January, 1144. Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote does not want his betrothed travelling on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Edgyth. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s envoy and his entourage of monks seem perfect as escorts, until they are captured by a renegade who kills for pleasure.

Against a backdrop of a hard winter and frozen River Severn, Bradecote and...

DI Owen Sheen vowed never to return to Belfast, but he needs answers about his brother’s death. He is on loan from London’s Met to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, although before he can dig into the past, he must babysit DC Aoife McCusker on her first murder investigation.

As the case slides into chaos, can Sheen put his personal agenda aside? And...

London, 1926. Deploring social injustice, Lady Deborah Claremont opens a staff agency, concealing the fact that she is a member of the aristocracy. But Deborah has become accustomed to keeping secrets. It began eight years ago in 1918 when her dashing French lieutenant was tragically killed.

Amid an undercurrent of social unrest and with the...

On the brink of a breakdown, two years after the death of his fiancée, Jim Hawkes quits his high-powered job in the City to rent a cottage in the Devonshire countryside seeking some well-needed rest. But Slyford St James is far from the peaceful haven Jim was hoping for.

Almost immediately he is plagued by strange occurrences: a combination lock that...

A parent’s worst fear is realised when seven-year-old Libby Hallforth goes missing at a funfair. There are no witnesses, no leads, no trace. Her mother says she only took her eye off her for a second and her father has a quick temper. What might have been happening behind closed doors?

Months later, after the trail for Libby has gone cold, DI Jake Porter and...

Seeking a quiet spot to write his memoirs, Laurent de Rodergues secludes himself in Saint-Chartier, a village in the heart of France. Yet his tranquil life is soon disturbed by Carlos, an eccentric millionaire determined to give the town's medieval chateau a costly and controversial makeover. When the chateau is unveiled after months of anticipation, the...

I should first relate that the year 1624 saw my birth, on the 23rd of a cold February day. My mother told me that I arrived much before my time, to a landscape covered with deep snow, and more falling from the sky.

Thomas Chayne has always struggled against the weight of expectation as heir to his family estate, never managing to impress his...

Hallowe’en, 1861. A special train steams across the Lake District at night on its way to a place notorious for its record of supernatural incidents. The mood is boisterous on board as the passengers fortify themselves with alcohol in preparation for the frights ahead. When the train stops suddenly in front of a raging fire, the leader of the group...

‘You keep grumbling about not having any freedom, Evie, but you will find that as a married woman you have a great deal more freedom than you do as a spinster.’

‘Your sister is right; a happily married woman, with a rich husband, is the most fortunate of creatures,’ said Mrs Stanhope.

1862, Isle of Wight. Growing up in the small seaside town of Cowes...

Murder is a messy business, especially for the person who has to clear up afterwards: in this case, me. I didn’t commit the murder, you understand, I just found it. Him, I found him: poor Old Nick lying on the hearthrug, his skull smashed in and a lot of what should have been inside it spattered across the tiles of his fireplace ...

Juno Browne is a...

1908, Manchester. Mary Maitland is an attractive and intelligent young woman determined to strike out on her own and earn a living. Finding work at a women’s employment agency, her creative talent is soon noticed and Mary begins writing articles for newspapers and magazines.

But Mary’s independence and progressive mind are troublesome traits when...

1660, England. War may be at an end, but Christopher Morgan’s personal life is in turmoil. He is desperate to move on from the tragedy of his wife’s death, yet he cannot help but be reminded of what he has lost every time he looks into the eyes of his young son, Abel.

Over time, father and son develop a strong bond, until they are cruelly torn apart when...

1894, London. Professor Lance Pickering had been due to give a talk on the British Museum’s Age of King Arthur exhibition, when his brutally stabbed body is discovered. Having forged a strong reputation working on the infamous Jack the Ripper case, Daniel Wilson is called in to solve the mystery, and he brings his expertise and archaeologist Abigail...

Cornwall, 1845. Shilly has always felt a connection to happenings that are not of this world, a talent that has proved invaluable when investigating dark deeds with master of disguise, Anna Drake. The women opened a detective agency with help from their newest member and investor, Mathilda, but six long months have passed without a single case to solve and...

A FRESH AND DELIGHTFUL RETELLING OF THE JANE AUSTEN CLASSIC

When Alys’s family is invited to the wedding of the century in their town, her mother, the indomitable Mrs Binat, excitedly coaches her five unmarried daughters on the art of husband hunting. Alys’s eldest sister Jena quickly catches the eye of a wealthy entrepreneur. But his friend Valentine Darsee...

Stella had only turned away for a moment when her baby vanished. Though the little girl’s body was never found, Alice was assumed to have drowned, but Stella has never been able to extinguish the hope that somewhere, somehow Alice is still alive.

Over twenty years have passed since that fateful day and Stella is a happily married, successful...