Book picks similar to
Foul Trade by B.K. Duncan


mystery
historical-fiction
fiction
historical

The King's Justice


E.M. Powell - 2018
    Aelred Barling, esteemed clerk to the justices of King Henry II, is dispatched from the royal court with his young assistant, Hugo Stanton, to investigate a brutal murder in a village outside York.The case appears straightforward. A suspect is under lock and key in the local prison, and the angry villagers are demanding swift justice. But when more bodies are discovered, certainty turns to doubt—and amid the chaos it becomes clear that nobody is above suspicion.Facing growing unrest in the village and the fury of the lord of the manor, Stanton and Barling find themselves drawn into a mystery that defies logic, pursuing a killer who evades capture at every turn.Can they solve the riddle of who is preying upon the villagers? And can they do it without becoming prey themselves?

Ransom X


I.B. Holder - 2009
    His study of the human mind was carried out in make-shift tents on the edge of the battlefield; he didn’t write or read the book on how to break a prisoner, he simply followed his instincts, dissecting human behavior in a way that verges on autism. He had a reputation for getting anything out of anyone – “had” being the operative word. Five years ago, a random crime shattered Legace’s world. Withdrawing inside himself, he built his life around the only family he had left, his teenage daughter. He withdrew from operations, and took the most isolated post he could, in the basement of the Alexandria FBI, working the archives. Legace brought consequence to the job. His tactics of getting inside the minds of criminals led to a controversial new form of investigation that came to be known as– shadow projection. It was a term coined by his insufferable regional director, Bailey, and Legace couldn’t begin to count the ways he hated the simplification of his process. Legace threw the deductive model out the window. He didn’t follow the trail of the criminal; he took on criminals who were smart enough to leave no trail. They were fixed objects like sundials casting a unique shadow for every incremental step in their journey. His methods involved knowing the inner workings of the criminal, and projecting forward to the next activity that such a person would engage in. His life was verging on stable when a young female agent from Washington walked into his office with an opportunity, an obligation and a threat. Now, normally Legace would have ignored all three, but there was something about the case and the victim that struck a very personal chord in him. All of his powers were going to be needed for a case that landed on his desk along the agent who now called herself his new partner. There was an abduction ring that was preying upon young women of marginal fame, using them in adult films and ransoming them for the price of pornography. The profit engine became a fad among perverts (the largest single unified economic bloc) and the income was staggering. This great influx of capital precipitated a bold move by the abductors. Their newest acquisition was the daughter of an old friend, the Director of the FBI. All hell was breaking loose over the Web and the world, and with a two-week window to find his quarry, Legace knew that his performance on this case would either cement his reputation as borderline charlatan with blood on his hands, or announce his reinstatement as borderline hero with all of the official responsibilities that entails, and he couldn’t actually say which outcome he feared more.

Aim True, My Brothers


William F. Brown - 2013
    Most of the hundreds of thousands of people who pass through Dulles Airport in DC are tourists, government officials, or harried businessmen. Ibrahim Al-Bari is none of those. He is a killer on a blood hunt, and his target is nothing less than the President of the United States and the core of the US government in this political assassination novel. As a highly skilled Hamas terrorist with years of combat experience in the rocky deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, he has become a legend in Islamist circles. Smart, skilled with many weapons, and determined, it will take a massive security effort to stop him. Can Eddie Rankin, a maverick FBI agent, stop Ibrahim Al-Bari, a skilled Hamas commander who has battled Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan. After losing two of his own brothers in a bloody attack on a civilian bus in Israel, Al-Bari takes his private war to the heart of America itself. Nothing as simple as a sniper in a book depository window; in this FBI assassination thriller, when Al-Bari strikes, he will unleash a firestorm that will take out the President, other international leaders, and half the US government, national television. Rankin has never met a rule he couldn’t break, but this time his only help comes from Moustapha Khalidi, Chief of Security at the Egyptian Embassy, and Rachel Ullman, a hard-edged, Israeli Mossad agent. From the White House to Brooklyn, Beirut, Tel-Aviv, and the grassy fields of an old Colonial Battlefield in Virginia, the question in this FBI terrorist thriller is whether this dysfunctional international counter terror alliance hold together long enough to catch Al-Bari before they kill each other — and the clock is ticking. When Al-Bari strikes, it will be with a diabolical new weapon on national television as his targets go up in flames.

Murder at Merisham Lodge


Celina Grace - 2016
    Unfortunately, it’s not enough to prevent her being bludgeoned to death one night in the study of Merisham Lodge, the family’s country estate in Derbyshire. Suspicion quickly falls on her ne’er-do-well son, Peter, but not everyone in the household is convinced of his guilt. Head kitchen maid Joan Hart and lady’s maid, Verity Hunter, know that when it comes to a crime, all is not always as it seems. With suspicions and motives thick on the ground, Joan and Verity must use all the wit and courage they possess to expose a deadly murderer who will stop at nothing to achieve their aim… Murder at Merisham Lodge is the first in a new series of historical mysteries, Miss Hart and Miss Hunter Investigate, set in the 1930s. The author, Celina Grace, is the creator of the bestselling The Kate Redman Mysteries and The Asharton Manor Mysteries, as well as several standalone thrillers.

I Am Phantom


Sean Fletcher - 2015
    Inexplicable. Powerful. Dangerous.He’s always been desperate to know why.But he’s not ready for the one person with answers to be a psychopath with a murderous vendetta.Still, Drake will do anything to discover the origins of his abilities and protect his new friends and the girl he loves. Even if that means finding Lucius Sykes, the notorious psychopath ‘gifted’ with the same powers as Drake by a long-destroyed illegal organization called Project Midnight.Except that Project Midnight is back. And they’ll also do anything to finish what they started…Pulse-pounding action and adventure, superhero origins, coming of age, and romance collide in this intense young adult superhero urban fantasy! Read now to discover why readers have fallen in love with I Am Phantom!

The Amersham Rubies


Rhys Bowen - 2011
    When heirloom rubies vanish from Lady Amersham’s neck, Molly relies on her wits to solve her first case. A short story prequel to mystery series.

American Goth


Cyn Mackley - 2016
    Trinity’s ready to lace up her Doc Marten boots to be a church lady and bake pies for the county fair, but is her hometown ready to welcome her back? With some help from her old friend Deputy Bobby Grace, she tries to solve the mystery of her Grandfather’s death and track down just who has been hell-bent on ruining her reputation. What she finds out could get her killed. You can take the girl out of the country, put red streaks in her hair, and dress her all in black, but you can’t take the country out of the girl. Pitchfork in hand, this American Goth is ready to find a killer, save the farm, win a blue ribbon for jam, and just maybe snag herself a good ole country boy.

The Road to Newgate: A London Murder Mystery


Kate Braithwaite - 2018
     Titus Oates, an unknown preacher, creates panic with wild stories of a Catholic uprising against Charles II. The murder of a prominent Protestant magistrate appears to confirm that the Popish Plot is real. Only Nathaniel Thompson, writer and Licenser of the Presses, instinctively doubts Oates’s revelations. Even his young wife, Anne, is not so sure. And neither know that their friend William Smith has personal history with Titus Oates. When Nathaniel takes a public stand, questioning the plot and Oates’s integrity, the consequences threaten them all.

If The Bed Falls In: A man in two minds; are either of them his? (Bedfellows thriller series Book 1)


Paul Casselle - 2016
    After a series of increasingly horrifying hallucinations, his life starts to flip between normality and a frightening alter-ego; a renegade British secret agent working against a corrupt MI6. As his psychological torment intensifies, he is plunged into a world of conspiracy, espionage and murder. He is alone and can trust nothing he sees. However, as hard as he tries he cannot remember what his plan was or how he was going to carry it out, but more to the point, is he really an MI6 agent or simply Tom? He is a man in two minds; are either of them his?

Web of Deceit


Renee Pawlish - 2016
    World War II is over, but it has a way of haunting people for years to come. Gordon Sandalwood suspects his wife Edith is hiding something from him, and he asks Denver private investigator Dewey Webb to find out what. Dewey, toughened by his own war experiences, reluctantly takes the case, certain it will lead to nothing. But when he sees Edith rendezvous with a mysterious man, Dewey realizes his assumptions might be wrong. As he digs deeper to identify the stranger, he turns up secrets that reach back into the war, and as he unravels a web of deceit, he discovers who has the most to gain, and the most to lose. A hard-boiled, historical mystery that's great for fans who love a traditional detective crime story with a noir flavor, but without a lot of sex or swearing. Dewey Webb first appeared in the Reed Ferguson mystery, Back Story. Pick up a copy of Back Story to find out more about this classic hard-boiled detective.

The Body in the Garden


Katharine Schellman - 2020
     Though newly-widowed Lily Adler is returning to a society that frowns on independent women, she is determined to create a meaningful life for herself even without a husband. She's no stranger to the glittering world of London's upper crust. At a ball thrown by her oldest friend, Lady Walter, she expects the scandal, gossip, and secrets. What she doesn't expect is the dead body in Lady Walter's garden.Lily overheard the man just minutes before he was shot: young, desperate, and attempting blackmail. But she's willing to leave the matter to the local constables--until Lord Walter bribes the investigating magistrate to drop the case. Stunned and confused, Lily realizes she's the only one with the key to catching the killer.Aided by a roguish navy captain and a mysterious heiress from the West Indies, Lily sets out to discover whether her friend's husband is mixed up in blackmail and murder. The unlikely team tries to conceal their investigation behind the whirl of London's social season, but the dead man knew secrets about people with power. Secrets that they would kill to keep hidden. Now, Lily will have to uncover the truth, before she becomes the murderer's next target.

The Heiress of Linn Hagh


Karen Charlton - 2012
    Northumberland, 1809: A beautiful young heiress disappears from her locked bedchamber at Linn Hagh.The local constables are baffled and the townsfolk cry ‘witchcraft’.The heiress’s uncle summons help from Detective Lavender and his assistant, Constable Woods, who face one of their most challenging cases: The servants and local gypsies aren’t talking; Helen’s siblings are uncooperative; and the sullen local farmers are about to take the law into their own hands.Lavender and Woods find themselves trapped in the middle of a simmering feud as they uncover a world of family secrets, intrigue and deception in their search for the missing heiress.Taut, wry and delightful, The Heiress of Linn Hagh is a rollicking tale featuring Lavender and Woods—a double act worthy of Holmes and Watson. Revised edition: This edition of The Heiress of Linn Hagh includes editorial revisions.

The Complete Hester Lynton Mysteries


Tony Evans - 2013
    This casebook promises twists and turns with a pair of lady sleuths with sharp wits and Holmesian intelligence. The Complete Hester Lynton Mysteries includes - The Puzzled BridegroomIt was just another ordinary day when private tutor Hester Lyton boarded a steam train from Paddington to London. But this would be no ordinary journey.Within just a few short miles. the amateur detective has held two menacing convicts at gun point, acquired an inquisitive assistant by the name of Ivy Jessop, and embarked on an investigation into the case of a missing governess. Teaming up together, Hester and Ivy must combine their Sherlock Holmes style intellect with their feminine wiles, to solve a series of mysteries that have defeated lesser minds.Over the course of three adventures, Hester and Ivy find themselves up against a spate of murders, confused identities, missing people, thieves and forgeries.The Soho AnarchistThe Victorian detective Hester Lynton and her sharp-minded assistant Ivy Jessop are back for another series of dazzling adventures.In London a mysterious package with a deadly secret has landed on Hester's desk. In the suburbs, a woman is plagued by a series of pranks which hint at the supernatural. And in Islington, a medium claims to have the power to access the thoughts of her client's dead relatives, as well as the money in their pockets.Can Hester find the elusive Soho Anarchist before another bomb is blown? Will she unearth the secret of Greystones Villa and identify its tormentor? And will she unveil the true identity of Madame Valland and the secrets of her supernatural powers?The Wayward HusbandIn her latest baffling case, a complex and unusual tale involving a certain Mrs Bramming leads Hester and Ivy into the most dangerous case of their career.Meanwhile, when a famous writer loses a valuable manuscript, and enlists Hester's help to find it, an eminent doctor appears to be involved in the inexplicable events. But how? And why? Some mysteries are baffling even to Victorian London's greatest detective. The Complete Hester Lynton Mysteries is a dazzling collection of Victorian mystery stories that are perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, G W Calkitto, and the Raffles series.

The Inquiry Agent


William King - 2011
    Corruption is everywhere. The poor are starving in the streets. The wealthy fear an explosion of anarchy and insurrection. Amidst the turmoil, a wealthy merchant and his spoiled, beautiful ward hire former Bow Street Runner Jack Brodie to recover incriminating documents from the lawless rogues that robbed them. It is no easy task even for a man with Brodie's criminal connections because an old and vicious enemy has returned from the penal colony of New South Wales seeking vengeance for the slaying of his brother. As Brodie hunts through the thieves dens hidden in the rookeries of Dickensian London, it is only a matter of time before their paths cross and murderous violence ensues.The Inquiry Agent is a dark detective tale set in the early Victorian period by bestselling author William King.

The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox


Claire Gradidge - 2019
    Foyle's War meets The Mitford Murders in this deliciously dark tale of wartime family secrets and lies in small town England. April 1941, Romsey, England. Josephine 'Jo' Fox hasn't set foot in Romsey in over twenty years. As an illegitimate child, her family - headed by her controlling grandfather - found her an embarrassment. Now, she wants to return to what was once her home and uncover the secret of her parentage. Who was her father and why would her mother never talk about him? Jo arrives the day after the Luftwaffe have bombed the town. The local pub, The Cricketers' Arms, has been completely destroyed and rescue teams are searching for the remains of the seven people known to have been in the pub at the time the bomb hit. They are shocked, however, to uncover eight bodies, not seven. The eighth, unidentified, body is that of a teenage girl, who no one in the town claims to know. Who is she, how did she get there, but most importantly - who killed her? Teaming up with local coroner and old friend, Bram Nash, Jo sets out to establish the identity of the girl and solve the riddle of her death. In doing so, she also uncovers her own personal mystery. Everyone has secrets - some are just more deadly than others . . .