Book picks similar to
The Poisonous Seed by Linda Stratmann


historical-fiction
mystery
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A Dangerous Goodbye


Fliss Chester - 2020
    While war rages in Europe, Fenella Churche is doing her bit in the green fields of England. But when she finds a letter addressed to her on the scrubbed farmhouse table, she knows the news won’t be good. She hasn’t heard from her fiancé Arthur since he was posted to France on a dangerous undercover mission, and from his very first words she knows he may not be coming back.I fear this may be my last letter to you, my darling, Arthur writes. Fen won’t give up hope and calls the war office, wanting to know if Arthur is still alive; they refuse to tell her anything. Searching for answers, she returns to his letter, but parts of it just don’t make sense. Through her tears Fen realises that her darling Arthur is giving her all the clues she needs to find out what happened to him.1945. With the war behind them and nothing left for her in England, Fen travels to the deceptively pretty French village where she thinks Arthur might be, but there’s no sign of him. She’s close to giving up when she finds his silver cigarette case and another letter full of clues. But when the local priest is killed, it’s clear someone wants to keep wartime secrets buried. If Arthur, a brilliant spy, was outwitted and betrayed, can Fen stay alive long enough to find out what happened to the man she loves?

A Flaw in the Blood


Stephanie Barron - 2008
    For the second time in over twenty years, Irish barrister Patrick Fitzgerald has been summoned by the Queen. The first time, he’d been a zealous young legal clerk, investigating what appeared to be a murderous conspiracy against her. Now he is a distinguished gentleman at the top of his profession. And the Queen is a woman in the grip of fear. For on this chilly night, her beloved husband, Prince Albert, lies dying. With her future clouded by grief, Fitzgerald can’t help but notice the Queen is curiously preoccupied with the past. Yet why, and how he can help, is unclear. His bewilderment deepens when the royal coach is violently overturned, nearly killing him and his brilliant young ward, Dr. Georgiana Armistead, niece of the late Dr. Snow, a famed physician who’d attended none other than Her Majesty. Fitzgerald is sure of one thing: the Queen’s carriage was not attacked at random—it was a carefully chosen target. But was it because he rode in it? Fitzgerald won’t risk dying in order to find out. He’ll leave London and take Georgiana with him—if they can get out alive. For soon the pair find themselves hunted. Little do they know they each carry within their past hidden clues to a devastating royal secret…one they must untangle if they are to survive. From the streets of London to the lush hills of Cannes, from the slums of St. Giles to the gilded halls of Windsor Castle, A Flaw in the Blood delivers a fascinating tale of pursuit, and the artful blend of period detail and electrifying intrigue that only the remarkable Stephanie Barron can devise.From the Hardcover edition.

The Cater Street Hangman


Anne Perry - 1979
    Reissue.

Missing or Murdered


Robin Forsythe - 1929
    But the following morning he had seemingly vanished into thin air. Now Scotland Yard are struggling to find evidence of foul play in the absence of tangible clues. A national newspaper is offering a reward for information about the Minister’s disappearance - whether Bygrave be dead or alive. Anthony “Algernon” Vereker, Lord Bygrave’s friend and executor, joins Scotland Yard in their investigation of the mystery. So begins the first of five ingenious and effervescent detective novels featuring Vereker, an amiable and eccentric artist with a razor-sharp mind. Missing or Murdered (1929), is republished here for the first time in over 70 years. It includes a new introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.‘This is not only a detective story of considerable ingenuity, but it is also a well-written tale with good characterisation."Times Literary Supplement

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.

Mind of a Killer


Simon Beaufort - 2018
     London, 1882. Alec Londale, a young reporter on the Pall Mall Gazette, is working on a story about a fatal house fire. But the post-mortem on the victim produces shocking results: Patrick Donovan's death was no accident. But why would someone murder a humble shop assistant and steal part of his brain?When a second body is discovered, its throat cut, and then a third, Lonsdale and his spirited female colleague, Hulda Friederichs, begin to uncover evidence of a conspiracy that reaches to the highest echelons of Victorian society.

The Charing Cross Mystery


J.S. Fletcher - 1923
    This novel was originally published in 1922 as "Black Money."

The Affair of the Blood-Stained Egg Cosy


James Anderson - 1975
    Inspector Wilkins is called in to investigate, but it's going to take some intricate sleuthing to uncover who killed whom and why.

Lord Peter Views the Body


Dorothy L. Sayers - 1928
    Sayers reveals a gruesome, grotesque but absolutely bewitching side rarely shown in Lord Peter's full-length adventures.Lord Peter views the body in 12 tantalizing and bizarre ways in this outstanding collection. He deals with such marvels as the man with copper fingers, Uncle Meleager's missing will, the cat in the bag, the footsteps that ran, the stolen stomach, the man without a face...and with such clues as cyanide, jewels, a roast chicken and a classic crossword puzzle.

Trouble in Nuala


Harriet Steel - 2016
    However an arrogant plantation owner with a lonely wife, a crusading lawyer, and a death in suspicious circumstances present him with a riddle that he will need all his experience to solve. Set on the exotic island of Ceylon in the 1930s, Trouble in Nuala is an entertaining and relaxing mystery spiced with humour and a colourful cast of characters.

A Most Dangerous Woman


L.M. Jackson - 2007
    Few doubt that she has a past, but no one can possibly predict how it will return to haunt her. When an old friend is brutally murdered by the unlikeliest of assailants, Sarah Tanner is the only witness. Unable to turn to the police, she reluctantly finds herself drawn back into the dark underworld of the Victorian metropolis.Assisted by unlikely friends, dogged by the criminal machinations of the greatest gamester, felon, villain, swindler, and scoundrel in London, she must unravel a web of treachery and deceit that takes her from the gaming hells of Regent Street to the suburban heights of Upper Holloway, from the slums of St. Giles to the fast-flowing waters of the Thames. Relying on her wits and trading on her past, Sarah Tanner risks gambling her own life upon a desperate quest for justice and vengeance.

Death at Bishop's Keep


Robin Paige - 1994
    Aunt Sabrina invites her to Essex England, for help with the Order of the New Dawn. Aunt Jagger beats the servants to suicide, and someone feeds her Death mushrooms. Next door, Sir Charles photographs a fresh body in an archaeological dig, and seeks his killer.

Mysterious Invitation: The Whole Book (MARY BROWN MYSTERIES 1)


Bernice Bloom - 2021
    The six people do not know one another.What is going on??They are told that Reginald Charters invited them on his deathbed, but who on earth is he? And what does he want with them?The group are told that they have 20 hours to work out why they have been invited in order to inherit a million pounds. But it's complicated. Not everything is as it seems. More clues arrive, they are told that someone will not receive money, and Mary Brown has to give a speech at the funeral of someone she's never met."A lovely, intriguing and funny story."Can they get to know one another well enough to make the connections.CAN YOU MAKE THE CONNNECTIONS AND SOLVE THE RIDDLE?And where are the Gower family, who should also be there? What on earth happened to them? Can they be found?

The Crime at Black Dudley


Margery Allingham - 1929
    As they playfully recreate the ritual of the Black Dudley Dagger, someone dies. Pathologist George Abbershaw suspects foul play, and when a vital item is mislaid, a gang of crooks hold the guests hostage. Will they escape the house – what did happen to the Colonel – and just who is the mysterious Mr Campion? Neither the story nor Albert Campion is quite as vapid and slow as you might expect....apa in US as THE BLACK DUDLEY MURDER, 1929

The Murder of Patience Brooke


J.C. Briggs - 2012
     But he is shocked when the matron’s assistant – Patience Brooke – is found hanging outside the property, covered in blood. Desperate to protect the reputation of the Home and to stop a scandal from spreading, Dickens takes the investigation into his own hands. With the help of his good friend, Superintendent Sam Jones of Bow Street, and a description of the suspect as ‘a man with a crooked face’, Dickens's search takes him deep into the filthy slums of Victorian London. Can Dickens save his reputation? Will he find out the secrets of Patience Brooke’s troubled past? Or will the killer strike again …? The Murder of Patience Brooke is the first urban mystery in J. C. Briggs' literary historical series, the Charles Dickens investigations, a traditional British detective series set in Victorian London.The Charles Dickens Investigations Series: BOOK ONE: The Murder of Patience Brooke BOOK TWO: Death at Hungerford Stairs BOOK THREE: Murder by Ghostlight BOOK FOUR: The Quickening and the Dead