Severn House October-December 2023 Catalogue

Now in Paperback

About Us

Severn House is an imprint of Canongate Books dedicated to publishing the best genre fiction. Founded in 1974, Severn House began life as a publisher of hardback fiction for libraries. In 2017 we were acquired by Canongate Books, the British Book Awards’ Independent Publisher of the Year, 2021. We publish cosy crime, historical mysteries, thrillers, romance, urban fantasy and more. Our authors include award winners and bestsellers like Simon Brett, Cynthia HarrodEagles, Candace Robb, Lee Goldberg, Simon R. Green, David Hewson, Caro Ramsay, and Qiu Xiaolong.

Read on for more on our upcoming releases for October to December 2023. If you’d like any more information, please contact us at info@severnhouse.com or visit severnhouse.com

Priscilla Masters is the author of the popular DI Joanna Piercy series, as well as the successful Martha Gunn novels, the Florence Shaw mysteries and a series of forensic psychiatrist mysteries featuring Dr Claire Roget. She lives near the Shropshire/Staffordshire border. A retired respiratory nurse, Priscilla has two grown-up sons and two grandsons.

An Imperfect Truth

A Claire Roget Forensic Psychiatrist Mystery #4

PRISCILLA MASTERS

Dr Claire Roget's patient may have told her last lie, but can the truth about her death be uncovered?

Poppy Kelloway was a liar. Forensic psychiatric Claire Roget's patient made up 'facts' that damaged families, destroyed relationships and even resulted in a suicide.

Poppy left a trail of human misery in her wake, but when she's found murdered in her home by her two teenage sons, the savage nature of the attack is shocking, as is the discovery of a torn appointment card for her next meeting with Claire. Could there be a connection between the murderer and Claire's clinic, and is she in danger? Claire and Detective Sergeant Zed Willard must navigate dangerous minds and a terrible betrayal in their quest to uncover the chilling truth.

3 October 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 208pp

Rights: W/E

Gwen Florio grew up in a farmhouse filled with books and a ban on television. After studying English at the University of Delaware, she began a decades-long career in journalism that has taken her around the country and to more than a dozen other countries, including several conflict zones. Her first novel in the Lola Wicks mystery series, Montana, won the Pinckley Prize for Crime Fiction and the High Plains Book Award, and was a finalist for the Shamus Award, an International Thriller Award and a Silver Falchion Award. She has since released four other books in the Lola Wicks series and two standalone novels. Best Laid Plans was the first book in the Nora Best series and her first with Severn House.

Best Be Prepared

A Nora Best Mystery #4

GWEN FLORIO

A tense small town mystery that packs a big punch starring Nora Best.

Nora Best is enjoying the quiet life ... finally. She's parked up the Airstream on a quiet stretch of beach and is now a seventh-grade teacher in a small peninsula town in the Pacific Northwest. Her biggest worry is keeping up with her quick-witted bunch of students. No drama. No danger. And most importantly – no one turning up dead.

Until they do, that is ...

When a local environmental activist – and dad to one of her most troublesome students – is killed, Nora once again finds herself in the thick of an investigation that threatens her new-found peace. She soon uncovers that Ward's death is most likely linked to the building of the school's emergency tsunami tower – a project financed by Ward's ex-wife's new husband ... and one that is testing the town's loyalty.

With emotions, and gossip, running high, in a community where everyone knows everyone else's secrets, Nora is in a race against time to get answers before fall storms slam their vulnerable Pacific Coast peninsula putting everyone's lives in danger!

3 October 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 256pp

Other (trim 216 x 138)

Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9780727850782

Rights: W/E

Amy Patricia Meade is a native of Long Island, NY. Now residing in upstate New York, Amy spends her time writing mysteries with a humorous or historical bent, and is a member of Sisters in Crime and The Crime Writers' Association.

Cold Turkey A Tish Tarragon Mystery #7

AMY PATRICIA MEADE

Tish Tarragon is catering for Hobson

Glen's annual Turkey Trot, and soon finds herself embroiled in a deadly race to the finish line ...

Literary caterer Tish Tarragon is looking forward to opening her new Cookin' the Books café the day after Thanksgiving, but before then she has the small matter of catering for the Thirty-First Annual Colonial Springs Turkey Trot, a highlight in the Hobson Glen community calendar.

With her food stall ready to go, Tish, the spectators and participating 'trotters' are eagerly awaiting the starter's pistol when they are confronted with the sound of rifle shots from the woods. Deputy Mayor Behrens is dead. But was he really the intended target, or was it Tish's ex, Mayor Schuyler Thompson? As Tish investigates with her beau, Sheriff Clemson Reade, it seems there are no shortage of residents with an axe to grind against the town council and their controversial policies. Can Tish finish first in her race against the killer?

3 October 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 224pp

Other (trim 216 x 138)

Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9781448306558

Rights: W/E

Award-winning author Terry Shames is the author of nine previous Samuel Craddock mysteries. As well as winning the Macavity Award for Best First Novel, A Killing at Cotton Hill was also shortlisted for The Strand Critics Award. The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake won the RT Critics Award for Best Mystery. Her books have also been shortlisted for Left Coast Crime Awards for Best Mystery.

Terry grew up in Texas, and her Samuel Craddock series is set in the fictitious town of Jarrett Creek, which is based on the fascinating people, landscape and culture of the small town where her grandparents lived. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and is on the board of Mystery Writers of America.

3 October 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 240pp

Guilt Strikes at Granger's Store A

Samuel Craddock Mystery #10

TERRY SHAMES

Trouble hits an animal feed store in a small Texas town, leading Chief of Police Samuel Craddock to uncover jaw-dropping secrets stretching back thirty years as he grapples to solve a deadly mystery.

Chief of Police Samuel Craddock is perplexed by increasingly troubling events at Granger's Feed Store. The shop's owner, Melvin Granger, recently had a stroke, and his son, Mark, has moved back to the small Texas town of Jarrett Creek to look after him and run the business. But it seems that some town folk are against Mark's plans to renovate and modernize the popular animal feed store ... Could a devastating fire be linked to an attack on Mark and the threatening phone calls he's been receiving?

When the mummified body of a man originally from Jarrett Creek is found in the scorched shop, Craddock's investigation takes a sudden deadly turn. Who is determined to stop the renovation at any cost, and why? As Craddock investigates, he unearths explosive secrets stretching back thirty years ...

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Rights: W/E

Simon Brett worked as a producer in radio and television before taking up writing full-time. He is the author of more than one hundred books, including the much-loved Fethering mysteries, Charles Paris series and the Decluttering mysteries as well as the Mrs Pargeter novels. In 2014, he was awarded the Crime Writers' Association's prestigious Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence and contribution to crime writing, and in the 2016 New Year's Honours he was awarded an OBE 'for services to literature'. Married with three grown-up children, six grandchildren and a ginger cat called Douglas, he lives in an Agatha Christiestyle village on the South Downs.

Mrs Pargeter's Patio

A Mrs Pargeter Mystery #9 SIMON BRETT

A bizarre discovery right under Mrs Pargeter's patio turns a quiet and sunny June morning into a thrilling hunt for answers in this new instalment of the light-hearted and entertaining Mrs Pargeter mystery series.

When widow Mrs Pargeter decides to have her morning coffee on the patio of her mansion in Chigwell, her intention is to admire her beautiful garden in peace and quiet. Little does she expect one of the patio's paving slabs to crack in two, depositing her on the ground – and revealing a human skull with a neat hole in the middle of its forehead!

Not wanting to bother the police just yet, Mrs Pargeter decides to save them some trouble and starts investigating the curious find herself. And who better to assist than her late husband's 'business associates', private investigator Truffler Mason and chauffeur Gary?

The trio are soon certain that a murder has been committed and the body disposed of under some convenient building works. But who is the mysterious victim? And more importantly, who put the body under Mrs Pargeter's patio?

Mrs Pargeter and her friends must find out the truth and soon, before the finger of suspicion points in an unthinkable direction: towards the late, great Mr Pargeter, whose business dealings Mrs P remains – naturally! – in blissful ignorance of ...

3 October 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 192pp

Other (trim 216 x 138)

Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9781448311286

Rights: W/E

Michael Jecks is the author of fortyseven novels, including the acclaimed Last Templar medieval mystery series, modern spy thriller Act of Vengeance, and seven previous Bloody Mary mysteries. A former Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association, and founder of Medieval Murderers, he lives in northern Dartmoor.

Murdering the Messenger

A Bloody Mary Tudor Mystery #8

MICHAEL JECKS

This light-hearted Tudor mystery series never takes itself too seriously – and is all the more enjoyable for that!

March, 1557. Jack Blackjack is back in London and enjoying a sedentary life – after his treacherous voyage back to his beloved city the previous year, he desires nothing more than the simple pleasures – women, wine, beer and more women.

But his new parish of St Helen's has different ideas for him. A week after first laying eyes on the tempting Miss Rachel Nailor, she turns up horribly dead on the church vestry floor...and someone is trying to frame him for her murder!

A fellow Lady Elizabeth sympathiser, it appears Rachel Nailor was a woman with many secrets. But was she murdered in a fit of lustful rage, or was it part of a wider political play? Who would want Rachel dead – and Jack hanged for it? The suspects are plenty and Jack is running out of time.

With his master breathing down his neck, and old foes crawling out of the woodwork to add to Jack's wine-fuelled headache, Jack has never been in more danger!

3 October 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 208pp

Other (trim 216 x 138)

Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9780727823069

Rights: W/E

Keith Gilman is an award-winning author of crime novels and stories. He is a previous winner of the Private Eye Writers of America Best First Novel Competition. His stories have been featured in a variety of crime fiction magazines and anthologies. He has now turned his attention to horror.

Spirits of the Dead

KEITH GILMAN

What would you do to save someone you loved? Husband and father Jon Levande has to ask himself that very question when his daughter is on the brink of death. But what if saving her means losing his own soul ...

Death has followed successful restoration architect, unhappy husband and desperate father, Jonathan Levande, his whole life, but recently the curious incidents around him have surged. Killed deer, decapitated cheerleaders and a dead homeless man are only the beginning of this dark streak. Now it seems he'll lose his daughter as well. Marie is fatally ill, and the doctors are stumped.

Waiting for death to knock on his door again, Jon buries himself in his work and has an affair to escape his depressive life. Until one day his job of restoring old buildings leads him to St Cecelia cathedral – a haunted, old church in Delaware – and its sinister Rector ... and to a proposition he can't refuse: a life for a life.

Jon doesn't believe in miracles or dark magic, but he knows that if he doesn't do something his daughter will die soon. Torn but determined, he chooses to save Marie, whatever it takes! But the bargain struck in hell hides dire consequences and Jon soon finds himself confronted with his dark past ...

3 October 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 256pp

Other (trim 216 x 138)

Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9781448311910

Rights: W/E

Hilary Bonner is the author of seventeen previous crime novels, including four David Vogel mysteries, and five non-fiction books. A former journalist and past Chair of the Crime Writers' Association, she divides her time between Somerset and London.

The Deadliest Legacy A

David Vogel Mystery #5

HILARY BONNER

DCI David Vogel investigates a sudden death at a local book festival in this gripping police procedural: Agatha

Christie with an edge!

When Delia Day, the world's most successful living romantic novelist, accepts an invitation to be the headline author at a prestigious book festival, she expects a couple of days engaging with fans, attending panels and visiting the local sights.

She doesn't expect what happens next: sudden, shocking death, right there on the festival's main stage.

DCI David Vogel is called in to investigate, and it soon becomes clear that a lethal presence is lurking in the usually sleepy little village of Appledore. But surrounded by professional authors who spend their days spinning tales –and plotting impossible crimes – can he uncover the truth, or will the killer plant enough real-life red herrings to get away with murder?

3 October 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 256pp

Other (trim 216 x 138)

Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9781448309351

Rights: W/E

Barbara Allan is the joint pseudonym of husband-and-wife mystery writers, Barbara and Max Allan Collins. Barbara is an acclaimed short-story writer, and Max is a multi-award-winning New York Times bestselling novelist and Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. Their previous collaborations have included one son, several short story collections, and twenty novels. They live in Muscatine, Iowa – their Serenity-esque hometown – in a house filled with trash and treasures.

Antiques Foe A Trash ‘n’

Treasures Mystery #17

BARBARA ALLAN

Eccentric antiques dealer and amateur sleuth Vivian Borne finds herself in jail – again! – when a podcast star is found dead in her hotel room in this new Trash 'n' Treasures cozy mystery – "one of the funniest cozy series going" (Ellery Queen Magazine)

When popular podcaster Nicole Chatterton wants an interview for Killers Caught, true-crime author Vivian Borne is overjoyed Finally, some recognition for the sleuthing skills the septuagenarian antiques dealer and her daughter Brandy have demonstrated, solving countless crimes in their small hometown of Serenity, Iowa!

Dolled up and dressed to the nines, Vivian figures the interview is going swimmingly...until Nicole turns the tables, accusing the mother/daughter duo of committing the very crimes they solved. Shocked and affronted – and with a spiteful tirade captured by the cameras – Vivian breaks off the interview, ejecting the rude podcaster from the premises of the Trash 'n' Treasures shop. How dare the woman?

Later, when Vivian pays the podcaster a follow-up visit at the woman's hotel – hoping to smooth things out and set the record straight – a very dead Nicole is waiting. Caught as the killer (true to the podcast's title) by producer Clare Shields, Vivian finds herself behind bars. Now it's up to Brandy to determine who really did the dire deed before their fiendish foe can strike again!

7 November 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 208pp

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Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9781448309627

Rights: W/E

Lee Goldberg is a two-time Edgar Award and two-time Shamus Award nominee and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including Lost Hills, the Ian Ludlow trilogy, fifteen Monk mysteries, and five internationally bestselling Fox & O'Hare books co-written with Janet Evanovich. He has also written and/or produced many TV shows, including Diagnosis Murder, SeaQuest, and Monk, and is the co-creator of the hit Hallmark movie series Mystery 101.

Calico LEE GOLDBERG

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg, comes an explosive, page-turning investigative thriller – with a mind-blowing twist.

There's a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave desert...

The Interstate here only goes in one direction: Away

But it's the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge ... and a shot at redemption.

Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance.

His fate, all those years ago, and hers today are linked when Beth investigates an old skeleton dug up in a shallow, sandy grave ... and also tries to identity a vagrant run-over by a distracted motorhome driver during a lightning storm.

Every disturbing clue she finds, every shocking discovery she makes, force Beth to confront her own troubled past... and a past that's not her own...until it all smashes together in a revelation that could change the world.

Rights: W/E 7 November 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 320pp

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9781448310135

Linda Broday is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty historical western romance novels and short stories. A third generation Texan, she finds lots of inspiration for her fictional cowboys on the West Texas short grass plains.

Writing is her passion and drives her to keep penning stories that focus heavily on children and family. In her family, she's the storyteller, the one who records ancestral history. Linda comes from a long line of poor but prideful people and she's happy with that. It's her legacy.

Courting Miss Emma

The Hangman’s Daughters: Book Two

LINDA BRODAY

"One day I intend to court you, lady. That's a promise. Hangman's daughter or not."

Texas, 1868. Emma Taggart has finally found a place to belong – setting up Heaven's Door orphanage with her sister Maura was a new beginning for her – and one she will do anything to protect.

When guarded ex-army man Stone Landry buys the neighbouring land and moves in – camels and all – Emma's world changes forever. He is an infuriating man who instantly gets under her skin – in ways she never dreamed possible, and despite herself, Emma starts to wonder if, just maybe, he is man enough to take on a Hangman's daughter...

But their newfound connection is quickly tested by violent night raids, kidnappings, and underhand tricks by powerful rancher Zeke Parker, who is intent on running them out of town and taking the land he deems to be his. Can Emma find enough courage to trust in Stone and help him give her the life she's always dreamed of?

7 November 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 256pp

Other (trim 216 x 138)

Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9781448311309

Rights: W/E

Paul Doherty studied History at Liverpool and Oxford Universities and is now a head teacher in Essex. He is the author of more than one hundred historical mysteries including the Brother Athelstan, Hugh Corbett and Canterbury Tales medieval mystery series.

Murder Most Treasonable A Brother Athelstan Mystery #22

PAUL DOHERTY

Spies, secrets and suspicious circumstances: Friar-sleuth Brother Athelstan races against time to solve impossible crimes and uncover a traitor in this gripping historical mystery set in medieval London.

London. March, 1382. Deep in the shadows, a clandestine organization known as the Secret Chancery operates under the sinister leadership of John of Gaunt's Master of Secrets. When two clerks from this covert group meet their demise in suspicious circumstances, friar-sleuth Brother Athelstan is urgently summoned to unravel the truth behind their deaths.

A puzzling question lies at the heart of the investigation: how did the killer manage to navigate a labyrinth of locked doors, leaving no trace behind? As Brother Athelstan delves deeper into the mystery, a terrifying threat also emerges: the possibility of treason. King Richard's spies in France are also dying, almost as if someone's discovered exactly who they are ...

Brother Athelstan must race against the clock to uncover the truth before he and his companions get tangled up in the hunt for the traitor, with fatal consequences for them all.

Rights: W 7 November 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 224pp

Other (trim 216 x 138)

Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9781448308651

E.J. Copperman is the nom de plume for Jeff Cohen, writer of intentionally funny murder mysteries. As E.J., he is the author of the Haunted Guest house series, the Agent to the Paws series and the Jersey Girl Legal mysteries, as well as the brand-new Fran and Ken Stein mysteries. As Jeff, he is the author of the Double Feature and Aaron Tucker series; and he collaborates with himself on the Samuel Hoenig Asperger's mysteries.

A New Jersey native, E.J. worked as a newspaper reporter, teacher, magazine editor and screenwriter, before his first book was published to critical acclaim in 2002. In his spare time, Jeff is an extremely amateur guitar player, a fan of Major League Baseball, a couch potato and a crossword addict.

7 November 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 240pp

My Cousin Skinny

A Jersey Girl Legal Mystery #5

E.J. COPPERMAN

A dream of a wedding turns into a bloody nightmare for LA family lawyer Sandy Moss's cousin Skinny in the latest instalment of the critically acclaimed Jersey Girl Legal mystery series. Sandy might have to take on her trickiest case yet!

An uncomfortable weekend awaits LA family lawyer Sandy Moss when she makes her way to her hometown in New Jersey for the wedding of her cousin Stephanie, sweetly nicknamed Skinny. Uncomfortable, because Sandy is not really looking forward to seeing her family, but at least her boyfriend, movie star Patrick McNabb, is by her side.

However, if Sandy thought a weekend with her criticising mother and aggravating sister was bad, she definitely wasn't prepared for the rehearsal event at the wedding venue! When Skinny enters the room, all eyes are on her and her beautiful party dress ... covered in blood, with a knife in her hand.

Skinny says she didn't do it. But with dozens of wedding guests witnessing her dramatic entrance, the question of who killed the corpse in the kitchen seems an easy one to answer – and an equally easy court case to lose.

Reluctantly agreeing to represent her cousin, Sandy sets to work. But how can she save Skinny when she's not at all sure she's innocent ... and when Skinny seems oddly determined to put herself in jail?

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9781448309719

Rights: W/E

Judith Cutler has been shortlisted for the CWA Dagger and the Barry Award. Her prize-winning short stories appear regularly in anthologies and leading crime fiction magazines. Known as Birmingham's Queen of Crime, she is married to fellow crime-writer Edward Marston.

The Dead Hand

A Harriet & Matthew Rowsley

Victorian Mystery #5

JUDITH CUTLER

While hosting a group of academics at Thorncroft House, Harriet and Matthew Rowsley find themselves confronted with bigger – and bloodier! – issues than unruly guests...

June 1861, Victorian England. A house full of academics should imply calm and quiet, but much to housekeeper Harriet Rowsley's dismay some of the guests seem to have problems with the estate's unconventional practices and aren't afraid of voicing their concerns. Having Harriet and her husband and interim estate manager Matthew as the hosts of Thorncroft House, while his lordship is ill and the trustees are seeking for his heir, is obviously not to everyone's taste!

But Harriet won't let their patronising opinions get in the way of running the household as it was entrusted to her. She and her husband seem to have things under control until a series of unusual accidents occur around them. To make matters worse and more pressing, one of these accidents proves fatal...

With a house now full of suspects, Harriet and Matthew have to find out who is causing chaos and why? While everyone is focused on drawing out the culprit and searching for a motive, Harriet has her own theory as to why these incidents happen and decides to follow her hunch – after all, every aspect should be considered, just in case!

Rights: W/E 7 November 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 240pp

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Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9781448311323

Tessa Wegert is the author of the Shana Merchant series of mysteries. A former freelance journalist, Tessa has contributed to such publications as Forbes, The Huffington Post, Adweek, The Economist and The Globe and Mail

Tessa grew up in Québec and now lives with her husband and children in Connecticut, where she studies martial arts.

Devils at the Door

A Shana Merchant Novel #5

TESSA WEGERT

A suspicious drowning throws New York State senior investigator Shana Merchant's life into turmoil in this taut, thrilling small-town mystery – perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Ruth Ware.

Sixteen-year-old Henrietta used to be happy. But that was before her family hit the national news. Before she – and the whole world – knew she was related to one of New York's most prolific serial killers.

Senior Investigator Shana Merchant readily agrees when her brother asks her to take in his rebellious daughter for the fall semester. Doug's convinced that spending a few months in Alexandria Bay with Shana will straighten Hen out.

But when Hen arrives, Shana's not so sure. She can't help but distrust the strange and manipulative teen, who bingewatches bloody movies and roams the house at night, taking things that aren't hers.

Soon, though, Shana has more to worry about than missing heirlooms when she's called to investigate the suspicious drowning of a local teenager, only to discover her niece at the scene of the crime.

What happened that night on the dark, uninhabited island of Devil's Oven? With Hen and her new friends not talking, and a community determined to keep their secrets dead and buried, Shana knows it's a race against time to uncover the truth before her niece is upgraded from key witness to prime suspect.

5 December 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 256pp

Other (trim 216 x 138)

Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9781448311385

Rights: W/E

Born and raised in West Lothian, Catriona McPherson left Edinburgh University with a PhD in Linguistics and worked in academia, as well as banking and public libraries, before taking up full-time writing in 2001. For the last ten years she has lived in Northern California with frequent visits home. Among numerous prizes, she has won two of Left Coast Crime's coveted Humorous Lefty Awards for the Last Ditch comedies.

Hop Scot A Last Ditch Mystery #6

CATRIONA MCPHERSON

It's all aboard for a Campbell Clan Christmas! Lexy swaps cinnamon lattes for boiled sprouts when the Last Ditch crew travel from California to an idyllic Scottish village for the holidays, but something very unmerry is lurking below the surface ...

Lexy Campbell is long overdue a trip to Scotland to see her parents, and an unexpected death in the extended Last Ditch Motel family makes Christmas in a bungalow in Dundee with nine others seem almost irresistible.

But when Lexy and the Last Ditch crew hop across the Atlantic, there's been a change of plan and they're whisked off to Mistletoe Hall in the pretty village of Yule, where the surprises continue. The news that a man disappeared from the crumbling pile sixty years ago, along with an unsettling discovery in the bricked-up basement, means that Todd, Kathi and Lexy – Trinity for Trouble – must solve another murder.

Deadly secrets, berry rustlers, skeletons and a snowy Christmas Eve in the booze aisle at Tesco: the Last Ditch crew won't forget their Scottish holiday in a hurry!

5 December 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 240pp

Other (trim 216 x 138)

Printed Paper Cased

£21.99

9781448307692

Rights: W/E

Becky Masterman has worked as an actor, playwright, and an editor for a forensic science and law enforcement press. Her debut thriller was a finalist for the Edgar and the Anthony Awards for Best First Novel and for the CWA Gold Dagger, and her books have been translated into twenty languages. As well as four books featuring retired FBI agent Brigid Quinn, she is the author of standalone thriller Maternal Instinct She lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband.

Maternal Instinct BECKY

MASTERMAN

Think moving in with your mother-in-law is your worst nightmare? You have no idea ... A jaw-dropping novel of domestic suspense from the author of the critically acclaimed Brigid Quinn series.

Don't let them know what you're thinking, Althea Deming tells herself. It's your best defense. Althea didn't want her good natured but thoughtless step-son Hal and manipulative daughter-in-law Grace to move in with her, relegating her to a corner of the house that was once just hers, but she doesn't have much choice. She's been powerless since her beloved husband Robert's death. According to the will, everything that was hers now belongs to Hal – and to Grace.

Grace Deming didn't want to uproot her family to care for her difficult mother-in-law, but she's determined to make the best of it for the sake of her daughter Shyla's future. Their new home is enormous, the neighborhood prestigious. If the worst of it is that Althea dislikes her, she can cope.

After all, Althea Deming is a sweetheart. Everyone says so. Her husband. The neighbors. And soon, so does Shyla, the once vibrant and happy child now a shadow of her former self. What's wrong with Grace that she can't trust her? But all her instincts are screaming at her that Althea is dangerous, and if she doesn't fight to protect her family from her malign influence, she'll live to regret it ...

5 December 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 288pp

Other (trim 216 x 138)

Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9781448311958

Rights: W/E

Cora Harrison turned to writing historical fiction after she retired from teaching to live on a farm near the Burren in the west of Ireland. As well as the Gaslight mysteries, she is the author of the Reverend Mother mysteries, and the Burren series of Celtic mysteries, set in 16th century Ireland.

Murder in the Mist

A Gaslight Mystery #5

CORA HARRISON

A compelling Victorian mystery featuring classic writers and friends Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins as an engaging pair of writer sleuths.

Wilkie Collins is looking forward to spending Christmas at Gads Hill, Charles Dickens' Kentish country home, but the festivities are cut short when a body is found on the snowy marshland. Timmy O'Connor was invited to the gathering with his four nephews after a chance encounter with Dickens, but is now dead.

Dickens is convinced the murderer is one of the convicts from a nearby prison ship, but Collins is not so sure. Who was this mysterious and unpleasant stranger from Cork who turned Christmas cheer to fear? With the convicts, guests and even Timmy's nephews under suspicion, there is no shortage of suspects for such a violent act, but which one of them is a cold-blooded killer?

5 December 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 240pp

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£21.99

9781448311347

Rights: W/E

Peter Tremayne is the pseudonym of a well-known authority on the ancient Celts who has utilised his knowledge of the Brehon law system and seventhcentury Irish society to create a new concept in detective fiction. He is the author of thirty-three previous mysteries featuring Sister Fidelma.

Revenge of the Stormbringer A Sister Fidelma Mystery #34

PETER TREMAYNE

Sister Fidelma returns in the thirty-fourth Celtic mystery by Peter Tremayne.

Summer, AD 672. Princess Gelgéis has arrived in Cashel with her personal bodyguard, a troop of female warriors called the Daughters of the Storm. When one of them is found slain next to the sleeping chamber of the newly married king and queen and, a short time later, the stewardess of the royal house is poisoned, questions are raised as to everyone's safety...

Fidelma and Eadulf must first explain the 'locked room' mystery of how the attack took place in King Colgu's specially built secure apartment. Then they must interrogate the growing list of suspects – even Enda, the commander of the household guard, who had formed a romantic attachment to the murdered attendant, cannot be ignored.

As the fair being held to celebrate the king and queen's wedding approaches, tensions mount and Fidelma must work quickly to expose a ruthless killer before it is too late...

5 December 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 352pp

Other (trim 216 x 138)

Printed Paper Cased £21.99

9781448309801

Rights: US

David Mark spent seven years as crime reporter for the Yorkshire Post and now writes full-time. A former Richard & Judy pick, and a Sunday Times bestseller, he is the author of the DS Aector McAvoy series and a number of standalone thrillers. He lives in Northumberland with his family.

The Burning Time A DS McAvoy

Novel #12

5 December 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 240pp

DAVID MARK

A quiet town. A horrible incident. Things that don't add up. The highly-anticipated latest instalment of the DS McAvoy series from the Sunday Times best-selling, Kindle chart-topping author.

An unexpected invite to his estranged mother's surprise birthday party at a fancy Durham hotel gives DI Aector McAvoy and his wife Roisin a chance for a well-deserved holiday. Off-duty, and still recovering from his previous injuries, McAvoy is determined to take advantage of the all-expenses-paid break, despite the old grudges and thick tension between himself and his step-family.

However, what should have been a relaxing, if awkward, getaway weekend turns out to be a full-on nightmare, when McAvoy finds himself in the middle of a town drama that involves the tragic demise of Ishmael Piper, a rock star's millionaire son ... and best friend of McAvoy's charming, bullying step-brother.

With dark secrets slowly unravelling, McAvoy needs to put his personal issues aside to unmask the evil forces behind Ishmael's mysterious death before he becomes a victim of them himself ...

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Peter Steiner is the author of the critically acclaimed Louis Morgon series of crime novels. He is also a cartoonist for The New Yorker and is the creator of one of the most famous cartoons of the technological age which prompted the adage, 'On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog.'

The New Detective

A Willi Geismeier Thriller #4

PETER STEINER

Willi Geismeier thought he'd faced the worst of humanity on the battlefield in World War I, but when he returns to Munich he is drawn into an investigation that proves to be just as chilling.

Munich, 1913. Twenty-year-old Willi Geismeier is showing great promise as a rookie detective in the Munich police department when he is sent to fight in World War I. After narrowly surviving the horrors of the conflict, Willi returns home, where the challenges he faces are just as grave.

The Spanish flu rips through Munich with devastating consequences. Willi, now back in the police force, finds himself investigating an insurance scam, missing drugs and the mysterious death of a prisoner. Chilling links emerge between all three, and Willi finds himself facing a 'scientific' killer and the rising fascists determined to stop him in his tracks ...

5 December 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 192pp

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9781448306428

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M.M. DeLuca studied psychology at the University of London and now resides in Canada. She studied advanced creative writing with Pulitzer prizewinning author, Carol Shields. Her first novel, The Pitman's Daughter, was shortlisted for the Chapters Robertson Davies first novel in Canada award in 2001. She went on to self-publish it in 2013 where it became an ebook bestseller in the literary category.

The Night Side

M.M. DELUCA

Twenty years of secrets. One deadly truth.

When Ruby Carlson was eighteen, she ran away from her home in Stoneybrook, Montana, and vowed she'd never return. Never return to life under the control of her manipulative mother, Ida, a self-styled medium and psychic scammer who made a career out of ruining people's lives. Never return to the small town where enemies lurk at every turn.

But now, twenty years later, Ruby is back. Her mother is missing, presumed dead, and Ruby reluctantly returns to a home filled with chilling memories to settle Ida's affairs. Did she really commit suicide by drowning, or is this another dark scheme? Ruby thought she knew everything about her mother, but finds herself unraveling a web of lies and secrets to reveal a story more twisted than anyone could have imagined ...

5 December 2023

Printed Paper Cased Fiction 256pp

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9781448312504

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NOW IN PAPERBACK

Sarah Rayne is the author of many novels of psychological and supernatural suspense, including the Nell West & Michael Flint series as well as the historical mystery series, Phineas Fox. This is the first Theatre of Thieves mystery. She lives in Staffordshire.

Chalice of Darkness

A Theatre of Thieves Mystery #1

SARAH RAYNE

Introducing the Fitzglens and their theatre of thieves in this spellbinding gothic mystery!

London, 1908. The Fitzglens are proud of their reputation as one of London's leading theatre families. They are, however, equally proud of another profession which they pursue very discreetly ... When not on stage, they are thieves.

Jack Fitzglen's latest plan is to seek out the infamous Talisman Chalice, steal it and create a dazzling piece of theatre around it. He travels to Vallow Hall in Northumberland to find the mysterious Maude – the last known link to the Chalice – but uncovers something far darker. Scandal, secrets and danger lurk in every shady corner. Perhaps the legend of the Chalice has come true: that in the wrong hands, the Chalice drags a person into a darkness from which he or she can never emerge...

As past and present collide, can Jack find the Chalice, the truth and return to his theatre of thieves unscathed?

26 October 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 256pp

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9781448306442

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T.C. LoTempio is the award-winning, nationally bestselling author of the Nick and Nora mysteries, the Urban Tails Pet Shop mysteries, and the Cat Rescue mysteries. Born in New York City, she now resides in Phoenix, Arizona with her two cats, Maxx and Rocco. Rocco prides himself on being the inspiration for her Nick and Nora series.

Eat, Drink and Drop Dead

A Tiffany Austin Food Blogger Mystery #1

T.C. LOTEMPIO

A former chef gets mixed up in murder when she moves back to her Southern home town in the first Tiffany Austin Food Blogger mystery – a culinary cozy that will make your brain work and your stomach rumble!

Food critic and blogger Tiffany Austin has the best job in the world: she gets to eat for a living. At least, she hopes she has a job. Her trial period at Southern Style magazine is up – and rumors are swirling that management are making a choice between Tiffany and a rival columnist: the ambitious Jenny Lee Plumm.

Former chef Tiffany knows she has a battle on her hands... but she didn't realize it was to the death! When her rival's body is discovered after the two have a very public argument, Tiffany finds herself the prime suspect in a murder investigation. The lead detective might be very hot – but Tiffany's definitely not ready to go down for a crime she didn't commit.

Ably assisted by Hilary, her best friend and partner in (non) crime, and bolstered by the unconditional love of her Siamese cat Lily and King Charles Cavalier puppy Cooper, Tiffany plunges into an investigation of her own. After all, she has a degree from the CIA – the Culinary Institute of America – and she's not afraid to use it. But can she find the real killer before she's served up to the cops on a silver platter?

26 October 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 256pp

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9781448310531

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Veronica Heley has a musician daughter and is actively involved in her local church and community affairs. She lives in Ealing, West London. She is the author of the Ellie Quicke and Bea Abbot mystery series.

Murder for Profit An Ellie Quicke Mystery #22

VERONICA HELEY

The shocking death of a student in one of her charity's properties draws Ellie into another dark mystery.

Ellie Quicke returns from Canada to find her home in chaos and her housing charity tearing itself apart. A student has fallen to his death from the top of one of the charity's properties, let through a reputable local estate agency. Accused of corruption, the agency is the victim of a vicious social media campaign.

Was the student's death really an accident or something more sinister? Does someone have a grudge against the agency, or are they being set up to ensure the truth never comes out? As Ellie fights to save her charity's reputation, it seems her troubles are only just beginning ...

26 October 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 224pp

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9781448307814

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Michael Jecks is the author of more than thirty novels in the Knights Templar medieval mystery series and eight Bloody Mary Tudor mysteries. This is the first book in his contemporary mystery series The Art of Murder. A former Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association, he lives with his wife, children and dogs in northern Dartmoor.

Portrait of a Murder

The Art of Murder: Book One

MICHAEL JECKS

Join this accidental sleuth, Nick Morris, in his first mystery in The Art of Murder series.

Nick Morris is your classic struggling artist. He paints pet portraits to pay the bills but is always just one big commission away from a more comfortable life. Which is why he agrees to paint the reluctant, hot-tempered hotelier, Jason Robart. But Nick gets more than he bargained for when he finds Jason dead from a shotgun blast to the head in an apparent suicide.

No one seems upset about his death except for his girlfriend Elizabeth, and Nick, who has lost the income from the commission. It turns out Jason owed money to everyone –including some unsavoury Russians.

When Elizabeth goes missing, Nick is concerned, but so is Jason's unpleasant business partner and those persuasive Russians who threaten Nick to reveal everything he knows... or else! Nick is knee deep in trouble and to escape he must find Elizabeth, uncover the truth of Jason's death, and stay alive. If only he had stuck to painting cats ...

26 October 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 240pp

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9781448310548

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Rosemary Rowe also writes historical romances under her married name Rosemary Aitken. She has now resettled in her native Cornwall after having lived first in New Zealand for twenty years, and then for even longer in Gloucestershire where this series is set.

The Rewards of Treachery A Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain #20

ROSEMARY ROWE

A stolen valuable is just the beginning of a trail of strange events Junio has to uncover in this skilfully plotted historical mystery set in 2nd century Britain.

Late summer, CE 198. With Glevum an uneasy place since the current Emperor seized power, and with rebel Celts still actively opposing Roman rule, tension remains as Caesar turns his attention to stamping out all remaining threats to his authority.

Junio, Libertus's adopted son, tries to be inconspicuous and focus on his workshop and growing family. This becomes difficult when Libertus's patron, Marcus Septimus, seeks Junio's advice about a valuable cloak-clasp which has disappeared – together with the jeweller who was repairing it.

Unwillingly dragged into investigating this, Junio finds himself faced with a string of murders, betrayal and revenge, and his own small son in dreadful jeopardy! What secret was the missing jeweller hiding? What danger lurks in the ill-omened cave? And what part does the mysterious Celtic visitor who suddenly appears play in this tale of treachery?

26 October 2023

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9781448310555

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M.J. Trow is a military historian by training and the author of more than sixty mysteries, including the longrunning Inspector Lestrade and 'Mad Max' Maxwell detective series, as well as the Kit Marlowe Tudor mysteries, the Grand & Batchelor Victorian mysteries and the Margaret Murray series. He lives on the Isle of Wight.

The Yeoman's Tale

A Geoffrey Chaucer Mystery #2

M.J. TROW

Poet-sleuth Geoffrey Chaucer is caught up in the chaos of the Peasants' Revolt as he attempts to track down a brutal killer.

June, 1381. Embarking on his annual pilgrimage to Canterbury, Geoffrey Chaucer and his fellow travellers are forced to turn back when confronted with a horde of armed and angry peasants, intent on marching to London. Returning to the city to warn the authorities of the approaching danger, the pilgrims hole up at the Tabard Inn and prepare for the coming invasion.

That same night, a woman's body is fished out of the River Thames, her throat cut. When he discovers that the victim was the wife of one of his fellow pilgrims, Chaucer determines to investigate. Could the woman's henpecked husband be responsible for her death? A jealous business rival? Or was she murdered by one of the pilgrims? Does a cold-hearted killer lurk within the Tabard?

As the army of rebellious peasants approaches, Chaucer finds himself in a race against time to uncover the truth before anarchy descends.

26 October 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 224pp

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9781448307579

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E.J. Copperman is the nom de plume for Jeff Cohen, writer of intentionally funny murder mysteries. As E.J., he is the author of the Haunted Guesthouse and Agent to the Paws series, as well as the Jersey Girl Legal mysteries and the brand-new Fran & Ken Stein mysteries; as Jeff, he is the author of the Double Feature and Aaron Tucker series; and he collaborates with himself on the Samuel Hoenig Asperger's mysteries.

Ukulele of Death

A Fran & Ken Stein Mystery #1

E.J. COPPERMAN

Meet Fran and Ken Stein – a private investigator duo who refuse to let a little thing like being not entirely human stop them from doing their jobs.

After losing their parents when they were just babies, private investigators Fran and Ken Stein now specialize in helping adoptees find their birth parents. So when a client asks them for help finding her father, with her only clue a rare ukulele, the case is a little weird, sure, but it's nothing they can't handle.

But soon Fran and her brother are plunged into a world where nothing makes sense – and not just the fact that a very short (but very cute) NYPD detective keeps trying to take eternal singleton Fran out on dates.

All Fran wants to do is find the ukulele and collect their fee, but it's hard to keep your focus when you're stumbling over corpses and receiving messages that suggest your (dead) parents are very much alive.

Ukuleles aside, it's becoming clear that someone knows something they shouldn't – that Fran and Ken Stein weren't so much born, as built ...

26 October 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 240pp

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9781448312337

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Lyndon Stacey is a writer and animal portrait artist by trade and lives near Stonehenge in the South-West of England. She is the author of a number of standalone equine mysteries, as well as two series featuring animal behaviourist Gideon Blake and ex-police dog handler Daniel Whelan.

Bad Blood LYNDON STACEY

Dark secrets are revealed when investigative journalist and horse expert Ben Copperfield is hired to find the longlost heir of a dying millionaire in this gripping murder mystery.

When freelance journalist Ben Copperfield hands his business card to a woman whose runaway horse he's helped recapture, he couldn't possibly predict the events that are triggered by this simple gesture ...

For the woman is the wife of none other than multi-millionaire horse owner and businessman Neville Manning. Manning has everything money could buy, but money can't solve his current problem. He's dying – and after the tragic death of his only child, there's no one he's willing to leave his business to. Manning has just one hope left: a grandchild, whose mother's name he doesn't even know. Ben has a reputation for solving impossible problems, and Manning's convinced he'll be able to track the child down.

With the odds stacked against him, Ben accepts the challenge and sets out to find this mystery grandchild. But little does he know that the trail to finding Manning's heir is paved with murder, intrigue and revenge ... and it won't just be finding the heir to Manning's fortune that's the problem, it'll be keeping the child alive long enough to claim it.

30 November 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 288pp

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9781448312351

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Ellen Crosby is a former reporter for the Washington Post, foreign correspondent for ABC News Radio and economist at the U.S. Senate. She has spent many years overseas in Europe, but now lives in Virginia with her husband. She is the author of the Wine Country mysteries and the Sophie Medina mysteries.

Blow Up A Sophie Medina Mystery #3

ELLEN CROSBY

Photojournalist Sophie Medina must figure out how the death of a Supreme Court justice and the murder of a homeless man are related before she becomes an assailant's next target.

International photojournalist Sophie Medina and her old school friend Father Jack O'Hara are out for a run on Capitol Hill when they find the body of Associate Supreme Court Justice Everett Townsend lying in an alley, barely alive. Townsend, a diabetic, later dies in the ER from complications due to hypoglycemia.

His tragic death has unexpected repercussions for Sophie when Javi, a young homeless man of Sophie's acquaintance, is murdered. Before he died, Javi told her a shocking story about Townsend that could have a devastating impact on the nation's highest court – and on the American justice system – if word got out.

Unable to persuade anyone that what she learned is true and on the run from whoever is protecting Townsend's dark secret, Sophie searches a collection of her photographs of Washington D.C.'s homeless community, looking for evidence before everything blows up in her face ...

30 November 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 240pp

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9781448308057

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Matt Hilton worked for twenty-three years in private security and the police force in Cumbria. He is a 4th Dan blackbelt and coach in Ju-Jitsu. He is the author of thirteen novels in the Joe Hunter series, and nine previous Grey & Villere thrillers.

Cold Fire

A Grey & Villere Thriller #10

MATT HILTON

A mother and her children murdered.

A nanny on the run. A killer in pursuit.

Hunted and reviled, ex-nanny Joanne Mason turns to her sister, Detective Karen Ratcliffe. Torn between duty and family, Ratcliffe asks Tess Grey and her partner Nicolas 'Po' Villere to bring Joanne in safely.

A winter cyclone forces Joanne into hiding on the Canadian border – but she can't stay put for long. In close pursuit, Tess and Po head north into the heart of a storm, but they're not the only ones: the real murderer is also hot on Joanne's trail, trying to kill the only living witness to their crime.

As the chase progresses it grows apparent that Joanne couldn't have been responsible for the murders ... but the heat isn't off her. Some people think she might be a coconspirator, not the terrified witness she is ... and when the shocking truth behind the gruesome murders comes to light, Tess and Po have their work cut out to keep Joanne – and themselves – alive!

30 November 2023

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9781448312399

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Agatha award nominee Jessica Ellicott loves fountain pens, Mini Coopers and throwing parties. A member of Wicked Authors, Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers, she lives in northern New England with her dark and mysterious husband, exuberant children and a precocious poodle named Sam.

Murder on the Home Front A WPC Billie

Harkness Mystery #2

JESSICA ELLICOTT

Disrespect, disdain – and dead bodies!

It's all in a day's work for WPC Billie Harkness, a pioneering female police officer protecting the home front in this gripping WWII British historical mystery.

1940. It's been a month since rector's daughter Billie Harkness left her rural village to make a fresh start in the northern city of Hull. Now she has a new home and an exciting new job as one of only two female police constables in the whole city. But Hull still feels like a foreign country, and some people are less than impressed by the idea of a woman doing a 'man's job'.

Facing disrespect from her colleagues and suspicion from the public, Billie throws herself into her work. The tasks she's assigned might be menial, but she's determined to do her bit for the war effort. The chance to prove her worth comes during a search for a missing air raid shelter inspector, when Billie makes a shocking discovery: his dead body, in a shelter that's been stripped of all its valuables.

The officers summoned to investigate the scene believe it's an open and shut case, but Billie's not so sure. Asking questions means making enemies though – and little does she know that vile rumors about her are spreading, with the power to erase everything she's tried so hard to achieve ...

30 November 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 256pp

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9781448306619

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Fiona Buckley is the author of twenty-one previous Ursula Blanchard mysteries. Under her real name, Valerie Anand, she is the author of numerous historical novels including the muchloved Bridges Over Time series. Brought up in London, she now lives in Surrey.

The Net of Steel

A Tudor Mystery Featuring Ursula Blanchard #22

FIONA BUCKLEY

Ursula Stannard faces the ultimate test in this gripping Tudor mystery. How far is she prepared to go to protect those dearest to her and save her own life?

April, 1590. Ursula Stannard, the queen's half-sister and occasional secret agent, has just left Sir Francis Walsingham's funeral when she is summoned back to her childhood home, Faldene House, by her aunt. Uncle Herbert has died suddenly from natural causes, but Ursula's arrival in the Sussex Downs triggers a shocking sequence of death and devastation.

Through her service to the queen, Ursula has made dangerous enemies. The formidable Mercer brothers are set on revenge, and their cruelty knows no limits. As a deadly net closes around Ursula and her loved ones, can she keep those closest to her safe and stop the Mercers before they strike again?

30 November 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 256pp

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9781448312344

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Susanna Calkins is the author of the award-winning Lucy Campion mystery series, set in seventeenth-century London, and the Speakeasy mysteries, set in Prohibition-era Chicago. She has a PhD in history and works at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she currently lives in the Chicago area with her husband and two sons.

Death Among the Ruins

A Lucy Campion Mystery #7

SUSANNA CALKINS

Midnight assignations, dresses fit to meet the queen ... and murder most horrid! Printer's apprentice Lucy Campion investigates a puzzling death in this thrilling historical mystery set in seventeenth-century London.

London, 1668. Printer's apprentice Lucy Campion is suspicious when she meets a young ragpicker who claims to have fine clothes to sell from a lady of quality. Are the garments stolen ... or a sign of something worse?

Her suspicions are soon realized when the clothes are identified as belonging to a recently deceased elderly aristocrat. Young Mercy Sykes has robbed a grave! Mercy is arrested, and it's only thanks to Lucy's intervention that the ragpicker, who's struggling to support her family, isn't locked up.

Lucy doesn't expect to see Mercy again, but their meeting soon has unexpected consequences. For when Mercy finds a dead woman in the ruins of Christchurch, dressed in unexpected finery, it's to Lucy who she turns for help ...

28 December 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 240pp

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9781448306169

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Jeffrey Hantover has had a varied career, working as a sociologist, a social service executive, a labor rights consultant, and an art critic. He's written extensively on social issues, art, and culture for international publications. He lived in Hong Kong for more than a decade and resides with his wife in New York City. A published poet, he is also the author of the critically-acclaimed historical novel The Jewel Trader of Pegu

The Forenoon Bride

JEFFREY HANTOVER

When given the choice between love and honor, what are you willing to sacrifice? Destiny, longing and betrayal await you in this sweeping historical novel set in Elizabethan England and the Ottoman Empire of the late 16th century.

England, 1591. Eager to see the world and travel the seas before settling down with a wife, English Lord William Bateman sets out for adventure while leaving his secret admirer, a local young lady named Elizabeth, behind.

However, during his journey to the East, he is falsely imprisoned as a spy by the Ottoman governor of Rhodes. William is given two choices: endure torture in an Ottoman prison or convert and serve the Sultan, Murad III. Staying true to his family, faith and country, William refuses to give in.

By a twist of fate, William gains an unexpected ally in the form of the young governor's daughter Safiye who falls in love with the mysterious and handsome prisoner. Captivated by their immediate bond and attraction, both vow to remain faithful for seven years until they can be together again.

Meanwhile in England, William's family suffers tragedies and misfortune. The years of absence left their estate in jeopardy but turned Elizabeth – still hopelessly in love with him and awaiting his return – into a beautiful and spirited woman. Can William escape his fate in Turkey and save his legacy...and if he does will he keep his promise or betray his honor?

28 December 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 192pp

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9781448312368

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David Mark spent seven years as crime reporter for the Yorkshire Post and now writes full-time. A former Richard & Judy pick, and a Sunday Times bestseller, he is the author of the DS Aector McAvoy series and a number of standalone thrillers. He lives in Northumberland with his family.

The Whispering Dead

A Cordelia Hemlock Novel #2

DAVID MARK

The past comes back to haunt MI6 secret agent Cordelia Hemlock in this spy thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author David Mark.

Cordelia Hemlock is teetering on the verge of joining MI6 when she meets the enigmatic Walt, a high-ranking member of the Secret Intelligence Service, who tells her: They won't want you to do well. They won't ever trust you. They don't trust me and I'm one of them. She takes this as a challenge rather than a warning. She wants to protect the nation. Serve Queen and country. Who would turn down such a glorious opportunity?

Fourteen years later, Cordelia is desk-bound after finishing an undercover operation and going quietly mad with boredom. So when the call comes through on the top-secret Pandora line – so-called after the locked-box the telephone is kept in – she answers it.

It's Walt. No longer officially MI6, he still inhabits the murky world of intelligence, where information always comes with a price. He tells her he has a secret to share with her – and only her. And once she knows it, nothing will ever be the same again ...

28 December 2023

Trade Paperback Fiction 224pp

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9781448308170

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OCTOBER

An Imperfect Truth PRISCILLA MASTERS Best Be Prepared GWEN FLORIO

Cold Turkey AMY PATRICIA MEADE

Guilt Strikes at Granger’s Store TERRY SHAMES

Mrs Pargeter’s Patio SIMON BRETT

Murdering the Messenger MICHAEL JECKS

Spirits of the Dead KEITH GILMAN

The Deadliest Legacy HILARY BONNER

NOVEMBER

Antiques Foe BARBARA ALLAN

Calico LEE GOLDBERG

Courting Miss Emma LINDA BRODAY

Murder Most Treasonable PAUL DOHERTY

My Cousin Skinny E.J. COPPERMAN

The Dead Hand JUDITH CUTLER

DECEMBER

Devils at the Door TESSA WEGERT

Hop Scot CATRIONA MCPHERSON

Maternal Instinct BECKY MASTERMAN

Murder in the Mist CORA HARRISON

Revenge of the Stormbringer PETER TREMAYNE

The Burning Time DAVID MARK

The New Detective PETER STEINER

The Night Side M.M. DELUCA