Showing results for "The fire" in Historical

Nigella Parker has a deep-rooted fear of fire and a talent for solving arson cases. When a charred figure is found beside Sir Christopher Wren’s Monument to the Great Fire of London, Nigella is dragged into a case pitting her against a murderous artist creating sculptures using burnt flesh. Nigella partners with Colm O’Leary of Scotland Yard to track the arsonist. The pair are more than colleagues. But their past isn’t the only buried history as they race to connect the dots between an antique nail and a long-forgotten architect dwarfed by the life's work of Sir Christopher Wren.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Absorbing . . . impossible to resist.” —The Washington Post As Europe erupts, can one young spy protect his queen? #1 New York Times bestselling author Ken Follett takes us deep into the treacherous world of powerful monarchs, intrigue, murder, and treason...

May 1912. After the previous year’s deadly heatwave, it’s been an uneventful spring in Littleton Cotterell. Though for Lady Hardcastle and her fiercely loyal lady’s maid Flo, at least there are the provincial delights of the village’s inaugural art exhibition—and bicycle race—to look forward to. But at the exhibition opening, there’s a panicked shout of ‘Fire!’ In the confusion, the main attraction—an extremely expensive book—is stolen from under everyone’s nose, as is a valuable painting lent by Sir Hector Farley-Stroud.

“An exuberant and propulsive thriller laced with sex, art, and history. Lisa Barr has created an unforgettable story that forces readers to question where the line should be drawn between the pursuit of justice and the hunt for revenge.”—Alyson Richman, bestselling author of The Secret of...

The pioneer of romantic suspense, Mary Stewart leads her listeners on an unforgettable ride across the Isle of Skye in this tale perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym. Following a heartbreaking divorce, Gianetta retreats to the Isle of Skye hoping to find tranquillity in the island's savage beauty. But shortly before her arrival a girl's body is found on the craggy slopes of the looming Blue Mountain, and with the murderer still on the loose, there's nothing to stop him from setting his sights on Gianetta next....

The author of the acclaimed medieval mystery A Burnable Book once again brings fourteenth-century London alive in all its color and detail in this riveting thriller featuring medieval poet and fixer John Gower—a twisty tale rife with intrigue, danger mystery, and murder. Though he is one of...

It is late August 1940 and British Intelligence agent Hope Stapleford is desperate to join the Special Operations Executive. But spymaster Fitzroy, now Hope's stepfather, has promised to protect her, so instead he sends her to work in the home propaganda department of the Ministry of Information. When bombs starts to fall in London and lives are lost, Hope secretly becomes an ARP warden and her asset, Harvey, becomes a nightshift fireman on the East End docks. And as the Blitz rages on, Hope must keep the nation's spirits up, while never knowing where the next threat to her safety lies.

London 1964. At 3:00 a.m. on a chilly autumn morning, Detective Sergeant Harry Barnard is called to a club in Greek Street where a young girl has fallen to her death from a top-floor window. But was it a tragic accident or something more sinister? Meanwhile, Kate O’Donnell, Harry’s photographer girlfriend, receives a call from her Liverpudlian ex, pleading for her help. His new squeeze, Marie Collins, set off for London in the hope of getting a recording contract, but she’s not answering her phone. Where is she?

The complete collected dramatisations of C. J. Sansom's historical mystery series Set during the reign of Henry VIII, these six stunning dramas follow the adventures of hunchbacked lawyer-detective Matthew Shardlake as he navigates the dangerous world of Tudor England, solving crimes and seeking...

The grave on the football field is shallow, and easy to spot from a distance. It would have been found sooner, had most of the residents in the black half of Birmingham not been downtown, marching, singing, and being arrested alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. Police detective Ben Wellman is among them when he gets the call about the fresh grave. Under the loosely packed dirt, he finds a young black girl, her innocence taken and her life along with it. His sergeant orders Wellman to investigate, but instructs him not to try too hard.

In 1035, a young 15-year-old Viking is dragged wounded from the battle. Left for dead, for the next 20 years his adventures lead him over mountains, down the length of Russia and ultimately to Constantinople and the Holy City of Jerusalem. Drawn into political intrigue, he will be the lover of empresses, the murderer of an emperor; he will hold the balance of power in the Byzantine Empire in his hands and then give it all up for a Russian princess and the chance to return home and lead his own people.

It is May 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama. As Martin Luther King, Jr.’s civil rights demonstrations begin to fill the streets, prejudices awaken and tempers flare. Amid the violence and confusion, a deaf black girl is found raped and murdered. Veteran homicide detective Ben Wellman pursues the murderer through the throngs of protesters, the pool halls of the black district of Bearmatch, the white mansions of Mountain Brook, and, finally, even in his own department. As he did in Sacrificial Ground, Cook has created a novel of uncommon force and resonance.

From No.1 bestselling author Andrew Taylor comes the sequel to the phenomenally successful The Ashes of London Over 1 Million Andrew Taylor Novels Sold! A time of terrible danger… The Great Fire has ravaged London. Now, guided by the Fire Court, the city is rebuilding, but times are volatile...

September 1143. Bradecote is a minor landowner and newly appointed under-sheriff. His sergeant, Catchpoll, is a weather-beaten, wily and experienced thief-taker who always looks to be one step ahead of any villain. Bradecote though quite new to the job brings an effectively analytical eye to the investigation. A series of fires around the city seem linked, and Bradecote and Catchpoll have to piece together the vengeful motive that links them in order to uncover the arsonist.

The Crime Writers’ Association Historical Dagger Winning Author Winner of the 2024 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel ‘It’s hard to think of a better guide than D. V. Bishop to the brutality and glamour of Renaissance Florence’ – Andrew Taylor, bestselling author of The Royal Secret...

Francis Bacon walks the streets of World War II London, employed as a warden for the ARP to keep watch for activities that might tip off the Axis powers. Before the war, Bacon had travelled to Berlin and Paris, picking up snatches of culture from a succession of middle-aged men charmed by his young face. Known for his flamboyant personal life and expensive taste, Bacon has returned home to live with his former nanny in a cramped bohemian apartment. But one night, death intrudes on his after-hours paradise.

Left with only a muddle-headed butler, a bossy cook/housekeeper, and a couple of energetic maids, Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton has enough problems on her hands. Not only is she struggling to upkeep the sprawling Manor House and vast acres she inherited, she must also take care of her numerous tenants, while coping with the inconveniences and sacrifices of wartime England.

It’s early spring 1948 and Lane arrives in New Denver to find that her friend, Peter Barisoff, is not at home. Instead, in a nearby meadow, she encounters Tom, an Indigenous man in search of his ancestral lands. Lane is intrigued. Unfortunately, once Peter returns home, the day takes a gloomy turn when the trio uncovers human remains next to Peter’s garden, and Lane must tell her husband, Inspector Darling, that she’s inadvertently stumbled into his professional domain—again.

With her family in fragments and hopes for a relationship with the charming Lord Braedon in peril, death and heartache cling to Lady Ravenna Birchfield like a shadow. Yet, life must go on in her charity work and in providing a home and guidance for her abandoned niece. When Lord Franklin Thornley is murdered at a charity gala and a precious black opal known as the Widow's Fire goes missing, one of Ravenna's closest friends becomes the focus of the investigation. Determined to keep her friend out of prison, Ravenna searches for the killer.

The Saint is back - fifty audiobooks are now available starring the debonair classic crime hero. Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time. When the Saint and Patricia spot a country house on fire they rush to help, but are too late to rescue one man trapped inside.