Murder At The Fair

Summer flowers, warm sunshine, a maypole dance and... is that another murder? A tricky case is afoot for Lady Swift! Summer, 1921. Lady Eleanor Swift, the best amateur sleuth in the country, is delighted to be in charge of the prize-giving at her village summer fair. But the traditional homemade raft race takes a tragic turn when the local undertaker, Solemn Jon, turns up dead amongst the ducks. Jon was the life of any party and loved by the entire village. Surely this was simply an awful accident? But when a spiteful obituary is printed in the local paper, Eleanor realises there may be more to Jon's death than first thought. Despite handsome Detective Seldon giving her strict instructions not to interfere, Eleanor owes it to Jon's good name to root out the truth. So with her partner in crime, Gladstone the bulldog, Eleanor starts digging for clues... When another local dies in a riding accident, the police refuse to believe he was murdered. But a second vindictive death notice convinces Eleanor of foul play. Solemn Jon's assistant, a bullish banker and a majestic marquess make her suspect list, but it isn't until she finds a dusty old photograph that she knows the true culprit behind both crimes. Then another obituary appears - her own! Can Eleanor nail the killer before she too turns up dead among the ducks? An utterly compelling and charming cozy mystery! Pure delight for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss. Readers are totally addicted to Verity Bright! 'What a great cozy mystery! I am hooked! This is the best book, bar none, that I have read this year... An extremely witty, fast-paced mystery... I love the heroine, intrepid adventuress... A most enjoyable read!' Reviews by Carol in Tallahassee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'Can I give it six stars please?... Pretty much perfect... Bright has the amazing gift of bringing the reader into that world where the characters are alive.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

All is far from quiet on the home front in USA Today bestselling author Anna Lee Huber’s captivating mystery series, in which former Secret Service agent Verity Kent receives a visitor—who is being trailed by a killer . . . November 1919.A relaxing few weeks by the seaside with her husband, Sidney, could almost convince Verity Kent that life has returned to the pleasant rhythm of pre-war days. Then Verity’s beloved Great-Aunt Ilse lands on their doorstep. After years in war-ravaged Germany, Ilse has returned to England to repair her fragile health—and to escape trouble. Someone has been sending her anonymous threats, and Verity’s Secret Service contacts can only provide unsettling answers. Even deep in the Yorkshire Dales, where she joins Verity’s family for the holidays, Ilse encounters difficulties. Normally peaceful neighbors are hostile, seeking someone to blame for the losses they’ve endured. When Ilse’s maid is found dead, Verity must uncover whether this is anti-German sentiment taken to murderous lengths, or whether there is a more personal motive at work. Could Verity’s shadowy nemesis, Lord Ardmore, be involved? And if so, how much closer to home will the blow land when he inevitably strikes again? “…A treat for WWI buffs and the legion of fans who have grown fond of Verity.” —Publishers Weekly Praise for Anna Lee Huber’s Penny for Your Secrets “A historical mystery to delight fans of Agatha Christie or Daphne du Maurier.” —Bookpage “Stellar mystery . . . a great read for fans of the series and all who enjoyDownton Abbey-era fiction.” —Booklist

The year is 1893, and airships cloud the skies over the bustling metropolis of Toronto. The city is set to host the world's fair thanks in no small part to the work of two fantastical inventors. The New World Exhibition is to be a celebration of cultural and technological marvels; roving automatons, clockwork contraptions, the world's biggest steam-powered paddle boat, all to be fully lit by the wonder of electricity!On the day of the grand opening, young Norwood Quigley, aspiring journalist, photographer and scion of a world-famous airship magnate, stumbles onto the scene of a murder; the victim: a Prussian Ambassador; the perpetrator: a Chinese assassin, or so the powers-that-be say. In truth, the suspect is Jing, a roguish but amiable youthful delinquent. Concerned by Jing's claim of innocence and his assumed guilt by higher powers, including the British Empire's military, Norwood is thrown into a grand intrigue that hinges on Toronto's world fair. As chaos consumes the celebrations, he fears that his influential family is being manipulated in a plot to create an international incident that will lead to a war that spans the world."A nimble, inventive steampunk romp - complete with clockwork cats, daring escapes, beguiling romance and shadowy mysteries - that you'll rip through in one sitting and beg for the next."-Matthew Bright, author of The Library of Lost Things"I lost track of the boxes this novel checked for me. Alternate reality? Set at the turn of the 19th century? During a World's Fair? With a murder mystery; clockwork monsters; a wonderfully genuine and familiar family dynamic; and romance? Pair all that with beautiful and evocative writing, and you've got a stunning debut. I cannot wait to see what MJ Lyons dreams up next."--- KD Edwards, author of the The Last Sun and The Hanged Man

'An irresistible page-turner that reads like the most compelling, sleep defying fiction' TIME OUT One was an architect. The other a serial killer. This is the incredible story of these two men and their realization of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, and its amazing 'White City'; one of the wonders of the world. The architect was Daniel H. Burnham, the driving force behind the White City, the massive, visionary landscape of white buildings set in a wonderland of canals and gardens. The killer was H. H. Holmes, a handsome doctor with striking blue eyes. He used the attraction of the great fair - and his own devilish charms - to lure scores of young women to their deaths. While Burnham overcame politics, infighting, personality clashes and Chicago's infamous weather to transform the swamps of Jackson Park into the greatest show on Earth, Holmes built his own edifice just west of the fairground. He called it the World's Fair Hotel. In reality it was a torture palace, a gas chamber, a crematorium. These two disparate but driven men are brought to life in this mesmerizing, murderous tale of the legendary Fair that transformed America and set it on course for the twentieth century . . .

SHE PLAYED THE ODDS – AND LOST! When the beautiful girlfriend of a notorious gangster vanishes, the last man to be seen with her needs an alibi – and fast. Enter Donald Lam of the Cool & Lam detective agency. Donald tracks down the two women with whom his client claims to have spent the night and the client declares the case closed. But it’s not. Something about his client’s story doesn’t add up, and Donald can’t resist the temptation to keep digging. Before he knows it, he’s dug up connections to a mining scam, an illegal casino, and a double homicide – plus an opportunity for an enterprising private eye to make a small fortune, if he can just stay alive long enough to cash in on it!

The treatment of formal features is historical."--Jacket.