English Thrillers

Hannah Swensen, amateur sleuth and boutique bake store proprietor extraordinaire, is judging a dessert contest when fellow judge Coach Boyd Watson is found dead, face down in a delicate confection no less.

Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler collects more than 50 of his all-time favorite holiday crime stories - many of which are difficult or nearly impossible to find anywhere else. From classic Victorian tales by Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Thomas Hardy, to contemporary stories by Sara Paretsky and Ed McBain, this collection touches on all aspects of the holiday season, and all types of mysteries. They are suspenseful, funny, frightening, and poignant.

In True Courage, multiple Christy Award winner Dee Henderson sends FBI Special Agent Luke Falcon on a desperate race to save lives. Just before fresh leads on an elusive serial killer pre-empt another date with Caroline Lane, she calls Luke to tell him her sister and family are missing. As day blurs into night, the specter of foul play soon tests the reality of the couple's faith in God and their love for one another.

Police Chief Delaney Reed can handle the Valkyries, werewolves, gill-men and other paranormal creatures who call the small beach town of Ordinary, Oregon their home. It’s the vacationing gods who keep her up at night. With the famous rhubarb festival right around the corner, small-town tensions, tempers, and godly tantrums are at an all-time high. The last thing Delaney needs is her ex-boyfriend reappearing just when she's finally caught the attention of Ryder Bailey, the one man she should never love.

When Hannah's mother's cherished cake knife is used to kill a beautiful out-of-towner at the town of Lake Eden's annual Christmas party, the stage is set for Hannah to once again unmask a killer.

Everything is right on track for Danielle as she prepares for the grand opening of her bed and breakfast. All that changes when her cousin, Cheryl, shows up to claim her share of the inheritance - housemate Lily figures out there is a ghost in the house - and the million-dollar necklace goes missing. There is blood on someone's hands, and if Danielle isn't careful, she'll be moving from Marlow House to the Big House.

Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is the last detective: a genuine gumshoe, committed to door-stopping and deduction rather than fancy computer gadgetry. So when the naked body of a woman is found floating in the weeds in a lake near Bath with no one willing to identify her, no marks, and no murder weapon, his sleuthing abilities are tested to the limit.

The picturesque Cotwsold village of Winter Parva has decided to warm the post-Christmas season by roasting a pig in the town square. Agatha, always one for a good roasting, organizes an outing to enjoy the merriment. But as the rotary spit is placed over a bed of fiery charcoals and the pig is carried toward its final resting place, Agatha realizes that things are not as they seem... Stop!" she screams suddenly. The "pig," in fact, is Gary Beech, a policeman not exactly beloved by the good people of the village. Although Agatha has every intention of leaving matters to the police....

Twenty years ago, a wealthy British financier disappeared near Ubar, the fabled lost city buried beneath the sands of Oman. Now, an expedition of scientists, led by the financier’s daughter, is finally setting off for the legendary metropolis to unlock the desert’s secrets. What they find, however, is more beautiful than they ever dreamed — and far deadlier. Within Ubar is a powerful energy source that could fuel the entire earth above — if it can be harnessed.

Tanaka Institute, Monterey, CA: Angel, the recaptured 76-foot, 100,000-pound Megalodon, has birthed a litter of pups - five females - far too numerous and aggressive to keep in one pen. One solution: a Dubai royal prince is building the largest aquarium in the world and seeks to purchase two of the "runts". The deal hinges on hiring Jonas Taylor's 21-year-old son, David, to be their trainer. Jonas reluctantly agrees, and David is off to Dubai for the summer of his life.

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.

Former English professor Cat Latimer is back in Colorado, hosting writers' retreats in the big blue Victorian she's inherited, much to her surprise, from none other than her carousing ex-husband. Now it's an authors' getaway, but Cat won't let anyone get away with murder. The bed-and-breakfast is open for business, and best-selling author Tom Cook is among its first guests. Cat doesn't know why he came all the way from New York, but she's glad to have him among the quirkier - and far less famous - attendees.

Amelia and Emerson leave the calm of Victorian England in search of an estranged father's son and a lost kingdom buried deep in Sudan.

Agatha Raisin's detective agency has become so successful that now all she wants is some R&R. But as soon as she cuts back her hours, Agatha remembers that when she has too much quality time, she doesn't know what to do with it. So it doesn't take much for the vicar of a nearby village to persuade her to help publicize the church fete, especially when the fair's organizer, George Selby, happens to be a gorgeous widower.

Pain, horror, fear - these are the things that have comprised best-selling novelist Lance Metzger's life. His childhood remains a riddled wasteland of abuse by a sadistic father and abandonment by an apathetic mother. In turn his only refuge became his writing. When Lance loses his ability to write and becomes haunted by a nightmare that he'd thought was buried, he is drawn inexplicably to a house on the shores of Lake Superior, where he finds his muse once again - but something is waiting for him when he arrives.

Even though Agatha Raisin loathes amateur dramatics, her friend Mrs. Bloxby, the vicar's wife, has persuaded her to support the local pantomime. Stifling a yawn at the production of Babes in the Woods, Agatha watches as the baker, playing an ogre, struts and threatens on the stage. Then a trapdoor opens… followed by a scream and then silence. Surely, this isn't the way the scene was rehearsed?

Enola Holmes—younger sister to Sherlock Holmes—is back on another case! As Enola searches for the missing Lady Blanchefleur del Campo, she discovers that her brother Sherlock is just as diligently searching for Enola herself! Sherlock and Enola must solve a triple mystery: What has happened to their mother? And to Lady Blanchefleur? And what does either have to do with their brother, Mycroft?

While Hannah bustles around her bakery, The Cookie Jar, a murder case is also cooking in the small town of Lake Eden. Donning her amateur sleuthing cap, Hannah sets out to bring a killer to justice.

Two women go away for the weekend, but only one comes back alive. Was it just the music they were into? And who was the man the victim met at the festival? DCI Sophie Allen is back after the emotional upheavals she suffered in Deadly Crimes, but is she really in control? And Detective Constable Rae Gregson joins the team and immediately faces challenges that put her life in peril. Discover a gripping and detailed mystery that will have you hooked from the start until the stunning twist at the end.

Everyone knows the dead woman under the lighthouse, but no one seems to know why she died. What brought the folk-rock star back to Exham on Sea after so many years? Who wanted her dead? Does the key to her murder lie in the town, or far away across the Atlantic? Libby Forest arrives in Exham to build a new life making cakes and chocolates, and discovers a talent for solving mysteries, helped by Bear, an enormous Carpathian sheepdog, and a cast of local characters.