Victorian Thriller

The lonely grandeur of Greytowers castle, the hatred of her supposed relatives, the madwoman wandering amid the gravestones—all: this was Elizabeth Gifford's inheritance—should she prove the granddaughter of wealthy old Sir Richard. But the tyrannical Sir Richard had not yet chosen an heir. He played with his relatives as a cat would play with a mouse before devouring it. And then again, he had no answer to the question: Just who was in Elizabeth Gifford? Because there were two of them...

The Secret Agent was one of the first espionage novels ever written, and it is certainly one of the finest in the oeuvre of Joseph Conrad. The story concerns the attempt by a group of back-alley revolutionaries to destroy one of London's most famous landmarks and thereby set off a revolution.

Florida, 1884. It's a new year and Cassie Gwynne is determined to be done with the unseemly business of murder. Unfortunately, fate has other plans . . . The very next day, she happens upon the body of a newcomer to town—customs collector Chester Pence—floating beneath the boardwalk. Never one to shy away from a puzzle, Cassie can't resist getting involved in the investigation. It's no secret that Chester made a number of enemies in his short time in Fernandina: confiscating a beleaguered bride's wedding dress and a bossy businessman's cigars among many other mean acts.

Spring, 1890. The long New York winter is over, the buds are blossoming, and romance is in the air. But not all’s right in Gilded-Age Manhattan. Genevieve, a society journalist, and her fiancé, Daniel, are working with photographer Dagmar Hansen on an investigation into the House of Refuge, a children’s workhouse, inspired by Daniel’s near incarceration when he was young. Genevieve is also working on her own piece for the Globe about the Sunflower Mission House, which burned down in a suspicious fire.

Juniper has escaped her past, can she protect her future? Its the dawn of a new century and a vampire war threatens England. Juniper has finally made it to London but old dangers await her. With the help of the demon hunter Tom Constantine, she creates a new identity. She used to help vampires, but now she hunts them. It isn't her only mission. She has until summer to fulfill a prophecy that will change the world. Every demon in London would kill to stop her. Juniper crafts an intricate scheme to succeed with a team of allies including a brilliant detective, brave scholars, and even Harry ...

As Charlotte Pitt's grandmother Mariah Ellison finds herself investigating a long-unsolved slaying, it becomes clear that grappling with intrigue and foul play runs in the family. A festive Christmas package left on Mariah's doorstep contains an ominous present, sparking memories of a 20-year-old murder that shattered her friendship with the victim's widow. Though the gift is a bitter reminder of that tragic time, in the spirit of the season Mariah travels to Surrey in hopes of reconciling with her estranged friend and solving the crime that drove them apart.

OMG! Now it’s my turn… I’d heard about it, but I never believed it could be true… sorority house triple dare! Even before I took the blindfold off, I knew something was up. I can’t believe who my sorority sisters want me to mud wrestle… but I admit I’m thrilled that I have to taken on the football team all-stars… five big rough young hunks at once! Just my luck I’d drawn the scarlet card… or was it? These young sorority ladies are at it again… and this time their target is freshman coed Lexi Leighton! Lexi is the newest competitor chosen by a draw in her sorority house...

1876, Victorian London. Minnie Ward, the feisty scriptwriter for the Variety Palace Music Hall, is devastated when her best friend is found brutally murdered. She enlists the help of private detective Albert Easterbrook to help her find justice, even though he already has his hands full trying to catch the notorious Hairpin Killer. Together they navigate London, from its high-class clubs to its murky underbelly. But as the bodies pile up, Albert's burgeoning feelings for his amateur partner start to interfere.

An ill-fated grave-robbery unearths a corpse with a most disturbing symbol on it. The very same sign is daubed in blood on the walls of Edinburgh's lunatic asylum, on the night that one of the patients is murdered. The mark in question? The mark of the devil. The prime suspect: Amy McGray, the asylum's most infamous inmate, a young woman who has grown up behind bars after she killed her parents many years ago. Her brother, Detective 'Nine-Nails' McGray, knows the evidence is stacked against her. To prove her innocence, he needs the help of an old friend.

Life in 1881 San Francisco is difficult if you are a poor widow like Mrs. O’Malley, especially when you have seven children and are forced to live in one of the crowded neighborhoods South of Market. Late one night, as she sat at the window of her crowded flat, sewing and worrying, she noticed something strange going on across the street. Her decision to investigate will have unexpected consequences.

A Trap of Terror... When Beatrice Perrine's father suddenly dies leaving her with little money, she has no choice but to become companion to Lady Ione Carlisle. But as Beatrice begins her duties at Carlisle Manor, she realizes that she has been hired to be more than just a companion . . . and it is with dread that she learns from the handsome Dunstan that the old house is known as "Folly Hall," built to the specifications of a madman. Beatrice soon discovers why, for she herself hears the strange sound of footsteps in the dark of night that threaten Lady Ione's sanity, and she sees the wild...

April 1865. Having been an eyewitness to the assassination of President Lincoln, Matthew Grand, a former captain of the 3rd Cavalry of the Potomac, has come to London on an undercover assignment to hunt down the assassin's coconspirators. Ambitious young journalist Jim Batchelor has been charged with writing a feature article on the visiting American. Both men are distracted from their missions by the discovery of a body in London's Soho district.

A KILLER ON THE STREETS OF VICTORIAN LONDON A DETECTIVE HELLBENT ON STOPPING HIM A DOORWAY TO ANOTHER UNIVERSE . . . The Infernal Realm is a fast-paced detective thriller which takes Inspector Joshua Darknoll on a terrifying journey into the uncanny, where everything he thought he knew about the world—about reality itself—is turned upside down. As he pursues the murderer through a strange, labyrinthine version of London, Darknoll faces a terrible choice - stopping the madman or finding his way back home to the woman he loves . . . THE FIRST VOLUME IN THE DARKNOLL CHRONICLES

This short story in the USA Today best-selling Victorian San Francisco Mystery series features one of the most beloved characters in the series, as well as giving the listener a tour of the boardinghouse itself. Chronologically, this story come soon after the events in Scholarly Pursuits, so if you don't like spoilers, you might want to wait to listen to it until you have finished that book.

Miss Lane is puzzled by Jasper Jesperson's interest in what seems a very minor theft - possibly even a prank - from the storerooms at the British Museum. But London in the 1890s is rife with secret organisations, cults and individuals eager to acquire some of the legendary magic of ancient Egypt. The deeper the two detectives dig, the more hidden crimes they uncover, and the higher the death toll mounts. And at the centre of it all is the 'Mystery Mummy' recently acquired by the museum. Are the deaths and madness truly caused by a mummy's curse? Or is there a living villain to be apprehended?

Marian Halcolmbe finds and marries her true love, Theo Camlet. But when Theo’s first wife, who everyone believed to be dead, reappears, Marian and her brother-in-law, Walter, must delve into the darkest and most dangerous corners of London to save Theo from accusations of bigamy and murder, as well as the hangman’s noose. Victorian literature's most exciting heroine, Marian Halcombe, stars in Brenda Clough’s thrilling and romantic sequel to Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White.

Beneath the empire’s polished rails, something ancient stirs—and it’s hungry for more than steam. Disgraced inspector Alaric Voss thought exile had ended his days chasing ghosts. But when a train vanishes without a trace on the Trans-Etherian Line, he’s summoned to the frontier town of Ketter’s Gate. There, he finds a town gripped by fear, an engineer with fire in her veins, and whispers of a conspiracy buried deep in the steel bones of the empire. Riona Flint, brilliant and wary, is searching for her missing father—the chief architect of the railway—and the secrets he left ...

London, 1833. Doctress Hester Reeves has been offered a life-changing commission. But it comes at a price. She must leave behind her husband and their canal-side home in Kings Cross and move to Tall Trees—a dark and foreboding house in Fitzrovia. If Hester can cure the ailing health of its owner, Gervaise Cherville, she will receive payment that will bring her everything she could dream of. But on arriving at Tall Trees, Hester quickly discovers that an even bigger task awaits her.

England, 1883. Recovering from a devastating loss, Evelyn has become determined to use her powers to save other gifted people from those who would study and oppress them. But when her rescue of a young telekinetic girl goes terribly wrong, Evelyn finds herself involved with a secret society devoted to recruiting and protecting people like Evelyn and her friends. Like magic, Evelyn's problems start to disappear. Her reputation is repaired, her friends are provided for, and her parents are thrilled at all her new suitors.

Ninety-nine days remain in Isobel Amsel's sentence, and the world keeps spinning - just not for Isobel. Her twin brother disappears for unknown reasons, and she's left pacing in her cage like a tiger. While Isobel's rebellious adopted daughter, Sao Jin, keeps her on her toes, Riot is left to sort out his crumbling finances. And find a ring, which proves far more difficult than he imagined. With Isobel's release date closing in, Riot tries to sort out his life, his motivations, and his impending wedding, while Bel faces the question of what marriage and motherhood really mean.