes a dramatic turn when Lady Amanda is arrested by Special Branch for breaking the Official Secrets Act. Never before having taken much interest in his wife's work in cutting-edge aircraft design, Mr Campion sets out to discover more about the top-secret Goshawk Project in which Amanda is involved. He quickly realizes he is not the only one keen to learn the secrets of the project. When a badly mutilated body is discovered at the Goshawk Project's hangar - the result, it would appear, of a bizarre accident - Campion is drawn into a turbulent mix of industrial espionage and matters of national security. And as he attempts to get to the bottom of the deadly goings-on, it seems that the bicycles and punts are almost as dangerous as the aircraft . . .

In the fourth rip-roaring thriller in the award-winning Malabar House series, Persis and Archie travel to the old colonial capital of Calcutta, where they collide head-on with the prejudices and bloody politics of an era engulfed in flame.

Bombay, 1950. James Whitby, sentenced to death for the murder of prominent lawyer and former Quit India activist Fareed Mazumdar, is less than two weeks from a date with the gallows. In a last-ditch attempt to save his son, Whitby's father, arch-colonialist, Charles Whitby, forces a new investigation into the killing.

The investigation leads Inspector Persis Wadia of the Bombay Police to the old colonial capital of Calcutta, where, with the help of Scotland Yard criminalist Archie Blackfinch, she uncovers a possible link to a second case, the brutal murder of an African-American G.I. during the Calcutta Killings of 1946.

How are the cases connected? If Whitby didn't murder Mazumdar, then who did? And why?

*****Part of the bestselling John Shakespeare series of Tudor spy thrillers from Rory Clements, winner of the Ellis Peters Historical Fiction Award***** 'Does for Elizabeth's reign what CJ Sansom does for Henry VIII's' Sunday Times England is close to war. Within days the axe could fall on the neck of Mary Queen of Scots, and Spain is already gathering a battle fleet to avenge her. Tensions in Elizabeth I's government are at breaking point. At the eye of the storm is John Shakespeare, chief intelligencer in the secret service of Sir Francis Walsingham. When an intercept reveals a plot to assassinate England's 'sea dragon', Francis Drake, Shakespeare is ordered to protect him. With Drake on land fitting out his ships, he is frighteningly vulnerable. If he dies, England will be open to invasion. In a London rife with rumour, Shakespeare must decide which leads to follow, which to ignore. When a high-born young woman is found mutilated and murdered at an illicit printing house, it is political gunpowder - and he has no option but to investigate. But why is Shakespeare shadowed at every turn by the brutal Richard Topcliffe, the blood-drenched priest-hunter who claims intimacy with Queen Elizabeth herself? What is Topcliffe's interest in a housemaid, whose baby has been stolen? And where do two fugitive Jesuit priests fit into the puzzle, one happy to die for God, the other to kill for Him? From the splendour and intrigue of the royal court, to the sleek warships of Her Majesty's Navy and the teeming brothels of Southwark, Shakespeare soon learns that nothing is as it seems . . .

Thomas atte Bridge, a man no one likes, is found hanging from a tree near Cow-leys Corner. All assume he has taken his own life, but Master Hugh and Kate find evidence that this may not be so. Many of the town had been harmed by Thomas, and Hugh is not eager to send one of them to the gallows. Then he discovers that the priest John Kellet, atte Bridge's partner in crime in A CORPSE AT ST. ANDREW'S CHAPEL, was covertly in Bampton at the time atte Bridge died. Master Hugh is convinced that Kellet has murdered atte Bridge ' one rogue slaughtering another. He sets out for Exeter, where Kellet now works. But there he discovers that the priest is an emaciated skeleton of a man, who mourns the folly of his past life. Hugh must return to Bampton and discover which of his friends has murdered his enemy...

Intrigue and scandal threaten to rock the monarchy in wartime Britain... Windsor, 1943. Britain is in the grip of war and treachery is afoot. The body of controversial former courtier Lord Blackwater is found in the abandoned Fort Belvedere, once the country bolthole of the King's wayward brother. And all signs point to murder. Royal confidant Guy Harford is called in to solve the mystery quickly and quietly, before any hint of scandal reaches the public. Investigating with the help of Rodie, his roguish burglar girlfriend, his enquiries lead him into the world of the Royal Ballet, where on-stage glamour hides an undercurrent of off-stage deceit. And when the ballet company's newest recruit turns up dead, it's clear there's more to this murder than meets the eye. Meanwhile, news reaches the Palace that the King's brother-already under strict orders to stay out of trouble-is threatening to undermine both Crown and country by taking US citizenship. Harford must do his royal duty. It's up to him to catch the killer and save the monarchy from crisis in wartime. Before any more heads roll...

Charlie Marder is an unlikely Congressman. Thrust into office by his family ties after his predecessor died mysteriously, Charlie is struggling to navigate the dangerous waters of 1950s Washington, DC, alongside his young wife Margaret, a zoologist with ambitions of her own. Amid the swirl of glamorous and powerful political leaders and deal makers, a mysterious fatal car accident thrusts Charlie and Margaret into an underworld of backroom deals, secret societies, and a plot that could change the course of history. When Charlie discovers a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of governance, he has to fight not only for his principles and his newfound political career...but for his life.

It is the autumn of 1880, and Dr John Watson has just returned from Afghanistan. Badly injured and desperate to forget a nightmarish expedition that left him doubting his sanity, Watson is close to destitution when he meets the extraordinary Sherlock Holmes, who is investigating a series of deaths in the Shadwell district of London. Several bodies have been found, the victims appearing to have starved to death over the course of several weeks, and yet they were reported alive and well mere days before. Moreover, there are disturbing reports of creeping shadows that inspire dread in any who stray too close.Holmes deduces a connection between the deaths and a sinister drug lord who is seeking to expand his criminal empire. Yet both he and Watson are soon forced to accept that there are forces at work far more powerful than they could ever have imagined. Forces that can be summoned, if one is brave - or mad - enough to dare...

Jack Blackjack stands accused of killing a priest in the wickedly entertaining new Bloody Mary Tudor mystery. April, 1555. A priest has been stabbed to death in the village of St Botolph, to the east of the City of London, his body left to rot by the roadside - and Jack Blackjack stands accused of his murder. As well as clearing his name, Jack has his own reasons for wanting to find out who really killed the priest - but this is an investigation where nothing is as it seems. Was it a random attack by a desperate outlaw, or do the answers lie in the murdered priest's past? As he questions those who knew the dead man, Jack is faced with a number of conflicting accounts - and it's clear that not everyone can be telling him the whole truth. But Jack is about to be sidetracked from the investigation . with disastrous consequences.