Grace Hardie has grown up in a sweeping estate on the outskirts of Oxford. But her life has been a far cry from a fairytale. Ailing and asthmatic as a child, she never really found her place – not with her brothers, not with any friends – always on the outside.

And when tragedy strikes twice in the same day, Grace’s world, and her place in it, is turned...

Nothing was ever what it seemed. It was a phrase that Alex never forgot.

When Private Investigator Alex Best sets sail on a well-deserved cruise, the last thing she expects is to be confronted with predictions of her death by a lonely old woman. But when she meets the mysterious Leanora Wolstenholme, a cloud of the surreal and macabre descend upon the rest...

But of course, Marianne thought. It was the obvious answer. She would have to join the navy and go after him.

It was the only thing to do. It’s 1803 in Portsmouth, England and after a blissful wedding day, Marianne Morris should have everything she ever wanted. But when a spat in their bridal suite ends with her new husband Jem stalking off, she’s not so...

At first, the women hadn’t believed Dodd was dead. They had put him in his pyjamas, fixed up his wound with plaster and lint, and put him to bed. Then, they’d realised he had died quietly whilst in their hands.

When Harry Dodd calls Dorothy Nicholls for a ride home from the pub, she and her mother think he’s just had too much to drink. Little do they know...

But at least we still have each other. As long as we still have the family, we’ll be all right.

When their father announces that the family business, Caldwell Supplies, has been bought out by Preston’s Emporium, the Caldwell family’s life is turned upside down. With an ailing mother and a young brother to care for, Imogen and her sisters need to find a way...

Detective Inspector Mark Pemberton has been haunted by one case for his entire career. The brutal murder of Muriel Brown is the only case he never solved, and Pemberton is determined to crack it before handing in his badge. But when ageing detective Hadley is added to his team, the investigation doesn’t go as planned.

Driven to sick leave by allegations...

‘What’s the good of digging up the past? You never know what you might find.’

Returning to England after four years in Geneva, Bobbie Chadwick has no idea who she is. Back in London for the dawn of a new decade, the seventies bring more independence: she can be whomever she chooses. But, haunted by an unknown past, Bobbie finds herself listless, jobless, and...

The stage was already set for the astonishing reign of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

After the discovery of previously unfound letters and journals in Germany, Hector Bolitho here continues his series of royal biographies to expand on and re-frame the extraordinary lives of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Bolitho expertly navigates the unparalleled rule...

David realised that he had tumbled in upon something that was not merely a mess… He had tumbled in upon a mystery.

Desperate for some time away from his rowdy peers, David Henchman heads out of Oxford for a hike across Dartmoor. Relishing the peace and quiet, the last thing David expects to find at the top of Knack Tor is a dead body.

Positioned with a gun in...

Two families from two classes. Four siblings with four dreams. Fate versus destiny.

Midge and Gordon Hardie have grown up as the children of a wine merchant. But their lot in life, to inherit The House of Hardie, is not what they have in mind. Midge wants more than her mundane life – she craves intrigue and luxury. Gordon wants nothing more than a life of...

An intimate portrait of the two sides of the inimitable Jane Austen: the private life of a decorous and genteel young woman dedicated to family life; and the extraordinary life of an enigmatic author who shied away from the spotlight but illuminated, with her acerbic wit and observation, women's lives ruled by English manners.

Weaving in both historical...

‘It is chastening to consider how easily fate can change our lives.’

For Suki Brown, one small decision has a lifetime of consequences. Working as a wetnurse for a wealthy family, the baby in her care dies suddenly, and she is faced with a heartbreaking choice: sacrifice her own child for the one who passed or be left homeless and without prospects.

Nearly...

‘Nowadays, the Mystery goes everywhere.’

Re-issued thirty years after its first publication, The Return of Mr Campion is a collection of thirteen short stories by Queen of Crime Margery Allingham. This exclusive proof copy is prefaced by ‘Mystery Writer in the Box’ — Allingham’s own musings on the mystery genre as well as her beloved detective, Albert...

‘Of the four of them, only three remained. And there was no going backwards from there.’

Emily and Josephine have always shared everything. They’re sisters, flatmates, and best friends. It’s the two of them against the world.

When Emily has the perfect wedding, and Josephine finds the perfect man, they know things will change forever. But nothing can prepare...

“Birch and elder. Elm and oak. Ash and thorn. Your oath is sworn.”

Change is afoot in Havoc Wood. Vanessa moves out of the Way sister’s childhood home, Charlie and Aron never seem to be on the same page anymore, Emz is fully engrossed in her job at Prickles nature reserve, and, in the midst of it all, Calum has gotten the approval from Hettie Way to ask Anna...

Detective Superintendent Mark Pemberton hasn’t had a holiday in six months. Hoping to get him out of his workaholic rut, his Chief assigns him a more laid-back case: providing security for US Vice-President Hartley on his trip to the UK.

Coming over to do some sleuthing on his family history, Pemberton gets the jump on Hartley and engages in some...

Hope House, a New York boarding home for women, has led a rather sleepy existence in terms of emergencies. One wastepaper basket fire surely doesn’t count as a five-alarm fire. That is until new tenant Ruth Miller’s limp and lifeless body is found in the courtyard after plummeting to her death.

In a clandestine and hot-chocolate infused meeting, the heads of...

Jane was fifteen, pregnant, and abandoned by her sweetheart and seducer, George Hudson, when she fled her small Yorkshire village in disgrace.

She makes her way in the world and raises her daughter Milly with love. All the while swearing to one day take revenge on the cruel man who deserted her.

Years later, Jane and Milly manage to find work together… work...

Private Investigator Alexandra Best has been hired for a missing persons case. The question is… is the victim even missing at all?

Thirty-something Caroline Price has been ‘missing’ for over two weeks. A reclusive freelancer, Caroline rarely has plans, rarely speaks to her family, and rarely leaves her home. But, surely, this doesn’t mean she’s been the...

‘You may be an adventurer, but you strike me as a gentleman.’

After the French suffer a bloody defeat at the battle of Leipzig, the survivors of Napoleon’s army retreat through Germany. Plundering and pillaging along their way, a group of stragglers attack the Von Hugel estate. Hiding in the hayloft, Sonia von Hugel witnesses the massacre of her family...