Victorian England Mysteries

Previously published as Deadly Secrets: Hidden Guilt by Madalena Melchior. SECRET GUILT London, 1905. Under the pretext of retrieving some books he has left behind at Number 221B, Sherlock Holmes temporarily trades his small farm upon the Downs, five miles from Eastbourne, and his beehives, for Baker Street. Before he has time to unpack his Gladstone, however, there's already a client at the door asking for his help with a case. So much for retirement...

Previously published as Deadly Secrets: Hidden Prince by Madalena Melchior. SECRET PRINCE A few days before King Edward VII's rescheduled coronation (9 August 1902), a plea for help mysteriously signed "I. Adler" lures Sherlock Holmes, his brother Mycroft, and Doctor Watson, into solving a murder at the center of an international intrigue while trying to avoid a scandal that could damage the royal event.

A three AM knock at the door of 221B Baker Street, soon sends Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson out into the blanketing fog of a cold London night, where they are led by Inspector McPherson of Scotland Yard to an empty building, where four bodies, each the victim of a different manner of foul play, lie discarded like so much refuse. Amid the room the clues Holmes uncovers are strange, even contradictory, and seem to lead to more questions than answers, as he finds himself set about solving a mystery that taxes even the considerable powers of his brain, and leads to a conclusion as horrifying ...

The year is 1862 and murderous desires are simmering in England. Nineteen-year-old Sarah Bonetta Forbes (Sally), once a princess of the Egbado Clan, desires one thing above all else: revenge against the British Crown and its system of colonial "humanitarianism," which stole her dignity and transformed her into royal property. From military men to political leaders, she’s vowed to ruin all who’ve had a hand in her afflictions. The top of her list? Her godmother, Britain’s mighty monarch, Queen Victoria herself.

Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations and decided that the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first choice, the dashing but reclusive Doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling family manor outside of town. Yet on their wedding night, an accident strands her at his door in a pitch-black rainstorm, and she finds him changed.

An unwanted betrothal leads to a mystery and love that nobody expected. Miss Hannah Seymour is utterly distraught. Believing that Lord Bentham cared for her, she is heartbroken to hear precisely the opposite. With her father’s threat hanging over her head, she finds herself thrust into a mystery surrounding Lord Bentham’s strange betrothal to a young lady of quality. Despite her own heartbreak, Hannah reluctantly agrees to help. Lord Bentham has never heard of his supposed bride! To find himself now expected to marry Miss Lewisham, he turns to his friends, ‘The Shadows’ for help. ...

Hannah Cameron was not well-liked, but who stabbed her in the back? To almost everyone, the answer was clear: she was killed by a burglar. This case is given to Inspector Nivens, so Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of the household must tiptoe around this case to find the real killer.

Lord Farrington is returning from what had been a wonderful evening at White’s, when he is struck suddenly and knocked unconscious. Waking up to find himself in a locked room, he has no knowledge as to why he is there or who attacked him. With no means of escape, he struggles between fear and anger, only to be greeted by a veiled lady who promises to explain everything. Lady Josephine Rutherford has spent five years searching for the truth about her husband’s death. Believing that Lord Farrington is responsible, she uses her wealth and influence to have him captured and brought to her ...

A seamstress with a dark past – who better to solve a murder? Wiltshire, Summer 1845. Alice Beaumont has achieved what other seamstresses can only dream of: dressing the finest ladies of English society. She always keeps her distance, as meddling in others' lives brings nothing but trouble. Now, the Darnwells have invited her to their country estate to dress the future wife of their son. Upon meeting Violet, Alice is tempted to ignore her principles: the bride-to-be appears both too wealthy and too young to be the wife of the arrogant Raymond. Then a murder occurs... Fatal Wedding Night ...

West Yorkshire, 1904. When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear there's something not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs England. Ostracised by the servants and feeling increasingly uneasy, Ruby is forced to confront her own demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself.

Two bodies have been found in a park in the fashionable London neighborhood of Callander Square. While Inspector Thomas Pitt is fighting to get the square’s aristocratic residents to speak with him, his pretty, well-born wife, Charlotte, decides to do some detective work of her own. Soon she is unearthing secrets in every house on the square, while Thomas tries to discover what would drive a person to murder.

When a local publican is murdered, Inspector Witherspoon takes Mrs. Jeffries' advice to heart. He is going to trust his own instincts - but that keeps Mrs. Jeffries in the dark. She must rouse the household staff to action and hope the Inspector doesn't arrest the wrong person before they can solve the crime.

It was a most peculiar murder. A man's body was found in the canal - but the evidence showed that he had drowned in a bathtub. A theater critic known for his savage reviews, the victim had had a full cast of enemies. While Inspector Witherspoon scoured the theater, his housekeeper and unofficial sleuthing partner Mrs. Jeffries uncovered the critic's secret past: a real-life drama more compelling than any stage play.

In The Adventuress, Emily and husband Colin have come to the French Riviera for what should be a joyous occasion - the engagement party of her lifelong friend, Jeremy, duke of Bainbridge, and Amity Wells, an American heiress. But the merrymaking is cut short with the shocking death of one of the party in an apparent suicide. Not convinced by the coroner's verdict, Emily must employ all of her investigative skills to discover the truth and avert another tragedy.

A mystery that surrounds Julianna’s family could lead her to the man that steals her heart. Miss Julianna Newton is struggling to return to a society that does not want her. A year after her brother’s death, she has been blessed with a kind sponsor, who helps her secure invitations to the most exclusive events of the London Season. Much to her surprise, she finds that one Lord Sharpe is determined to help her make the right acquaintances, due to a promise he made to her late brother, Francis. When Lord Sharpe and Miss Newton spend more time together, strange happenings occur, forcing ...

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life. Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

Forever untangling the branches of her strange family tree, Edwina Blackwood is at a turning point. Her parents’ disappearances still strike her as unaccountably odd. Her sister’s questionable life and untimely death have left her shaken. Spellfire has transformed her home and livelihood to ash. And now a devious stalker is on her trail. With supernatural detective Ian Cameron by her side, Edwina can’t get out of London fast enough.

Someone is killing the people of London, leaving behind bodies drained of blood and bite marks upon their necks. Faced with the possibility of a vampire attack in London, Sherlock Holmes is called upon by Scotland Yard to uncover the identity of the killer. Once on the case, it doesn’t take long for the detective to follow a trail leading to a bar along St. Katherine Docks. Soon after, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson stumble upon an improbable ring of immortal spies, into which they are promptly recruited. It is a cat and mouse game, with Sherlock and Watson as the bait. But with London's ...

Lord Charles Danvers, still mourning his lost love Charlotte, hopes to escape from his ghosts at the gala coming-of-age celebrations for the son of his oldest friend. All is jubilation and proper respectability until the evening is shattered by a brutal murder. The police are quick to point to a quarrelsome farmer, but Danvers has his doubts. Is the real culprit much closer to home? And does Danvers owe the greater loyalty to an old friend or to the truth? Then, Danver is even more unsettled by the entrance of the alluring Lady Antonia Hoover. The first in the Lord Danvers Investigates ...

The evidence was all there: a dead body, two dessert plates, and a gun. Could it be that Mr. Ashbury was sharing his cake with his killer? The old bloke had enemies galore - even his own daughter disliked him. Mr. Ashbury's son-in-law doesn't want Inspector Witherspoon asking questions. Of course this doesn't stop Mrs. Jeffries and her staff from snooping around.