Having just agreed to marry Alain, Madeleine's dashing brother, Lady Elspeth watches him leave to join his unit, and then she sets out for England, only to find herself trapped on the French coast.Caught amid a sea of stranded travelers, terrified refugees, and wounded men overflowing the port of Calais, the restless Elspeth—daughter of a Highland laird whose distinguished family can trace its roots back to the court of Mary, Queen of Scots—decides to make herself useful, carrying water to weary soldiers near the Front. It is an act of charity that almost gets her killed when enemy shells begin to explode around her.To her rescue comes Captain Peter Gilchrist, who pulls her away from the battle and leads her to safety. But before they can properly say good-bye, Elspeth and Peter are separated.Back in London, Elspeth is haunted by the horrors she witnessed in France. She also cannot forget the gallant Peter Gilchrist, even though she has promised herself to Alain.Transformed by her experience, Elspeth enrolls in a nursing course where she meets a fellow nurse in training, Bess Crawford. It is a daring move, made without the consent of Elspeth's guardian, her cousin Kenneth, a man with rigid notions of class and femininity.Yet Elspeth Douglas is a young woman with a mind of her own, which—as she herself says—is a blessing and a curse. She is determined to return to the battlefields of France to do her part . . . and to find the man she has no right to love. But before she can set things right with Alain, he goes missing, then Peter is gravely wounded. In a world full of terror and uncertainty, can the sweetness of love survive or will Elspeth's troubled heart become another casualty of this terrible war?A poignant tale brimming with adventure, danger, and love, The Walnut Tree is an enchanting holiday gift and a wonderful companion to Charles Todd's acclaimed Bess Crawford series.

    Annie’s husband squandered her fortune before committing suicide five years earlier, and one of his creditors is now threatening to take the boardinghouse she owns to pay off a debt. Annie Fuller also has a secret. She supplements her income by giving domestic and business advice as Madam Sibyl, one of San Francisco’s most exclusive clairvoyants, and one of Madam Sibyl’s clients, Matthew Voss, has died. The police believe his death was suicide brought upon by bankruptcy, but Annie believes Voss has been murdered and that his assets have been stolen. Nate Dawson has a problem. As the Voss family lawyer, he would love to believe that Matthew Voss didn't leave his grieving family destitute. But that would mean working with Annie Fuller, a woman who alternatively attracts and infuriates him as she shatters every notion he ever had of proper ladylike behavior. Sparks fly as Anne and Nate pursue the truth about the murder of Matthew Voss in this light-hearted, cozy historical mystery set in the foggy gas-lit world of Victorian San Francisco. Maids of Misfortune is the first book in M. Louisa Locke’s historical mystery series, see also, Uneasy Spirits, and Bloody Lessons, as well as the two short stories based on the characters from the novels, Dandy Detects, and The Misses Moffet Mend a Marriage.

       Twenty-five years ago, Long Island bookstore owner Laurel York was abandoned by her father, author Clifton York. Ever since, she’s followed his life and career with morbid resentment. When Clifton’s collaborator shows up in her shop with the gift of an orchid, she reluctantly agrees to accompany him back to Key West to help her and her father come to terms with the past—even in light of her late mother’s warning: “There is something terribly wrong in that house . . .”   Laurel arrives at her father’s estate in the historic district of Old Town expecting past wounds to show their scars. But what she doesn’t anticipate are her father’s cool reception, two strange stepsisters, rumors of a buried treasure, and the whispers about Clifton’s second wife—and her bizarre death in a greenhouse full of orchids. The only one who seems to be happy about her presence is the mysterious Marcus O’Neill—if only she could be sure she can trust him. Now, in a house of bad blood and family secrets, Laurel finds herself alone, unprepared for the real reason she has been summoned, and, with every new revelation, more afraid for her life.   This ebook features an illustrated biography of Phyllis A. Whitney including rare images from the author’s estate.

    This one did not... Dahlia Lovell, willful daughter of the Duke of Cottleroy, can only watch as her father uses her as a bargaining chip in his umbrageous business deals. Roger Kingman, ex-Navy Captain and impoverished Duke of Shelthom, is haunted by the unsolved mystery surrounding his parents’ death at sea. His demons are silenced when he meets Lady Dahlia, who holds the key not only to his heart but also to the unexplainable circumstances of his parents' demise. With a suspicious fire breakout and a ghostly island shrouded in mist, Dahlia and Roger must employ every ounce of their wit in order to reclaim their lives and rescue Dahlia’s brother, whose fate seems grimmer by the second… *If you like a realistic yet charming depiction of the Regency and Victorian era, then The Hazardous Gamble of the Alluring Duchess is the novel for you. This is Hanna's 19th book, a historical Regency romance novel of 80,000 words (around 400 pages). No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a sweet happily ever after. Pick up "The Hazardous Gamble of the Alluring Duchess" today to discover Hanna's new amazing story!

    Victor, with a gang of criminals, uses French privateer Sebastien Falconer as the scapegoat for his crimes. When Victor spreads the lie that Rachael informed on Falconer’s smuggling activities, Falconer vows revenge on the girl. Gripping suspense and romance play out in front of numerous historical details, including a violent storm that devastated England in 1703 and swept the Eddystone Lighthouse into the sea.

    Instead, she finds a father she barely knows and a future husband with whom she apparently has nothing in common. One truly horrifying surprise awaits her: the graves of her mother and aunt are enclosed in iron cages outside the local cemetery. Nobody in town will explain why, but Verity hears rumors of buried treasure and witchcraft. Perhaps the cages were built to keep grave robbers out . . . or to keep the women in. Determined to understand, Verity finds herself in a life-and-death struggle with people she trusted.Inspired by a pair of real caged graves in present-day Catawissa, this historical YA novel weaves mystery, romance, and action into a suspenseful drama with human greed and passion at its core.

    Lady Mary Beresford has impetuously set off on her own for Vienna. Vexed with the headstrong woman he’s yet to meet, Stephen despairs of ever catching up with the maddening lady. They eventually meet at an inn in the Alps, where the guests’ progress has been impeded by two matters: a blizzard—and Lady Mary’s refusal to leave until she’s found an elderly fellow traveler who has disappeared.Mary’s infuriated that everyone at the inn is in a conspiracy to deny the woman ever existed and to imply Mary invented her. Just when every person at the inn is against her, the handsome Lord Stephen arrives and becomes her champion. Stephen doesn’t tell her he’s been sent by her brother, nor does he actually believe her preposterous story. Until there’s an attempt on her life...

    When lovely, young Lauren Moore arrives at Falconridge, a mysterious mansion with many hidden secrets, to live with relatives, she becomes caught up in the house's dark mysteries and falls in love with a man who might be the evil force behind it all.

    But can the killer be found before there is a third?Lovely Digits is the town oddity…But quirky spinster Lucy Wycliffe prefers to ignore gossip and embrace her position as the town’s layer out of the dead, despite how her parents’ deaths thrust her into such unlikely work. Lovely Digits, as she’s known to the local townspeople, no longer dreams of marriage, but takes pride in providing dignity to the dead. Desperate to hold on to her family’s cottage and support her widowed sister and young niece, an unexpected offer of employment as assistant to the constable arrives at the perfect time. Former sailor John Brodie is the mysterious new constable… But John Brodie is far from a stranger to Clun or the events of its past. Accepting the position as constable in the small town is a double edged sword meant to heal his past and redeem his future, but falling for the beautiful and intelligent Lucy Wycliffe was never part of his plan. As the killer closes in, will John reveal his secret and risk losing everything to save Lucy’s life?

    But when her brother is mysteriously abducted, the world sees the real Finch More - a woman of action and passion - a woman who scorns defeat.

     Three years after being widowed, Therese, Lady Osbaldestone finally settles into her dower property of Hartington Manor in the village of Little Moseley in Hampshire. She is in two minds as to whether life in the small village will generate sufficient interest to keep her amused over the months when she is not in London or visiting friends around the country. But she will see. It’s December, 1810, and Therese is looking forward to her usual Christmas with her family at Winslow Abbey, her youngest daughter, Celia’s home. But then a carriage rolls up and disgorges Celia’s three oldest children. Their father has contracted mumps, and their mother has sent the three—Jamie, George, and Lottie—to spend this Christmas with their grandmama in Little Moseley. Therese has never had to manage small children, not even her own. She assumes the children will keep themselves amused, but quickly learns that what amuses three inquisitive, curious, and confident youngsters isn’t compatible with village peace. Just when it seems she will have to set her mind to inventing something, she and the children learn that with only twelve days to go before Christmas, the village flock of geese has vanished. Every household in the village is now missing the centerpiece of their Christmas feast. But how could an entire flock go missing without the slightest trace? The children are as mystified and as curious as Therese—and she seizes on the mystery as the perfect distraction for the three children as well as herself. But while searching for the geese, she and her three helpers stumble on two locals who, it is clear, are in dire need of assistance in sorting out their lives. Never one to shy from a little matchmaking, Therese undertakes to guide Miss Eugenia Fitzgibbon into the arms of the determinedly reclusive Lord Longfellow. To her considerable surprise, she discovers that her grandchildren have inherited skills and talents from both her late husband as well as herself. And with all the customary village events held in the lead up to Christmas, she and her three helpers have opportunities galore in which to subtly nudge and steer. Yet while their matchmaking appears to be succeeding, neither they nor anyone else have found so much as a feather from the village’s geese. Larceny is ruled out; a flock of that size could not have been taken from the area without someone noticing. So where could the birds be? And with the days passing and Christmas inexorably approaching, will they find the blasted birds in time? First in series. A novel of 60,000 words. A Christmas tale of romance and geese.

    Augustus King. He's got the brains and the muscle to keep the townspeople cowed, so no one stands up to him.Except The Black Ace.This masked vigilante swoops out of the hills with six-guns blazing, protecting the town from Mr. King's machinations and economic ruin. He's a local hero, a folk legend, and everyone—including Regina Vickers, the daughter of the town doctor—would love to know is identity.With her father under King's control, Regina is the only doctor available when Hart's grandfather falls ill. At his ranch outside of town, he's handed the opportunity to spend more time with the woman he's always loved.But between King's suspicions, a sick grandfather, the arrival of a mysterious child, and Hart's midnight masquerades as The Black Ace, there's not going to be anything "typical" about this courtship at all. If Hart wants to play such a dangerous game, it's time for him to ante up!******The Black Aces series is the sequel to the Sunset Valley series. If you've been anxious to discover all you can about this mysterious vigilante, you're in for a wild ride!

    He buys land, clears it, and plants cotton. Eventually he builds a magnificent house known as Paradise Plantation. He falls in love with the daughter of Bernard Jackson on the neighboring plantation, but when Civil War threatens circumstances force him to agree to a marriage in name only. The sexual tension is stretched to breaking point as the would-be lovers are torn between honor or surrendering to the love and longing in their hearts.From the AuthorMaster of Paradise portrays the historically accurate evils of slavery.

    London, 1885. In a city of fog and darkness, the notorious thief Edward Shade exists only as a ghost, a fabled con, a thief of other men's futures -- a man of smoke. William Pinkerton is already famous, the son of a brutal detective, when he descends into the underworld of Victorian London in pursuit of a new lead. His father died without ever tracing Shade; William, still reeling from his loss, is determined to drag the thief out of the shadows. Adam Foole is a gentleman without a past, haunted by a love affair ten years gone. When he receives a letter from his lost beloved, he returns to London in search of her; what he learns of her fate, and its connection to the man known as Shade, will force him to confront a grief he thought long-buried. What follows is a fog-enshrouded hunt through sewers, opium dens, drawing rooms, and seance halls. Above all, it is the story of the most unlikely of bonds: between William Pinkerton, the greatest detective of his age, and Adam Foole, the one man who may hold the key to finding Edward Shade. Epic in scope, brilliantly conceived, and stunningly written, Steven Price's By Gaslight is a riveting, atmospheric portrait of two men on the brink. Moving from the diamond mines of South Africa to the battlefields of the Civil War, the novel is a journey into a cityscape of grief, trust, and its breaking, where what we share can bind us even against our darker selves.

    Fourteen years later the Petroski brothers arrived in London setting it alight with their breathtaking presence, bone melting accents and heart fluttering masculinity; eligible women were all interested in their availability. And yet the Prince’s betrothed, Miss Georgina Franklin, was yet to receive a visit.