Book picks similar to
The Architect of Murder by Rafe McGregor


mystery
africa
united-kingdom
victorian----real-and-neo

Legacy: A Justice Belstrang Mystery


John Pilkington - 2020
    He locates the youth in Bedlam asylum, silent and starving himself. When he tries to free Jessop, he is warned off the case by a politic lawyer, Anstis. Soon after, Belstrang finds himself drugged, robbed and falsely imprisoned.Once released Belstrang persists in his investigation, but he is thwarted at every turn: unseen forces are at work who seemingly want Thomas Jessop to die. When Belstrang confronts Anstis, even he turns up dead.The trail grows murkier by the hour, drawing Belstrang into the fear-ridden Catholic underworld - until he uncovers a plan with its roots in the Gunpowder Plot of more than a decade ago. Young Thomas, an embittered papist, was being used in a desperate scheme to mark the anniversary of the Plot. The scheme failed – and now the conspirators seem eager to cover up the whole business.But Belstrang’s a stubborn man. With the help of ex-soldier Daniel Oldrigg, he sticks doggedly to his purpose - and stumbles on the real causes of the Anniversary Plot, which stem from the very heart of a corrupt government.Belstrang must uncover the truth, or die trying.

The African Trilogy


Peter Rimmer
    Once you have been there, you will never be the same. Read 3 of the most important historical novels that will take you back to some of AFRICA’S most notable and captivating periods. The super addictive trilogy starts here. Ready for the ride? Book 1: Cry of the Fish Eagle Rupert’s family is happy and at peace. But a vulnerable future is ahead. Chaos is coming. The Rhodesian War is looming… Rupert escapes to Rhodesia from the bloody conflict that is terrorising Europe. His mission is not just duty-driven but a promise to look for an orphaned, young girl. It’s a futile search and with time running out he has no choice but to re-join the theatre of war. When peace returns Rupert travels back to Rhodesia to begin anew, to find the orphaned girl and to start a new life. But nothing can prepare him for what is next as we helplessly watch Rupert wade against a chaotic tide of nationalism. Book 2: Vultures in the Wind Luke was close to death. He had been beaten mercilessly and was unrecognisable. They wanted the names of his ANC accomplices. Matthew Gray and Luke Mbeki were born on the same day, spending a brief childhood on an African beach, blissfully ignorant of the outside world. But their youth is severed. Released into the real world, the two now face their future in a country deep in the throes of violent change. Can the rules and discipline of discrimination pull the men apart? Is there any mercy? And what happens when these two eventually cross paths? Book 3: Just the Memory of Love Will he ever find his love again or will she always just be a memory? The war is finally over and for the young and naïve Will Langton, his future is full of exciting adventure and happy dreams. Captivated by a brief, but innocent love affair on the rocks of Dancing Ledge, the romance is shattered in one single moment and she is lost to him. For Will, it's an unbearable pain that he cannot hope to escape from and the only means to assuage his sorrow is to run away… to Africa. “It was as if I was reading my own life, knowing all the areas. I loved it.” “Deeply moving and entertaining read.” “Peter Rimmer writes a very interesting story with good detail on what happened in Southern Africa prior to independence.” “A gripping story that will stay with you long after the end of the book....” Grab your copy today

Belvoir's Promise


Susanna M. Newstead - 2017
    A young nobleman. And death stalks them both.... The date is 1191 Aumary Belvoir is seventeen. Seventeen, and bound by an oath so holy, he dare not break it.
 Unexpectedly thrust into the position of the Warden of the Savernake; a woodland of one hundred and fifty square miles in Wiltshire, will Aumary succeed in stamping his authority on the forest? He has also acquired a half brother he did not know he had. With the help of his experienced staff and his willing family, things go well. The surprise brother, Robert proves a worthy assistant. Then the deaths begin. Are they accidents as they seem or is there something more sinister happening in the forest? Seventy year old Aumary is dictating his story to a scribe. He can no longer write for himself and wishes to set down for all time, the truth of two mysteries; the death of Arthur Duke of Brittany, King John's nephew and rival, and other more disturbing deaths closer to home. Aumary Belvoir sets off to uncover a plot so dastardly and deadly, so patient and well planned that it takes thirteen years to lay bare.

A House of Mirrors (Mrs Hudson & Sherlock Holmes, #1)


Liz Hedgecock - 2016
    Placed under protection by Inspector Lestrade, Nell is ripped from her old life and her own secret police work. Instead she must live as a widow, Mrs Hudson, in a safe house: 221B Baker Street. Two years on, with the case still unsolved, Nell vows to defy Lestrade and use her skills to discover what happened. She takes a lodger to cover her tracks; a young man called Sherlock Holmes. Before long, he is working on her case - and Nell is assisting him.But as Nell delves into her past she raises ghosts whom one person would rather keep buried. Will she face danger, and risk her new life in the process? 'It's always been fun before - but now the police are the enemy...’A House of Mirrors is the first book in the Mrs Hudson & Sherlock Holmes series, which documents life at 221B Baker Street from Nell Hudson’s point of view.

Where There's Smoke: Charlie Walden's First Case


Peter Murphy - 2017
    But he soon finds himself struggling to keep the peace between three feisty fellow judges who have very different views about how to do their job, and about how Charlie should do his.And as if that’s not enough, there’s the endless battle against the ‘Grey Smoothies’, the humourless grey-suited civil servants who seem determined to drown Charlie in paperwork and strip the court of its last vestiges of civilisation.No hope of a quiet life then for Charlie, and there are times when his real job – trying the challenging criminal cases that come before him – actually seems like light relief. If you like Rumpole of the Bailey, you'll love Walden of Bermondsey Praise for Walden of Bermondsey 'No one writes with more wit, warmth and insight about the law and its practitioners than Peter Murphy. He has no equal since the great John 'Rumpole' Mortimer' - David Ambrose'Though his exasperation is sometimes palpable, what triumphs over everything is his sense of humour. And it is the humour that makes Walden of Bermondsey such a delightful read. Think of him as what Rumpole would be like if he ever became a judge, and you get some idea of his self-deprecating wit and indomitable stoicism. Add a dash of Henry Cecil for his situation and AP Herbert for the fun he has with the law, and you get a sense of Peter's literary precedents' - Paul Magrath

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


Hugh Morrison - 2021
    

A Thin Sharp Blade: An Edwardian Mystery


Fran Smith - 2020
    

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.

Nowhere Man: Another John Pickett Novella


Sheri Cobb South - 2020
    As weeks go by with no responses to his newspaper advertisement, he has taken to spending his days wandering idly about London rather than admit his failure to his beloved wife Julia, the former Lady Fieldhurst.One day, while loitering amidst the crowds thronging the Covent Garden market, he wonders morosely if it might have been better had he not been born at all. Then he sees one of his former colleagues and, in an attempt to make a discreet exit, contrives instead to knock himself unconscious.He awakens to discover that his Bow Street colleague doesn’t seem to remember him, and after staggering back home to Curzon Street, he finds someone else living in the house where he lived with Julia. But still greater surprises are in store for Pickett as he attempts to navigate his way through a world in which he never existed…With a wink and a nod to Frank Capra’s classic film IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, NOWHERE MAN offers an alternate version of many of the earlier entries in the John Pickett mystery series.

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.

Diamonds in the Dust


Beryl Matthews - 2008
    The three Bentley children are used to fending for themselves. Their widowed mother has been forced to take a night job at Grant’s clothing factory, and sees them only at breakfast and on Sundays. But at nearly eighteen, and with a job as a housemaid to help make ends meet, Dora is well able to look after her younger siblings Tom and Lily. Then one morning their mother fails to appear for breakfast, and when Dora is told by the gatekeeper at Grant’s factory that no one by the name of Harriet Bentley has ever worked there, the children grow worried. They know their mother loves them, and cannot believe she would deliberately deceive them. With the help of a neighbour, a former policeman who was badly injured during the War, Dora and her siblings start to investigate.

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.

Dead Man's Walk: An Unofficial Inspector Morse Mystery


Antony James - 2018
     Set in 1971, Detective Sergeant Morse is confronted by two deaths along Dead Man’s Walk, which he’s sure are connected to the Oxford Martyrs of the 1550s. There are clues and red-herrings aplenty as Morse uses his detective skills to be metaphorically furlongs ahead of the field, albeit on the wrong racecourse. For Morse there is romance, an unpleasant academic with which to contend, beer in copious quantities, opera, a crossword-type clue, and even an appearance by a boy named Dexter, but above all there is a murder mystery puzzle, set against the backdrop of 1970s Oxford, which only he can solve. For those who love Oxford, the iconic Inspector Morse or even just a good old mystery, Dead Man’s Walk is a taut, entertaining tale of intrigue and delight. Antony James is a British author. A pseudonym for Antony Richards, he is the chairman of the Inspector Morse Society and was a close friend of the late Colin Dexter. He is also an actor with the Irregular Special Players, who regularly produce Sherlock Holmes-based plays.

Forests of the Night


David Stuart Davies - 2005
    His dreams of fighting for his country, however, are cut short after he loses an eye in rifle training. Invalided out of the army and offered a desk job with the police, John sets up as a private investigator in London instead, hoping for excitement and danger.In the autumn of 1940, John is engaged to investigate the mysterious death of a young woman. What is the connection between her brutal murder and the fading film actor Gordon Moore? Johnny also becomes involved in the plight of a runaway boy who may have witnessed something terrible.Told with wit and humor, while evoking an atmospheric picture of the home front during the dark days of the Second World War, Forests of the Night is an impressive U.S. debut for David Stuart Davies.

The Hangman's Daughter - chapters 1-3


Oliver Pötzsch - 2010
    Exclusive to Kindle: a free sample of The Hangman's Daughter