Historical Cozy

Alone in the midnight hours with nothing but dead leaves, stray cats, and legends of ghosts and ghoulies to accompany him. A sleeping village doesn’t mean a simple shift, though. Between the early risers of the farming community, a badger with a sweet tooth, and getting to know his new workmates, there’s no time for Nick to kick his feet up in the station. And of course there’s Claude Jeremiah Greengrass! Why did he have to retreat hastily down a ladder from a lady’s bedroom and what happened to his trousers and shirt?

1929, December: Snow is falling, and Miss Clara Vale is wrapped up against the cold as she braves the icy streets of Newcastle in her latest investigation. When a young actress from the touring pantomime of Cinderella arrives at her door, Clara isn't sure what to make of her request. Sybil Langford, the legendary fairy godmother in their production, has mysteriously vanished. Could Clara help track her down? But a few days into Clara's search, Sybil's body is pulled from an icy river, and Clara finds herself in the middle of yet another murder mystery.

When novice detective Atalanta Ashford is whisked away to Italy by her friend, race car driver Raoul Lemont, she anticipates a happy holiday under the Tuscan sun. But a chance meeting on the Orient Express with Italian heiress Catharina Lanetti leads to a party invitation…and front row seats for a mysterious murder! With their new friend under suspicion Atalanta and Raoul set to work trying to discover who really murdered Catharina’s father. But with more than half a dozen suspects – all with compelling motive – Atalanta may just be facing her toughest case yet!

England, Summer 1926. When Lord Edgington receives a letter from Hugo Templeton-Swift, a famously rich old man who believes he’s being poisoned, the renowned detective fetches his assistant, his golden retriever, and a full staff of servants and heads off to the countryside to investigate. But when the bodies start falling in the enigmatic manor of Riverside Keep, anyone could be guilty.

Suffolk, 1955. Rosy Gilchrist is asked by her friend Lady Fawcett to join her on a trip to Southwold to visit Delia Dovedale, an old school chum she hasn’t seen in years. Rosy reluctantly agrees to be her companion on the reunion jaunt, but on arrival they discover that their hostess is dead - recently murdered at the local flower festival. Faced with incompetent village police officers and a stern manservant with an eyepatch, Rosy and her friends face the impossible task of finding the murderer in a town of suspicious characters - before the body count rises.

With a newborn and two children, Molly Murphy Sullivan is tackling motherhood. Her husband is off to work in Washington as Easter break begins in New York. Her dear friend and writer, Ryan O’Hara, is shooting a movie, one of the first to involve a real plot and actors. He invites Molly and the children to visit the set and watch the excitement. The movie industry is still experimenting with ways to get the best shot, but soon, their special effects start to malfunction. After a few mishaps where no one is hurt, the special effects turn deadly.

London,1925. Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Devenand Hunter finds himself in the middle of a series of upper-class deaths in London. Bright young people are being extinguished in their favorite night spots, from a sleazy private jazz club to the Savoy ballroom. Dev knows just the person to help him navigate the treacherous society waters: Lady Adelaide Compton, a marquess's daughter and widow of a Great War hero. Unfortunately, he has put her in jeopardy once before, nearly leading him to turn in his warrant card.

When Kitty's latest assignment for the New York Sentinel Ladies' Page takes her to Westfield Hall, she expects to find an orderly establishment teaching French and dancing, but there's more going on at the school than meets the eye. Tragedy strikes when a student named Elspeth is found frozen to death in Central Park. The doctors proclaim that sleepwalking was the cause, but Kitty isn't so sure. Determined to uncover the truth, Kitty must investigate a more chilling scenario - a murder that may involve Elspeth's scientist father and a new invention by a man named Thomas Edison.

When the body of Isolde Newley's long lost husband is found in the grounds of St. Augustus churchyard, suspicion falls on Isolde and everyone close to her - especially her new love interest, the dashing Dr. Mainwaring. The mystery is exacerbated by the largest snowfall seen in North Yorkshire for years. No one can get in - or out - of the village.

Career diplomat Alec Halsey has been elevated to a marquessate he doesn't want. His lover has decided she won't marry him after all. What's more, the suspicion that he murdered his brother still lingers in London drawing rooms. So returning to London after seven months' seclusion may have been a mistake.

Shaken from sleep during the night and bundled off to the Highlands by a burly Scot, Riona is at first terrified then livid. Hugh McCallum insists they were promised to each other as children to ensure peace between their clans. The stubborn laird refuses to believe he's kidnapped the wrong Catriona Duff. Instead he embarks on a campaign of slow-burning seduction....

England, December 1927. Arrogant Edward Linton has returned from years of living in Paris. But has he changed? Because, if not, the consequences for him might be deadly. When Mrs. Kate Forbes and her academically minded niece, Lady Jane Scott. are invited to a gathering at Linton Hall, the last thing they expect is to become amateur sleuths pitting their wits against Inspector Ridley of Scotland Yard to solve a shocking murder. Faced with an ensemble of social climbers, eccentrics, and schemers, our daring duo must untangle a web of secrets, lies and deceit if they're to discover whodunnit.

It's 1923 and young war widow fashionista Ginger Gold makes a cross-Atlantic journey with her companion Haley Higgins to London, England, to settle her father's estate. When the ship's captain is found dead, Ginger is only too happy to lend her assistance to the handsome Chief Inspector Basil Reed.

Leighann Dobbs and Harmony Williams present Book 5 in the Lady Katherine Regency Mysteries.

After the final curtain of Swan Lake, an animated crowd exits the Mariinsky theatre brimming with excitement from the night's performance. But outside, the scene is somber. A ballerina's body lies face down in the snow, blood splattered like rose petals over the costume of the Swan Queen. The crowd is silenced by a single cry - "Nemetseva is dead!" When the dead ballerina's aristocratic lover comes begging for justice, Emily must apply her own set of skills to discover the rising star's murderer.

It's 1956, and Woman Police Constable Rosa Reed has left her groom at the altar in London. Time spent with her American cousins in Santa Bonita, California, is exactly what she needs to get back on her feet, though the last thing she expected was to get entangled in another murder case!

A relaxing cruise down the Mississippi on the Miss Delta Belle steamboat turns to tragedy when celebrity Delilah Dove falls from the deck and is swallowed by the river faster than you can say "man overboard"! It’s touted as a tragic accident, but guests Miss Nora Marsh and her wily great-aunt Julia know a murder when they see one. Can they get justice for Delilah and crack the case without alerting the murderer to their suspicions?

Evangeline "Evie" Parker, Countess of Woodridge, has trekked out to her country estate, Halton House. It's time to pick up the reins and re-establish herself in the district. No easy task when one of her afternoon tea guests is poisoned. Is it a coincidence when another guest is found dead from poison? Scotland Yard steps in. While Evie trusts they will find the killer, she takes exception when the finger of suspicion is pointed at her.

The recently rediscovered short story 'The Lost One', perfect for fans of Daphne du Maurier, Santa Montefiore and Anya Seton. First published in Woman's Journal in 1960, and set against the backdrop of unfenced country and dark winding valleys at night, the aptly named 'The Lost One' features The Wind off the Small Isles heroine Perdita West, who brings her characteristic pluck and courage to this classic Mary Stewart tale of suspense and intrigue....

Mildred Kilgore and Earlynne Biddle are planning to open a bakery on the square - if they can come up with the right recipes. Charlie Dickens faces two of the biggest puzzles of his career as an investigative reporter, and one of them involves his wife. Cute little Cupcake's talent as a singer and dancer makes her a tempting target for an unscrupulous exploiter. Lizzy must enlist the Dahlias to protect her while she herself is confronted by a romantic puzzle. And Sheriff Norris is forced to reopen a puzzling mystery that the town thought was solved.