Crime & Thrillers Books

Book SynopsisA rip-roaring lost worlds thriller written in the early 1900s by a pioneering black writer of black fiction. The story of Reuel is fuelled by love, betrayal and a heavy undertow of the supernatural; an impulsive medical student, he travels from Boston to Ethiopia, discovers a hidden city, ancient treasure and his own heritage. A new edition with a new introduction which considers Pauline Hopkin's development of the social and racial themes also explored by W.E.B. Du Bois. A new title in Foundations of Black Science Fiction series. FLAME TREE 451: From mystery to crime, supernatural to horror and myth, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and robots, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilizations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales, ancient and modern gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic. The Foundations titles also explore the roots of modern fiction and brings together neglected works which deserve a wider readership as part of a series of classic, essential books.

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Book SynopsisMotherless Brooklyn is a compulsively readable riff on the classic noir detective novel. Brooklyn''s self-appointed Human Freakshow, Lionel Essrog is an orphan whose Tourettic impulses drive him to rip apart our language in startling and original ways. Together with three other veterans of the St. Vincent''s Home for Boys, he works for small-time mobster Frank Minna''s limo service cum detective agency. But when Frank is fatally stabbed, Lionel''s world is suddenly topsy-turvy, and he must untangle the threads of the case while trying to keep the words straight in his head.The Fortress of Solitude is the vividly told story of Dylan Ebdus growing up white and motherless in Brooklyn in the 1970s. In a neighbourhood where the entertainments include muggings and games of stoopball, Dylan has one friend, a black teenager, also motherless, named Mingus Rude. Through the knitting and unravelling of the boys'' friendship, Lethem creates an overwhelmingly rich and emotionally

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Book SynopsisLondon, 1593. A city on edge. Under threat from plague and war, strangers are unwelcome, suspicion is wholesale, severed heads grin from the spikes on Tower Bridge. Playwright, poet and spy, Christopher Marlowe walks the city's mean streets with just three days to find the murderous Tamburlaine, a killer escaped from the pages of his most violent play.Tamburlaine Must Die is the searing adventure of a man who dares to defy both God and the state and whose murder remains a taunting mystery to the present day.Trade ReviewWelsh shows not just her skill in plotting but also a commendable feeling for period. The vignettes of Elizabethan life in all its raw immediacy ring thrillingly true. It is a marvellous effort by an underrated writer. -- Sally Cousins

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Book SynopsisThe second classic whodunnit starring Dandy Gilver.Summer 1923, and as the village of Queensferry prepares for the annual Ferry Fair and the walk of the Burry Man, feelings are running high. With his pagan greenery, his lucky pennies and the nips of whisky he is treated to wherever he goes, the Burry Man has much to offend stricter souls like the minister or temperance pamphleteer. And then at the Fair, in full view of everyone including Dandy Gilver, invited to hand out the prizes he falls down dead. If he has been poisoned then the list of suspects includes anyone with a bottle of whisky in the house, and, here at Queensferry, that means just about everyone.Trade ReviewMost engaging and ingenious crime-cracker I've met in ages.. * Scotland on Sunday *Dandy is alikeable creation, and McPherson a winning writer. * The Herald *

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Book SynopsisWith dashing Scotland Yard detective Alec Fletcher at her side, Daisy Dalrymple is enjoying a splendid performance of Verdi's Requiem featuring her neighbour Muriel Westlea's celebrated sister, Bettina. But the show comes to an abrupt end when what emerges from the star's gifted vocal chords is literally a dying gasp. Daisy soon learns that the doomed diva was notoriously difficult and had more than her share of enemies. There's a philandering tenor, a burly Russian bass and even her own vocal coach husband, with whom she had a turbulent relationship.Did one of them poison the singer? Or was it someone determined to see that Daisy's investigation ends on as bitter a note as Bettina's last performance . . .Praise for the Daisy Dalrymple series:'Dunn describes 1920s London and the characters in detail and highlights the interplay between Alec and Daisy.' Library Journal'Engaging . . . Dunn's style gives an entertaining spark.' Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisIt is 1925 and the Honorable Daisy Dalrymple, her husband Alec Fletcher and their recent twins move to a new, large house on the outskirts of London. Set in a small circle of houses with a communal garden, it seems like the idyllic setting - that is, until a murder victim turns up under the bushes of the communal garden. Now rumours of bootleggers, American gangsters and an international liquor smuggling operation via black ships turn everything upside down. Alec, in his role as Scotland Yard detective, has been assigned to ferret out the truth behind the murder - but it is up to Daisy to find out who the dead man is, what his relationship with her new neighbours was, why he was murdered - and who it was who did him in!PRAISE FOR CAROLA DUNN'S DAISY DALRYMPLE SERIES:'Cunning... appropriate historical detail and witty dialogue are the finishing touches on this engaging 1920s period piece.' Publishers Weekly'As always, Dunn evokes the life and times of 1920s England while providing a plot that is a cut above the average British cosy. This will delight readers who love country-house mysteries.' BooklistFor fans of Dorothy L. Sayers' novels' Library JournalTrade ReviewCunning ... appropriate historical detail and witty dialogue are the finishing touches on this engaging 1920s period piece * Publishers Weekly *As always, Dunn evokes the life and times of 1920s England while providing a plot that is a cut above the average British cosy. This will delight readers who love country-house mysteries. * Booklist *For fans of Dorothy L. Sayers' novels * Library Journal *I love this series ... fascinating, pacy and easy to read. * MyShelf.com *

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When April in Paris means riots and firebombs.Tensions run high in the working-class neighbourhood of Belleville when a hunger strike to protest against strict immigration laws escalates.Aimée Leduc is trying to help her old friend Anaïs, the wife of the interior minister, who is caught up in some frightening events to do with her husband. But Aimée herself barely escapes death as she pursues terrorists amongst the Algerian nationalists and Islamic fundamentalists who have formed an underground North African network in Paris.

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Book Synopsis"A poignant tale about guilt, blame and love in a time of tragedy" Stylist It is an early spring evening in 1943 when the air-raid sirens wail out over the East End of London. From every corner of Bethnal Green, people emerge from pubs, cinemas and houses and set off for the shelter of the tube station. But at the entrance steps, something goes badly wrong, the crowd panics, and 173 people are crushed to death. When an enquiry is called for, it falls to the local magistrate, Laurence Dunne, to find out what happened during those few, fatally confused minutes. But as Dunne gathers testimony from the guilt-stricken warden of the shelter, the priest struggling to bring comfort to his congregation, and the grieving mother who has lost her youngest daughter, the picture grows ever murkier. The more questions Dunne asks, the more difficult it becomes to disentangle truth from rumour, and to decide just how much truth the damaged community can actually bear. It is only decades later, when the case is reopened by one of the children who survived, that the facts can finally be brought to light...Trade ReviewA smart and troubling novel of ideas, which explores the power of crowds, collective guilt and the compromises required to balance a need for full disclosure with the desire to be kind. -- Adrian Turpin * Financial Times *A terrific human story. * Mail on Sunday *A poignant tale about guilt, blame and love in a time of tragedy. * Stylist *The Report is an artful piece of work. The story itself has an appalling fascination, while the restraint of the telling, in both its factual and fictional aspects, lends it considerable power. Characters... are made richly present but are also shown as vanishing into history, refused the completeness of fictional narration.... As a documentary novel, The Report gains from the virtues of both forms. -- Sean O’Brien * TLS *Her skilful evocation of the blitz means you can't help but sympathise with the characters - no matter what they may have done. * News of the World *She skilfully evokes the Blitz-battered East End and brings her characters to life. The Report is a sober, thoughtful book that acknowledges the complexities of human nature and the demands of emergencies and asks how history views the responsibilities of authorities in times of tragedy. -- Tina Jackson * Metro *Kane's fictionalisation of a real life event keeps to the basic facts, but goes where they can't to produce a fascinating and movingly human explanation of how it might have happened. * Daily Mail *This artfully constructed novel takes as its foundation the largest civilian tragedy of WW2... what emerges is a piercingly emotional exploration of wartime anxieties, and later, of loss, blame and guilt. * Easy Living *Kane's command of period detail is marvellous ... Kane adroitly weaves together various theories [about the tragedy] and gives a sense of the grim succour that assigning blame can provide grief-stricken citizens ... [An] eloquent take on moral intricacy and ambiguity ... A deft, vivid first novel * Kirkus *A stealthy, quiet page-turner that understands there is as much tension in reckoning a disaster as there is in the disaster itself. In precise and searching prose, The Report looks without flinching at moral obligation and family duty over seconds, and over years. It's a lovely book -- Elizabeth McCracken, author of AN EXACT REPLICA OF MY IMAGINATIONThe historical material and characters are wonderful ... Kane skillfully reimagines the empathetic Dunne as he interprets the confessions and accusations of a community crushed by loss and guilt ... Vivid descriptions of hunkered-down and rationed East Enders add a marvellous texture * Publishers Weekly *A fascinating read * Bella *[A] taut and psychologically astute examination of the human need for understanding... The whole is a subtle meditation not just on a document but on whether a written account of a traumatic event can ever satisfy all its objectives. And who decides all these objectives anyway? A novel which raises as many questions as it answers. -- Lucy Beresford * Sunday Telegraph *Very thought-provoking and very moving -- Rory McGrathA really pacy read -- Dave GormanA fascinating insight into a hidden piece of WW2 history... deeply moving... heartbreaking -- Caroline Quentin * TV Book Club *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER AND LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2016, THE TIMES 10 Best Thrillers of 2010s It's 1996, Bill Clinton has just been re-elected and in Houston a mayoral election is looming. As usual the campaign focuses on Pleasantville -- the African-American neighbourhood of the city that has swung almost every race since it was founded to house a growing black middle class in 1949. Axel Hathorne, former chief of police and the son of Pleasantville's founding father, was all set to become Houston's first black mayor. But his lead is slipping thanks to a late entrant into the race -- Sandy Wolcott, a defence attorney riding high on the success of a high-profile murder trial. And then, just as the competition intensifies, a girl goes missing, apparently while canvassing for Axel. And when her body is found, Axel's nephew is charged with her murder. Sam is determined that Jay Porter defends his grandson. And even though Jay is tired of wading through other people's problems, he suddenly finds himself trying his first murder case, a trial that threatens to blow the entire community wide open, and reveal the lengths that those with power are willing to go to hold onto it.Trade ReviewIt's a fascinatingly complex setting and Locke maps it with great skill, charting the struggles of her characters as the crime remains unsolved ... a smart legal thriller about how far people will go to gain power, and keep it. -- Jeff Noon * Spectator *Genuinely unnerving ... subtle, complex questions of identity, family and history * Daily Mail *This is a cinematic, panoramic view of African-American life, but it is also a sharp, tender account of Jay Porter's inner struggle ... brilliant. -- Isabel Berwick * FT *In her first three novels, Locke has explored cultural history since the days of slavery. A future book will surely deal with race in the Obama and post-Obama era. That could be her best story yet - which, on the evidence of those she has already written, is saying something. -- Mark Lawson * Guardian *An excellent thriller on one level, Locke's novel offers a beautifully detailed character in "Jay Edgar Porter", a bereaved father struggling to cope with his loss. The story also has a fascinating political angle in the dirty-tricks campaign, aimed at disrupting the power of the black voting bloc and prefigures the Rove-Bush strategy in the 2000 presidential election. All told, it's gripping blend of the personal and the political. - , -- Declan Burke * Irish Times *As convincing as it is enthralling -- Boyd Hilton * Heat *To say that Locke's debut, Black Water Rising - ambitious, socially committed and beautifully written - created a stir is almost to understate the case, and one wonders if it weighed heavily on her shoulders that she would be obliged to deliver something equally impressive as a follow-up. She did just that with The Cutting Season and now we have Pleasantville ... Pleasantville is every inch as impressive as its predecessors, with a new nuance and complexity burnishing the narrative ... the next time you find yourself in the company of a crime reviewer, don't bother asking who you should be reading. You know the answer: Attica Locke. -- Barry Forshaw * Independent *A common selling point for the sorely missed HBO series "The Wire" is that it's the closest television has ever come to feeling like a novel. Attica Locke'sPleasantville is that novel. * Washington Independent Review of Books *In Pleasantville, Attica Locke returns to Jay Porter, the black lawyer hero of her magnificent first novel, Black Water Rising. This one is just as good. -- Marcel Berlins * Times *Outstanding...Locke just gets better and better as a writer. This is a grown-up, politically engaged novel as well as a moving portrait of a family upended by grief...a perfect read for election season -- Jake Kerridge * Sunday Express Magazine *Ambitious, assured and compelling * Hot Press *One of the Times' 'Ten best thrillers of the past ten years': Attica Locke's compassion for her characters lifts it into another class; you'll be rooting for Porter and his crew every step of the way. * Times *Fantastic... couldn't put it down -- Gary Younge * New Statesman *

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Book Synopsis'Beautifully written ... a unique tale told in a unique voice' - S.G. Maclean Summer, 1522. In a wave of pomp, Henry VIII’s court welcomes the Imperial emperor, Charles V. Anthony Blanke, the son of the king’s late ‘black trumpet’, John Blanke, is called to Hampton Court by his former employer, Cardinal Wolsey. The cardinal is preparing a gift for King Henry: a masque of King Arthur and the Black Knight. Anthony is to take centre stage. The festive mood, however, quickly sours. Wolsey’s historian, charged with proving the king’s descent from King Arthur, is found murdered, his body posed in a gruesome tableau. A reluctant Anthony is charged with investigating the affair. His mission takes him on the path trod by the historian, through ancient monastic libraries and the back streets of London. On a journey that takes him from Hampton Court to Windsor and Winchester, and which sees him lock horns with secretive monks, historian Polydore Vergil, and a new face at court, Anne Boleyn, he must discover the murderer, secure the great masque, and avoid King Henry’s wrath.Trade Review'A crisp evocation of Renaissance-era London which has just enough period detail to bring it to life but not so much as to overburden it… in Anthony Blanke, Veerapen has come up with a protagonist who could sustain several sequels' * The Herald *‘A splendidly enjoyable novel crying out for a sequel’ -- Allan Massie * The Scotsman *'This is a wonderfully evocative portrait of the earlier Tudor world, beautifully written with at times startlingly refreshing use of language and imagery. A unique tale told in a unique voice' -- S.G. Maclean'Steven Veerapen is a new name on the fiction scene, but one of whom we’ll surely be hearing much, much more' -- Sarah Gristwood‘This rip-roaring account of murder and monastic intrigue in the court of Henry VIII reels with atmosphere and a thoroughly refreshing voice.’ * LoveReading *'A sparkling historical thriller, beautifully crafted and delivered with verve' * Aspects of History *'A must read for all Tudor enthusiasts' * FIVE STARS, GoodReads *'A great, historically accurate novel with a tense, twisty ending' * FIVE STARS, Amazon *'Such an excellent read' * FIVE STARS, Amazon *'A fascinating protagonist ... If you enjoy Tudor murder mysteries, you will be enthralled with Of Blood Descended' * Adventures of a Tudor Nerd *'Immerses us in the origins of the Arthurian legends while providing a hierarchy of authentic characters who squelch their way through a genuine Tudor London' -- Robert Stedall, author and historian'There is much to enjoy in this fast-moving thriller, well-located in its period and settings' -- Ben Bergonzi * Historical Novel Society *

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Book SynopsisHeidi Bradshaw is wealthy, beautiful, and well-connected. She's also a notorious gold digger only recently separated from her latest husband - and she's hired Spenser to act as her stand-in spouse.The Boston P.I. is to accompany Heidi to her private island to attend her daughter's wedding. It should be a straightforward job, but when his old nemesis Rugar - the Gray Man - arrives, Spenser realizes that something is amiss. As a storm strikes, cutting off the island, a kidnapping and a series of murders turn celebrations into chaos.With six dead bodies and more questions than he can handle, Spenser begins a search for answers - and the Gray Man.'One of the great series in the history of the American detective story' New York TimesTrade Review'We are witnessing one of the great series in the history of the American detective story' New York Times Book Review. * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisThe massive Swedish international bestseller and the first in the Sebastian Bergman series. Now a hit BBC4 TV drama starring Rolf Lassgård, the original WALLANDER, as Bergman.Sixteen-year-old Roger has vanished. Days pass and Västerås Police do nothing, blaming his disappearance on teenage antics. Then Roger's pale, mutilated body is found floating in a shallow marshland pool, his heart missing, and the experts descend.They need Sebastian Bergman: widower, psychologist, top criminal profiler and one of Sweden's foremost experts on serial killers. Since losing his wife and child Sebastian has become numb to the outside world and has no interest in taking on the murder case - until he is blindsided by a secret from his past. Desperate for access to confidential police files, he agrees to join the investigation and it's not long until the brittle web of lies and deception seizes his full attention...A page-turning, atmospheric thriller to rival Jo Nesbo, Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson.

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Book SynopsisA major work by one of France’s most important authors of the twentieth century, London Bridge is a riotous novel about the London underworld during the First World War. Picking up where its predecessor Guignol’s Band left off, Céline’s narrator recounts his disastrous partnership with an eccentric Frenchman intent on financing a trip to Tibet by winning a gas-mask competition; his uneasy relationship with London’s pimps and whores and their common nemesis, Inspector Matthew of Scotland Yard; and, most scandalous of all, his affair with a colonel’s daughter. Written in Céline’s trademark style – a headlong rush of slang, brusque observation and quirky lyricism, delivered in machine-gun bursts of prose and ellipses – London Bridge recreates the dark days during the Great War with sordid verisimilitude and desperate hilarity.Trade ReviewWriting as alive as speech. -- Simone de BeauvoirIf the French demand bad behaviour from their novelists, they got more than they bargained for with the antisemitic Céline. But they were also getting the prose stylist of the century. -- Tibor Fischer * The Guardian *The most blackly humorous and disenchanted voice in all of French literature… * London Review of Books *

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Book Synopsis“I know every move of your game… It has been a duel between you and me, Mr Holmes… If you are clever enough to bring destruction upon me, rest assured that I shall do as much to you.” With Sherlock Holmes’s reputation as the scourge of the criminal underworld preceding him, the ingenious detective, with the aid of Dr Watson, is confronted in these stories by some of his most fiendishly difficult cases yet. The collection culminates in ‘The Final Problem’, in which the evil Professor Moriarty is plotting the detective’s downfall. Soon Holmes and Watson are led across Europe in a deadly pursuit of their devilish quarry, until the final showdown in Switzerland, at the precipitous Reichenbach Falls…Table of ContentsThe Silver Blaze The Yellow Face Adventure of The Stockbroker's Clerk The Gloria Scott The Musgrave Ritual The Reigate Puzzle The Crooked Man The Resident Patient The Greek Interpreter The Naval Treaty The Final Problem

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Book SynopsisThe key to unlocking a series of murders in 1920s'' Worcestershire lies in South Africa - and a devastating 20-year-old secretFebruary, 1927. The remains of an unidentified middle-aged man are found beneath the snow in the grounds of Maxtead Court, home of the wealthy Scroope family. Meanwhile, Margaret Rees-Talbot is preparing for her wedding to the Rev Symon Scroope - to the disapproval of some residents of the small market town of Folbury, who think it''s too soon after the death of Margaret''s father Osbert, found drowned in his bath a few months previously. An accident - or was there more to it than that? Before he died, Osbert had been writing an account of his experiences as a soldier during the Second Boer War. But what really happened in South Africa back in 1902? Could there be a connection to his death? Then a second death occurs. And it becomes increasingly clear to the investigating DI Herbert Reardon that at least one Folbury resident has a shocking secret to hide.

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Book SynopsisIreland. 1925. Like all who seek charitable contributions, Reverend Mother Aquinas is used to being gifted some fairly dubious items. But nothing like this. On opening the evil-smelling trunk, labelled ''old books'', the Reverend Mother is horrified to discover it contains the dead body of one of Cork''s richest merchants, wrapped in decomposing animal hides.Many had reason to loathe the hides and skins merchant: his rebellious, republican son; his frustrated, clever daughter; his neighbours; his business rivals; and those whose unbaptised babies were buried on the site of his new tanning yard. But when suspicion falls on a former lay sister from her convent, the Reverend Mother decides she must help find the real killer.

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Book SynopsisCaptain Rake Ozenna of the elite Eskimo Scouts unit and his fiancee, trauma surgeon Carrie Walker, are at his remote home island in the Bering Strait when Russian helicopters swarm in. As news breaks of a possible invasion, Ozenna realizes that the only way to save his Alaskan island community is to undertake a perilous mission across the ice.

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Book SynopsisA kidnap attempt outside the school gates in broad daylight convinces Gabriel Ash that his renegade wife is trying to steal their sons from him. Only the intervention of his friend Constable Hazel Best kept them safe. It''s a simple if alarming explanation, but is it the truth? Hazel uncovers disturbing information about another crime, the repercussions of which are still threatening innocent lives seventeen years later. Once again Hazel finds herself at loggerheads with her superiors. Did they really conspire to protect a murderer? And this time she isn''t getting the support she needs from Ash. She''d thought they were kindred spirits: now she''s not sure what his motives are. One thing is certain: with her life in imminent danger, Hazel''s going to need friends like never before .

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Book SynopsisFoggy Moscowitz is shocked when ID found on a body in the bay suggests it''s his close Brooklyn friend, Pan Pan Washington, and the car involved belongs to one of their old associates, Sammy ''Icepick'' Franks. What message is Icepick trying to send Foggy, and why?The children who found the body were looking for their mother - one of twenty-seven women missing from John Horse''s Seminole tribe, and Foggy immediately takes the pair under his wing as they follow a disturbing trail. Is John right about there being a connection between the car in the bay and the missing women? Could Foggy''s old associates in New York be involved? Hit men, crooked police officers, and even oil-rich Oklahomans can''t stop Foggy on his mission to uncover the truth.

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Book SynopsisAfter drinking too much at her bachelorette party, Maggie Trueheart wakes to find a stranger in her bed. To make matters worse, a phone call brings the devastating news that her friend Angie was murdered some time after they parted ways the night before.Kelly Delaney, who left the party early, is the first of Maggie''s friends to face questions from Chicago homicide detective Ron O''Reilly. After taking a closer look at the other women who attended the party, O''Reilly concludes that at least some of them are lying.As the clock ticks down to the wedding day and more shocking secrets are revealed, the murderer zeros in on another one of the girls. Can the killer be stopped before there is another victim?

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Book SynopsisIn the Great War, every act of courage counted… Angelina Green never knew her mother, who left her in a cardboard box by the East London docks on a freezing November night when she was a tiny baby. Saved by a local orphanage, she knows she owes her life to the kindness of others. And she’s determined to repay her debt by working as a nurse. Strong, kind and patient, Angelina is a natural on the ward. But when war breaks out in 1914 and she is sent to The Front, her courage is tested like never before… As war rages around her, a chance meeting with a familiar soldier sends Angelina’s whole world into turmoil. Can she hold her nerve, save the men around her – and protect her heart? Don’t miss this emotional story of one woman’s remarkable courage in the face of the Great War. Praise for Rosie James: ‘Front Line Nurse is a wonderful book that gives insight to what nurses went through during the war’ ‘The characters were enjoyable from beginning to the end!’ ‘Fantastic war saga very enthralling and feel good factor. Rosie James doesn’t disappoint and this book was no different she writes with such warmth…Highly recommended’ ‘This was a great piece of historical fiction!’ ‘A delightful story to read’Trade Review‘Front Line Nurse is a wonderful book that gives insight to what nurses went through during the war’ ‘The characters were enjoyable from beginning to the end!’ ‘Fantastic war saga very enthralling and feel good factor. Rosie James doesn’t disappoint and this book was no different she writes with such warmth…Highly recommended’ ‘This was a great piece of historical fiction!’ ‘A delightful story to read’

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Book Synopsis‘What a scorcher of a thriller! I was sucked in from the very first page and I couldn't put it down!’ – NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An unsolved mystery ignites a deadly game of chess in this scorching thriller from New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton. A year after the infamous arsonist Nero was found dead in one of his latest fires, journalist Darcy Sampson receives a tip that the body found at the scene wasn't Nero at all. Determined to solve the case, Darcy heads to her small hometown in Virginia to track Michael Gannon, an arsonist investigator who refuses to believe that Nero is dead. But when a new series of fires in the area have a remarkable resemblance to the arsonist's previous work, Darcy and Gannon are in a race against time to put a stop to Nero once and for all. But Nero is ready and waiting for them, and he intends on teaching both Gannon and Darcy one last, fatal lesson. Previously published as The Arsonist Readers LOVE Playing With Fire! ‘Oooooh I loved this one! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, action and a great who done it!’ – NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Well written with a strong plotline and well-developed characters. I couldn't put it down, it was gripping, twisty and unpredictable.’ – NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow Mary Burton this is what I call a THRILLER.’ – NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A brilliant read. I loved it.’ – NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Loved this book, it was fast paced, had a bit of everything, romance, suspense and thrills. I read it in a day, as I was hooked from the first chapter.’ – NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Book SynopsisAD 26: Sixteen-year-old Vespasian leaves his family farm for Rome, to find a patron and join the army. But he discovers a city in turmoil and an Empire on the brink. The ageing emperor Tiberius is in seclusion on Capri, leaving Rome in the iron grip of Sejanus, commander of the Praetorian Guard whose spies are everywhere. Vespasian is out of his depth, making dangerous enemies (and dangerous friends - like the young Caligula) and soon finds himself ensnared in a conspiracy against Tiberius. Vespasian flees the city to take up his position as tribune in an unfashionable legion on the Balkan frontier. Unblooded and inexperienced, he must lead his men in savage battle with hostile mountain tribes. But there is no escaping the politics of Rome. Somehow, he must survive long enough to uncover the identity of the traitors behind the growing revolt... THE FIRST INSTALMENT IN THE VESPASIAN SERIES______________________________________________Don't miss Robert Fabbri's epic new series Alexander's Legacy Trade ReviewRobert Fabbri has a winner on his hands. * The BookPlank *A stonking read. * Classic FM *Fabbri's Vespasian novels have been creating quite a stir. * The History Girls *

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Book Synopsis'Murder most enjoyable' Colin DexterEx-Princess Etheline, daughter of the exiled king of Mitteleuropia, has been kidnapped during a visit to Tawcester Towers, ancestral seat of the Dukes of Tawcester, and ducal family honour demands that she should be rescued. The Dowager Duchess entrusts the task to her son, the Right Hon. Devereux Lyminster, known universally as 'Blotto'. He is, of course, terribly handsome, honourable and brave, but as sadly deficient in the brains department as his sister 'Twinks' is gifted.So the siblings set off, accompanied by trusty chauffeur, Corky Froggett. They drive across many countries to Mitteleuropia, a realm now ruled by a usurper, the ex-king's brother, where they suspect the princess has been taken.Can brave Blotto and Twinks rescue Ethelinda, or will they meet their end in the evil clutches of King Vlatislav?Praise for Simon Brett: 'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. James'Perfect entertainment' Guardian'Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted' Sunday Times'Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories. I would recommend them to anyone.' Jilly CooperTrade ReviewTop notch * TheBookBag.co.uk *Highly amusing * One80 *P.G. Wodehouse never turned his hand to detective fiction, but if he had done so, he might have done something a little like this. * MyShelf.com *Light, well-balanced and bubbling with subtlety and delight. * Crime Time *

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Book SynopsisFor Daisy and her husband Alec, a long-awaited break by the sea becomes a busman's holiday when a local ladies' man turns up murdered on the beach... Yet in the coastal town of Westcombe it's hard to find someone who wouldn't have wanted George Enderby dead. The married Casanova's scandalous seductions had earned him the enmity of every jilted lover and cuckolded husband in the area - not to mention the resentment of his long-suffering wife. And now, as Daisy and Alec investigate among the seaside cliffs, beautiful beach and quaint village, this holiday idyll seems nothing more than a sinister backdrop for cold blooded murder... while the murderer may be closer than Daisy thinks!Praise for the Daisy Dalrymple series:'Cunning... appropriate historical detail and witty dialogue are the finishing touches on this engaging 1920s period piece.' Publishers Weekly'As always, Dunn evokes the life and times of 1920s England while providing a plot that is a cut above the average British cosy. This will delight readers who love country-house mysteries.' Booklist'For fans of Dorothy L. Sayers' novels' Library Journal

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Book SynopsisIn the final days of the Second World War, Michael Rogan, an American intelligence officer, is tortured by a group of seven senior Gestapo officers who need to discover the secrets he alone can give them. Ten years later, when he has recovered from the appalling injuries he suffered, and determined to revenge the death of his wife at the hands of the same men, he begins a quest to track down and kill each one of his tormentors. Dark, violent, and graphic, this is an addictive thriller about how far one man will go to exact his own justice. Written a year before Puzo completed The Godfather, published under a pseudonym and only very recently brought to light, Six Graves to Munich bears all the hallmarks of a master storyteller.Trade Review'Mario Puzo is a master storyteller'. USA Today. * USA Today *

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Book SynopsisThe ambitious and flawed John Deed has made many enemies during his career both as a QC and as a judge on the High Court bench. While presiding over a murder trial, Deed comes to suspect that it is a vindictive politician who should be in the dock for the crime. As he investigates this avenue, powerful people in government conspire to create the opportunity to pull him down once and for all. Deed's persistence in trying to get at the truth brings threats both to him and his on-off lover, Jo Mills QC, and he then finds himself accused of a heinous crime. As circumstantial evidence piles against him, soon there is little help for Deed either from friends or colleagues. At last his enemies see a way of settling old scores and he must face his greatest challenge ever.

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Book SynopsisIn these three sea stories, based on his own experience, Conrad invests his portraits of mundane steamers and their crews with epic qualities of fortitude and courage in the face of overwhelming natural odds. At the same time, he probes the psychological condition of men together and under pressure with the greatest delicacy, raising the adventure story to the level of high art. The supreme poet of the sailor's life, Conrad here establishes his reputation as a master storyteller.

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Book SynopsisAs an operative for Pinkerton’s Detective Agency Dashiell Hammett knew about sleuthing from the inside, but his career was cut short by the ruin of his health in World War I. These three celebrated novels are therefore the products of a hard real life, not a literary education. Despite – or because of – that, Hammett had an enormous effect on mainstream writers between the wars. Like his readers, they were attracted by the combination of laconic style, sharp convincing dialogue, vivid settings and, above all, the low-life, hard-boiled characters who populate the streets of his stories. Taking detective fiction out of the drawing-room, Hammett ‘gave murder back to the kind of people that commit it’, as Raymond Chandler said. In so doing, he left his mark on modern fiction.

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Book SynopsisEvery full moon a Ripper runs amok on the streets of Brentford. Masters Simon and Keith Innes set out to catch the killer under the disturbing guidance of the repellently delightful and now immortal sleuth, Mrs Bradley. Full of the very British eccentric goings-on that mark the popular tales of Gladys Mitchell, this shows her at her mordant and morbid best.Trade ReviewA delightfully subversive read -- Liza CodyHer tour-de-force -- Philip Larkin** 'A delightfully subversive read. * Liza Cody *** 'Her tour-de-force. * Philip Larkin *

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Book SynopsisGive up your foolish plan. If not you die.” When elderly Queen Hanna of Iconia discovers the anonymous letter in her dress pocket, she knows someone in her household is spying on her. The queen is secretly planning a ceremony of atonement that she hopes will secure the royal succession. Journalist Charles Venables is asked to help identify the spy before her next public appearance. But when Queen Hanna is strangled with a museum relic known as the ‘Curse of the Herzgovins’, Venables knows an all too human hand is involved. But how was the murderer able to enter the queen’s heavily guarded chamber? And why was the body found wearing the royal ceremonial robes rather than the clothes she had retired in? Many Golden Age books have a plot involving an imaginary European kingdom, inspired by ‘Ruritania’, the setting for the 1894 bestseller The Prisoner of Zenda. Ruritania became the basis for hundreds of imitations (Lutha, Graustark, and Riechentenburg to name but a few) as well as parodies — the Marx Brothers’ film, Duck Soup, features Groucho as the dictator of mythical Freedonia. The Ruritanian setting was so broadly known that the author refutes it directly in Death of a Queen. When Venables complains ‘This place sounds dreadfully like Ruritania’, his colleague replies ‘There’s nothing Ruritanian about Queen Hanna.’ Author Christopher St John Sprigg was a polymath who read widely across history, politics, and culture, and he put this knowledge to good use in Death of a Queen, devising Iconian history, heritage and architecture with an enthusiasm and realism that add to the book’s appeal.Trade ReviewDorothy L. Sayers reviewed it for the Sunday Times, stating ‘Mr. Sprigg strikes exactly the right note for this kind of extravaganza; with enough gentle humour to make the absurdities of his one-horse kingdom entertaining and enough romantic glamour to keep the murders in key.’Table of ContentsChapter 1: The Mysterious Mr Shillingford Chapter 2: The Affable Prince Augustus Chapter 3: The Royal Household Chapter 4: The Silken Curse Chapter 5: The Pleasant Princess Chapter 6: The Frightened Queen Chapter 7: The Puzzled Detective Chapter 8: The Inexplicable Death Chapter 9: The Eccentric Murderer Chapter 10 The Shot Ghost Chapter 11: The Offending Countess Chapter 12: The Mystified King Chapter 13: The Obvious Culprit Chapter 14: The Great Row Chapter 15: The Imperial Tokay Chapter 16: The Indignant Chief of Police Chapter 17: The Unqualified Doctor Chapter 18: The Lonely Monarch Chapter 19: The Rebellious Fly Chapter 20: The Stolen Document Chapter 21: The Royal Pardon Chapter 22: The Female Impersonator Chapter 23: The Eloping Princess Chapter 24: The Night Attack Chapter 25: The Vanished Detective Chapter 26: The Shocking Exhumation Chapter 27: The Resurrected Prince Chapter 28: The Last Explosion Chapter 29: The Real Regicide Epilogue

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Book SynopsisWhen wealthy elderly Simon Ewing is found murdered in his flat, it appears to be a robbery gone wrong. Two rings were taken from the dead man's hands, but his hidden jewelery strongbox remained untouched, except for one missing diamond solitaire. An unknown man was spotted exiting the building; there is evidence that he had searched the upper floors before attacking Ewing when the old man was briefly left unattended. But how could an outsider have known when to strike? And why take only one ring from a treasure trove? Superintendent Woods is called in, and through patient careful detection begins slowly to disentangle the clues, as suspicion shifts from one character to the next. This classic detective novel from the 1930s is now republished for the first time.Table of ContentsIntroduction by Curtis Evans I The Watcher II The Prey III The Tea-Party IV The Return V The Dead VI The Detective VII The Dealer VIII The Heir IX The Hypothesis X The Suspects XI The Doctor XII The Wife XIII The Artist XIV The End XV The First Solution XVI The Complete Case

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Book Synopsis'All these people who thought themselves securely in possession are now going to be dependent on the caprice of this young man.’ During a blinding rainstorm, Jake Seaborne takes a wrong turn and arrives at Ullstone Hall, where is he is initially mistaken for ‘Hugo’, the new heir to the family estate. It seems Hugo is the offspring of the late Mr Ullstone’s first marriage in India, but the children of his second marriage have never met him. In short, the Ullstone family destiny is now in the hands of a complete stranger. A friend, Sir Frederick Lawson (who it turns out knows Jake’s family) has been asked to act as a “sort of buffer” for Hugo on his arrival, but Lawton cannot stay and Jake agrees to act in that role until he can return. But not everything is as it appears to be, and when the handsome and charming Hugo arrives, trouble follows and before long three people are dead.Trade ReviewA novel of crime in which half Indian Hugo, returning to the house and fortune left him by the whimsical will of a British father, meets the antagonism of English Ursula and Jim, children of a second marriage. Their emotional entanglements, the imposture of Hugo and the murder of the real Hugo, the possible re-willing of the estate to an outsider, lead to a second death, the self-betrayal and suicide of the killer. A leisurely but practised performance. * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisCora Bender killed a man. But why? What could have caused this quiet, lovable young mother to stab a stranger in the throat, again and again, until she was pulled off his body? For the local police it was an open and shut case. Cora confessed; there was no shortage of proof or witnesses. But Police Commissioner Rudolf Grovian refused to close the file and began his own maverick investigation. A slow unravelling of Cora''s past, a harrowing descent into a woman''s private hell.

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Book SynopsisOn Christmas Eve in snow-covered Santa Fe, New Mexico, tens of thousands of pedestrians stroll through its festively decorated streets. Among them is Paul Kagan, a spy on the run trying desperately to protect a special package; a baby who just might be the key to a lasting peace in the Middle East. He is pursued closely by three extremely dangerous men, members of the Russian mafia who he has just betrayed. Attempting to elude his hunters, Kagan seeks refuge in a quiet house on the outskirts of the town. Once inside he discovers it is occupied by a woman and her 12-year-old son hiding from other evils and whom he has now put in mortal danger as his hunters manage to track him down. In the following tense hours, Kagan tries to calm the woman and the boy by telling them the spy's version of the traditional Nativity story as he prepares the house for the onslaught he knows to be coming.

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Book SynopsisThis book introduces the earthy and likeable proprietor of Aristo Autos who deals in vintage cars - not forgetting Sara, supercharged with sexual promise. ln the process of becoming a reluctant hero, he spins across France, Spain and Switzerland, on the track of a rare Mercedes too badly wanted by too many dangerous men.

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Book SynopsisNicky Burkett finds his childhood friend Vinnie dead at the bottom of a tower block. He and his mates have a code of conduct which makes revenge inevitable. They have to find the villains - much more serious criminals than themselves - and then they have to take them on. The result is a hilarious hybrid of Elmore Leonard and Quentin Tarantino, with dialogue that crackles off the page, unforgettable characters and an authentic sense of place.Darkly comic, stylish and violent, Vinnie Got Blown Away offers a radical contrast from the British tradition of a murder mystery among the middle classes. It mixes without discrimination among black, white and Asian communities; it follows their speech patterns: cockney and Caribbean unite. It demonstrates the resilience in these communities, an ability to survive against all outside pressures and values.Walthamstow is stuck on the end of the north east of London. It is part of London but it inhabits a world of its own. Vinnie Got Blown Away is the first of five novels by Jeremy Cameron describing the area. This first book is set partly in prison, where Nicky Burkett tells his tale and reflects on life.It is part detective story, part thriller.Trade Review'Audacious and outrageous.' [Daily Telegraph]; 'Jaunty, exhilarating and original, with a feeling for street life that renders it sexy and poignant.'; [Literary Review]; 'A fast, funny trawl through the territory of London's new outlaw underclass. It is a masterly piece of storytelling.' [Financial Times]; 'A short, sharp shock of a novel.' [GQ]; 'Funny, violent and vivid. [Sunday Times]

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Book SynopsisBaghdad, November 2003. The US occupation is not yet a disaster but the CPA has disbanded the Iraqi army and decimated the police in its policy of de-Ba'athification of Iraqi society. Inspector Muhsin al-Khafaji is a mid-level Iraqi cop who deserted his post back in April. Khafaji has lived long enough in pre- and post-Saddam Iraq to know that clinging on to anything but poetry and his daughter, Mrouj, is asking for trouble. Nabbed by the Americans and imprisoned in Abu Ghraib, Khafaji is offered only one way out - he has to work for the CPA to rebuild the Iraqi Police Services. But it's only after US forces take Mrouj that he figures out a way to make his collaboration palatable, and even rewarding. Soon, he is investigating the disappearance of young translators working for the US Army.Trade Review"Just when you think that nothing in the overcrowded crime field can surprise you any more, along comes a writer like Elliott Colla who takes the genre by the throat and shakes it vigorously. Baghdad Central is a rich and allusive piece of writing, informed by the writer's experience in both the Middle East and Washington. Its authenticity is matched by a masterly command of the mechanics of suspense." Barry Forshaw, Crime Time "This is an intense and well-written novel. The chaos and cacophony of the American occupation are captured vividly." Sinan Antoon

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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the greatest collection of detective stories ever written. From his residence at 221B Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes solves a series of baffling and bizarre cases, including those of a man terrified by the arrival of an envelope containing orange pips, and a woman whose fiancé disappeared on his way to their wedding. Each story showcases the great detective's inimitable and extraordinary deductive powers, recounted to us by his faithful friend and colleague, Dr Watson. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an afterword by David Stuart Davies - a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund and an authority on Sherlock Holmes.

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