Arrowood And The Thames Corpses An Arrowood Mystery Book 3

‘Brimming with dark humour, fast-paced action ... this is a top-class series that grows in stature with every new book’ Lancashire Evening Post SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 HWA GOLD CROWN AWARD LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 CWA GOLD DAGGER

A detective tracks a vicious killer through the slums of Victorian London in this “fiercely edgy” mystery that adds grit to the world of Sherlock Holmes (Booklist). London, 1865. The city is terrified. A killer haunts the streets, crime bosses are taking control, and the police force is stretched to the breaking point. Those who have means turn to Sherlock Holmes, but the celebrated private detective rarely visits the streets of South London, where the crimes are sleazier and the people are poorer. In these precincts, victims turn to a man who despises Holmes and everything he represents: his wealthy clientele and his showy forensic approach to crime. Arrowood is a self-taught psychologist, occasional drunkard, and private investigator. When a man mysteriously disappears and Arrowood’s best lead is viciously stabbed before his eyes, he and his sidekick Barnett face their toughest quest yet: to capture the head of the most notorious gang in London . . .

London Society takes their problems to Sherlock Holmes. Everyone else goes to Arrowood. ‘Finlay depicts a seedy, desperate London and vivid characters with considerable skill’ The Times

“Enthralling . . . an alternative Sherlock Holmes, who, instead of relying on physical clues and logic, focuses on the psychology of the people involved.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) 1896: Sherlock Holmes has once again hit the headlines, solving mysteries for the cream of aristocracy. But among the workhouses and pudding shops of South London, private detective William Arrowood is presented with far grittier, more violent, and considerably less well-paid cases. Arrowood has no doubt who is the better detective, and when Mr. and Mrs. Barclay engage him to find their daughter, Birdie—who married a pig farmer and hasn’t been seen since—he’s sure it won’t be long before he and his assistant, Barnett, have tracked her down. But this seemingly simple missing-person case soon turns into a murder investigation. Far from the comfort of Baker Street, Arrowood’s London is a city of unrelenting cruelty, where evil is waiting to be uncovered . . . Praise for Arrowood “A new series that historical crime fans will be clamoring to read more of.” —The Times of London “A wonderful premise: a downscale Sherlock Holmes for the rest of us.” —Kirkus Reviews “Fiercely edgy . . . Finlay captures the filth, frustration, and dark humor of the Victorian-era slum . . . Doyle’s fans will be entertained.” —Booklist “The Victorian workingman’s answer to the higher-class Sherlock Holmes—a foul-mouthed, hard-drinking, shabby detective with a seriously bad attitude toward his more famous counterpart . . . It’s a terrific premise . . . Finlay has fun referencing the Holmes canon, and he gives his hero a skill that the more famous detective lacks.” —The Seattle Times

This book is for every girl who has ever looked in the mirror and criticized her own reflection; for every girl who has ever compared herself negatively to others and also for all the girls who are already struggling with negative body image issues and unhealthy eating habits.

"Makes Game of Thrones look like a nursery rhyme." —Daisy Goodwin, New York Times bestselling author of The Fortune Hunter “[Alpsten] recounts this remarkable woman’s colourful life and times." —Count Nikolai Tolstoy, historian and author Before there was Catherine the Great, there was Catherine Alexeyevna: the first woman to rule Russia in her own right. Ellen Alpsten's rich, sweeping debut novel is the story of her rise to power. St. Petersburg, 1725. Peter the Great lies dying in his magnificent Winter Palace. The weakness and treachery of his only son has driven his father to an appalling act of cruelty and left the empire without an heir. Russia risks falling into chaos. Into the void steps the woman who has been by his side for decades: his second wife, Catherine Alexeyevna, as ambitious, ruthless and passionate as Peter himself. Born into devastating poverty, Catherine used her extraordinary beauty and shrewd intelligence to ingratiate herself with Peter’s powerful generals, finally seducing the Tsar himself. But even amongst the splendor and opulence of her new life—the lavish feasts, glittering jewels, and candle-lit hours in Peter’s bedchamber—she knows the peril of her position. Peter’s attentions are fickle and his rages powerful; his first wife is condemned to a prison cell, her lover impaled alive in Red Square. And now Catherine faces the ultimate test: can she keep the Tsar’s death a secret as she plays a lethal game to destroy her enemies and take the Crown for herself? From the sensuous pleasures of a decadent aristocracy, to the incense-filled rites of the Orthodox Church and the terror of Peter’s torture chambers, the intoxicating and dangerous world of Imperial Russia is brought to vivid life. Tsarina is the story of one remarkable woman whose bid for power would transform the Russian Empire.

Begin the journey; discover your destiny... Set against a backdrop of Scottish myths and legends, follow the epic quest by a changeling, a selkie and a prince to find an ancient and powerful object, and save the kingdom. Ailsa doesn't believe in faerie tales, only the monsters in them. But, with the mark on her face, most people consider her one of them - a changeling. Her secluded life shifts when she rescues two selkies from bloodthirsty raiders. Now she must act as their guard as they travel to the capital and then, with the help of the Prince of Eilanmor, journey north to find The Stone of Destiny - the only object protecting them all from the evil faerie queen. But all her life a malignant creature has stalked her through the forest.Can Ailsa find The Stone of Destiny before something wicked finds her?

How did early modern people imagine their bodies? What impact did the new disease syphilis and recurrent outbreaks of plague have on these mental landscapes? Why was the glutted belly such a potent symbol of pathology? Ranging from the Reformation through the English Civil War, Fictions of Disease in Early Modern England is a unique study of a fascinating cultural imaginary of 'disease' and its political consequences. Healy's original approach illuminates the period's disease-impregnated literature, including works by Shakespeare, Milton, Dekker, Heywood and others.