Book picks similar to
The Nell Sweeney Historical Mysteries by P.B. Ryan


historical-fiction
historical-mystery
fiction
mystery

The Hazardous Gamble of the Alluring Duchess


Hanna Hamilton - 2019
    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!

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…

For Tucker


David Johnson - 2012
    So this edition is currently unavailable. You can find this story in a newer edition combined into one story. Look for a Tucker's Way edition that includes this (about 350 pages).Our heroine returns in book two to face new crises.Her daughter, Maisy, decides to try and extort money from the father of her daughter, April. Maisy miscalculates how he will react to her demands. When she threatens a paternity suit against him, he murders Maisy and unwittingly disposes of her body in the same area that Tucker disposed of her murdered father over thirty years ago.Tucker’s limited life skills are put to the test as she experiences grief for the very first time and tries to help her grandchildren deal with the death of their mother. The only friend Tucker has ever had, Ella, reaches out to comfort Tucker in her grief.While Tucker is searching through Maisy's effects, she finds an envelope with the words "For Tucker" on the outside. Inside she finds a letter naming the fathers of Maisy’s children.But the murderer seems to have an airtight alibi.

Pompeii: A Tale of Murder in Ancient Rome


Robert Colton - 2012
    Arriving in Pompeii, Marcellus witnesses the funeral of a local man; in an instant the course of his life will be altered by this stranger’s death. Unable to stop the murder of a mysterious woman named Helen, Marcellus becomes the caretaker of the dead woman's newborn baby. Hiding in plain sight at a brothel, Marcellus is left to decipher Helen's secrets. With the help of his overbearing servant and a seductive oracle, Marcellus must deduce who in Pompeii has blood on their hands. Helen's killer appears to be his greatest threat. Little does he know what cataclysm the Mighty Jove has designed. If Marcellus can survive the city's disaster, he just might expose a murderer and stay alive.

The Abbey Close


Steven Veerapen - 2018
    Sampson, S.J. Parris and Rory Clements."A superb, page-turning debut. The author balances gimlet-eyed research with narrative drive and clever reveals... Danforth is a strong yet torn central character... I look forward to reading the second book in the series." Richard Foreman.Steven Veerapen was born in Glasgow and raised in Paisley. Pursuing an interest in the sixteenth century, he was awarded a first-class Honours degree in English, focussing his dissertation on representations of Henry VIII’s six wives. He then received a Masters in Renaissance studies, and a Ph.D. investigating Elizabethan slander. The Abbey Close represents his first foray into fictional writing. Steven is fascinated by the glamour and ghastliness of life in the 1500s, and has a penchant for myths, mysteries and murders in an age in which the law was as slippery as those who defied it.

The Barefoot Stiff


M. Ruth Myers - 2014
    She’s drawn into a stranger’s murder in this SHORT STORY featuring characters from the Maggie Sullivan mystery novels. A job offer from a blonde at a dime store lunch counter lures the detective to a still-warm corpse in an alley. His gold watch and cufflinks are still on him, but not his shoes and socks. A night of grilling by homicide cops does nothing to improve Maggie’s mood, which deteriorates further when they laugh off a lead she gives them and imply she solves cases by batting her eyes instead of using her brains. Aided by a ragtag newsboy, Maggie baits a trap for the killer. He shows up with a knife. But Maggie wields a .38 as expertly as she does an emery board — and she doesn’t back down for thugs or authorities when she’s after answers. A woman sleuth like none you’ve met and historical atmosphere meet in the streets of a small Ohio city, capturing a 20th century America before cell phones or carry-out coffee cups in this short story reminiscent of the golden age of private eyes.

Now and Forever


Margaret Scutt - 2021
    But if she thinks she’s safe at home, she is wrong.Her scheming brother wants to marry her off to a fortune-hunter, and he won’t take no for an answer. Out on a lonely walk, Catherine is attacked and left for dead.Could this be her brother’s doing?Catherine won’t wait to find out. Her childhood friend, Martin Lacey, lives in the manor house across the woods, and there was a time when he would have done anything for her.But in the turmoil of Restoration England, nothing lasts forever. Will turning up at Martin’s door be the saving of her — or the end?

For the Love of Old Bones: and Other Stories


Michael Jecks - 2012
     THE CORONER’S TALE In the remote Devonshire town of Crediton, a young girl is found dead in an alleyway, raped and murdered. As the local Bailiff and a visiting knight investigate the crime, it comes to light that the bailiff holds an incriminating secret – one that has the potential to place this agent of the government on the wrong side of the law. FOR THE LOVE OF OLD BONES A group of monks journeying from Launceston Abbey across the wild wastelands of Dartmoor are waylaid by brigands. During the brawl, their abbot is put to death at the blade of a knife, but the murderer neglected to steal his money filled purse. When the local bailiff discovers that the group are conducting a holy relic overseas to France, he begins to suspect that there are murkier motivations at play. THE AMOROUS ARMOURER A blacksmith is found dead in his lodgings, the door locked from the inside. As the town’s meticulously minded bailiff goes about his investigation, a veritable rogue’s gallery of culprits drift in and out of focus - but the guilty party is the least suspect of all. A CLERICAL ERROR One of the king’s forresters lies dead in a gully on the moor, his head smashed in with a rock, and the only witness to the murder being the forrester’s loyal mastiff, who stands vigil over his master’s body. As the list of suspects increases with every local rivalry which comes to light, the outcome of the case will surprise all involved. DANCE OF DEATH 1348, the year of the Great Death. Refugees flood into the city of Exeter from the plague-ravaged countryside surrounding the city. A man and a young boy from the village of Rookford arrive separately, yet both share knowledge of a horrifying secret and come to the realisation that even in these times of turmoil, the past is inescapable. Praise for Michael Jecks: "An instant classic British spy novel - mature, thoughtful, and intelligent ... but also raw enough for our modern times. Highly recommended." Lee Child, author of the Reacher series "More magic by the master of the medieval” - Quintin Jardine "Michael Jecks is a national treasure" - Scotland on Sunday “A textbook example of how to blend action and detection in a historical” - Publishers Weekly Michael Jecks is the author of the bestselling Knights Templar series, comprising thirty-two novels starring Baldwin de Furnshill. Fields of Glory is the first novel in a new trilogy, set around the Hundred Years' War. A regular speaker at library and literary events, he is a past Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association and a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund at Exeter University. He was shortlisted for the Harrogate/Theakston’s Old Peculier prize for the best crime novel of the year 2007, the year Allan Guthrie won. He lives with his wife, children and dogs in northern Dartmoor. To find out more visit his website http://www.michaeljecks.com, follow him on twitter @michaeljecks, or find him on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Michael.Jecks... Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com.

The Devil's Priest


Kate Ellis - 2006
    And the ripples of this seismic change are felt even in the small northern port of Liverpool.When novice nun, Agnes Moore, ejected from her convent and staying with resentful relatives, claims to have been attacked in the ancient chapel of St Mary del Quay on Liverpool’s waterfront by Satan himself, her former abbess, Lady Katheryn Bulkeley, comes to her aid. Then a young priest is found dead in the River Mersey, his right hand hacked off, and Katheryn suspects that Liverpool harbours some disturbing secrets. The pregnant Agnes refuses to reveal her lover’s identity and when she is brutally murdered, Katheryn must seek her killer amongst Liverpool’s highest and lowest citizens. Then corpses are mutilated in a local churchyard and it seems that this evil may be linked to Agnes’s death. As Katheryn uncovers more of Liverpool’s dark side and draws closer to the truth, she must find the answer to the most urgent questions of all. Why has such evil come to the town? And who is the devil’s priest?

Resistance


Mara Timon - 2021
    One mission. Enemies everywhere.May 1944. When spy Elisabeth de Mornay, code name Cécile, notices a coded transmission from an agent in the field does not bear his usual signature, she suspects his cover has been blown– something that is happening with increasing frequency. With the situation in Occupied France worsening and growing fears that the Resistance has been compromised, Cécile is ordered behind enemy lines.Having rendezvoused with her fellow agents, Léonie and Dominique, together they have one mission: help the Resistance destabilise German operations to pave the way for the Normandy landings.But the life of a spy is never straightforward, and the in-fighting within the Resistance makes knowing who to trust ever more difficult. With their lives on the line, all three women will have to make decisions that could cost them everything - for not all their enemies are German.

Isle Royale


John Hamilton - 2010
    Living in a lighthouse can be murder.SYNOPSIS:The year is 1924. The place: Isle Royale, a remote island on Lake Superior. Clarence MacDougal, keeper of Wolf Point Lighthouse, stands ready to guide sailors through treacherous waters.One storm-tossed night, French-Canadian smugglers arrive. The gang’s leader is Sean LeBeck, a former lover of Collene MacDougal—the lightkeeper’s wife. LeBeck is determined to rescue Collene from her dreary life and rekindle their old passion, even if it means taking her off the island by force.The lightkeeper’s son, Ian, escapes during the storm, only to stumble upon a hidden cove, home of the last remaining members of the Coast Guard cutter "Chippewa." A dark secret forced the crew to banish themselves on the island. Given one last chance at redemption, the ancient mariners set out on stormy Lake Superior in a desperate attempt to save the day."Isle Royale" is approximately 72,000 words.AMAZON READER REVIEW -- 5 STARS"A rip-roaring historical adventure set in the delightfully unusual setting of Lake Superior's Isle Royale. Hamilton's love for the locale comes shining through; Lake Superior at times seems one of the characters in the drama. A carefully-researched Great War flashback is almost a novella within a novel, while providing crucial motivation for the story."ABOUT THE AUTHOR:John Hamilton is a bestselling author and journalist. His work includes books about fantasy & folklore, science fiction, the national parks, and pirates. "Lewis & Clark: Adventures West" (Sparrow Media Group) was a finalist at the 17th Annual Minnesota Book Awards in 2005. He is a two-time Golden Duck Award winner for excellence in children’s science fiction literature. John can be found most summers hiking along Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. He is also an award-winning photojournalist and nature photographer. Connect with John online at: www.johnchamilton.com.

The Duke of York


Patricia Finney - 2014
    Four physicians have failed to bring the young lad back to health, and his nurses seem unable to bring him comfort. Sir Robert decides that he and Elizabeth Lady Carey should have the keeping of the child – despite the disgrace that will come to them if he dies in their care. It’s not long before Sir Robert begins to suspect that foul play lies behind the young Duke’s condition. Is there a poisoner at Court? If so, will Sir Robert find the miscreant in time to save the Duke? Patricia Finney is the author of six novels featuring Sir Robert Carey, all of them written under the pseudonym P F Chisholm and all available on Kindle. Patricia Finney’s latest Elizabethan crime novel, Do We Not Bleed?, features the ambiguous James Enys, his elusive sister, and a young playwright, Will Shakespeare. Do We Not Bleed? is also available on Kindle.

Clifton Manor - Episode One


Victoria Spencer - 2014
    But as Anna Holden is about to discover, it is a house not only steeped in history, but in secrets as well… Upon her arrival as the new assistant cook, Anna discovers that a thousand mysteries await her. What lies beyond the heavily padlocked door the other servants do their best to avoid? Who has Lady Clifton been speaking to in such hushed, surreptitious tones? What is the cause of the misfortune running rampant amongst the staff? And why does George Winston, the eligible bachelor of the family, seem more taken with Anna than he does the proper ladies his mother parades before him? Despite her station in life, Anna can’t seem to put these questions out of her mind. As the pieces fall into place around her, she wonders: how long will it be until her own secrets are revealed? Author's note: As you will have noticed, this book is referred to as “Episode One” which may sound like a slightly unusual subtitle for a book. The idea is that there will be six episodes per “season” of this story and I will keep writing it for as long as I have stories to tell in the Clifton Manor universe. I love reading books in the same way I watch TV shows—regular bursts of short, digestible content. This style is not for everyone, but I hope some of you like it and keep reading. I will be releasing episodes of Clifton Manor on a regular basis so you should never have to wait too long for you next fix.

Penumbra


Carolyn Haines - 2006
    But her strange talent isn't the only thing that sets her apart from the townspeople of tiny Drexel, Mississippi. Jade is half-black and the unacknowledged bastard daughter of Drexel's "first lady," the imperious Lucille Longier. Jade's half sister, the pale, fragile, and legitimate Marlena, is married to Lucas Bramlett, the wealthiest man in the region. While the entire town knows of the blood bond between the two women, no one dares speak the truth out loud. Though her talents as a hairdresser are highly sought after by Drexel's elite, Jade accepts that she'll never truly be part of the town and lives her life the best she can. But on one hot summer day in 1952, Jade's world is turned inside out when Marlena, on a tryst with her lover, is savagely beaten and her young daughter kidnapped. Determined to find her niece before it's too late, Jade accepts help from a white sheriff's deputy, Frank Kimble. The forbidden attraction that ignites between them threatens to add to the violence already brewing in town. Carolyn Haines has written several acclaimed mysteries, but here she mines much darker, more serious territory, resulting in a suspenseful, lyrical, passionate, and literary crime novel.

An Oxford Murder


G.G. Vandagriff - 2019
    Harry Bascombe, her bête noire, discover a body in the Somerville College chapel, they are declared suspects in a murder inquiry. How can they prove their innocence? The pair decide they must launch their own investigation into the strangling of Oxford don, Agatha Chenowith. But working as a team will not be easy. Their relations are anything but cordial.It is not long before they uncover motives aplenty. Apparently, Dr. Chenowith was not at all what she seemed. As the surprises about the victim’s secret life multiply, they are awash in a sea of suspects.Into this scenario sails the former love of Catherine’s life as he returns from Kenya. Is she going to give Rafe another chance to break her heart? He convinces her to give him a six-month trial, and eager to show his worth, he joins in the investigation. Rafe offers to fly Catherine and Harry in his de Havilland six-seater to the Isle of Man where they must pursue a lead. Inevitably, Rafe and Harry square off in a battle for Catherine’s affections.Meanwhile, playing detectives proves to be a dangerous pursuit. Catherine and Harry shortly embroil themselves in a plot much larger than mere murder. No one wants to hear their theory, however. It contains truths too painful to contemplate. And it makes Catherine and Harry’s lives expendable.Fans of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane will love this tale! A stylish mystery set in Oxford in the 1930's with loveable characters and a cast of eccentric suspects.