British Fiction

This fascinating audiobook is the first volume in a projected cultural history of the United States, from the earliest English settlements to our own time. It is a history of American folkways as they have changed through time, and it argues a thesis about the importance for the United States of having been British in its cultural origins. While most people in the United States today have no British ancestors, they have assimilated regional cultures which were created by British colonists, even while preserving ethnic identities at the same time.

Meet Julia Bancroft. Fabulous, talented, beautiful…deluded and friendless. You won’t like her at first but maybe her ‘nice’ lessons might change your mind? Being nice doesn't come naturally to (self-proclaimed) renowned Regency romance author, Julia. But when her husband walks out on her and she realises she has no friends, she faces a future of dying alone with the pesky cats eating her face. Thankfully, she doesn't have any cats but drastic times call for drastic measures. Guided (reluctantly) by her annoyingly wholesome new neighbour, Julia dives into the horrors of small talk, ...

A fanatical group of vigilantes. One local police unit. One international task force. An ex-con with a grudge… Plus a child abduction. It all adds up to a nightmare. Police and a secret group of citizen investigators are locked in a battle for child safety, and Detective Constable Holly Towns finds herself trapped between the two. Holly is paired with a new detective from the Sex Crimes Unit. Detective Danny Cavallo is working with a cross-border task force on human trafficking. And reporter Missy McLaren swears that the underground vigilante crew has the answers. But Holly distrusts the ...

Someone, or something wants him out... "You MUST read this book... It's as scary as hell..." "I defy anyone not to be gripped by the opening paragraph..." Neil is counting the days until he can leave his terrifying student digs and go home for the holidays. For weeks he's suffered hearing harrowing noises in the middle of the night, and seeing things moving which shouldn’t. It’s all becoming clear: someone or something wants him out! When a psychic friend of the family confirms his worst fears, Neil and his fellow students can't bear to go back. Nothing is as it seems, and when ...

Fire in the sky, a catastrophic explosion nearby, and a massive investigation follow a devastating plane crash at Port Alma’s Sky Field airport. Detective Constable Holly Towns is working on the fringes of the high-profile case, trying to find out who turned an old gravel pit into a meth lab, but she keeps getting drawn closer to the crash site and its secrets. Meanwhile, people connected with the lab are being murdered and the CIU officers are worried that a shakeup in the local drug trade will lead to more violence. And there’s one more problem. Holly is being accused of using ...

Death, dishonour or duty. Time is running out and someone is going to die.Trapped on Beta Earth, Julius has no memory of the past two years, and everything feels wrong. As he struggles to make sense of his surroundings, he is taken under the wing of a very unexpected group of people and their existence will change everything. Back on Alpha Earth, treacherous coalitions with the worst of Beta humanity are being formed and only Neith knows the full extent of the danger. Searching for help, she approaches those she trusts, but each encounter ends in violent death. She is on her own. Julius and...

Two hearts. One kiss. Following his wife’s death in childbirth, Fitzwilliam Darcy hopes to ease his way back into society by hosting a house party during Christmastide. He is thrilled when his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam sends a message saying not only will the colonel attend, but he is bringing a young woman with him of whom he hopes both Darcy and the colonel’s mother, Lady Matlock, will approve. Unfortunately, for Darcy, upon first sight, he falls for the woman: He suspects beneath Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s conservative veneer lies a soul which will match his in every way; yet, she is...

Was it an accident or a simple crime of opportunity? Sherisse Collins is dead. The body of the elderly woman is found by a friend, lying at the foot of the stairs in her gracious Linden Square home. Although Sherisse was in her 80s, she was no recluse. Her friends insist that she was strong and healthy, and that she was murdered. The Collins mansion is filled with antiques, original artwork and many valuables, so a theft motive is the first thing considered by DC Holly Towns and the CIU officers. But the old house is hiding secrets of its own. When Holly is doing a detailed search of the ...

He hid his true identity. She hid her heart. But love has a way of revealing all. Fitzwilliam Darcy has never had a day to himself. Bound by duty, wealth, and an ever-watchful society, he longs for one thing he cannot have—freedom. Determined to escape the expectations that rule his life, he assumes the identity of a humble tutor, seeking solace in the countryside. But when he meets Elizabeth Bennet, his carefully constructed disguise is suddenly at risk. Elizabeth has always known her place in the world. A gentleman of Darcy’s standing would never look twice at her—but the quiet, ...

A peaceful spring afternoon turns into DC Holly Towns’ worst nightmare, once the sun goes down. A blast of gunfire tears through the glass walls of a turret that rises from one end of Quinn’s Landing. It spins Holly’s world upside down and sends the Criminal Investigations Unit on a single-minded pursuit of the shooter. Holly and former detective, Danny Cavallo, are meeting with Geraldine Quinn at the elegant lakeside home that has been in her family for generations. The older woman claims she’s become nervous on her own and wants Cavallo to install a high-tech security system, with...

Ever since she drove her best friend's fiance to kill himself, Isabel Drew has been nicknamed Jezebel. She is domineering, arrogant, vain - and beautiful enough to get away with it. She is starring as a princess in a medieval pageant when her past catches up to her. On tiny slips of paper, threats appear, promising death to Isabel and those around her. Fearing she may be attacked, she invites the brilliant Inspector Cockrill to keep her safe after the performance.

How far would you go to protect your own blood? The body of a young woman is discovered within the beauty of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Stripped naked; and posed like the subject from a depraved art exhibition. An innocent life taken in a kill that shakes the communities of South Wales to their very core. Twelve months later, and the remains of another woman are found. But this time the artist responsible has stepped up their game, the latest victim bled like cattle and presented to the world with her face obscured by a decorative mask, but for what purpose? Detective Inspector ...

When undercover agent and officer Forest Irons saves Sarah from a pack of deserters, she accepts his plea for employment at her tavern and inn. Forest soon develops feelings for Sarah, but he suspects she murdered her abusive husband and honor requires him to put his mission first. But desire ignites between them like a lit powder keg. Through his lovemaking and attention, Sarah begins to trust again and harbors fantasies about their future together. When her husband's relatives threaten to take the inn—and her son—away from her, she comes to rely on Forest’s gentle strength. They ...

When Miss Violet Montgomery, daughter of late Hatton Garden Jeweller Harry Montgomery, writes to Sherlock Holmes asking for his help in solving a theft from her family home, the famous detective takes little persuading to agree to the case. Unbeknownst to Miss Violet, two years previously – and a few weeks before her father’s death – Harry Montgomery had written a similar letter to Holmes, who was abroad at the time and unable to assist. Harry and Violet’s pleas share a common thread, as each refer to the loss of a curious red pin...

London, July 1889. Eight months have passed since the horrific murder of Mary Jane Kelly. The residents of Whitechapel have begun breathing easy again - daring to leave windows open and walk about at twilight. But when old Alice McKenzie is found dead, throat slashed from ear to ear, the whispers begin once more: Jack the Ripper is back. Constance Piper, a flower seller with a psychic gift, was a friend to both women. With the supernatural help of her late mentor and her more grounded ally, police detective Thaddeus Hawkins, she uncovers links between the murders and a Fenian gang.

Victimology: tall, slim, blond hair, jeans. And a Harvest Festival t-shirt… Finding the body of a young woman in Haldane Hill Park rings alarm bells for Detective Constable Holly Towns. But can she even say the words ‘serial killer’ and be taken seriously? The media names him the Port Predator, and he’s not finished. Not even close. Another young woman is missing, and time is running out. Officers in the Criminal Investigations Unit are focused on a set of strong suspects, but Holly is drawn in another direction. The risks are high. She’ll be an outcast if she reveals her suspect,...

Fleeing a disastrous marriage, Helen Huntingdon retreats to the desolate mansion, Wildfell Hall, with her son, Arthur. There, she makes her living as a painter. Finding it difficult to avoid her neighbors, she is soon an object of speculation and gossip. Brontë portrays Helen's eloquent struggle for independence at a time when society defined a married woman as her husband's property.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "A well-written, gripping story. Great characters, great location and plenty of drama." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "A stunning crime and mystery debut with twists and turns to keep you turning the pages." Exe Marks the Spot is perfect for fans of crime, mystery and detective stories by authors like Richard Osman, Ian Moore, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, Fiona Leitch and Robert Thorogood. A disappearance. A murder. Two mysteries connected. Meet Angus Darrow, straight-laced, ex-police detective, turned private investigator. He’s hired to find a missing vulnerable ...

Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy are due to be married in a few weeks time in a double wedding with Mr. Bingley and Jane in the local church at Meryton. But Lady Catherine de Bourgh, still smarting from the loss of her nephew Darcy as a husband for her daughter Anne, has her own ideas about their wedding day and she can't help but interfere. Will Darcy live to regret inviting Lady Catherine back into his life, or will Lady Catherine's plan to take a little revenge on Elizabeth unwittingly backfire on her? Elizabeth Bennet's Wedding is a lighthearted, somewhat comic novel; in ...

Catherine Oliphant writes for women's magazines and lives comfortably with anthropologist Tom Mallow - although she's starting to wonder if they'll ever get married. Then Tom drops his bombshell: He's leaving her for a 19-year-old student. Though stunned by Tom's betrayal, Catherine quickly becomes fascinated by another anthropologist, Alaric Lydgate, a reclusive eccentric recently returned from Africa. As Catherine starts to weigh her options, she must figure out who she is and what she really wants.