Historical Crime & Mystery

December 1917. Ada Hobbes arrives on a frosty morning to clean the house owned by Dr Tindall, a surgeon at the Edmonton Military Hospital. She is shocked to find the blood-covered body of her employer sprawled across the floor. He has been hacked to death. Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy arrive to a horrific scene. Someone enjoyed...

Southern Fiction: Terry Roberts' debut novel with the same main character, A Short Time to Stay Here, won the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction and received endorsements from critically acclaimed authors including Lee Smith, Elizabeth Spencer, Robert Morgan, and others. An Immigrant's Tale: This immensely topical story will appeal widely to those interested in the history of Ellis Island...

George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield have crossed the Atlantic Ocean numerous times in their capacity as ship's detectives. On several of those crossings, they've had the pleasure, and in some cases the trouble, of sailing with some very famous passengers. Dukes. Duchesses. Artists. Actors. Musicians. Kings and queens. But few names have quite the level of fame and fortune as...

Genevieve Masefield and George Porter Dillman have met all kinds of people while sailing as ship detectives for the Cunard Line. But as they prepare to embark on yet another Atlantic crossing, this time aboard the famous Caronia, they encounter an entirely new circumstance: two men brandishing shotguns herd a man and a woman aboard ship in shackles, right in...

'A beautiful sensory overload . . . I didn't want it to end.' - Kirstin Innes, bestselling author of Scabby Queen Three women. A deadly score to settle. EDINBURGH, 1791. Isobel Duguid and her friend, the famous castrato Clessidro, are stars of the Edinburgh Musical Society. Despite her cavalier attitude towards holding a tune, Clessidro's friendship and her own shocking...

London, 1899. Queen Victoria lays the foundation stone on the site of a new museum being built, which she names as The Victoria and Albert Museum. Shortly after, Daniel Wilson and Abigail Fenton are called to the site because the dead body of a man, curator Andrew Page, has been found in one of the trenches. The Queen is determined...

London, 1899. A shocking murder is discovered at the heart of the Tower of London. The dead body of a Yeoman Warder is found inside a suit of armour belonging to Henry VIII, having been run through with a sword. When details of this outrage are reported to the Prince of Wales, he fears this may be an expression of...

The Savoy Hotel boasts London's strongest air raid shelter with all the luxury expected from one of the capital's most prestigious hotels. It prompts the arrival of a disgruntled crowd from the East End, demanding they be allowed entry and respite from the endless bombing raids. They are given permission to enter and are stunned by the opulence that greets...

August 1895. When the newly dubbed Museum Detectives are asked to investigate deliberate damage to a dinosaur skeleton at the Natural History Museum, there is evidence that the fossil-hunting mania of the notorious Bone Wars in America may have reached their shores. But for Daniel Wilson, famed for his involvement in the Jack the Ripper case, and renowned archaeologist Abigail...

1897, London. The capital is shocked to learn that the body of a woman has been found at the National Gallery, eviscerated in a manner that recalls all too strongly the exploits of the infamous Jack the Ripper. Daniel Wilson and Abigail Fenton are contacted by a curator of the National Gallery for their assistance. The dead woman, an artist's...

Paris, 1899. Abigail Wilson has received an invitation from Professor Alphonse Flamand, a prominent French Professor of Archaeology, to join him on a dig in Egypt. Overjoyed to be presented with such an opportunity, Abigail and her husband, Daniel, travel to Paris to meet the Professor at his office in the Louvre to discuss plans. However, when Abigail goes to...

London, 1896. Madame Tussauds opens to find one of its nightwatchmen decapitated and his colleague nowhere to be found. To the police, the case seems simple: one killed the other and fled, but workers at the museum aren't convinced and Scotland Yard enlists The Museum Detectives Daniel Wilson and Abigail Fenton to aid the investigation. When the body of the...

March, 1941. World War Two is well underway and the Blitz is taking its toll on Central London with bombs raining down almost every night. Inspector Coburg and his trusted Sergeant Lampson are just recovering from the devastating bomb attack on the Café de Paris when they get a call asking them to go to the disused Lord's Underground station....

London, March 1941. The Blitz continues to cast a shadow over the city's brightest spots such as the Café de Paris. Having narrowly escaped a devastating bomb attack on the nightclub, Detective Chief Inspector Coburg and Sergeant Lampson are called to the disused Lord's Underground station where the body of a man has been discovered. The dead man was beaten...

Christmas, 1940. A temporary truce between the German and Allied forces is a welcome respite from the relentless air raids over London. Down Street underground station, in the heart of Mayfair, is now a secret retreat for Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his cabinet. In this supposedly secure location, the body of a woman is found, stabbed in the heart....

One of the Claridge's kitchen porters is found dead - strangled. He was a recent employee who claimed to be Romanian, but evidence suggests he may have been German. Detective Chief Inspector Coburg has to find out exactly who he was, and what he was doing at Claridge's under a false identity. Once he has established those facts, he might...

Spring, 1941. The Second World War has entered a dangerous phase, with British ships being torpedoed in the Atlantic and nightly bombing raids on major ports. At Bletchley Park, top secret home of the nation's code-breakers, the race is on to crack the German Enigma code and thus prevent further naval and military losses. This endeavour is suddenly very close...

There is no hiding from a killer underground. December 1940. With the Luftwaffe pounding the city nightly, Londoners seek refuge in underground stations. Aldwych has been taken out of service to provide shelter for the British Museum's priceless Elgin Marbles, as well as civilians escaping the bombing. When the body of a young man is discovered on the tracks, wearing...

The debut cosy culinary crime thriller from Suk Pannu, creator of BBC Radio 4’s Mrs Sidhu Investigates and writer for Goodness, Gracious, Me and The Kumars at No. 42. Shortlisted for the 2024 McDermid Award. ‘Stuffed with warmth and wicked, cross-cultural observations, Dead and Scone is a dollop of cosy crime goodness’ – Vaseem Khan, author of The Malabar House...

As spring blooms on Baker Street, London prepares for the grand wedding of Count Rudolph Absberg and Princess Sophia Kubinova—a union meant to secure their homeland's future and independence. But when the princess vanishes under mysterious circumstances, Sherlock Holmes receives an urgent call. To crack the case, he enlists the help of his sharp-witted housekeeper Mrs. Hudson and her resourceful...

Midsummer, 1145. Walter, the steward of Evesham Abbey, is found dead at the bottom of a well pit. The Abbot, whose relationship with the lord Sheriff of Worcestershire is strained at best, dislikes needing to call in help. However, since foul play is suspected, he is relieved by the arrival of Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin. As...

A West German nightclub owner goes behind the Iron Curtain on a desperate mission to save his brother, in this Cold War thriller by the author of Lost Kin. West Germany, 1949. Former actor Max Kaspar suffered greatly in the Second World War. Now he owns a nightclub in Munich—and occasionally lends a hand to the newly formed CIA. Meanwhile,...

Easter, 1895. The biggest event in the Catholic calendar is a disaster in Zofia Turbotynska’s household. Her maid Karolina has handed in her notice and, worse, gone missing. When Karolina’s body is discovered, violated and stabbed, Zofia knows she has to investigate. Following a trail that leads her from the poorest districts of Galicia to the highest echelons of society,...

When Muriel Carew attends a lavish society party, the last person she expects to bump into is her ex-fiancée Henry Jekyll, a man she’s not seen for many years. When Jekyll turns out to be investigating a series of missing persons in London, Muriel is intrigued. But Jekyll is not working alone, and if Muriel wants to aid in the...

It's 1803. The Napoleonic Wars are raging, Britain is on her heels, and His Majesty's Secret Service has just lost its best agent, Thomas Grey. Deeply depressed by his wife's untimely death, Grey resigns from the service and accepts an offer to join a lumber firm in Boston. But when a sea battle with a privateer forces the ship carrying...

A CRITIC CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 RUNNER UP 'Martin Edwards is a true master of British crime writing' RICHARD OSMAN 'Combines all the things I love most about crime fiction: atmospheric settings, twisty plots, intriguing characters and an unforgettable protagonist' ELLY GRIFFITHS TEST YOUR WITS AGAINST RACHEL SAVERNAKE! A CLUEFINDER AT THE BACK OF THE BOOK HIGHLIGHTS 47...

From the acclaimed author of The Town, an epic thriller about the secret right-hand man of one of the most infamous unprosecuted mob bosses in American history, and the hidden crime that will bring down an empire. In the late 1970s, The Outfit has the entire city of Chicago in its hands. Tony Accardo is its fearless leader. Nicky Passero...

Every Man Dies Alone has been praised as "The greatest book ever written about the German resistance to the Nazis." - Primo Levi. This unflinching masterpiece, based on a true story of resistance, is more timely than ever, as fascist forces in the 20th century find their home in the rhetoric of the modern right-wing political agenda. Entering its 15th...

In the first of a thrilling new Victorian detective series, Eliza Mace, on the cusp of adulthood, is battling for her independence. Stuck in a crumbling manor house in the Welsh borders in the 1870s, she is thwarted by powers that conspire to protect, control and deceive her. But when her father goes missing in mysterious circumstances, Eliza's determination to...

In the first of a thrilling new Victorian detective series, Eliza Mace, on the cusp of adulthood, is battling for her independence. Stuck in a crumbling manor house in the Welsh borders in the 1870s, she is thwarted by powers that conspire to protect, control and deceive her. But when her father goes missing in mysterious circumstances, Eliza's determination to...

February, 1918. In the small hours of a cold morning, a burglary in Limehouse has escalated into a sinister siege between a band of thieves and the authorities, and a police constable lies dead. Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and Detective Sergeant Joe Keedy hasten to the scene where attempts at talking the men into surrendering have been met with stony...

February 1918. Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and Detective Sergeant Joe Keedy are pulled from their beds to attend a sinister siege involving three burglars where one policeman has already been shot dead. Attempts at talking the men in the house into surrender are met with stony silence, so the police proceed to batter down the door and Keedy bravely leads...

London, Autumn 1916. When he slips out of a house in the early hours of the morning, Simon Wilder is too preoccupied to realise that he is being stalked. As he walks along the street, lights begin to dim as a warning that there's another Zeppelin attack. Guns begin to pound away as British aeroplanes attack the Zeppelin. Suddenly, it...

In the dog days of August, it is no surprise to see New Yorkers perspire. But this summer, a killer called the Cat gives the city a new reason to sweat. He selects his victims seemingly at random and strangles them, then escapes without leaving a clue. As the death toll climbs and the press whips the public into a...

December 1803: A French invasion fleet is poised to cross the Channel and storm the beaches of southern England. A member of Napoleon's inner circle—disaffected by Napoleon's creeping tyranny—contacts the British naval intelligence service in hopes of defecting to London. His escape plan calls for a rendezvous at an international chess tournament in Frankfurt—a rare opportunity for him to travel...

A stunning new espionage novel by a master of the genre, Beirut Station follows a young female CIA officer whose mission to assassinate a high-level Hezbollah terrorist reveals a dark truth that puts her life at risk. 'Vidich has firmly established himself in the very top flight of espionage writers, with a series of slow-burn character studies putting him in...

Phillips is dark, dangerous, and important . . . Crime fiction at its best. Michael Connelly This dark historical adventure captures the beginnings of the Hollywood studio system and the 'blue movie' industry that grows up alongside it. Los Angeles, 1916: Photographer Bill Ogden has opened a portrait studio in seedy Hollywood, where he is joined by his granddaughter, Flavia...

Step forward Kanon, the American Robert Harris, a man who finds untold stories from our recent past and brings them alive TIM SHIPMAN, SUNDAY TIMES Daniel Lohr, sensing that the Nazis are closing in on the Jews, leaves his dying father in Berlin and boards a ship to Shanghai. His passage is dependent upon him delivering a package to his...

September, 1145. The body of a Templar knight is discovered in the Forest of Wyre on Worcestershire's northern border, and concealed upon his person is a bloodstained document that reveals the identity of a traitor. Undersherif Hugh Bradecote, Sergeant Catchpoll, and Underserjeant Walkelin must discover who the dead man was and whether his death was personal, political, or an outlaw...

You Are The Detective by Jay Cooper and Maureen Johnson is a solve-it-yourself murder mystery puzzle set in 1930s England, where the reader becomes the detective. It's perfect for crime fans of Janice Hallett and Tom Hindle, as well as puzzle books like Murdle. In November 1933, London, seven people receive mysterious letters. Someone knows their terrible secrets. They are...

A revelatory history of the women who brought Victorian criminals to account—and how they became a cultural sensation. From Wilkie Collins to the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the traditional image of the Victorian detective is male. Few people realise that women detectives successfully investigated Victorian Britain, working both with the police and for private agencies, which they sometimes managed themselves....

Every month, over 200,000 listeners download Criminalia to hear stories of history's wildest and most devious criminals they never knew existed. But this isn't just any true-crime podcast—more than an engaging history lesson, Criminalia also offers a cocktail recipe to go with each criminal. After all, what pairs better with the story of an identity-shifting murderess who burned her house...

Pre-order The Knight's Pledge, the second book in the Will Bowman series, now! 1190 - Humble layman Will Bowman lives in the countryside with his pregnant wife when soldiers from Richard Lionheart's army tear through his home. Will is beaten unconscious and awakes to find his wife murdered, his farm burnt down, and his life forever changed. In vengeance, Will...

A compelling new historical mystery from the author of The Secrets of Rochester Place and The Story Collector How far will they go to find their story? When Alexis meets Maeve, a reclusive woman in her eighties, they feel an unexpected and beautiful kinship. Alexis is embracing nomad life after burning out as a big-shot editor. Meanwhile, Maeve is mourning...

During one of the fiercest conflicts the world has ever known, three strangers' lives collide as they confront the raining bombs of their present and the explosive secrets of their past in this historical drama from the no. 1 bestselling author David Baldacci. Charlie Matters' life has always been a fight for survival. Orphaned, and with no prospects, Charlie steals...

A wartime betrayal, a race against time ... and a secret hidden in a painting. The must-read new novel from the author of The French Agent and White Gardenia. Paris 1946: A young woman, Eve Archer, has come to Paris to find Serge Lavertu, the father she never knew. But before Eve can find the courage to tell him who...

Retired police detective inspector Thomas Maitland has rented a house in Cornwall; he's going to paint his way to recovery from the experiences of the spring. A local woman with an intriguingly expensive collection of modern art wants to put on a show of his work. But Maitland's next door neighbour, also his landlord, is unsettling, and when he finds...

Paris, Christmas 1933. The Strasbourg express crashes into a local train outside Paris, leaving wreckage and broken bodies strewn on the tracks. On board is Gilles Malroux. In the chaos and confusion, he swaps his identity papers with a stranger, steals a suitcase and vanishes. Gilles' sister Camille, notified of the accident, rushes to the hospital to find a stranger...

The thrilling new historical mystery from the acclaimed, bestselling author of The Beholders. Scotland, 1886. Lil is an archaeologist who has dedicated herself to a life of rational enquiry. But she is plagued by nightmares which haunt her sleep, and by memories of her mother, a famous medium. As Lil tracks down a mysterious doctor whom she believes will cure...

A brand new Golden Age cosy crime mystery from the multi-million-copy bestseller Faith Martin. 'A masterfully constructed page-turner of a murder mystery. Clever, compelling, and intriguing. An excellent read' TA Williams 'Hugely entertaining with an ingenious solution! I loved it!' Clare Chase 'Suspicious notes, a lethal hat pin and a body in the library … As far as I'm concerned...

Evoking the golden age of crime, and for fans of Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie, comes the second book in the Aloysius Archer series, A Gambling Man from one of the world's bestselling thriller writers, David Baldacci. A lucky roll of the dice California, 1949. Aloysius Archer is on his way to start a new job with a renowned Private...

Anna Fort wants to be a supportive wife, even if that means accompanying her husband for the winter of 1918 to a remote, frozen island estate so he can finish his book as the guest of an eccentric millionaire. When she learns three girls are missing from a school run by their host, Anna realises finding them is up to...

Anna Fort wants to be a supportive wife, even if that means accompanying her husband for the winter of 1918 to a remote, frozen island estate so he can finish his book as the guest of an eccentric millionaire. When she learns three girls are missing from a school run by their host, Anna realises finding them is up to...

A genre-bending Gothic mystery with a strong LGBTQIA+ romance from beloved, award-winning author KJ Charles. The lush Gothic drama of Crimson Peak meets the murderous intrigue of Knives Out with an LGBTQIA+ love story to die for from award-winning author KJ Charles. Who will survive Lackaday House? When Zeb Wyckham is summoned to a wealthy relative's remote Gothic manor, he...

When a mother is charged with murder in a town already convinced of her guilt, can defence attorney Powell Harrison find truth and justice in a legal system where innocence is not presumed? Emily Lloyd, a young widow in Reconstruction-era Virginia, is accused of poisoning her three-year-old daughter, Maud. It isn't the first death in her home—her husband and three...

Lucy Graham, radiantly beautiful, born to poverty, and Sir Michael Audley, an aging aristocratic widower and fabulously wealthy, are married soon after first glance. Life is peaceful at old Audley Court until the arrival of Robert Audley, Sir Michael's nephew, and his friend George Talboys, who is home again after making his fortune in Australia. When George mysteriously disappears, Robert...

A gripping 1920s-set whodunnit, this debut features a queer sleuth who must solve a murder in a mansion on London’s Hampstead Heath without revealing his sexuality, lest he be arrested as a criminal. The Selby Bigge mysteries series debut will leave readers eager for the next instalment. Perfect for fans of Nicola Upson’s Josephine Tey novels. London, 1929. Selby Bigge...

Arresting... [a] tale of madness, murder, disputed inheritances and hints of the supernatural - Sunday Times Delicious ... dark ... sinister - Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of number one bestseller, Pandora Thrilling - Emilia Hart, author of Sunday Times bestseller Weyward Stunning - Lianne Dillsworth, author of Theatre of Marvels Marvellous - Naomi Kelsey, author of The Burnings Deep in the...

‘HELP! I am addicted to this series! Unputdownable’ – NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Chilling truths are buried in this snow… When a body dressed in a Santa Claus suit appears in the snow just outside a small village in Cumbria, DCI James Walker is the first to appear on the scene. Almost a year has passed since something so tragic has...

It's 1879, and Lenox is convalescing from the violent events of his last investigation. But a desperate letter from an old servant forces him to pick up the trail of a cold case: the murder of an apothecary seven years before, whose only clue is an odd emblem carved into the doorway of the building where the man was killed....

September, 1815. Autumn is in the air as Lady Petra Forsyth and some of the most illustrious members of the ton descend upon Windsor Castle for a week of royal celebrations, with the highlight being Queen Charlotte's inaugural patisserie contest for the best bakers employed by England's finest houses. Not only is Lady Petra's own cook one of the contestants,...

There can be a blurry line between what is ethical and what is legal. Margot Baxter Harriman took the reins of B&H Foods after her father passed. It's not easy being a businesswoman in 1912, but she is determined to continue what her grandparents started decades ago, no matter what it takes. So when Margot finds Mrs. Gilroy, her father's...

‘Prepare to be both dazzled and discombobulated. You have been warned.’ The Sydney Morning Herald ‘Readers expecting to snuggle up with a bit of Miss Marple-style cosy crime will be in for a shock ... a book that will leave you thinking’ The Australian Everyone is in peril. Everyone is a suspect. It's 1925 and the Empress of Australia is...

1857. On the LNWR train to London, a criminal is being escorted to his appointment with the hangman. But the wily Jeremy Oxley, conman, thief, and murderer, has one last ace up his sleeve—a beautiful and ruthless accomplice willing to do anything to save her lover, including cold-blooded murder. When the Railway Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck learns that Oxley, his...

London is under attack. But within the rubble, a greater danger lurks… The Luftwaffe has been bombing London continuously since September 1940. During a bombing raid, Madeline Fairfax is caught in her kitchen whilst cooking for her husband and children. She becomes trapped in the rear of her home but regains consciousness just in time to see a familiar face,...

One will lose his mind. One will pay. One will agonise. And one will die. Duy, Phong, Minh, and Edmond have been best friends since childhood. Now, as young men running their families’ formidable businesses, they make up Saigon’s most powerful group of friends in 1928 Vietnam’s elite society. Until one of them is murdered. In a lavish mansion on...

The final book in the Annie Graham series will leave you racing to the finish! Annie Ashworth is on maternity leave from her police job, enjoying spending time with baby Alfie. Perhaps her days at home are a little boring, but after all of the horrific crimes she’s witnessed, that’s fine with her. But when she starts having strange dreams...

'Isn't it your job to stop people being murdered?' 1911, on a winter's night in arid New South Wales wool country, mounted trooper Augustus Hawkins discovers the bodies of three young people. They are scions of the richest family in the district, savagely murdered on a road that Hawkins should have been patrolling, had he not been busy bedding the...

Isn't it your job to stop people being murdered? 1911, on a winter's night in arid New South Wales wool country, mounted trooper Augustus Hawkins discovers the bodies of three young people. They are scions of the richest family in the district, savagely murdered on a road that Hawkins should have been patrolling, had he not been busy bedding the...

A gripping new thriller from the master of crime… ‘It’s a winner, involving bent MPs, snatched heiresses, sex, drugs, and double dealing’ Time Out In the 1980s, London is a melting pot of cultures, but race and class create sharp divisions. Black British journalist Sam Dean looks for stories, not missing persons. But when an old friend asks for help...

Guardian Crime Book of the Month _______________ 'A giddy spell of sheer delight' Daily Mail 'Ingenious' Sunday Times Crime Club Brighton, 1957. Inspector Steine rather enjoys his life as a policeman by the sea. No criminals, no crime, no stress. So it’s really rather annoying when an ambitious new constable shows up to work and starts investigating a series of...

Sergeant Akal Singh, an unwilling transplant to Fiji, is just starting to settle into his life in the capital city of Suva when he is sent to the neighbouring island of Ovalau on a series of fool's errands. First: investigate strange reports of lurking Germans, thousands of miles from the front lines of World War I. Second: chaperone two strong-willed...

Don’t miss Faith Martin’s fiendishly clever new novel, Murder by Candlelight, set in the 1920s and described as ‘the perfect village mystery’ by J.M. Hall. ‘There is so much to love about A Fatal End… Another nail-biting mystery awaits.’ The Lancashire Post Oxford, 1963. In a backstreet club, people dance the night away to their favourite band. But behind the...

THE ROYALLY BRILLIANT FOURTH BOOK IN THE HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN INVESTIGATES MYSTERY SERIES 1957 - A young woman is found dead in a mews house a mile from Buckingham Palace, wearing only silk underwear and a diamond tiara. An older man is discovered nearby, garrotted and pierced through the eye with a long, sharp implement. According to the police,...

‘A delight from first page to last’ SUNDAY TIMES ‘I loved it! ... A whiff of Shardlake and a pinch of Rumpole ... a joy’ S.J. BENNETT, author of THE WINDSOR KNOT When barrister Gabriel Ward steps out of his rooms at exactly two minutes to seven on a sunny May morning in 1901, his mind is so full of...

The gripping new historical mystery from New York Times bestselling author Dana Stabenow. In Cleopatra’s Egypt, the clouds of war are on the horizon… Abduction of a Slave unfolds in a time when Cleopatra, seventh of her name, the all-powerful ruler of Egypt, has found her most able and trusted agent in Tetisheri, her Eye of Isis. So when Tetisheri...

In this absorbing, suspenseful novel, Julia Kristeva combines social satire, medieval history, philosophy, psychoanalytic theory, and autobiography within a gruesome murder mystery. Murder in Byzantium deftly moves from eleventh-century Europe, wracked by the turbulence of the First Crusade, to the sun-dappled, cultural wasteland of present-day Santa Varvara, threatened by religious cults, gangs, and a serial killer on the loose. This...

Safecracker Ellie McDonnell hasn't seen Major Ramsey—her handsome but aloof handler in the British government—since their tumultuous mission together two months before. When she hears about a suspicious robbery in London, she feels compelled to contact him. Together they discover that a rash of burglaries in the city all lead back to a hotbed of spies in the neutral city...

After being sidelined for a pesky gunshot wound, typist-turned-field agent Evelyne Redfern is ready for her next assignment with Britain's secretive Special Investigations Unit. When a British Intelligence informant in Portugal mysteriously disappears just after hinting that he has vital information about German plans that could tip the balance of World War Two, Evelyne and her dashingly irksome partner, David...