Ruth

Jenny has never been one to feel sorry for herself. The illegitimate child of a wealthy man and a statureless woman, she has been an orphan since before she can remember. It is a hard life made bearable only by the kindness of her guardian, an old woman named Miss Garstone, who has always treated Jenny as her own. Struck down by a motorist, "Garsty" dies, whispering to Jenny that her parents were actually married, and she is the rightful heir to the Alington fortune.

Georgie, or Lady Georgiana Rannoch, is busy planning her upcoming nuptials to Darcy O'Mara. Unfortunately, what has started as a simple wedding has become quite a royal headache and grand affair, thanks to a guest list that includes the queen and the appointment of princesses as Georgie's bridesmaids. “If only Darcy and I had eloped!” she thinks, as she attempts to organize her wedding and find a place for her and her husband-to-be to live. Just as she despairs of ever finding a home, her godfather offers his fully staffed country estate. But something sinister is afoot....

There’s a literary niche for all tastes including those who think that either Agatha Christie wasn’t funny enough or that PG Wodehouse didn’t feature anywhere near as many baffling murders as he could have. The Case of the Canterfell Codicil is a classic, cozy, locked-room mystery written in the style of an homage to PG Wodehouse.

Having decided to redecorate Woodside Cottage, Jude engages the services of local man Pete, who painted and decorated the homes of Fethering residents for many years. Pete is currently working on Footscrow House, a large Victorian building that is being converted into holiday flats by a local developer.

Did Lizzie Borden murder her own father and stepmother? Was Jack the Ripper actually the Duke of Clarence? Who killed JonBenet Ramsey? America's foremost expert on criminal profiling and 25-year FBI veteran John Douglas, along with author and filmmaker Mark Olshaker, explores those tantalizing questions and more in this mesmerizing work of detection. With uniquely gripping analysis, the authors reexamine and reinterpret the accepted facts, evidence, and victimology of the most notorious murder cases in the history of crime.

Tucked away among Devon's rolling green hills, Mallowan Hall combines the best of English tradition with the modern conveniences of 1930. Housekeeper Phyllida Bright, as efficient as she is personable, manages the large household with an iron fist in her very elegant glove. In one respect, however, Mallowan Hall stands far apart from other picturesque country houses. The manor is home to archaeologist Max Mallowan and his famous wife, Agatha Christie.

Rachel Klein is sacked from her job at the White House after she sends an email criticizing Donald Trump. As she is escorted off the premises, she is hit by a speeding car, driven by what the press will discreetly call "a personal friend of the president". Does that explain the flowers, the get-well wishes at a press briefing, the hush money offered by a lawyer at her hospital bedside? Rachel’s recovery is soothed by comically doting parents, matchmaking roommates, a new job as aide to a journalist whose books aim to defame the president, and unexpected love at the local wine store.

Now is the fall of his discontent, as Jason Fitger, newly appointed chair of the English Department of Payne University, takes arms against a sea of troubles, personal and institutional. His ex-wife is sleeping with the dean who must approve whatever modest initiatives he undertakes. The fearsome department secretary Fran clearly runs the show (when not taking in rescue parrots and dogs) and holds plenty of secrets she's not sharing. The lavishly funded Econ Department keeps siphoning off English's meager resources and has taken aim at its remaining office space.

When, like Ruth and Roger Mallard, you inherit a large house but no money to keep it up, one thing you can do is turn it into a guest-house. And having made up their minds, the Mallards decided that River Lodge was to be a guest-house of the very best kind. The first week’s guests were specially chosen - or self invited: a rich aunt; a theatrical producer and the lovely Felicity; Felicity’s sister and her twins; a famous artist and the amiable “Goosey”; the fattest dog in fiction; and a not-so-rich but very comic uncle and aunt.

There were two things seriously wrong when someone found Mr Meredith in the library of Ornum House and greeted him with a ‘Good morning’. For one thing, it was five o’clock in the afternoon; and for another, the greeting took the form of a murderous blow to the back of poor Mr Meredith’s head. But Inspector Sloan doesn’t discover any of this until he finds the weapon, a large primitive club, topped with an iron spike.