Book picks similar to
Dandy Detects by M. Louisa Locke


mystery
historical-fiction
historical
short-story

Cranberry Bluff


Deborah Garner - 2014
    Accused and cleared of the crime, she flees both media attention and mysterious, threatening notes, to move across the country to Cranberry Cove, where she has inherited her Aunt Maggie's bed and breakfast on the Northern California coast. Her new beginning is peaceful - that is, until five guests show up at the inn for a weekend, each with a hidden agenda. Mix together one blushing honeymoon couple, one flamboyant boutique owner, a deadpan traveling salesman, and a charmingly handsome novelist, and there’s more than scones cooking at Cranberry Cottage Bed and Breakfast. As true motives become apparent, will Molly's past come back to haunt her or will she finally be able to leave it behind?

Sweet Revenge


Andrea Penrose - 2011
    But when the Prince Regent is taken ill after consuming Arianna’s special chocolate dessert, she finds herself at the center of a dangerous scandal. Because of his expertise in chocolate, the Earl of Saybrook, Alessandro De Quincy, is the ideal candidate to investigate this crime. When the Earl’s intuition leads to Arianna’s exposure, she convinces Saybrook to keep her secret in exchange for help in tracking down the real culprit. As their search takes them from the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair to the slums of St. Giles, it becomes clear that someone is looking to plunge England into chaos—and Arianna and Saybrook to the bottom of the Thames…

Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories


Agatha Christie - 1985
    There are short stories too.Jane Marple is from the village of St Mary Mead and applies her skills of observation and deduction to a wide variety of mysteries. Several of the supporting characters appear in many of these stories, including her nephew Raymond West, Dolly and Arthur Bantry of Gossington Hall, and Sir Henry Clithering formerly of Scotland Yard. The twenty stories are: 1. The Tuesday Night Club; 2. The Idol House of Astarte; 3. Ingots of Gold; 4. The Bloodstained Pavement; 5. Motive v. Opportunity; 6. The Thumbmark of St Peter; 7. The Blue Geranium; 8. The Companion; 9. The Four Suspects; 10. A Christmas Tragedy; 11. The Herb of Death; 12. The Affair at the Bungalow; 13. Death by Drowning; 14. Miss Marple Tells a Story; 15. Strange Jest; 16. The Case of the Perfect Maid; 17. The Case of the Caretaker; 18. Tape-Measure Murder; 19. Greenshaw's Folly; and 20. Sanctuary.Librarian's note: this title includes all 20 Miss Marple short stories. They are taken from four earlier collections: "The Thirteen Problems," "The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories," "Three Blind Mice and Other Stories," and "Double Sin and Other Stories." Entries for each short story, the 12 Miss Marple novels, and these other collections, are located elsewhere on Goodreads. Readers can find individual entries for the short stories by searching Goodreads for: "a Miss Marple Short Story."

The Darkness Knows


Cheryl Honigford - 2013
    Big city. Brutal murder. Chicago, 1938. Late one night before the ten o’clock show, the body of a prominent radio actress is found dead in the station’s lounge. All the evidence points to murder…and one young, up-and-coming radio actress, Vivian Witchell, as the next victim. But Viv isn’t the type to leave her fate in the hands of others—she’s used to stealing the show. Alongside charming private detective Charlie Haverman, Vivian is thrust into a world of clues and motives, suspects and secrets. And with so much on the line, Viv finds her detective work doesn’t end when the “On-Air” lights go out…The gripping first novel in a new series from debut author Cheryl Honigford, The Darkness Knows is a thrilling mystery that evokes the drama and scandal of radio stardom in prewar Chicago.

The Railway Detective


Edward Marston - 2004
    With the opening of the Great Exhibition at hand, interest is mounting in the engineering triumphs of the railways, but not everyone feels like celebrating...In an audacious attack, the London to Birmingham mail train is robbed and derailed, causing many casualties. Planned with military precision, this crime proves a challenge to Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck who 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 Madeleine, 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?The Railway Detective is an action-packed dip into murky 1850s London. Full of historical detail, unexpected twists and memorable characters, this is a mystery that will surprise you at every turn.

The Mitford Murders


Jessica Fellowes - 2017
    There she will become nursery maid, chaperone and confidante to the Mitford sisters, especially sixteen-year-old Nancy - an acerbic, bright young woman in love with stories.But then a nurse - Florence Nightingale Shore, goddaughter of her famous namesake - is killed on a train in broad daylight, and Louisa and Nancy find themselves entangled in the crimes of a murderer who will do anything to hide their secret . . .'A glorious indulgence. Dazzling' - Daisy Goodwin'Inventive, glittering, clever, ingenious' - Susan Hill'Fascinating, I loved it' - Julian Fellowes'An enthralling mystery' - Juliet Nicolson'Audacious, breathtaking' - Alex Gray

The Good Knight


Sarah Woodbury - 2011
    But when the groom is murdered on the way to his wedding, the bride’s brother tasks his two best detectives—Gareth, a knight, and Gwen, the daughter of the court bard—with bringing the killer to justice. And once blame for the murder falls on Gareth himself, Gwen must continue her search for the truth alone, finding unlikely allies in foreign lands, and ultimately uncovering a conspiracy that will shake the political foundations of Wales.

The Maharani's Pearls


Charles Todd - 2014
    Before this woman can finish telling her fortune, Bess is summoned back for an afternoon tea with the Maharani, a close friend of her parents'. The seer's last words are a warning about forthcoming danger that Bess takes as the usual patter. But this visit by the Maharani has ominous overtones that mark it as more than a social call. Her husband has political enemies, and she has come to ask Bess's father, Major Crawford, for help.As the Maharani is leaving, Bess notices that there is something amiss with the royal entourage. Major Crawford must set out after them—but will he be in time?And what will happen to Bess, and the household left behind, when a vicious assassin circles back to take hostages?Here is an extraordinary glimpse into the childhood of the Bess Crawford we know from her service in the Great War.

Murder in Old Bombay


Nev March - 2020
    Nearby, Captain Jim Agnihotri lies in Poona military hospital recovering from a skirmish on the wild northern frontier, with little to do but re-read the tales of his idol, Sherlock Holmes, and browse the daily papers. The case that catches Captain Jim's attention is being called the crime of the century: Two women fell from the busy university’s clock tower in broad daylight. Moved by Adi, the widower of one of the victims — his certainty that his wife and sister did not commit suicide — Captain Jim approaches the Parsee family and is hired to investigate what happened that terrible afternoon.But in a land of divided loyalties, asking questions is dangerous. Captain Jim's investigation disturbs the shadows that seem to follow the Framji family and triggers an ominous chain of events. And when lively Lady Diana Framji joins the hunt for her sisters’ attackers, Captain Jim’s heart isn’t safe, either.Based on a true story, and set against the vibrant backdrop of colonial India.

The Unfinished Clue


Georgette Heyer - 1933
    His arrogance and abrasive manner had alienated his wife, her sister, his house guests, his wayward son, even a desperate friend. Of course, his attentions to one attractive young guest in plain view of her husband simply multiplied the possible suspects in his murder.

Murder by the Bay


Tonya Kappes - 2016
    The Blossom Bay Short Series is a series of short stories based on the characters of Blossom Bay. Some of the short stories will be mystery, some will be romance, while others will be woman's fiction. One thing is for sure, each short story with have the fun and charm of the Tonya Kappes novels you are use to reading. Murder By The BayJulia France has had a reoccurring dream of the same house for years. On her way to meet up with a group of friends for a get-away weekend, the dream house appeared right before her eyes. Lucky her! The house was not only a bed and breakfast for the quaint community, it was for sale! Julia knew it had to be fate and bought the house. Blossom Bay Inn is open for business and Julia's dream come true has come to a halt when someone is found dead at the Inn. Is Julia's dream over before it even started?

The Last Dickens


Matthew Pearl - 2009
    The Last Dickens is a tale filled with the dazzling twists and turns, the unerring period details, and the meticulous research that thrilled readers of the bestsellers The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow.Boston, 1870. When news of Charles Dickens’s untimely death reaches the office of his struggling American publisher, Fields & Osgood, partner James Osgood sends his trusted clerk Daniel Sand to await the arrival of Dickens’s unfinished novel. But when Daniel’s body is discovered by the docks and the manuscript is nowhere to be found, Osgood must embark on a transatlantic quest to unearth the novel that he hopes will save his venerable business and reveal Daniel’s killer.Danger and intrigue abound on the journey to England, for which Osgood has chosen Rebecca Sand, Daniel’s older sister, to assist him. As they attempt to uncover Dickens’s final mystery, Osgood and Rebecca find themselves racing the clock through a dangerous web of literary lions and drug dealers, sadistic thugs and blue bloods, and competing members of Dickens’s inner circle. They soon realize that understanding Dickens’s lost ending is a matter of life and death, and the hidden key to stopping a murderous mastermind.

A Useful Woman


Darcie Wilde - 2016
      The daughter of a baronet and minor heiress, Rosalind Thorne was nearly ruined after her father abandoned the family. To survive in the only world she knew, she began to manage the affairs of some of London society’s most influential women, who have come to rely on her wit and discretion.   So, when artistocratic wastrel Jasper Aimesworth is found dead in London’s most exclusive ballroom, Almack’s, Rosalind must use her skills and connections to uncover the killer from a list of suspects that includes Almack’s powerful patronesses and her former suitor Devon Winterbourne, now Lord Casselmaine.   Torn between her old love and a growing attraction to a compelling Bow Street runner, Rosalind must not only unravel the mysteries surrounding Jasper’s death, but the mysteries of her own heart as well...

Dying in the Wool


Frances Brody - 2009
    Pretty and remote, nothing exceptional happens.Add a measure of mystery ...Until the day that Master of the Mill Joshua Braithwaite goes missing in dramatic circumstances, never to be heard of again.A sprinkling of scandal ...Now Joshua's daughter is getting married and wants one last attempt at finding her father. Has he run off with his mistress, or was he murdered for his mounting coffers?And Kate Shackleton, amateur sleuth extraordinaire!Kate Shackleton has always loved solving puzzles. So who better to get to the bottom of Joshua's mysterious disappearance? But as Kate taps into the lives of the Bridgestead dwellers, she opens cracks that some would kill to keep closed.

Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse


Harper Lin - 2015
    She spends her days making delicious artisan cappuccinos, until she stumbles upon her neighbor’s dead body. When the police discover Mr. Cardosi was poisoned, Francesca becomes a suspect. The victim’s son, Matty, happens to be Francesca’s old high school friend. Together, they uncover the secrets of the locals in order to find the killer in their idyllic beach town. Includes two special cupcake recipes!