Murder Most Familiar

Business titan Hugh Mason is poisoned on his 60th birthday weekend, and the evidence points to one of the family. Hugh was about to make a large political donation; was this the reason? But who amongs them would risk such a move, given that Hugh provided for everyone and his will was completely unknown?

Hello, I'm Johnny Debonair and this is my book - Murder Most Fab. Buy it. You won't regret it. Everything that has happened so publicly is explained. Of course, I'd prefer it if you remember me as I was at my height, before the past caught up with me so spectacularly - TV's Mr Friday Night with an enviable lifestyle and the nation at my feet. My fame might have looked easy to you at the time, but getting to the top of the celebrity ladder is hard work. It took talent, beauty, commitment and, uniquely in my case, a number of unfortunate deaths. If we were being picky you might describe me as a serial killer, but I really don't see myself that way. It sounds trite to say 'one thing led to another' but it's true. As you'll discover I owe something of my rise and my fall to three individuals: my mother, an eccentric country girl who taught me exhibitionism by hanging naked from the clocktower of Hythe town hall; Catherine, my best friend, then partner in business - a devil in red heels, who, in her clear Essex accent, taught me how to 'look after number one'; and Timothy, who broke my heart and caused me to seek refuge in sex, money and celebrity. But in the end you have to take responsibility for your own actions. No one was forcing me, were they? I hope you, the public, can forgive me and enjoy this sordid tale for what it is - my final entertainment for you.

One powerful king. Two tragic queens. In the court of Henry VIII, it was dangerous for a woman to catch the king’s eye. Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were cousins. Both were beautiful women, though very different in temperament. They each learned that Henry’s passion was all-consuming–and fickle. Sophisticated Anne Boleyn, raised in the decadent court of France, was in love with another man when King Henry claimed her as his own. Being his mistress gave her a position of power; being his queen put her life in jeopardy. Her younger cousin, Catherine Howard, was only fifteen when she was swept into the circle of King Henry. Her innocence attracted him, but a past mistake was destined to haunt her. Painted in the rich colors of Tudor England, Murder Most Royal is a page-turning journey into the lives of two of the wives of the tempestuous Henry VIII. Look for the Reading Group Guide at the back of this book. Also available as an ebook.

Glamorous young wife Alma Rattenbury takes her chauffeur as a lover and their scandalous relationship leads to a murder most foul. The 1935 murder of architect Francis Mawson Rattenbury, famous for his design of the iconic Parliament Buildings and Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, and the arrest and lurid trial of his 30-years-younger second wife, Alma, and the family chauffeur, George Percy Stoner, her lover, riveted people. Francis and Alma had moved to Bournemouth, England, after the City of Victoria had ostracized them for their scandalous, flagrant affair while Francis was married to his first wife. Their life in Bournemouth was tangled. Francis became an impotent lush. Deprived of sexual gratification, Alma seduced George, previously a virgin who was half her age. They conducted their affair in her upstairs bedroom with her and Francis’s six-year-old son in a nearby bed, “sleeping,” she said, and the near-deaf Francis in his armchair downstairs in a drunken stupor. The lovers were tried together for Francis’s murder at the Old Bailey Criminal Court in London, resulting in intense public interest and massive, frenzied media coverage. The trial became one of the 20th century’s most sensational cases, sparking widespread debate over sexual mores and social strata distinctions.

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

Dr. Weinkauf provides a complete overview of Ngaio Marsh's crime novels, from her beginnings in 1934 to her final book, "Light Thickens," published posthumously in 1982.

'An excellent cosy mystery.' NetGalley Reviewer At Penkellis Hall, murder is just for entertainment... Kitty Cardew has been enjoying life in Port Trevan and her reoccurring role on a popular TV show, all is looking rosy, except for the very small issue of being broke. So when Kitty is asked to help out at a murder mystery weekend in a Gothic mansion on the coast, she jumps at the chance. Throwing her into the path of Ned Crowe, who might be good-looking, but definitely one of the most irritating men she's ever met! Just as the sparks start to fly, a body is discovered and this time the death is not part of the plan. Desperately in need of help to figure out which of their guests is the real killer, Kitty and Ned turn to Molly Higgins. She might be catering the weekend, but she is the only one who can help track down the murderer, before they strike again... The second book in the gripping new Molly Higgins Cozy Mystery series: Book 1 - Death Comes to Cornwall Book 2 - Murder Most Cornish Book 3 - Death on the Aisle