Historical Mystery Romance

Deciding that true romantic heroes are a thing of the past, Eloise Kelly, an intelligent American who always manages to wear her Jimmy Choo suede boots on the day it rains, leaves Harvard's Widener Library bound for England to finish her dissertation on the dashing pair of spies the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian. What she discovers is something the finest historians have missed: a secret history that begins with a letter dated 1803.

Windsor, 1940: War rages, and as bombs rain down across Britain, nowhere is safe: not even a royal palace. Secretly tasked with foiling a suspected plot, Sophie Klein is placed in the Royal Library at Windsor castle, where the princesses reside. But when she learns that Windsor is compromised, Sophie must sacrifice everything she knows to save the future queen of England. Philadelphia, Present day: Digging into her great aunt’s family tree, Lacey Turner comes across a mysterious book bearing the stamp of Windsor Castle’s royal bindery. But how did it come to be in her family’s possession?

It’s 1931 in Shanghai, and the stage is set for a new decade of intrigue. Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also stopped her from sleeping and aging—and allows her to heal from any wound. In short, Rosalind cannot die. Desperate for redemption for her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country. But when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march, Rosalind’s mission pivots. A series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, and the Japanese are under suspicion.

The sins of Adam Hardesty's past have been discovered. And if he does not hunt down his blackmailer quickly, his secrets will be revealed to all.... But there is an obstacle in his way: sensation novelist Caroline Fordyce. She knows that Adam's quest for justice could shatter her own reputation - and mire her family in lethal scandal. And she fears what he may find. Together they will navigate the shadow side of London, venturing into an underworld of cutthroats, connivers, and illusionists.

Treachery causes Gwyneth Fairchild's world to crumble. The daughter of a British general, she barely saves her life by fleeing London aboard a ship to America. Her goal is to find refuge with the Lane family in Maryland, having been told by her father she could implicitly trust Winter and Bennet Lane, even though their nations are once again at war. After meeting their son, Thad, she wonders how safe she truly is when she discovers that the Lanes trade in a dangerous commodity - espionage.

In 1002, 15-year-old Emma of Normandy crosses the Narrow Sea to wed the much older King Athelred of England, whom she meets for the first time at the church door. Thrust into an unfamiliar and treacherous court, with a husband who mistrusts her, stepsons who resent her, and a bewitching rival who covets her crown, Emma must defend herself against her enemies and secure her status as queen by bearing a son.

In the spring of 1910, an advertisement I spotted in the Boston newspaper called out to me: “Wealthy family in need of secretary on Whale Island. Must have an affinity for books.” When I’m offered the position, I do not hesitate to pack my meagre belongings and travel to Washington state. After all, I have nothing to lose. I’ve been dismissed from my current position. I have no family. It’s all a dream come true. The only problem? My employer, Benedict Tutheridge, makes my heart flutter and my knees wobble.

After a treacherous journey, Lucina found safety in the bakery of Rydding Village. Her peace is threatened when she learns that Nico, the new apprentice smith, is from the homeland she was forced to flee. Could he be an enemy agent who caught up with her? Even if he isn’t, the newcomer is the chief suspect in a string of burglaries, and Lucina worries the suspicion will spread to her because of their shared nationality. Her nightmares of being driven from the village may come true if she can’t clear his name.

On an April day in 1937, the sky opens and fire rains down upon the small Spanish town of Guernica. Seventeen-year-old Sibi and her family are caught up in the horror. Griff, an American military attaché, pulls Sibi from the wreckage, and it’s only the first time he saves her life in a span of hours. When Germany claims no involvement in the attack, insisting the Spanish Republic was responsible, Griff guides Sibi to lie to Nazi officials. If she or her sisters reveal that they saw planes bearing swastikas, the gestapo will silence them—by any means necessary.

Bold, breathtaking, and beautiful, the Australian outback calls to Lesley Holleck like no other site on the continent. The young firebrand soon realizes, however, that the untamed region could exact a brutal price from all who dare enter it. Disguised as a rowdy jackaroo with a special talent for taming horses, she earns the admiration and respect of the people who help her survive there and forever change her world, including Zachary Cooper, who longs to tame Lesley's wild heart.

When Sybil Delafield's coach to Croft Towers was robbed by highwaymen, she should have realized that her new position as companion to old Mrs. Chalcroft would be no ordinary job. Upon Sybil's arrival, Mrs. Chalcroft sneaks into her room in the dark of night, imploring her to relay messages to town that are to stay hidden from the rest of the family. Who exactly is she working for and what do the messages contain?

Having inexplicably nabbed the duke of Kesgrave, 26-year-old spinster Beatrice Hyde-Clare is determined to marry him at once, and no amount of hand-wringing from anxious family members, worried friends, and well-meaning acquaintances will convince her to delay. Except, maybe, she is a little swayed by her uncle’s efforts to make amends for treating her with cold indifference during her childhood.

When a murder is committed, a lady's companion finds herself in the role of amateur sleuth...1789, London: When Emily Fanshawe, Marchioness of Polbrook, is found strangled in her bedchamber, suspicion immediately falls on those residing in the grand house in Hanover Square. Emily's husband - Randal Fanshawe, Lord Polbrook - fled in the night and is chief suspect - much to the dismay of his family. Ottilia Draycott is brought in as the new lady's companion to Sybilla, Dowager Marchioness, and soon finds herself assisting younger son Lord Francis Fanshawe in his investigations.

Within just a couple of days, detective Leo Schultz’s life unravels. His son Rick is kidnapped and horrifically murdered. The very next day, Schultz’s car runs over a little girl, and he is identified by witnesses as the driver. Only his partner, PJ Gray, believes in his innocence. For city officials, this is not the end of it, as key members of the law and order systems are successively taken down.

1236. Beautiful Ailenor of Provence, cultured and intelligent, is only 13 when she marries Henry III. Aware of the desperate importance of providing heirs to secure the throne from those who would snatch it away, she is ruthless in her dealings with Henry's barons. As conflict escalates between them, Ailenor's shrewd and clever Savoyard uncles come to support her, but her growing political power is threatened when Henry's half-siblings also arrive at court. Henry and Ailenor become embroiled in an unpopular war to protect Gascony, the last English territory on the continent.

Like most women, Elizabeth Miles assumes many roles; unlike most, hers have made her a woman on the run. Living on the edge of society, Elizabeth uses her guile to relieve so-called respectable men of their ill-gotten gains. But brutal and greedy entrepreneur Oscar Thornton is out for blood. He's lost a great deal of money and is not going to forgive a woman for outwitting him. With his thugs hot on her trail, Elizabeth seizes the moment to blend in with a group of women who have an agenda of their own.

Guilt and desire battle within Hughe, Lord Oxley’s, soul. When the enigmatic leader of the Assassin’s Guild learns that the widow of one of his targets is at the mercy of a cruel man, he does the only thing left in his power to do. He marries her. Then the worst thing happens. He falls in love with her. With more than one person trying to kill him and a family to rescue, Hughe needs the help of all his Assassins Guild friends to stay alive and keep his wife from learning the truth. Because he knows, and dreads, what will happen when she discovers what he did.

She's braved battlefields. She's stolen dispatches from under the noses of heads of state. She's played the worldly courtesan, the naive virgin, the refined British lady, even a Gypsy boy. But Annique Villiers, the elusive spy known as the Fox Cub, has finally met the one man she can't outwit... British spymaster Robert Grey must enter France and bring back the brilliant, beautiful - and dangerous - Fox Cub. His duty is to capture her and her secrets for England.

Lauren Willig continues the exciting series with her fourth novel, The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, featuring Lord Vaughn, the delightfully devilish spy from The Masque of the Black Tulip, and Mary Alsworthy, the raven-haired beauty whose sister accidentally stole her suitor in The Deception of the Emerald Ring.

Lady Abigail Lyon wants an education, not a husband. With her family’s social standing jeopardized by her sister’s scandalous elopement, Abbie no longer has the luxury of pursuing her aspirations ahead of the wellbeing of her parents and siblings. A respectable match would redeem her family’s besmirched reputation, although surely none of the ton’s eligible bachelors count curiosity as a desirable trait in a wife. Abbie finds herself confronting an offer that may be too good to be true.