Best of
Historical-Mystery

2021

Murder at the Spring Ball: A 1920s Mystery


Benedict Brown - 2021
    After years shut away from the world, former detective Lord Edgington of Cranley Hall plans a grand ball to celebrate his seventy-fifth birthday.But when someone starts bumping off members of his scheming family, the old man enlists his teenage grandson to help find the killer, before one of them is next.The mismatched duo must pick the culprit from a gaggle of preening playboys, scatter-brained spinsters and irate inspectors in this Agatha-Christie-style whodunnit that will have you racing to spot the killer.

Thing of Darkness: A 1920s Historical Mystery (A Smith Investigates Mystery Book 2)


Beth Byers - 2021
    

Something Wicked: A Violet Carlyle and Friends Mystery (A Smith Investigates Mystery Book 1)


Beth Byers - 2021
    

Sixpenny Holding


Margaret Scutt - 2021
    She only wants a quiet life, a home for her unlikely family of two nieces and one troublesome kitten.Before long, things take a darker turn.A man breaks out of prison, leaving the villagers rattled.What are they afraid of?Marian isn’t one for idle gossip. But she can’t ignore the telltale signs that someone has been sneaking into her garden at night.And then there’s the gruff stranger she’s seen hanging round next door. Who is he? And what does he want with the farmer’s wife?It’s up to Marian find out.But in a village full of secrets, the truth can be hard to find.A brand-new cozy mystery that will delight fans of Agatha Christie, Richard Osman, Margaret Mayhew, Janice Hallett, Jeanne M. Dams, L.J. Ross, Faith Martin and Midsomer Murders.

Murder on the Golden Arrow (The Kitty Worthington Mysteries Book 1)


Magda Alexander - 2021
    1923. After a year away at finishing school where she learned etiquette, deportment, and the difference between a salad fork and a fish one, Kitty Worthington is eager to return home. But minutes after she and her brother Ned board the "Golden Arrow," the unthinkable happens. A woman with a mysterious connection to her brother is poisoned, and the murderer can only be someone aboard the train.When Scotland Yard hones in on Ned as the main suspect, Kitty sets out to investigate. Not an easy thing to do while juggling the demands of her debut season and a mother intent on finding a suitable, aristocratic husband for her.With the aid of her maid, two noble beaus, and a flatulent Basset Hound named Sir Winston, Kitty treads a fearless path through the glamorous world of high society and London’s dark underbelly alike to find the murderer. For if she fails, the insufferable Inspector Crawford will most surely hang a noose around her brother’s neck.A frolicking historical cozy mystery filled with dodgy suspects, a dastardly villain, and an intrepid heroine sure to win your heart, Murder on the Golden Arrow is the first book in The Kitty Worthington Mysteries. For lovers of Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey alike.

Death by Dancing: a 1930s Cozy Murder Mystery (A Higgins & Hawke Mystery Book 4)


Lee Strauss - 2021
    Haley Higgins is surprised to discover the deceased is the widow of a man whose body still lay in the cold cabinets of her morgue. She has reasons to believe the man’s death wasn’t natural, and now, with his wife having succumbed to the same symptoms, her convictions of foul play are stronger than ever.With the help of investigative reporter Samantha Hawke, Haley works to determine which contestants in the dancing contest had means, motive, and opportunity. And most of all, how to keep the killer from striking again.

Murder on Christmas Eve (A Dodo Dorchester Mystery Book 6)


Ann Sutton - 2021
    

Down a Dark River


Karen Odden - 2021
    S. Harris and Anne Perry, Karen Odden’s mystery introduces Inspector Michael Corravan as he investigates a string of vicious murders that has rocked Victorian London’s upper crust.London, 1878. One April morning, a small boat bearing a young woman’s corpse floats down the murky waters of the Thames. When the victim is identified as Rose Albert, daughter of a prominent judge, the Scotland Yard director gives the case to Michael Corravan, one of the only Senior Inspectors remaining after a corruption scandal the previous autumn left the division in ruins. Reluctantly, Corravan abandons his ongoing case, a search for the missing wife of a shipping magnate, handing it over to his young colleague, Mr. Stiles. An Irish former bare-knuckles boxer and dockworker from London’s seedy East End, Corravan has good street sense and an inspector’s knack for digging up clues. But he’s confounded when, a week later, a second woman is found dead in a rowboat, and then a third. The dead women seem to have no connection whatsoever. Meanwhile, Mr. Stiles makes an alarming discovery: the shipping magnate’s missing wife, Mrs. Beckford, may not have fled her house because she was insane, as her husband claims, and Mr. Beckford may not be the successful man of business that he appears to be. Slowly, it becomes clear that the river murders and the case of Mrs. Beckford may be linked through some terrible act of injustice in the past—for which someone has vowed a brutal vengeance. Now, with the newspapers once again trumpeting the Yard’s failures, Corravan must dredge up the truth—before London devolves into a state of panic and before the killer claims another innocent victim.

Mydworth Mysteries - City Heat (A Cosy Historical Mystery Series Book 10)


Matthew Costello - 2021
    

Murder at Dunhaven Castle: A Cate Kensie Mystery (Cate Kensie Mysteries Book 2)


Nellie H. Steele - 2021
    Cate Kensie, now known as Lady Catherine Kensie, the mistress of Dunhaven Castle, still can’t believe her life. Somehow, moved to Scottland, inherited a castle that’s more than meets the eye, and is the proud--and sometimes reluctant-- owner of an amazing family heirloom. But there’s a secret Cate must protect about her new life, a secret that no one but Jack Reid, the estate manager, knows of. As Cate learns more about her new home, she discovers that in 1856 there was a murder at Dunhaven and non-other than her own ancestor, Randolph MacKenzie, was accused and convicted of the crime. However, the more she learns about the murder at Dunhaven, the more confusing things become. All of the evidence is there, but the answers still don’t add up. Will Cate have the courage to dive into a centuries-old murder to clear her family’s name? Or will she find out the hard way that sometimes it’s best to leave the past in the past where it can’t hurt you? Find out in the nail-biting second installment of the Cate Kensie Mysteries series, Murder at Dunhaven Castle!

Lady Violet Investigates


Grace Burrowes - 2021
    She’s talked into attending a country house party by her French physician friend, Hugh St. Sevier, only to find that the house party guests are preyed upon by a mysterious thief.Among the guests is Sebastian MacHeath, Marquess of Dunkeld. Violet once considered Sebastian her closest confidant, but war and the passing years have changed him. Nonetheless, when Sebastian’s valet, another veteran, comes under suspicion, Violet, St. Sevier, and Sebastian must work together to discover the true culprit, lest an innocent man be sent to the gallows for crimes he did not commit.

Waking the Tiger: A thrilling award-nominated historical crime novel


Mark Wightman - 2021
    Following the disappearance of his wife, his life and career have fallen apart.A distinctive tiger tattoo is the only clue to her identityOnce a rising star of Singapore CID, Betancourt has been relegated to the Marine Division, with tedious dockyard disputes and goods inspections among his new duties.Who is she? And why are the authorities turning a blind eye?But when a beautiful, unidentified Japanese woman is found murdered in the shadow of a warehouse owned by one of Singapore’s most powerful families, Betancourt defies orders and pursues those responsible. What he discovers will bring him into conflict with powerful enemies, and force him to face his personal demons.

The Unexpected Flavor of Forever: A Severine DuNoir Historical Cozy Adventure (The Mysteries of Severine DuNoir Book 8)


Beth Byers - 2021
    

The Custard Corpses: A delicious 1940s mystery (The Erdington Mysteries, #1).


M.J. Porter - 2021
    But, his cause of death was drowning, and he’d been missing for three days before his body was found. No one was ever arrested for the crime. No answers could ever be given to the grieving family. The unsolved case has haunted Mason ever since.But, the chance discovery of another victim, with worrying parallels, sets Mason, and his constable, O’Rourke, on a journey that will take them back over twenty-five years, the chance to finally solve the case, while all around them is uncertainty, impossible to ignore.

A Peculiar Combination


Ashley Weaver - 2021
    Breaking into the homes of the rich and picking the locks on their safes may not be condoned by British law enforcement, but World War II is in full swing, Ellie's cousins Colm and Toby are off fighting against Hitler, and Uncle Mick's more honorable business as a locksmith can't pay the bills any more.So when Uncle Mick receives a tip about a safe full of jewels in the empty house of a wealthy family, he and Ellie can't resist. All goes as planned--until the pair are caught redhanded. Ellie expects them to be taken straight to prison, but instead they are delivered to a large townhouse, where government official Major Ramsey is waiting with an offer: either Ellie agrees to help him break into a safe and retrieve blueprints that will be critical to the British war effort, before they can be delivered to a German spy, or he turns her over to the police.Ellie doesn't care for the Major's imperious manner, but she has no choice, and besides, she's eager to do her bit for king and country. She may be a thief, but she's no coward. When she and the Major break into the house in question, they find instead the purported German spy dead on the floor, the safe already open and empty. Soon, Ellie and Major Ramsey are forced to put aside their differences to unmask the double-agent, as they try to stop allied plans falling into German hands.

The Eternal Investigator: An Oxford Key Mysteries Novella


Lynn Morrison - 2021
    

Milton Park: A Wartime Spy Cosy Mystery (Florence Fairweather Book 1)


Russell Cooper - 2021
    

Heathcliff Lennox - France 1918: A wartime romance - a short story prequel to the Heathcliff Lennox Murder Mystery series


Karen Baugh Menuhin - 2021
    The Great War is at a crucial stage, the Germans are making one last push into France, and the Allies are struggling to hold them back. Battle lines are shifting, and men, and their machines, are being sent up and down the front to shore up defenses.Major Heathcliff Lennox, and his batman Greggs, are told to report to their new HQ. They set off on a sunlit day to fly the distance, but the enemy is never far away, and disaster strikes. They're sent crashing to the ground behind enemy lines, where life, death, and love await.Major Heathcliff Lennox: WW1 pilot, six feet 3 inches, tousled dark blond hair, named after the hero of Wuthering Heights by his romantically minded mother - much to his great annoyance

The Bookshop Murder


Merryn Allingham - 2021
    Until one morning, everything changes when she discovers a body amongst her own bookshelves…The young man with the shock of white-blond hair lay spread-eagled on the floor, surrounded by fallen books. His hand reached out to the scattered pages, as though he was trying to tell her something.But who is he? How did he come to be killed in Flora’s ordinary little bookshop? Flora finds out he was staying at the Priory Hotel, and when the gardener suddenly dies in its beautiful grounds only a few days later, she is certain that something untoward is happening in her quiet village by the sea.But are the two deaths connected? And is someone at the hotel responsible – the nervous cook, the money-obsessed receptionist, or the formidable manageress?Determined to save her beloved bookshop’s reputation and solve the murder mystery, Flora enlists the help of handsome and brooding Jack Carrington: crime writer, recluse and her most reliable customer.As the unlikely duo set about investigating the baffling case, guilty faces greet them at every door. And they soon realise there’s more than one person hiding secrets in Abbeymead…The start of a brand-new murder mystery series featuring bookshop owner Flora Steele and crime writer Jack Carrington. Fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis will love this perfect cozy murder mystery novel. An utterly addictive story that will have you guessing until the very end.

Strange Beginnings: The Freeman Files Series: Book 13


Ted Tayler - 2021
    

Sherlock Holmes and the Rosetta Stone Mystery (The Early Casebook of Sherlock Holmes 1)


Linda Stratmann - 2021
    With his intense stare and unorthodox methods of doing things, Holmes has already gained a reputation as an eccentric but brilliant man.When suspected intruders are sighted at the British Museum, Holmes is called upon to give his opinion of what happened.But before he can come to any conclusions, something horrifying happens – one of the great treasures of the world, the priceless Rosetta Stone, is stolen from the museum.The thieves have left a note demanding a ransom. And if it is not fulfilled they threaten to cast the Stone into the ocean so it can never be found again.With the police on the wrong track, it is down to Holmes to solve the complex case. And when the burglary case turns into a murder investigation, it becomes a race against time before more victims are killed.

Murder on the Village Green: A 1920s Cozy Mystery (Lady Felicity Quick Mystery Book 1)


Rosie Hunt - 2021
    

Now and Then Stab (Francis Bacon Mystery, #7)


Anna Castle - 2021
    

Criminals on Campus (Country Girl in the Big City Cozy Mystery Book 2)


Susan Harper - 2021
    

Murder on the Lusitania


Edward Marston - 2021
    George Porter Dillman sets sail from Liverpool on the Lusitania''s maiden voyage. Hired by the ship''s captain to pose as a passenger, George is in fact a private detective for the Cunard Line. In the first days of his voyage, George only has to deal with a few petty crimes. But then an expensive piece of jewelry is reported stolen and a body is found. Working quickly to solve both crimes, George makes an unusual friend, Genevieve Masefield, and the two uncover secrets aboard the ship that prove explosive.

Murder Afloat: A Lottie Lindberg 1900's Cozy Mystery


Ruby Riverton - 2021
    The voyage of a lifetime. An unfortunate sighting.Magnificence, intrigue & murder abound, in this twisty page-turning mystery!When Charlotte, who goes by Lottie, Lindberg witnesses what she thinks is a pickpocketing on the docks of the famous Titanic, she vows to track the culprits once onboard, and warn the others of the danger. But it looks like mystery-obsessed, amateur-sleuth Lottie is in for a lot more than she bargained for, when the simple incident of pickpocketing turns into full-fledged MURDER. Lottie and Little Dickens now find themselves running from a killer. As glamorous as Titanic appears, nefarious things are afoot. People are not who they seem.Eliciting the help from new best friends, Esme Loring, Margo Brown, and the dashing Inspector Stone, will Lottie be able to expose the culprits, and their secrets, in time to save herself? Or will the ill-fated Titanic that’s just hit an iceberg, go down before she has the chance?

The Last Gasp


Chautona Havig - 2021
    He just never imagined trading the silver screen for a pulpit would wreak such havoc.A cigarillo girl, Lucinda Ashton spends her days with her boyfriend, Gary, and her evenings selling candy and “gaspers” to the Hollywood elite at the Taj Mahal Theater.However, when gunshots ring out just as intermission begins, Lucinda finds herself smack-dab in the middle of a brouhaha that leaves three dead, and no one has a clue why.All the police know is that the evidence points to Lucinda as the killer and Gary as the intended target.Four new friends, one young orphan, and a potluck of clues that don’t seem to fit anywhere leave the police baffled, Lucinda in fear for her freedom, and Gary ready to trade in his acting shoes for gumshoes if it’ll save his “Cinda.”The first book in the Ever After Mysteries combining beloved fairy tales and mysteries, The Last Gasp. This Cinderella retelling blends a murder with enough crime and story clues to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Mary Finch and the Thief (Mary Finch Mystery, #1)


S.S. Saywack - 2021
    It is 1893 and Mary Finch finds herself on the gritty and violent streets of Victorian London trying to clear her name.When wrongfully accused of theft, Mary Finch is determined to track down the thief and prove her innocence. Her journey takes her from Baker Street, where her friends, the famous detective Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, live, to the dark and dangerous East End of London. On her trail are the suspicious Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard, the evil butler of her employer, a mysterious gentleman who is not what he appears to be and a ruthless killer. Mary must hurry to find the truth before she is arrested and sent to jail.

A Beauty for the Earl's Duty


Sally Forbes - 2021
    Her father is a wastrel and has squandered most of the family's fortune on drinking and gambling. Lady Bridget's reputation has been ruined by her father's scandalous behavior that led to a failed Season a year ago. She is left with no other choice but to pursue a gentleman whose reputation has been similarly tainted.Peter Henderson grew up in America. He is stunned when he receives the news that he is the son of the late Earl of Hemingford. Peter is curious to learn more about the man he has never met and travels to London. But all is not what it seems when he arrives. He is given an ultimatum that if he wishes to claim his full inheritance he is to find a wife.Bridget and Peter meet at a ball and there is an instant attraction between them. But with Bridget's reputation, a courtship between them will never work. Peter finds himself caught up in an unfamiliar world and it is brought to his attention that his father may have been murdered.Can Bridget and Peter find their way to each other when the odds are stacked against them?

Fall From Lace


Emily Claire - 2021
    Everyone knows it, from her dearest friends within the Spinsters’ Sewing Circle to her most distant acquaintances within the parish.So when the beloved new curate turns up dead the night before Valentine’s Day, stabbed through the heart with Lydia’s own knitting needle, not even Lydia’s closest friends expect her to do more than cry and perhaps arrange a luncheon after the funeral service. After all, the tragedy was only a robbery gone wrong, and how could any vicar’s daughter hope to bring the long-gone thief to justice?
But Lydia can’t shake the feeling that this crime was somehow personal. The clues suggest the curate was murdered for some terrible purpose, and everyone at the house party seems to have a motive. Was it the high-born lady whose charitable endeavors are at risk? The beautiful young lady of the house who's hiding an agonizing secret? Her mother, who had every reason to want the curate gone? Or even the butler, whose private life is more scandalous than it seems?
And that’s to say nothing of handsome Mr. Pemberton, a notorious gambler and infuriating flirt from London who seems equally likely to have killed the curate and to drive Lydia to commit a murder herself.
This cozy, romantic Regency murder mystery—full of strong female friendships, gripping twists and turns, and witty repartee sharper than a knitting needle—is sure to delight fans of Jane Austen, Lynn Messina, and Patricia C. Wrede.

Resistance


Mara Timon - 2021
    One mission. Enemies everywhere.May 1944. When spy Elisabeth de Mornay, code name Cécile, notices a coded transmission from an agent in the field does not bear his usual signature, she suspects his cover has been blown– something that is happening with increasing frequency. With the situation in Occupied France worsening and growing fears that the Resistance has been compromised, Cécile is ordered behind enemy lines.Having rendezvoused with her fellow agents, Léonie and Dominique, together they have one mission: help the Resistance destabilise German operations to pave the way for the Normandy landings.But the life of a spy is never straightforward, and the in-fighting within the Resistance makes knowing who to trust ever more difficult. With their lives on the line, all three women will have to make decisions that could cost them everything - for not all their enemies are German.

Crusade of Murder: (Templar Knight Mysteries #11)


Maureen Ash - 2021
    But some months later, when a second brother is killed near Lincoln, and then a third is wounded, it becomes obvious that a deadly campaign is being waged against the warrior monks.In concert with Gerard Camville, the sheriff of Lincoln, Bascot investigates the murders but, despite their best efforts, not a trace of the killer is discovered. As the attacks continue, both are frustrated by the lack of clues to his identity, and it is not until an unexpected witness comes forward with revealing evidence that a trail is found for them to follow.

A Haunting at Holkham


Anne Glenconner - 2021
    Set during WWII in Holkham, think Downton Abbey meets Knives Out ...It's Christmas 1943 and Lady Anne Coke has returned to Holkham Hall from Scotland. But her home is now an army base, with large sections out of bounds. And 11-year-old Anne is in the care of a new governess, whom she hates and believes to be hiding something. At least her beloved grandfather is there with her, to share stories and keep her entertained.But even though she's been told to stay away from certain parts of the house, Anne knows secrets about the hall that others do not; the passageways and the cellars that allow her to move around unnoticed, watching. And when mysterious  events lead to a murder and disappearance, Anne is determined to uncover the truth.

The Curious Case of Florence Winters


May Bridges - 2021
    

The Lady Detective


Ava January - 2021
    beware!How does a wealthy widow avoid the marriage market in 1890s London?If you're Lady Theodosia Fortescue-Brown, you hide behind outrageously bad clothing and glasses you don't need.After the disappearance of her husband, Theodosia can't imagine giving up her freedom to marry again and relishes her role as detective to the ladies of the upper echelons of society.When a priceless necklace on loan from the Royal family is stolen, Theodosia must work with the scandalous Lord Montague to recover it before the theft is discovered.But somewhere between setting a brothel on fire, being knocked out in a cemetery in the middle of the night, and narrowly avoiding death via Scotch egg, Theodosia and William fall in love...

The Wrecking Storm (Thomas Tallant, #2)


Michael Ward - 2021
    

Now and Forever


Margaret Scutt - 2021
    But if she thinks she’s safe at home, she is wrong.Her scheming brother wants to marry her off to a fortune-hunter, and he won’t take no for an answer. Out on a lonely walk, Catherine is attacked and left for dead.Could this be her brother’s doing?Catherine won’t wait to find out. Her childhood friend, Martin Lacey, lives in the manor house across the woods, and there was a time when he would have done anything for her.But in the turmoil of Restoration England, nothing lasts forever. Will turning up at Martin’s door be the saving of her — or the end?

The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet


Katherine Cowley - 2021
    Until now…Upon the death of her father, Mary Bennet’s life is thrown into turmoil. With no fortune or marriage prospects, Mary must rely on the kindness of her relatives. When a mysterious late-night visit by an unknown relative—a Lady Trafford from Castle Durrington—leads to an extended stay and the chance for an education, Mary gratefully accepts the opportunity.But even as she arrives at the castle, she’s faced with one mystery after another. Who is Lady Trafford really and what is she hiding? Do her secrets and manipulations place the small seaside community at risk of an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte? Always curious, Mary sets out to discover the truth. But when she discovers the dead body of a would-be thief she outed prior to her father’s funeral, Mary jeopardizes her position at the castle and her family’s good name in her quest for the truth.Never underestimate the observation skills of a woman who hides in the background.

A Storm in a Teacup


Kate Pearce - 2021
    Hezekiah Makepeace travels back to Cornwall he meets a mysterious barmaid who might not be quite what she seems. Malakia Clovelly can’t quite believe the uptight university professor is the one she’s been expecting, but she also knows that fate loves to have the last laugh. With the summer solstice almost upon them and a wedding in danger, she will need all her powers, and the assistance, willing or not, of her unlikely hero, to save the day and live happily ever after.

The Automobile Assassination (The Erdington Mysteries, #2)


M.J. Porter - 2021
    The men and women of the royal air force stationed there are their prime suspects. Or are they? Was the man a spy, killed on the orders of some higher authority, or is the place his body was found irrelevant? And why do none of the men and women at the aerodrome recognise the dead man?Mason, fearing a repeat of the cold case that dogged his career for two decades and that he’s only just solved, is determined to do all he can to uncover the identity of the dead man, and to find out why he was killed and abandoned in such a bizarre way, even as Smythe demands he spends his time solving the counterfeiting case that is leaving local shopkeepers out of pocket.Join Mason and O’Rourke as they once more attempt to solve the impossible in 1940s Erdington.

The Secrets of Bridgewater Bay


Julie Brooks - 2021
    England, 1919: Rose and Ivy board a ship bound for Australia.One is travelling there to marry a man she has never met.One is destined never to arrive.Australia, 2016: Amongst her late-grandmother's possessions, Molly uncovers a photograph of two girls dressed in First World War nurses' uniforms, labelled 'Rose and Ivy 1917', and a letter from her grandmother, asking her to find out what happened to her own mother, Rose, who disappeared in the 1960s.Compelled to carry out her grandmother's last wish, Molly embarks on a journey to England to unravel the mystery of the two girls whose photograph promised they'd be 'together forever'...

Crow Court


Andy Charman - 2021
    In the Dorset market town of Wimborne Minster, a young choirboy drowns himself. Soon after, the choirmaster—a belligerent man with a vicious reputation—is found murdered, in a discovery tainted as much by relief as it is by suspicion. The gaze of the magistrates falls on four local men, whose decisions will reverberate through the community for years to come.So begins the chronicle of Crow Court, unravelling over fourteen delicately interwoven episodes, the town of Wimborne their backdrop: a young gentleman and his groom run off to join the army; a sleepwalking cordwainer wakes on his wife’s grave; desperate farmhands emigrate. We meet the composer with writer’s block; the smuggler; a troupe of actors down from London; and old Art Pugh, whose impoverished life has made him hard to amuse.Meanwhile, justice waits…

The Requisite Courage


Tracy Cooper-Posey - 2021
    Hugh Becket, lately of the Cape Colony, was born the daughter of an Earl, but is now the widow of a commoner. She straddles two worlds, speaks fluent German, and can ride, hunt and shoot. Her talents draws the eye of spymaster William Melville, who recruits her to help him fight a shadow game with German agents both at home and aboard.Her first assignment is to attend a weekend house party at Balmoral Castle. One of the guests intends to assassinate King Edward and she must find out who before they make their move…This novelette is the first in the Adelaide Becket Edwardian espionage series.1: The Requisite Courage…and more to come.A historical suspense espionage novelette.

The Crystal Crypt


Fiona Veitch Smith - 2021
    But was it an accident or is something more sinister lurking in the shadows? And is Poppy the next target...

Constantine Capers: The Pennington Perplexity


Natalie Brianne - 2021
    London 1888Aspiring artist Mira Blayse isn’t concerned with upper-tier society or conforming to Victorian expectations—she has a murder to solve. At least, she thinks it was murder. Her parents’ deaths in 1870 couldn’t have been by accident, but the more she investigates, the less she seems to find. Sitting at a café, she sketches a mysterious stranger, not realizing that she’s penciling in the features of the man who will help her solve the case once and for all.Byron Constantine lives day-to-day, desperately trying to hold onto his memories, only for them to slip through his fingers. Some days, he doesn’t even know that he’s lost four years of his life. As he manages to continue his work as a private detective, he realizes that maybe he doesn’t need his memory after all. That is until he wants to remember Mira Blayse. With her keen eye for detail and his remarkable deductive skills, the two become entangled in a criminal investigation. As they uncover the secrets of the past, they must work together to stop history from repeating itself again.

The Plowman's Plight (Carcassonne Mysteries #1)


E.A. Rivière - 2021
    His search for clues takes him to the corpse room inside an abbey, to a torture pit near the Devil’s Doorstep, and to the accursed home of a heretic priest.When monks capture him, wily Flowia rescues Bertwoin from the Bishop’s dungeon and hides with him where no one would think to look for them.To save his own life and another life as precious as his own, Bertwoin must outwit this sadistic killer who hunts them . . . and who knows how to find them.

Some Rise By Sin


Siôn Scott-Wilson - 2021
    Burke and Hare have just been convicted of killing people to sell their bodies, to widespread outrage—but despite the bad press, doctors still need fresh corpses for medical research.Sammy and Facey are a couple of so-called ‘resurrection men’, making a living among society's fringe-dwellers by hoisting the newly departed from the churchyards of London whilst masquerading as late-night bakers. Operating on tip-offs and rumours in the capital’s drinking dens and fighting pits, the pair find themselves in receipt of some valuable intelligence: an unusual cadaver has popped up on the market, that of a hermaphrodite.For any medic worth his salt it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—a medical curiosity and rara avis—and famous anatomist Joshua Brookes commissions the two men to obtain the body, at any cost. But some corpses hold secrets, and before long the enterprise becomes a deadlier and more complex undertaking than either man could ever have imagined.Some Rise by Sin is a rich, authentic and absorbing historical narrative with a darker edge, a story of surviving on the outskirts of respectability. With echoes of Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White, it is meticulously researched and suffused with the dark and grimy atmosphere of Regency London, and explores what ambition can mean for poor people in a society that conspires to grind them down at every turn.

The Apsley House Incident


Tracy Grant - 2021
    

A Deadly Fortune


Stacie Murphy - 2021
    Along with her foster brother Jonas, she has parleyed her modest psychic talent into a safe and comfortable life. But safety and comfort vanish when a head injury leaves Amelia with a dramatically-expanded gift. After she publicly channels an angry spirit, she finds herself imprisoned in the notorious insane asylum on Blackwell’s Island. As Jonas searches for a way to free her, Amelia struggles to control her disturbing new abilities and survive a place where cruelty and despair threaten her sanity. Andrew Cavanaugh is familiar with despair. In the wake of a devastating loss, he abandons a promising medical career—and his place in Philadelphia society—to devote himself to the study and treatment of mental disease. Miss Amelia Matthew is just another patient—until she channels a spirit in front of him and proves her gift is real. When a distraught mother comes to Andrew searching for her missing daughter—a daughter she believes is being hidden at the asylum—he turns to Amelia. Together, they uncover evidence of a deadly conspiracy, and then it’s no longer just Amelia’s sanity and freedom at stake. Amelia must master her gift and use it to catch a killer—or risk becoming the next victim.

Devil by the Tail


Jeanne Matthews - 2021
    The detectives take on two cases on the same day - one to help a man prove he didn't kill his wife, the other to help a lawyer find reasonable doubt that his client killed her ex-lover's new bride. As the investigation proceeds, they discover facts that tie the cases together in disturbing ways. Quinn, who uses the name Mrs. Paschal professionally, is determined to prove their client innocent. But in 19th Century Chicago, innocence is a matter of degree. A sensational arson and murder, a yellow press, corrupt politicians and a bevy of colorful bawdyhouse madams make seeking justice a dangerous business. Not least among Quinn's worries, somebody seems intent on murdering her!

An Intriguing Deception


Terry Ann Taylor - 2021
    She much prefers adventure to balls and morning visits: riding at death-defying speeds, throwing daggers at villains and pitting her intelligence and careful training against scoundrels who seek to harm her family.Enter society’s darling, Delavel Chêne-Craven, a mysterious aristocrat with unknowable ties to governments foreign and domestic: suave, rakish, skilled in dissimulation and manipulation.Craven sees Olivia as a gorgeous but irritating amateur about to upset his carefully calibrated long con, while she considers herself his perfect working companion. They form an uneasy alliance, but the more she pushes her family’s agenda the more his mission — and their very lives — are endangered.How can they each stay the course of their own scheme when they’re both so distracted by the growing companionship, mutual respect, and irresistible spark between them?

The Bedroom Window Murder: A 1940s 'Country House' Mystery


Peter Zander-Howell - 2021
    Sir Francis Sherwood - WW1 hero, landowner, magistrate - is shot dead while standing at an open bedroom window in his country house. A rifle is found in the grounds.The county police seek help from Scotland Yard. Detective Chief Inspector Bryce and Detective Sergeant Haig are assigned to the case.The first difficulty for the Yard men is that nobody with even a mild dislike of Sherwood can be found. But before that problem can be resolved, others arise......Philip Bryce is an unusual policeman. A Cambridge-educated barrister, he joined the Metropolitan Police in 1937 under Lord Trenchard's accelerated promotion scheme. After distinguished army service in WW2, by 1949 he has become Scotland Yard's youngest DCI. A very private individual, he remains a bachelor, his fiancee having been killed during the war. Bryce is something of a polymath, and has a number of outside interests - railways and cricket near the top of the list.

Lessons in Keeping a Dangerous Promise


Charlie Cochrane - 2021
    Jonty Stewart and Orlando Coppersmith like nothing better than being asked to solve mysteries, but when they get commissioned to help someone fulfil a vow he made to a late comrade in arms, matters start to cut too close to home for both of them.

Love & Murder


Erin St. James - 2021
    This is her third season in the city and she's still ringless and undesired. Rumors from her childhood scare off any eligible bachelors, so she is just trying to make it through her loveless summer with her only friend, Penelope to keep the future spinster company. When Penelope misses their weekly tea date with Eliza, Eliza never expects it's for such a sinister reason. Eliza discovers Penelope has disappeared from London and the police won't take "Crazy Eliza" seriously.Determined to find her friend, Eliza reaches out to the new detective in town, Lord Colin Bradshaw. But in order to find Penelope, he needs to know everything that led up to her going missing. Unfortunately, there are some things Eliza isn't willing to tell.Will Eliza be able to find Penelope without giving away all of her secrets? Or will Lord Bradshaw be a match Eliza wasn't ready for.

The Governor's Man


Jacquie Rogers - 2021
    The province where his brother died in front of him, and his career in the Praetorian Guard abruptly ended. It is one of the last places in the Empire the investigator wishes to be posted.With his assistant Tiro, a native Briton, Valerius uncovers a conspiracy of fraud and rebellion. The plot involves a resurgence in Druid activity — and potential witnesses are murdered.Trust is a commodity that’s scarcer than silver. Even the investigator’s former lover, Lady Julia, seems connected to the crimes.Valerius begins to piece together clues that reveal a shocking truth — and cast a terrible light on his own past.The two soldiers now have a frantic race across country with a handful of allies, in a final battle to prevent the loss of more than just silver.The fate of Britannia is at stake.After many years abroad, and careers in advertising and academia, Jacquie Rogers now lives in the Malvern Hills of England.Praise for Jacquie Rogers:‘One to watch — Rogers has class in abundance.’ Alistair Forrest‘A compelling mystery... For fans of Steven Saylor and Ben Kane.’ Richard Foreman

A Stranger From the Storm


William Burton McCormick - 2021
    The port city of Odessa on the Black Sea is being terrorized by a brutal killer called the Specter. With five people already dead, the murderer promises more.One family, the Karadopoulinas, run a boarding house. Sisters Tasia and Eleni feel certain the killer is a scarred, shambling Londoner who took lodging with them one night during a thunderstorm. Furtive and threatening, Henry Humble, stalks Odessa’s labyrinth of interlocking courtyards and foggy docks at night, armed with weapons and skeleton keys.As the body count rises, so do the questions...Who is the mysterious figure haunting the catacombs below the streets of Odessa?Why won’t Eleni’s police constable sweetheart investigate?Who will be the next to die?A Victorian-style murder mystery with elements of horror, adventure, and Hitchcockian black humor. "A Stranger From the Storm" by William Burton McCormick is a novella published by Mannison Press, LLC.

The Constant Man (A Willi Geismeier thriller Book 2)


Peter Steiner - 2021
    He sacrificed his career and put his life on the line by exposing a high-ranking Nazi official as a murderer, and is now in hiding in a cabin deep in the Bavarian forest.But when his friend, Lola, is savagely attacked, Willi returns to Munich in disguise and under a new identity - Karl Juncker - determined to find the perpetrator. Meanwhile, the discovery of the body of a woman in the River Isar leads Willi's old colleague and friend, Detective Hans Bergemann, to uncover similar disturbing murders stretching back years. A serial killer who preys on young women is running loose on Munich's streets. Could they be responsible for the attack on Lola, and can Willi catch a deranged murderer before the Gestapo catches him?

A Third Class Murder: a cozy 1930s mystery set in an English village


Hugh Morrison - 2021
    

Knight Light (Art Mystery, #3)


Claudia Riess - 2021
    “Riess uses words as an artist uses a paint brush; the pages come to life.” –Joseph Epstein, Ph.D “Mystery. Passion. Crime. What more could a book-lover want!” –Elizabeth Cooke, author of the Hotel Marcel Series

The Devil's Music (Company Files, #3)


Gabriel Valjan - 2021
    The Cold War is on. Better dead than red.With victory comes revenge, and both Attorney Roy Cohn and his supporter, J. Edgar Hoover, wish to settle accounts. In a race to protect his associates, Jack Marshall relocates them to off-off-Broadway. Walker, Vera, Leslie, and Sheldon swelter under more than stage lights in New York City.Before the summer is out, before the strange music subsides, there is a mob war and another unexpected addition to the Company Files.

A Dreadful Destiny


Rosemary Rowe - 2021
    The tensions in the civil-war-torn Empire have come to Glevum now. Libertus's patron, Marcus Septimus, has received a letter from Druscilla Livia, a widowed cousin of his wife, seeking his protection. She has received an offer of marriage from a powerful Roman Senator, Hortius Valens, a man of cruel and unusual tastes, and she is in no position to refuse. She has run away . . . with Hortius in hot pursuit.This puts Marcus in a dangerous dilemma. If he accepts Druscilla as his ward and prevents the wedding, he offends not only her prospective groom, but also the Provincial Governor to whom Hortius is related. But if he returns Druscilla to the Senator, he offends another of her kinswomen - the Empress herself. Once again, Marcus turns to Libertus for help.But Libertus has worries of his own. His wife Gwellia has an injured foot, which is now infected and could cost her life. But when one of his own slaves is brutally killed he realizes how perilous the situation has become. Resolving to help Druscilla, he concocts an ingenious plan. But in defying the Senator, Libertus is making a powerful enemy. And even the best-laid plans can go disastrously awry . . .

Tut's Shadow: A Rowan Pierce Mystery (Rowan Pierce Mysteries Book 2)


C.G. Oster - 2021
    

Shadow of the Knife


Richard Ayre - 2021
    A brilliant detective with everything stacked against him. A mysterious murderer that can’t be stopped.It has been two years since Jack the Ripper stalked the streets of London. Two years in which the East End slowly returned to normality.And then the killing starts again.When Detective Jonas Handy finds himself faced with a terrifying spate of new murders, he has nowhere to turn except Doctor Carter “Jigsaw” Jackson: a man whose knowledge of the criminal brain is unmatched in Victorian London.The two men find themselves in a desperate race against time to find the murderer before any more people die. A race that will take them from the murky world of the East End to the even more shady world of the Victorian upper classes.Ripper Street meets Sherlock Holmes in this gripping new thriller from Richard Ayre, author of A Life Eternal.

At Night to Die


Henrietta Hamilton - 2021
    But as they explore the House of Affray, Sally and Johnny uncover more mysteries and family secrets than they anticipated.Can the crime-solving duo determine if this was a burglary gone wrong, or might they discover something far more sinister is going on at Affray?

Hope to Survive: An exhilarating suspense-filled spy adventure (Hope Stapleford Mystery)


Caroline Dunford - 2021
    

The Enemy We Don't Know: (Homefront Mystery #1)


Liz Milliron - 2021
    Betty Ahern is doing her part for the war, working at Bell Aircraft while her older brother and fianc� are fighting overseas, but she really wants to be a private detective like her movie idol Sam Spade. When sabotage comes to the plant, and a suspected co-worker hires her to clear her name, Betty sees it as her big chance.As her questions take her into Buffalo's German neighborhood, Kaisertown, Betty finds herself digging into a group that is trying to resurrect the German-American Bund, a pro-Nazi organization. Have they elevated their activities past pamphlets and party-crashing?When the investigation leads Betty and her two friends into a tangle of counterfeiting and murder, as well as the Bund, the trio must crack the case--before one or more of them ends up in the Buffalo River...wearing concrete overshoes.

The Prophet


Martine Bailey - 2021
    Could a dark prophecy spell danger for Tabitha De Vallory and her unborn child? Cheshire. May Day, 1753. Tabitha De Vallory believes her life is perfect: she has an imposing home with all the comforts she has ever desired, and is expecting her first child with doting husband Nathaniel De Vallory. But Tabitha's happiness is shaken when a girl is slaughtered beneath the Mondrem Oak on the family's forest estate. Recognizing the victim from her former scandalous life, Tabitha vows to find the killer.Nearby, enigmatic Baptist Gunn and his followers are convinced that a second messiah will be born, amid blood and strife, close to the oak on Midsummer's Day. Could the girl's murder be linked to Gunn's cryptic prophecy? Do his wild claims of a second saviour spell danger for Tabitha and her unborn child?As Midsummer's Day draws closer, Tabitha soon learns the destiny that threatens her and those she holds most dear...Has Tabitha's fate been decided? Beautifully crafted and alluring, full of dark deception, intrigue and terrifying foreboding, THE PROPHET is perfect for fans of THE MINIATURIST by JESSIE BURTON and SARAH DUNANT.

An Untidy Affair: A David Blaise Mystery


MB Dabney - 2021
    When Blaise starts following a cheating husband and searching for a missing person who may not actually be missing, he also discovers his cases may be related, and that he is being followed.When his tail is murdered, implicating the P-I, Blaise must find the true killer before he is literally buried alive.

The Duke's Daring Darling


Bailey Bristol - 2021
    Still, when the delicious Edwin Danton, Duke of Wellbury, begs for her help, what can she do but comply? After all—it might be the height of rudeness to refuse.With her whimsically dramatic flair, Rue will save the day for her Neddie. But can the man who has just won her heart do the same for her when she falls into the hands of vile Egyptian jewel thieves? The ones who will kill her mother if she doesn’t return the stolen Stones of Saqqarah?Rife with tendrils of suspense to keep the pages turning, Rue and Neddie will keep you on the edge of your chair. And as they do, you'll witness a precious love unfold. A love they wouldn't dare deny.

Grace, Lady of Cassio (The Lovages of Cassio Book 2)


Rosemary Morris - 2021
    What was it like to live at a time when love was not a reason to marry, and husbands had the right to thrash their wives with a rod no wider than their thumbs? Spirited, compassionate, seventeen-year-old Grace is about to find out if her marriage will be made in heaven or hell? Her mother, Countess of Cassio, arranges for her to wed Jocelyn, Lord Lovat, Baron Montford. Grace knows marriage only founded on romantic notions is unacceptable. She agrees to tie the knot with Jocelyn to increase her family’s prestige and political alliances. Nevertheless, she is terrified of sharing a bed with the stranger she will be wed to on the day after they meet for the first time.Until she arrives at her bridegroom’s manor, Grace has only experienced unconditional love. She is shocked by Jocelyn’s spiteful, widowed sister, and is puzzled by her own inexplicable power to see auras and know when someone she loves is in danger. Grace is even more troubled when she overhears her former nurse’s deathbed confession about the countess. Unable to decide if Nurse’s allegation is false, Grace is tormented. Fulk, her beloved twin, does not believe it is true. He ensures the other witness, a priest, will not repeat it.A handsome husband, prestige and wealth are not enough to compensate Grace for the severe trials, including brutal murders, she must come to terms with to find happiness.

We Are Broken


Paul Coffey - 2021
    Appalled by his gruesome appearance, Hobbs enlists the help of renowned sculptor Francis Derwent Wood, who creates him a lifelike mask to conceal his broken face.But in yearning for acceptance and a return to the life and the love, he left behind, Hobbs finds the country he fought for shattered by grief; an England in mourning for those who didn’t return.And he is about discover that it’s not only war that creates monsters. Demons can lurk deep within; and when they threaten to resurface, everything is at risk.

The Poisoner's Game


Beatrix Conti - 2021
    Then, at her first ball, she meets Lord Alexander Rocque and is dragged into a search for the Poisoner, a powerful crime boss who killed her parents. Margaret must uncover his motive and her very identity, as even her own family twists the truth about her heritage and inheritance for their own gain.

Sinner, Saint or Serpent


John Anthony Miller - 2021
    Especially when there’s a murderer in their midst.Investigative reporter, ‘Justice’ Harper stumbles into a fresh murder scene of a hated businessman. Justice’s mere presence at the scene soon adds him to the list of suspects. Along with three other local citizens. Each one with a unique motive. Blaze Barbeau, a wealthy woman, married to a local business man and rumoured to be having an affair with the victim. Lucinda Boyd, a generous widow, heavily involved in charity events, whose business was recently conned out of her control by the victim obtaining majority shares by dubious means. And Belladonna Dede, a Voodoo Queen whose wares were found at the crime scene. Justice is determined to find out the truth regarding the demise of this wealthy man which leads him into some uncertain situations. He must be getting close when the threats start arriving. He will not stop. He’s close. Who committed this crime? The Sinner? The Saint? Or the Serpent? Fast paced, with plot twists bursting from every page, Sinner, Saint or Serpent will keep you on the edge of your seat until the shocking end.

the romanov legacy


Marilyn Baron - 2021
    She becomes the best hope of a secret global society, Guardians of the Romanov Legacy, dedicated to restoring a Romanov to the throne of a New Russia. A diary and an heirloom necklace inherited from her murdered grandmother hold the key to her identity and to the location of the Tsar's lost shipment of gold.She must accept the sacrifices her birth demands and trust the machinations of the estranged father of her child. To refuse means turning her back on her heritage, her daughter's legacy, and the long line of her family's women who were keepers of the secret. Will her longing for true love have world-changing consequences?