Murder Most Malicious

“Downton Abbey fans will enjoy Maxwell’s evocative descriptions” of British post-WWI society in the first Lady and Lady’s Maid Mystery (Library Journal). December 1918: As a difficult year draws to a close, there is much to celebrate for nineteen-year-old Phoebe Renshaw and her three siblings at their beloved family estate of Foxwood Hall. The dreadful war is finally over; eldest daughter Julia’s engagement to their houseguest, the Marquis of Allerton, appears imminent; and all have gathered to enjoy peace on earth, good will toward men. But the peace of Foxwood Hall is shattered on the morning of Boxing Day, when the Marquis goes missing. Not entirely missing, however, as macabre evidence of foul play turns up in gift boxes given to lady’s maid Eva Huntford and a handful of others. Having overheard her sister and the Marquis in a heated exchange the night before, Lady Phoebe takes a personal interest in solving the mystery. As the local constable suspects a footman at Foxwood Hall, Phoebe and Eva follow the clues to a different conclusion. But both young women will need to think outside the box to wrap up this case—before a cornered killer lashes out with ill will toward them . . . “A super-fun read featuring Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva, as they put aside their society roles to risk their necks in order to catch a killer.”—Suspense Magazine “Details of the lives of the nobility and their servants, and the aftermath of the war, are woven throughout the story, and the forward-thinking Phoebe is a charming main character.”—Booklist

Volume two of The Lake Garda Mysteries. In Murder Most Malicious in Malcesine, Kim is asked by the Carabinieri to assist in solving an intractably difficult crime. She must infiltrate her way into a large group of suspects, attempting to collect incriminating information while preventing the culprit from discovering her purpose. She has some great fun and finds a morsel of romance along the way. Does she succeed? Judge for yourself.

Not all monsters are fictional. In an alternate 1851, Edgar Allan Poe has finally overcome his demons. Married to his childhood sweetheart Elmira and with a successful writing career, he's now touring England with his popular lecture series. But his notoriously bad luck returns during a stop in Oxford, leaving him implicated in the gory murder of a chambermaid. Alone and desperate, Poe must recruit a shy young undergraduate named Charles Dodgson (soon to be known as Lewis Carroll) to help him clear his name. Can this most unlikely pair of detectives track down the killer before Poe hangs for a crime he didn't commit?

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.

A posh girls’ school charity luncheon serves the headmistress her last meal in this historical mystery series set in post-WWI England. Lady Phoebe Renshaw—with the tireless assistance of her maid Eva Huntford—has organized a luncheon at her alma mater, the Haverleigh School for Young Ladies, to benefit wounded veterans of the Great War. She’s even encouraging the students to help with the cooking and baking. But too many cooks do more than spoil the broth—they add up to a recipe for disaster when the school’s headmistress, Miss Finch, is poisoned. The girls at Haverleigh all come from highly respected families, none of whom will countenance their darling daughters being harassed like common criminals by the local police. So Lady Phoebe steps in to handle the wealthy young debutantes with tact and discretion, while Eva cozies up to the staff. Did one of the girls resent the headmistress enough to do her in? Did a teacher bear a grudge? What about the school nurse, clearly shell shocked from her service in the war? No one is above suspicion. But Lady Phoebe and Eva will have to sleuth with great stealth—or the cornered killer may try to teach someone else a lethal lesson.

James Patterson’s BookShots. Short, fast-paced, high-impact entertainment. Did my brother kill your husband? Mitchum is back. His brother's been charged with murder. Nathaniel swears he didn't kill anyone, but word on the street is that he was involved with the victim's wife. Now, Navy SEAL dropout Mitchum will break every rule to expose the truth – even if it destroys the people he loves.

“Agatha Christie meets Downton Abbey…exemplary.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY To make ends meet, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, have decided to open up Foxwood Hall to guided public tours. Not everyone is pleased about it—even to the point of committing murder . . . The lean times following the Great War continue to require creative solutions for England's noble class. But Lady Phoebe’s proposal to open up the Renshaw estate to guided tours for additional income strikes many in the family as a “vulgar enterprise.” Phoebe’s grandfather, the Earl of Wroxly, however, reluctantly concedes the necessity. Their first tour group consists of members of the Historical Society, a magazine writer, and a flock of students. It’s a large group for Phoebe, her sister Amelia, and Eva to manage, and when the widow Arvina Bell goes missing, Eva goes in search of her—only to find her in the library, strangled with a silken drapery cord. The schoolchildren are promptly sent home, but the members of the Historical Society—many of whom also wandered off at times—remain for interrogation. There is also, curiously, a framed photo missing from the library. As the police hastily zero in on a suspect, Phoebe and Eva weigh the clues. Does the crime have to do with rumors of hidden treasure at Foxwood Hall? But they must make haste to solve the widow’s murder—before someone else becomes history . . .

Murder Most Medieval is a collection of short stories set in medieval times in which murders are solved by the cleverest of methods. Included are stories by Peter Tremayne, Clayton Emery, and Ellis Peters.