Historical Fiction Cozy Mystery

A Christmas mystery introducing Owen Irvine, the Lake District shepherd-cum-detective hero of JJ Salkeld's A Natural Detective series. Set in the mid-1980s, this entertaining short story concerns the theft of the baby Jesus himself. All right, it's only a small wooden figure from the church's nativity scene, but as far as the vicar is concerned, dark forces must surely be at play in the Kentmere valley.

A professor shows a colleague a painting that he has kept secret for decades. The professor swears it is a Vermeer - but why has he hidden this important work for so long? The reasons unfold in a series of stories that trace ownership of the painting back to World War II and Amsterdam, and still further back to the moment of the work's inspiration.

There's no such thing as privacy in the tiny village of Birdswing. Everywhere Dr. Benjamin Bones turns, someone is spying from a window, listening through a wall, or gossiping over a garden fence. "The birds sing in Birdswing," says the vicar, Father Cotterill; and in February 1940, this is more true than ever. Waiting for Hitler to make his move and turn this "Phony War" into the real thing, Ben's fellow villagers are desperate for a distraction.

The only ambition Miss Emily Mifford holds for her first season in London is to endure it without completely humiliating herself; a difficult task when one has an unfortunate habit of saying precisely the wrong thing at the wrong time... After clashing publicly with the odious Lady Hardthistle, Emily soon learns that there are worse things than being embarrassed—like being accused of murder! When the belligerent baroness is found strangled to death at a ball, the finger of blame points at Emily.

When a neighbour’s lodger is found dead, Vita Carew, a sharp-witted science student, is the first on the scene. The police pronounce it an accident, a fatal fall, but Vita remains unconvinced. Her access to the post-mortem reveals the truth: Albert Flett was murdered. As Vita investigates, she uncovers a trail of evidence that suggests Albert’s quiet, unassuming ways were hiding a complex and dangerous secret life. When a prominent, eccentric old lady is also found dead under suspicious circumstances, Vita finds herself entangled in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a ruthless killer.

The Hell Screen is the sequel to I. J. Parker's Rashomon Gate. The Hells Gate has received stellar reviews from many well-respected publications including Publishers Weekly: "Parker's remarkable command of 11th-century Japanese history-from the rituals of the royal court to the minutia of daily...

Bei Tisch heißt es: Gabel links, Messer rechts und niemals im Rücken des Herzogs. Der neue Fall der Cosy-Krimi-Reihe von New-York-Times-Bestsellerautorin Rhys Bowen beginnt. London, 1934. Die Queen hat eine neue Aufgabe für Lady Georgie: Jack, der neu entdeckte Erbe des Herzogs von Eynsford, kommt direkt aus dem australischen Outback und muss für die Londoner High Society in Form gebracht werden.

Retired police chief Edmund DeCleryk finds Emily Bradford's body on the beach below where the local museum and historical society stands. At the same time, a break-in has been reported at the museum, and Emily's coat and purse are found hanging on a peg in the gift shop, where she worked. When the police chief is called out of town for a family emergency, he hires Ed to assist with the murder investigation. After several leads don't pan out, the chief decides to close the case. Confident that with more time the murder can be solved, Ed is determined to continue investigating.

Flappers meet gangsters in the hottest jazz club in Soho. Step back into the roaring twenties with a captivating mystery set in 1920s London. When a night of jazz and dancing with the American ambassador’s niece ends in tragedy, apprentice detective Marjorie Swallow is thrust into a world of shady cocaine deals and opium dens. To discover the truth, she goes undercover as a dance hostess at the notorious Harlequin club and confronts the menacing Armstrong brothers. The quest for answers takes unexpected turns, with secrets lurking in the shadows of Soho and closer to home.

When her husband’s damaged vision grows worse, Jane Eyre Rochester suggests a trip to an ocular specialist in London. But a night at the opera changes everything! And what seemed like a healing journey becomes a deadly puzzle that Jane must solve if she wants to protect those she loves.

Eine griechische Prinzessin, falsche Gerüchte und echte königliche Fehltritte – das kann nur Lady Georgie retten. Die Cosy-Krimi-Reihe von New-York-Times-Bestsellerautorin Rhys Bowen geht weiter… Zwischen ihrer hohen Geburt und ihrem leeren Geldbeutel gefangen ist Georgie, die Fünfunddreißigste in der Thronfolge Großbritanniens, erleichtert, einen neuen Auftrag von der Königin zu erhalten. Der jüngste Sohn des Königs, George, soll Prinzessin Marina von Griechenland heiraten und die Königin wünscht Georgie als ihre Begleiterin

Josh Redmont was 27 when the first check arrived, and he had absolutely no idea what it was for. Issued by 'United States Agent' through an unnamed bank with an indeterminate address in D.C., someone seemed to think Josh was owed $1,000. One month later, another check arrived, and then another...

John Lutz is fascinated by the nighttime dangers that await women alone. In THE NIGHT SPIDER, he improvises a new variation on this theme with a thriller about a serial killer who preys upon women living in high-rises. With few visible means of entry, the mysterious stalker kills women while...

Shopping meets suspense in this enticing new cocktail of sassy-smart sleuthing featuring a spunky decorator who can hunt down furniture—and murder. As a tireless mom of three, the doting spouse of a surgeon, and a talented interior designer to the stars, Lacy Fields can always find the perfect...

Jessica Mayhew is a sharp, successful therapist with a thriving practice and loving family. But the arrival of a new client, actor Gwydion Morgan, coincides with a turbulent moment in her life: her husband has just confessed to a one-night stand with a younger woman. The son of a famous stage...

(3rd in Henrie O Mystery series) One of America's most highly acclaimed mystery writers brings us another installment in the career of Henrietta "Henrie O" Collins, an ex-reporter turned sleuth. These days, Henrie O is teaching journalism at Thorndyke University, where she encourages an...

The Most Precious Commodity On Earth From the author of the megabestselling The Fourth Procedure and A Slow Burning comes an unsettling and bold new thriller set in the high-stakes, no-holds-barred world of oil, where a driven man can make his fortune and a beautiful woman can win her soul–or...

Tough, beautiful and independent, Julia Mallet feels her life is nearly perfect. She holds a high-profile executive position in an important advertising firm. She is raising a beautiful little daughter, Emily, without the inconvenience of a husband. And she has six old and dear friends who are...

Homicide detective Frank Quinn can't stay retired when a new breed of murdering madman is on the prowl. In a city terrorized by bloody brutality, Quinn and his team hunt a psychopath who lures beautiful women into a night of unbridled passion, then wakes them to a vicious, drawn-out death...

Lew Fonesca is a Sarasota part-time process server still mourning his dead wife and trying to get through life without any complications. But his life is full of them. His shrink wants him to dump his grief so he can have more of a life; a pretty social worker who has helped him in the past...