Showing results by narrator "Dan Calley" in All Categories

Edgar Award winner Otto Penzler returns with a new anthology of exhilarating mysteries, assembling Victorian society's lords and ladies and most miserable miscreants. Behind the velvet curtains of horse-drawn carriages and amid the soft glow of the gaslights are the detectives and bobbies sniffing out the safecrackers and petty purloiners who plague everything from the soot-covered side streets of London to the opulent manors of the countryside. Brush off your dinner jackets and straighten out your ball gowns for these exciting, glitzy mysteries.

Eli Baker needs a job. Drag isn’t paying the bills and the life of a starving artist isn't as fun when he’s the one living it. Taking a temporary office job is meant to be a quick fix. It's not supposed to reintroduce him to the funny, sharp, and sweet Tristan Rose…who just so happens to be Eli's oldest brother’s best friend. Eli can’t stand his brother, and the feeling is more than mutual. Getting involved with Tristan could mean family trouble, but Eli's never been one for following the rules, especially when breaking them means annoying his brother.

Oren Trevaine has never shaken the feeling that he's not good enough, but he's determined to avoid the same fate for his men. Oren's first task as Captain of the Guard is to transform his unruly, undisciplined soldiers into a formidable army—if only they would cooperate. But Oren will need to act fast because the snow is melting with the budding of spring. Soon, the enemy will be able to traverse the main pass through the imposing Sansford Range and his men must be ready to patrol the mountain.

Karly Winters has waited 10 long years to have the man of her dreams, the handsome but duplicitous Jacob Cruthers. From her home in Glasgow, she pines for the Londoner who casually keeps her dangling, never with a thought of giving her what she wants and never with any intention of leaving his wife. For her part, Karly has no intentions of being second best any longer and she hatches an artful plan of devious intent that she is certain will work in her favor.

Taylor is the name, John Taylor. My card says I'm a detective, but what I really am is an expert on finding lost things. It's part of the gift I was born with as a child of the Nightside. I left there a long time ago, with my skin and sanity barely intact. Now I make my living in the sunlit streets of London. But business has been slow lately, so when Joanna Barrett showed up at my door, reeking of wealth, asking me to find her runaway teenage daughter, I didn't say no.

The name's John Taylor. I work the garish streets of the Nightside - the hidden heart of London where it's always three a.m., where inhuman creatures and otherworldly gods walk side by side in the endless darkness of the soul. I have a talent for finding things. People...property...no problem. But now I'm after something different. A local diva called the Nightingale has cut herself off from her family and friends, and I've been hired to find out the reason. I'm also wondering why her suicide-prone fans think she has a voice to die for. Literally.

Lewis is no longer a mere apprentice. Through hard work, failures, and triumphs, he has risen in the artificery ranks, but his journey is only just beginning. When a familiar face returns from his past and asks him to create a mysterious item, he knows his talents are going to be stretched thin.

Greetings, friend! Rest here for a while and listen—I have a quest for you. How would you like to study the mystical craft of artificery? You'll learn things that most people can only dream of. You'll make self-spicing cooking pots, backpacks with endless storage, and even farm plows that will do all the work for you. Who wouldn't want that? Even better, you'll get to live in the sunlit village of Sunhampton, a cozy little town of cobbled streets, friendly taverns, and stores that sell anything you could imagine.

When Nate wakes up in the woods, he has no idea how he got there. The last thing he remembers is being at home. And when he spots two people digging a grave, his problems multiply. After escaping from the woods, he goes home to find his house burning and his brother, Peter, dead inside. Now the police are after him for the murder. Determined to find out who set him up and why, Nate goes on a dangerous journey to uncover the truth. But can he find those responsible and prove his innocence before it’s too late?

John Taylor works in the Nightside - the gaudy, neon noir, secret heart of London, where it's always three in the morning, where gods and monsters make deals and seek pleasures they won't find anywhere else. He has a gift for finding things. And sometimes what he's hired to locate can be very, very dangerous indeed.

John Taylor is the name. I work the Nightside. Only in that dark heart of London where it's always three A.M., where human and inhuman can feed their darkest desires, do I feel at home. Probably because I was born there. What I do is find things - people, objects - and in this case, the truth about the origins of the Nightside. That's what Lady Luck has hired me to investigate. But the more I dig, the more I discover, not about the Nightside but about the great question in my life: exactly who - and what - was my long-vanished mother.

Adrian is my best friend. We live together, hang out, and he’s the best cake taste tester I could want. Hugs are the norm, along with cuddles while watching horror films. I need someone to protect me during the scary bits, so why not Adrian? He’s almost a foot taller than me, so he makes a good armchair too. Life is exactly the way I like it until Adrian’s sister drops a bombshell that leaves me questioning everything I think I know about myself and my straight best friend. Can one kiss change everything? I’m about to find out.

Two chefs. Two summers. One shot at a second chance. Aaron’s Plan. Then: Get a better job, learn more skills, get money for restaurant, and don’t fall in love with Josh. Now: Finesse menu, stop being angry at Josh, swear less (Ben’s idea), stop wanting to kiss Josh, get Michelin stars, and stop being in love with Josh.

Finn has always kept people at arm’s length. Being quiet and shy doesn’t get you many friends outside your family, and it’s even harder when you’re running a spicy, secret side project. But Gem might be the exception to the rule. The game designer is clever, self-deprecating, and appreciates Finn’s affection for all things nerdy. He's the one man who can find the real Finn...if Finn lets him in.

Harmsworth. A remote, mist-shrouded island in the Russian Arctic. Archaeology Professor Callum Ross makes the discovery of a lifetime: a prehistoric ice mummy preserved for thousands of years by the sub-zero temperatures. Only, they didn't die of natural causes....

Oscar Moore has two problems. One, he’s accidentally managed to convince his boss, the legendary editor of The Traveller, that he has a boyfriend. And two, he now has to persuade photographer and casual acquaintance, Ilias Verrati, to play along for a weeklong couples retreat in Hawaii. Ilias is full of sass and sunshine, but his constant flirting grates on Oscar. Unfortunately, unless Oscar wants to confess and risk his job, he has to keep up the ruse. He can manage a week, and if he can pull this off, then editorial glory awaits.

Dave Marwood is trapped in a soul-crushing dead-end job. He's in love with his work colleague Melanie and his only friend Gary is a conspiracy theory nut. His life is going nowhere until he has a Near Death Experience—though Death thinks of it as a Near Dave Experience. He discovers gifts he never knew he possessed and a world he never dreamed existed. A world where the Grim Reaper is a hard-drinking, grumpy Billy Joel fan and the undead are bored, lonely, and dangerous.

When sweet barista, Sam, agrees to be a "slave" in a Christmas charity auction, he’s thrilled to be bought by the man he’s had a crush on for the last three months. Theodore is everything Sam is looking for in a man: older, authoritative, and caring. Unfortunately, Sam isn’t the most forward person when it comes to telling men he likes them. Wearing a sexy costume allows him to be a much flirtier version of himself, but can a naughty elf tempt Theodore into bed?

Quint is a Player. Unlike most of society who restart with a blank slate after they die, Players make the choice to reincarnate with their memories fully intact. He’s using his past-life knowledge to make his way in a new world, and he’s taking full advantage of it to help him find someone he’s lost.

The teacher and the student. The stable hand and the single dad. First times and friendship turn to love. Toby: aThere’s nothing attractive about a 24 year old virgin, especially not one who blushes every time a hot dude looks his way. But I can’t help the heat that ripples through me every time I see Cole Maguire. And the clench of my heart when I realise how unhappy he is. He’s a city boy with a baby on his hip - we have nothing in common - but if he can teach me how to own my sexuality, perhaps I can teach him he’s worth loving.