Historical Mystery Romance

Private Jake Elliott was apprehensive as he walked to the commander’s office. He couldn’t think of a single transgression that would have attracted the major’s attention. When he left the command building 10 minutes later, he was still numbed by the short visit. Tomorrow, he would no longer be a cavalryman, but would be returning to the family ranch outside of Fort Benton in Montana Territory. But it was the reason he was being discharged before his enlistment expired that had been the biggest shock.

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Without a Trace. A compelling story of courage, friendship and love by international number-one best-selling author Lesley Pearse, read by Emma Powell. Coronation Day, 1953. In the Somerset village of Sawbridge, young shopkeeper Molly Heywood slips away from the celebrations to her friend's cottage and makes a shocking discovery: Cassie is dead, and her six-year-old daughter, Petal, has vanished without a trace.

Michael Fraser was so handsome, it was positively criminal. His cold blue eyes made Elizabeth's heart skip at their very first meeting. No doubt about it, the gossip was right: this tough soldier was a traitor, a spy, a scurrilous French agent. Yet her hapless cousin had invited him to their home for the weekend. What trouble might this untrustable man cause during the course of a three-day house party filled with distinguished guests? Soon Elizabeth hears that this stealthy spy has been querying the servants about her.

Number-one New York Times best-selling author Stephanie Laurens brings you a tale of unexpected romance that blossoms against the backdrop of dastardly murder. Well-born rakehell and head of an ancient family, Alaric, Lord Carradale, is finally preparing to find a bride. But loyalty to his childhood friend Percy Mandeville necessitates attending Percy's annual house party, held at neighboring Mandeville Hall. Alaric decides that as soon as he's free, he'll hie to London and find the mild-mannered lady he believes will ensure a peaceful life. But the following morning he comes upon the corpse of a young lady-guest.

Returning from her honeymoon with Colin Hargreaves and a near brush with death in Constantinople, Lady Emily convalesces at her mother-in-law's beautiful estate in Normandy. But the calm she so desperately seeks is shattered when, out riding a horse, she comes upon the body of a young woman who has been brutally murdered. The girl's wounds are identical to those inflicted on the victims of Jack the Ripper, who has wreaked havoc across the channel in London. Emily feels a connection to the young woman and is determined to bring the killer to justice.

Fabulous family saga of secrets held through two generations, set against the atmospheric background of the Lake District at Christmas. The year 1936 is drawing to a close. Winter grips Wetmoreland and causes a rare phenonmenon: The lakes freeze. For two local families, the Richardsons and the Grindleys, this will bring unexpected upheaval, as the frozen lake entices long-estranged siblings and children to return home for the holiday season.

Clint Belmet's parents were killed in a Comanche raid when he was young, but that hasn't stopped him from taking a job leading freight caravans on the old Santa Fe Trail, from Saint Louis, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico - a route that goes right through Comanche territory. Here is the raw, primitive West of the early pioneers, great caravans of freighters rumbling across the deadly prairies, risking attack by Comanche.

Beatrice Poole may be a vicar's daughter, but that doesn't mean she's a stranger to the darker passions. Indeed, she knows enough about gothic terrors to have carved out a highly successful career penning "horrid novels." But now the talented authoress finds herself in the midst of an ominous adventure that rivals anything she's ever written.Her beloved Uncle Reggie is dead, Beatrice suspects that he was murdered - all because of his keen interest in a fabled treasure that may not even exist. Rumors abound that the Forbidden Rings of Aphrodite, said to give their possessor the most unnatural powers, have surfaced in London. Yet Beatrice needs more than rumors to uncover the truth. That's why she's braved the wilds of Devon to seek out a leading authority on antiquities and ancient legends: The famously eccentric, unquestionably reclusive, possibly dangerous Earl of Monkcrest, a man believed to dabble in the supernatural.But bearding the Mad Monk of Monkcrest in his den and dangling the possibility of uncovering a fabulous artifact before him may be the biggest mistake of Beatrice's life. For suddenly, she finds herself joined in an uneasy alliance with a man who is every bit as fascinating as one of the heroes in her novels.

A stranger who appears on Kat's doorstep turns out to be one Charlotte Bristow, legal wife of Joe Bristow, the man Kat once believed herself married to—who she thought died at sea twelve years ago. Kat is jolted by Charlotte’s claims that Joe was not only murdered but that he also had amassed a small fortune before he died. Charlotte makes the cook an offer she cannot refuse—if Kat can discover the identity of Joe's murderer, Charlotte will give her a share of the fortune Joe left behind. Kat must race to catch the real killer before she loses her job and possibly her life.

An ugly civil war has just ended in Israel. One lone woman's death in the territory belonging to the tribe of Benjamin has shocked the nation. Fathers, brothers, and sons joined the army to demand justice. The guilty must pay for such a crime, and so they have. As everyone is left picking up the pieces, Benjamin has lost the most. Cities are burned to the ground, and Benjamin itself is in danger of disappearing. The once mighty tribe has been reduced to a mere 600 men.

Phoebe Atkinson is what society might call unconventional. Instead of marrying well like other women born to wealth, she chose to be a schoolteacher. Not to mention she lives in a leaky flat in an unfashionable part of town rather than stay in her parents’ mansion. But when her most promising pupil goes missing she has only one option: beg her sister’s best friend, the powerful Duke of Ellis, for help.

The Home Office has asked Sir Bertrand Thorndike to head an investigation into stolen royal jewels. It's the perfect chance for Bertie to step out of his brother's long shadow. His superior, The Duke of Haverly, has a plan that makes him balk: in order to sell his cover, Bertie must play the part of a man looking for love, ready to reform his rakish ways. The duke is willing to let Bertie name his own investigative team, but his recommendation that the team include Philippa Cashel has Bertie on his guard. Does the duke-known for his behind-the-scenes machinations-have an ulterior motive?

Bringing back the lovers from Slightly Shady, Amanda Quick plunges us into a whirlwind intrigue involving an ancient cameo bracelet, known as the Blue Medusa, said to possess terrifying powers. Lavinia Lake and Tobias March join forces again, romantically and intellectually, to solve the murder of the beautiful wife of an old family friend.

Lord Francis and Lady Ottilia Fanshawe have suffered a devastating blow. With Ottilia sunk deep into a depression, Francis is desperate to get his beloved wife back. So when he hears about a murder at the seaside town of Weymouth, an idea starts to form.... A young girl's body has been discovered, laid out in an open coffin, surrounded by candles. The staged scene, and the fact that the victim was a member of a theatrical troupe, suggests one of her colleagues is the killer. Knowing Ottilia's sharp intuition and penchant for solving mysteries, Francis brings her to the murder site.

Ghostly images appear and float across the stage, objects levitate into the air, and a beautiful assistant disappears inside a glass box, then reappears inside a second glass box. All while the audience at the Crystal Palace, including amateur investigator Mikaela Forsythe, watch the performance. Is it real? Then, an evening with her friend, Theodora Templeton, attending the one-night performance by master illusionist Jean Luc Betard, takes a ghastly turn and plunges Mikaela headlong into murder when the illusionist's young assistant is found dead at the end of his newest stunt.

Manchester, England, 1857. When the largest art exhibition ever to be held in Manchester opens, Rosanna Hawkins—one of Manchester’s finest artists to reproduce “parlor versions” of classic masterpieces with near-perfect precision—attends, excited by the chance to sketch such famous works. When she meets the handsome Detective Martin Harrison, who is head of security for the exhibition, she is immediately intrigued. But the couple’s blossoming summer romance takes a strange turn when Rosanna recognizes her own works on display in the exhibition hall.

Charlie West went to bed one night an ordinary high school student. He woke up a hunted man. Terrorists are trying to kill him. The police want to arrest him for the stabbing death of his best friend. He doesn't know whose side he's one or who he can trust. With his pursuers closing in on every side, Charlie makes his way back to his hometown to find some answers.

After a treacherous journey, Lucina found safety in the bakery of Rydding Village. Her peace is threatened when she learns that Nico, the new apprentice smith, is from the homeland she was forced to flee. Could he be an enemy agent who caught up with her? Even if he isn’t, the newcomer is the chief suspect in a string of burglaries, and Lucina worries the suspicion will spread to her because of their shared nationality. Her nightmares of being driven from the village may come true if she can’t clear his name.

When Kit and Red set foot on French soil during the Normandy landings, they know they have to rely on each other. As they head for the battlefield, their aim is simple: save lives. But when they're called away on a top-secret mission to patch up a few men behind enemy lines, everything changes. Alongside fellow nurses, Roxy and Gail, they're told to prepare for the worst, trading in their nurses' fatigues for civilian clothes and hiding medical supplies under their skirts. But it's a lie. Their real mission tasks them with the impossible.

When tsarist soldiers fire at a group of peaceful village protestors and kill his young bride, Pavel dedicates his life to overthrowing the Romanovs. Pavel's underground group assassinates the Grand Duke, changing the life of the Grand Duchess Elisavyeta forever.