Book picks similar to
The Spymaster's Brother (Francis Bacon Mystery, #6) by Anna Castle
mystery
historical-fiction
francis-bacon-mystery
fiction
Secrets at Wallisford Hall
C.G. Oster - 2017
Domestic service had never been an intended career for Dory, but a plea from family could never be ignored, even, as it turns out, when her predecessor had been murdered in the very house Dory now worked. A stranger was blamed for the death, and Lord and Lady Wallisford and their grown children were not giving Detective Inspector Ridley from the Met an easy time to investigate alternative theories. No strangers had been seen in the district and Dory, with her position in the house, is increasingly drawn in the help.
Mrs. O'Malley's Midnight Mystery
M. Louisa Locke - 2020
O’Malley, especially when you have seven children and are forced to live in one of the crowded neighborhoods South of Market. Late one night, as she sat at the window of her crowded flat, sewing and worrying, she noticed something strange going on across the street. Her decision to investigate will have unexpected consequences. Mrs. O’Malley’s Midnight Mystery is a short story in the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series, and it comes right after the short story, Dandy’s Discovery, and before Lethal Remedies, the seventh novel in the series.
The Mystery of Schroon Lake Inn: the Chronicle of a Lady Detective (Chronicles of a Lady Detective Book 2)
K.B. Owen - 2017
Rumors of ghosts are bad enough, but when expensive jewelry disappears, the owner's livelihood is at stake. A woman's touch is needed. Pen's boss, William Pinkerton, thinks he has given her the perfect cover. She is to play the part of an eccentric spirit medium, eager to experience the purported ghostly manifestations. Unfortunately, her cover will not remain intact for long, and there are those behind the scenes who are desperate to keep the secrets of Schroon Lake Inn from coming to light. Will Pen's discoveries prove fatal? She would have to be truly clairvoyant to know....
Mystery at the Regal Rose Hotel: A 1920s Historical Murder Mystery
C. Jane Reid - 2019
When a new acquaintance is charged with murder, Lola calls upon her trio of friends to clear his name. It will mean setting aside cocktail parties, night clubs, and late lie-ins, but Lola is willing to sacrifice much more to save an innocent man. Calling on her sophisticated upbringing as an Englishwoman's daughter and the Get It Done attitude taught by her Texan father, Lola will charm self-righteous hotel clerks, square off with cranky detective inspectors, and even tolerate a pompous German ex-officer to do what she knows is right. Welcome to the Regal Rose Hotel, the new posh and elegant hotel catering to the rich, famous, and eccentric in Jazz Age London. Try the hotel's signature drink, The Rose, at the Portage Club nightclub, dance the night away to the music of Dot and the Four Grooves, and sit with Lola Rose and her companions as they indulge in jazz, cocktails, rumors, and mysteries.
The Dark Before Dawn
Jaima Fixsen - 2018
A thrilling new series by the Amazon best-selling author of Fairchild. Vienna, 1814. As the powers of Europe gather to negotiate peace, there’s little to be found for Kasper Stark, working for the chief of Austria’s secret police. In a city rife with schemes and double dealing, every prince and every lady’s maid is spying or party to some plot. When a Prussian count is found dead on the eve of the peace conference, Kasper falls into into a deadly game of revenge and conspiracy. Faced with virtuoso liars, quicksand allegiances, and his own unscrupulous commander, Kasper races to unmask the killer, before the investigation reveals his own impossible secrets. "Kasper Stark will surprise and delight you like no other character you’ve encountered before. 1814 Vienna roars to life in Jaima Fixsen’s deft hands. Wonderfully original and beautifully written, The Dark Before Dawn is a book to savor, a perfect read." —Tasha Alexander, New York Times bestselling author "An engrossing blend of mystery, espionage, and romance that beautifully evokes the deceit, double crosses, and romantic intrigues of the Congress of Vienna." —Tracy Grant, author of The Duke's Gambit "[an] atmospheric page-turner" —Emily Organ, author of the Penny Green Victorian mystery series
The Golden Crucifix
Joyce Lionarons - 2018
The investigation is complicated by the Sheriff of York’s desire to use suspicion of the murders to arrest a thief and smuggler whom Cordwainer is certain is not the culprit, and it is hindered by Cordwainer’s advanced age and physical infirmities. When Cordwainer realizes that the Prioress of Clementhorpe will be the next victim and the Sheriff refuses to help, Cordwainer must call on every resource he can find to stop the killer.
A Man of Some Repute
Elizabeth Edmondson - 2015
Or so it seems to intelligence officer Hugo Hawksworth, wounded on a secret mission and now reluctantly assuming an altogether less perilous role at Selchester. The Castle’s faded grandeur hides a web of secrets and scandals—the Earl has been missing for seven years, lost without a trace since the night he left his guests and walked out into a blizzard. When a skeleton is uncovered beneath the flagstones of the Old Chapel, the police produce a suspect and declare the case closed.Hugo is not convinced. With the help of the spirited Freya Wryton, the Earl’s niece, he is drawn back into active service, and the ancient town of Selchester is dragged into the intrigues and conspiracies of the Cold War era. With a touch of Downton Abbey, a whisper of Agatha Christie and a nod to Le Carré, A Man of Some Repute is the first book in this delightfully classic and witty murder mystery series.
A Quiet Life in the Country
T.E. Kinsey - 2016
Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they’ve just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life.But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There’s a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation…As Lady Hardcastle and Flo delve deeper into rural rivalries and resentment, they uncover a web of intrigue that extends far beyond the village. With almost no one free from suspicion, they can be certain of only one fact: there is no such thing as a quiet life in the country.
A Grave Gala (Sugar Martin Vintage Cozy Mysteries Book 2)
Shéa MacLeod - 2019
With some reluctance, she joins the rest of the glamorous attendees on the veranda for cocktails and dancing until the gala turns grave indeed when one of the guests is murdered. With the sure knowledge there’s a killer among them, Sugar sets out to unearth the secrets that led to the death of a peer of the realm. With the help of a grumpy corgi and a handsome Englishman, she’s on the hunt for a cold-blooded killer and she won’t stop until she gets her man! The second book in the Sugar Martin Vintage Cozy Mysteries set in post-WW2 England.
Murder at the Breakers
Alyssa Maxwell - 2014
She also has a job to do—report on the event for the society page of the Newport Observer.But Emma observes much more than glitz and gaiety when she witnesses a murder. The victim is Cornelius Vanderbilt’s financial secretary, who plunges off a balcony faster than falling stock prices. Emma’s black sheep brother Brady is found in Cornelius’s bedroom passed out next to a bottle of bourbon and stolen plans for a new railroad line. Brady has barely come to before the police have arrested him for the murder. But Emma is sure someone is trying to railroad her brother and resolves to find the real killer at any cost…
A Case of Blackmail in Belgravia
Clara Benson - 2016
Now it turns out that numerous people with secrets to hide had every reason to wish him dead. But which of them murdered him? For Freddy Pilkington-Soames, newspaper reporter and man-about-town, the question hits a little too close to home, thanks to an unfortunate drunken encounter with Ticky's corpse which he'd much rather the police didn't find out about—and thanks also to his exasperating mother Cynthia's seeming determination to get herself arrested by tampering with the evidence. But a pretty girl with big blue eyes is demanding his help in solving the mystery, so what can he do but agree? Now all he has to do is hide the wrong clues, find the right ones, and unmask the murderer before the police discover what's really been going on. That ought to be easy enough. If only people didn't keep getting killed...
Death of a Flapper
Nancy Warren - 2020
When the dowdy reporter is sent to interview a famous fashion designer she wonders if she’s made a terrible mistake. But Abby finds herself in the middle of a hard news story when her despised stepmother is murdered in the couture house. Even worse, Inspector Henri Deschamps believes she’s the prime suspect.With only high school French to defend herself, Abby’s in despair until a chance meeting with young reporter Ernest Hemingway convinces her to use her skills and clear her name by finding the real murderer.With help from new friends like Hemingway and Coco Chanel, Abby is transformed into a Parisian sensation. Can she enjoy her new bobbed hairstyle before losing her head? Because the French still punish murderers with the guillotine…
The Atlantis Papyrus
Jay Penner - 2019
vivid... gripping. Takes you through a thrilling quest in a violent ancient world." Some secrets are best left unrevealed323 B.C.King Alexander the Great has died without a clear successor and the citizens of a vast empire wait nervously for what comes next. But Captain Deon has other worries—his family will be sold to slavery if he does not clear his debt soon. Desperate, he accepts a mission from Alexander’s wily Royal Secretary in return for a generous reward. All he has to do is steal a papyrus from the King's funeral procession.A papyrus with a stunning secret that can transform the balance of powers that fight for Alexander’s throne.Plunged into the heart of succession wars and thrust between bloody ambitions of greater men, Deon is forced to embark on a dangerous journey and battle those he fears, to decode the ancient clues before time runs out for his family. But the more he learns, the more he realizes that his decisions will decide the life and death of not only his loved ones but also that of millions of innocents.-------- BONUS: Join the newsletter on the author's website to get a free "History behind the book" that sheds light on some of the interesting events after Alexander's death.
Twelve Miles From Rome: A Lucius Marius Nola Mystery
Steven J. Kears - 2015
Lucius Marius Nola, a retired veteran of the Roman Army, inherits a farm in the Alban Hills on the outskirts of Rome. Nola is looking forward to a new life in the countryside, living off the land, and more importantly, escaping his violent and disturbingly troubled past. However, no sooner has Nola begun to enjoy life once again when, against his will, a strange turn of events draws him into a web of murder and intrigue. 'Twelve Miles From Rome' is the first of a thrilling series of ancient world mysteries featuring Lucius Marius Nola.
Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death
James Runcie - 2012
Sidney Chambers, vicar of Grantchester and honorary canon of Ely Cathedral, is a thirty-two-year-old bachelor. Tall, with dark brown hair, eyes the color of hazelnuts, and a reassuringly gentle manner, Sidney is an unconventional clerical detective. He can go where the police cannot.Together with his roguish friend, inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney inquires into the suspect suicide of a Cambridge solicitor, a scandalous jewelry theft at a New Year's Eve dinner party, the unexplained death of a jazz promoter's daughter, and a shocking art forgery that puts a close friend in danger. Sidney discovers that being a detective, like being a clergyman, means that you are never off duty, but he nonetheless manages to find time for a keen interest in cricket, warm beer, and hot jazz - as well as a curious fondness for a German widow three years his junior.With a whiff of Agatha Christie and a touch of G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown, The Grantchester Mysteries introduces a wonderful new hero into the world of detective fiction.