February 1918. Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and Detective Sergeant Joe Keedy are pulled from their beds to attend a sinister siege involving three burglars where one policeman has already been shot dead. Attempts at talking the men in the house into surrender are met with stony silence so the police proceed to batter down the door and Keedy bravely leads the way. A gunshot is heard. Keedy is hit. As Keedy is rushed to hospital, Marmion is on the trail of the men who fled the scene and startling revelations emerge. A cold-blooded killer is intent on finishing the job he started and has Keedy in his sights.

Chicago, 1931. While the Great Depression has tightened its grip on the world, there are still some who have the means to make their dreams a reality. One of these men is Hobart St John, who wants a mansion in the suburb of Oak Park. For young Welsh architect Merlin Richards, the opportunity to work on the house is an answer to his prayer. But Richards' elation soon turns to confusion and fear. A body has been found on site hanging from a rafter. The authorities dismiss it as suicide but how can that be the case when his hands were tied behind his back? Richards' dream assignment is fast becoming a nightmare, and he realises that the answers he wants might cost him his life.

On a dark, brooding evening on the Isle of Wight, Agnes Raybould and her companion find themselves an empty first-class compartment on the train. But before long a middle-aged man, clearly in high spirits after dining at his club, joins them, and begins a conversation. His name is Edwin Blanchard - and within moments of the train leaving the station, Agnes and her accomplice strangle him . Detective Inspector Colbeck is called to Scotland Yard immediately and is given details of the violent murder by Tallis. Both Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming are swiftly despatched to Queen Victoria's favourite country home on the island to find out exactly what took place on that dreadful, eery night.

1865. A passenger train stands ready to depart amid the bustle at York station. The flurry of passengers and porters, the swooping pigeons and barking dogs are thrown into a state of turmoil when an explosion rips through the brake van of the train killing guard Jack Follis. In response to a summons from the North Eastern Railway, Inspector Robert Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming are sent to investigate. Was it an accident, deliberate vandalism or targeted murder? The longer the investigation goes on, the more complex it becomes. With a dizzying array of suspects and motives, will the combined skills of the detectives be enough to identify and catch the culprit?

Following a string of successful performances, the Moscardi Circus is travelling by train to Newcastle for their next show. Yet a collision on the track with a couple of sleepers causes pandemonium: passengers thrown about and animals escaping into the night. When the body of a woman is discovered in nearby woodland, Inspector Colbeck is desperate to lend assistance, believing the two incidents might be connected. Who is the nameless woman and who is targeting the Moscardi's Magnificent Circus?

1863. Young student, Bernard Pomeroy, flies into a panic when he receives a letter in the early hours of the morning. Leaving a note for a friend with a porter at Corpus Christi College, he rushes for the next train leaving Cambridge. However, shortly after disembarking at his destination, the undergraduate lies dead on the platform. Summoned by the master of the college, Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming begin to investigate Pomeroy's untimely demise. But it seems that Pomeroy had ruffled many feathers during his short tenure at the University. With academic disputes, sporting rivalry and a clandestine romance in play, the Railway Detective will have to disentangle the many threads of Pomeroy's life in order to answer the truth of his death.

Chasing his dream of a glittering architectural career, Merlin Richards has left the Welsh valleys for the Arizona desert, propelled by a handwritten note from the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright. Richards arrives at the Arizona Biltmore hotel, where he meets a beautiful young designer named Rosa Lustig. Like every man in her circle, Merlin is captivated by Rosa but soon finds himself the prime suspect in her murder. Jealous suitors, envious workers, and the cynical police are all convinced that Richards is the killer. As he begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together, what he builds is not the impressive edifice he came to learn about, but a defence that will imprison a murderer.

A maritime mystery from Edward Marston, author of the bestselling Railway Detective series. September 1907. George Dillman sets sail from Liverpool to New York on the Lusitania's maiden voyage. Posing as a passenger, Dillman is in fact an undercover detective hired by the Cunard Line to keep an eye out for petty crimes. But after some uneventful days aboard, the ship's blueprints are stolen and then a body is found. As Dillman works to get to the bottom of the crimes, he makes an unusual friend, first-class passenger Genevieve Masefield, and the two uncover secrets aboard the ship that prove explosive. The Lusitania was a British ocean liner that was sunk in 1915 by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland, killing 1,198 passengers and crew. Lusitania held the Blue Riband prize for the fastest Atlantic crossing and was briefly the world's largest passenger ship until the completion of the Mauretania. Previously published under the name Conrad Allen, the Ocean Liner series is relaunched for a new generation of readers.

December 1864. As a cold winter wind scours the Worcestershire countryside, an excursion train comes through a tunnel in the Malvern Hills to be confronted by a blockage on the line ahead. The driver manages to slow the train down so that the impact is minimised, but the passengers are alarmed. The first person to alight is Cyril Hubbleday, the man in charge of the excursion to the delightful spa town of Great Malvern. He walks to the front of the locomotive and as he is talking to the driver, fireman and guard, Hubbleday is shot dead by a sniper. Christmas is coming all too soon and Inspector Robert Colbeck and Sergeant Victor Leeming are under pressure to solve the case quickly. However, with a number of disputes and enemies in the shadows behind the seasonal excursion and the investigation hampered by heavy snow, the hunt for a cold-blooded killer is far from straightforward.

Southampton, 1910. When the Oceanic sets sail its ultimate destination is New York. But it must make one very important stop first: at Cherbourg, to pick up internationally renowned financier and art collector J. P. Morgan, fresh from a continental buying spree. George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield, the ship's detectives, are nervous about the presence of such an important passenger, not to mention his valuable cargo. After all, it is rare for a transatlantic voyage to pass without incident for the two sleuths. The everyday difficulties of managing passengers including a charming rake intent on causing mischief and a controversial painter travelling with his bohemian wife and his alluring French model, are brought to a pitch when a major art theft takes place and a throat is cut. Dillman and Masefield must draw upon all their experience to find the killer before it is too late. Previously published under the name Conrad Allen, the Ocean Liner series is making waves with a new generation of readers.

New York, 1908. While waiting to embark on the Caronia, the Cunard Line's famous ocean liner, private detectives George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield are startled to witness the boarding of a man and woman in shackles. They discover that these prisoners are being brought back to England by Scotland Yard to face trial for murder. Over the course of the crossing, while managing purse-snatchers, burglars and drug traffickers, Dillman and Masefield come to believe that the captured couple may not be the vicious criminals some might think. But pursuing the hunch that they are innocent becomes harder when a killer strikes on board. Dillman and Masefield will need all their wits to navigate the waters ahead. Previously published under the name Conrad Allen, the Ocean Liner series sets sail for a new generation of readers.

February 1918. Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and Detective Sergeant Joe Keedy are pulled from their beds to attend a sinister siege involving three burglars where one policeman has already been shot dead. Attempts at talking the men in the house into surrender are met with stony silence so the police proceed to batter down the door and Keedy bravely leads the way. A gunshot is heard. Keedy is hit. As Keedy is rushed to hospital, Marmion is on the trail of the men who fled the scene and startling revelations emerge. A cold-blooded killer is intent on finishing the job he started and has Keedy in his sights.

Egypt, 1908. George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield, used to the grand opulence of the Cunard cruise line, are at first disappointed with the Marmora, a small, unimpressive ship owned by the P&O shipping line. Employed by P&O to be the ship's detectives, Dillman and Masefield expect to encounter the usual assortment of petty thieves and confidence tricksters. But this cruise is certain to be unique as the Duke and Duchess of Fife and their children are aboard and the detectives will provide security for the royals. And when a dead body turns up, the voyage proves to be one to remember. Keeping the demise of the poor victim a secret on such a small ship is tough enough but suspects abound, meaning Dillman and Masefield have their work cut out for them. Previously published under the name Conrad Allen, the Ocean Liner series casts off for a new generation of readers.

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"

1860, Wimborne, Dorset. Rebecca Tullidge, miserably married to her callous husband, is having an affair with a railway officer, who she finds dead on the railway tracks. Determined to win votes for the upcoming election of mayor, Mr Feltham calls for Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Lemming to solve the hideous crime, which takes longer than anticipated. With a pregnant wife at home, Colbeck must work at speed if he is to return in time to be there when he becomes a father.

When unexpected disaster strikes Lord Westfield's Men during a packed performance, Nicholas Bracewell must save the day. Will a vagabond clown prophesy the end of the troupe, and perhaps the demise of Nick himself?

The Earl of Chester is enraged when his hawk is killed by an arrow in the Forest of Delamere. When two poachers are caught nearby, he orders their immediate execution. Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive in Cheshire to settle a series of land disputes brought to light during the compilation of the Domesday book. Then a body is found in the forest, shot by an arrow, and it is clear the earl may have dispensed justice a little too hastily. Delchard and Bret are determined to unmask the killer before they can take deadly aim again.

When Sir Julius Cheever's son, a notorious rake, goes missing, and a blackmailer begins terrorising London's most dissolute fops, it seems plausible that the two events are connected. Divided by politics but united in a desire to see justice done, Christopher Redmayne and Jonathan Bale must combine forces once again. But how can they hope to find those who exploit the scandal of others, when the victims themselves will do anything to maintain their anonymity? And what of Sir Julius's son? Most feel he must have been the victim of his own, debauched appetites, but a few talk of his repentance. So where is the repentant rake? And, with only lies, rumours and gossip to work with, can Redmayne and Bale ever hope to find him?

An exquisite silver coffeepot in the shape of a locomotive is on its way to Cardiff in the care of the young silversmith, Hugh Kellow. But before he can deliver it a gruesome murder is committed. Inspector Colbeck is confronted all too soon with complications and with no shortage of suspects and he must sift through layers of deceit to find the killer.Commissioned by wealthy ironmaster Clifford Tomkins for his acquisitive wife, who wants it to be the envy of all her friends and enemies, the coffeepot is stolen. When a gruesome murder is committed at the Railway Hotel, Winifred Tomkins is distraught. Caring little for the dead silversmith, all she can think about is her missing treasure. Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming of the Detective Department are summoned to Wales from London by telegraph and they are soon confronted by some additional crimes. The situation is complicated by the arrival of a famous theatre company and by revelations of illicit liaisons among members of the local high society. Colbeck has to find the killer before it is too late."

October 1854. As an autumnal evening draws to a close, crowds of passengers rush onto the soon to depart London to Brighton Express. A man watches from shadows nearby, grimly satisfied when the train pulls out the station . . . Chaos, fatalities and unbelievable destruction are the scene soon after when the train derails on the last leg of its journey. What led to such devastation, and could it simply be a case of driver error? Detective Inspector Colbeck, dubbed the railway detective thinks not. But digging deep to discover the target of the accident takes time, something Colbeck doesn t have as the killer prepares to strike again . . ."

Colonel Aubrey Tarleton is a man respected by his neighbors in the small Yorkshire village of South Otterington as much for his heroic feats in the army as for his social position. So the community is left stunned when Tarleton, deliberately, walks into the path of a speeding train. He is crushed to death on the track, but it is not his broken limbs that attract the attention of the train driver; rather, it is the note pinned to his chest, fluttering in the breeze: Whoever finds me, notify Superintendent Tallis of the Detective Department at Scotland Yard .The famous Railway Detective, Inspector Robert Colbeck, finds his superior officer in great distress when he arrives at the Yard the following morning. Tallis is clutching a letter from his now-deceased friend. In it, Tarleton makes it clear that he no longer wishes to live if he has to do so without his beloved wife, who has disappeared. When the news arrives that a man s body has been found on the track near Thirsk, the coincidence is too great. Was Tarleton responsible for his wife s disappearance, and was his suicide the act of a guilty man? Tallis cannot believe that to be the case and sets out for Yorkshire, accompanied by Colbeck and his trusty Sergeant Victor Leeming, determined to uncover the truth."