Victorian Suspense

Lucy Ashton had long ago given up her quest for true love. In the rarified society of Victorian England, Lucy plays the game—flirting, dancing and dabbling in the newly fashionable spiritualism. Even marrying when—and who—she’s supposed to. If the stuffy Duke of Sussex cannot spark the passion she craves, he can at least give her a family, a home of her own, and a place to belong. But when her polite marriage reveals a caring and sensual man, Lucy begins to wonder if she can indeed have it all.

Manchester, England, 1857. When the largest art exhibition ever to be held in Manchester opens, Rosanna Hawkins—one of Manchester’s finest artists to reproduce “parlor versions” of classic masterpieces with near-perfect precision—attends, excited by the chance to sketch such famous works. When she meets the handsome Detective Martin Harrison, who is head of security for the exhibition, she is immediately intrigued. But the couple’s blossoming summer romance takes a strange turn when Rosanna recognizes her own works on display in the exhibition hall.

Included in THE TIMES Best Historical Fiction Books of 2025: 'A lively new perspective on a grimly familiar tale'

Audiobook included in THE SUNDAY POST 'Books of the Week'

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Steamy regency romance. Redeeming a rake can be so satisfying. Four complete novels. Each filled with intrigue, danger, and true love.

It is San Francisco in the summer of 1882, and Annie and Nate Dawson have finally found a good balance between the demands of family and work. Nate has an interesting legal case defending a young woman who has been left out of her mother’s will. Annie is looking into whether the financial difficulties facing the Potrero Woolen Mills are caused by bad management or bad luck.

London, 1890. In Victorian London, reporter Jennie Quinn employs deception as a weapon. Going undercover to seek justice for a murdered informant, she's drawn into a powerful criminal's seductive game of cat and mouse. Enigmatic former lawman Matthew Colton is as dangerous as he is clever, but the passion in his kiss is too tempting to resist. She aches to trust him, but she will not abandon her quest for the truth. Colton is a man with secrets of his own. Thirsting for vengeance, the disgraced Scotland Yard detective has infiltrated the criminal world he's vowed to destroy.

Ariana Caldwell has grown up in the shadow of a secret family tragedy, at the heart of which lay Trenton Kingsley. Forced to marry a man she had been led to hate-and fear-Ariana is helplessly caught in the renewed fury of an ancient feud. But despite the danger, her husband's unaccountable torment only draws Ariana closer, and her instincts will not allow her to retreat. Caught between Trenton's brooding desire and her brother's imperious demands, Ariana is on an odyssey for the truth . . . consumed by the promise of a passionate, overwhelming love.

Someone, somewhere, had been strangled. Psychic Jenny Watkins' second vision comes through the eyes of the victim. While she doesn't know when or where the strangulation took place, she does get a good look at the killer. With little else to go on besides an image in her mind, Jenny races to put a name to the face before he strikes again.

Pioneering undercover journalist Nellie Bly is rightly famous for exposing society's ills. From brutal insane asylums to corrupt politicians, she used the pages of the New York World to bring down all manner of frauds, cheats, and charlatans.

Highlander Harrison MacMasters knows a pretty face can hide bitter deception. Once, he'd been drawn to Grace Winters and the temptation in her kiss. Now, he knows better than to trust her with anything, including his heart. But when he's drawn into a risky mission with life-and-death stakes, he's forced to watch over the one woman he hoped to never see again.

Over a decade has passed. Valeria and Emil, aunt, and nephew, are living new lives in Brasov. But when a book is published bearing her late husband's name, Valeria's darkest secret is exposed, and her happy life is left in ruins. Valeria sets out on a mission to find out who revealed her story to the world, but she meets a distraction in Paris, one she was not prepared for, someone who changes everything. Will Valeria survive her own blood thirst, or will she allow a new opportunity for happiness to slip through her fingers?

The handsome Earl of Somersby may just be the most eligible bachelor in London, but has no interest in a wife. As a member of the Brotherhood, Bennett Haile is far more vested in his duties protecting the Queen from would-be assassins. For now he has the perfect tool with which to lure out the villains—a young woman with an uncanny likeness to the queen. Evelyn Marrington is about to live out every country girl's dream—becoming royalty. As danger threatens from every side, Bennett realizes that his protégée isn't just placing her life in his hands . . . she's stealing his heart.

In 1894 colonial India, Lady Diana's family has lost their fortune in a global financial slump, but even worse, her brother Adi is accused of murder. Desperate to save him from the gallows, Captain Jim and Lady Diana rush back to Bombay. However, the traditional Parsi community finds Jim and Diana's marriage taboo and shuns them. The dying words of Adi's business partner, a silversmith, are perplexing. As Captain Jim peels back the curtains on this man's life he finds a trail of unpaid bills, broken promises, lies, and secrets.

Twenty years after the Phantom of the Opera has vacated the Paris Opera House, his past catches up with him. The evil Sultana of Mazenderan - whom the Phantom last saw as a 10-year-old girl - wants the Phantom to commit foul deeds for her (again) and will not take no for an answer. After the Sultana kidnaps the Phantom’s beloved to ensure his performance and the Phantom is injured, he is forced to seek out help.

The year is 1831. Down the murky alleyways of London, acts of unspeakable wickedness are taking place, and no one is willing to speak out on behalf of the city's vulnerable poor as they disappear from the streets. Out of these shadows comes Hester White, a bright young woman who is desperate to escape the slums by any means possible. When Hester is thrust into the world of the aristocratic Brock family, she leaps at the chance to improve her station in life under the tutelage of the fiercely intelligent and mysterious Rebekah Brock.

Olivia Sheldon has travelled across the world to marry a man she does not love. Reluctant to leave England but coerced into the marriage, Olivia's reward is being reunited with her estranged sister, Clara. Her punishment is falling impossibly and illicitly in love with the enigmatic Captain Edward Bertram. Then one scorching day Clara is abducted from Alexandria's busiest street. Desperate to find her sister - and the truth about her disappearance - Olivia becomes embroiled in Egypt's shadowy underworld, risking both her life and future with Edward.

Cassandra Northrup had believed Nathaniel dead - until now. Once she had loved him, given herself to him in the hidden depths of the snow-covered Pyrenees. But then she had betrayed him. Relief at the sight of Nathaniel turns to darkest shame as Cassie sees the hate in his eyes.

Detective Inspector Arthur Gredge of Scotland Yard is a changed man, and not for the better, it seems. The prime suspect in a terrible crime he did not commit, Gredge launches an impassioned defense. The problem is that he does not know if he is guilty or innocent. Midnight Gunn must uncover the cause of Gredge’s unsettling behavior before the inspector loses his mind, his job, or very possibly his life. It is a task that must be conducted with the utmost caution, as Midnight’s own conduct comes under close scrutiny from all directions, putting him and those he loves at risk.

Recently widowed, Charlotte Pennyworth is relishing her independence and it rankles to have to rely on a man to help her with a sinister stalker. Former Yardman, Elliot Baker, is reluctant to take on Charlotte''s case but despite himself and his history with another woman, he is drawn to the bright, attractive widow. Sparks smolder between the PI and his client but neither is looking to form an attachment. Elliot thinks Charlotte is hiding something. Charlotte has no desire to marry again, especially to a private investigator, no matter how handsome, brave and kind he is.

La caparbia Angelica Cynster è certa che riconoscerà a prima vista l'uomo destinato a diventare suo marito. Quando i suoi occhi incontrano quelli di un misterioso nobiluomo, capisce senza ombra di dubbio che lui è quello giusto. Ma presto il suo cuore batterà forte per il motivo sbagliato: la sua anima gemella in realtà ha deciso di rapirla. L'uomo misterioso in verità è l'ottavo conte di Glencrae e non ha scelta, ha dovuto rapire Angelica, l'unica delle sorelle Cynster con cui non ha mai voluto invischiarsi.