British Fiction

Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchant Navy. But his ship is sunk in the Atlantic by a German Uboat, drowning almost the entire crew. An American cruise liner, the SS Kansas Star, rescues a handful of sailors, among them Harry and the third officer, an American named Tom Bradshaw.

Two fourteen-year-old girls go missing from an exclusive boarding school. Did they abscond, or have they been kidnapped? The girls’ parents - and indeed the parents of many other pupils – have considerable influence in very high places. Pressure is quickly brought to bear to get Scotland Yard involved. Concern for the girls’ safety is paramount. Detective Chief Inspector Adair and three of his officers are assigned to help the local police. Initially there is little to go on, but Adair soon determines that the children didn’t leave voluntarily. The first step – to ascertain how ...

In this world of bribes, vendettas, and swindling, in which heiresses are gambled and won, Trollope's characters embody all the vices: Lady Carbury is 'false from head to foot'; her son Felix has 'the instincts of a horse, not approaching the higher sympathies of a dog'; and Melmotte - the colossal figure who dominates the book - is a 'horrid, big, rich scoundrel...a bloated swindler...a vile city ruffian'. But as vile as he is, he is considered one of Trollope's greatest creations.

One dreadful night, in the shrouded mists of a London peasouper, an unknown assailant knifes Ross Davis of the Foreign Office. His mentor, Neil Griffith, not only discovers the body but is arrested for the murder. Though they haven’t known Neil long, Oxford Tutors/Sleuths, Catherine and Harry Bascombe, investigate at her mother’s request. Catherine is convinced that her mother’s beau would never murder his Foreign Office protégé and future son-in-law. As he is banned from returning to work until his name is cleared, Griffith convinces Catherine to take a temporary job liaising ...

Two years into World War II, Britain is feeling her losses: The Nazis have won battles, the Blitz has destroyed cities, and U-boats have cut off the supply of food. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front is holding a cooking contest - and the grand prize is a job as the program’s first-ever female co-host. For four very different women, winning the competition would present a crucial chance to change their lives.

Judgement is in the eye of the beholder Adrian Harvey, London wine merchant, has lost the Christmas spirit. Someone is stalking him, stealing his post and vandalising his shop. When the police question him after an anonymous tip-off, he's more than anxious. He's scared. And who is that nun? Long time neighbour and friend DI Beatrice Stubbs is dispatched to Germany to investigate a series of apparently related art thefts, so Adrian seizes the chance to flee the city. He follows her to Hamburg to do some Christmas shopping and visit his ex. Yet the stalker is still on his heels. While ...

Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Man of Honor is the prequel to the New York Times best-selling and dazzling saga A Woman of Substance....

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 ...

Melissa couldn’t be happier that summer has arrived. She’s delighted to have her mother back by her side, and she is extending her beloved Hawthorn Cottage so her new family can live together. Meanwhile, Melissa’s mother, Sylvia, is back in good health and enjoying a brief stay at a stately retirement home. She loves getting to know the residents, until first a dog and then his owner are both found dead in the dining room. Like mother, like daughter, Sylvia decides to do a little investigating of her own.

A perfectly plotted crime is foiled by a runaway bank clerk as Inspector Littlejohn navigates impersonation, forgery, embezzlement...and a murder. It was meant to be a fool-proof scheme. The victim was a recluse, cut off from the world after the death of his wife. Nobody would think it strange when they didn't see him. Nobody would make inquiries. Yet, even the most meticulous of criminals can be caught out, especially if they don't leave room for human error.

When her father assassinates Henry Carson, his employer's son and Mary's admirer, suspicion falls on Mary's second admirer, Jem, a fellow worker. Mary has to prove her lover's innocence without incriminating her own father.

SPARROWHAWK –The Accidental Death of a Dead Man. It was reported as a straightforward road accident. Perhaps it was but the crash scene gave rise to more questions than answers. For Sparrowhawk, this might well be seen as an accidental death; but it couldn’t possibly be the accidental death … of an already dead man … could it? Then there was Merrick Nethercutt. Maybe he was just a frustrated writer and novelist, hungry for literary success … or perhaps a narcissistic psychopath prepared to commit murder in order to claim a place at the table of world prize winning authors. ...

A charming English village mystery.A stand-alone Chapman and Morris Mystery.Simon and Kate land the perfect house-sitting job in a quirky, old farmhouse.But, when the neighbours are murdered, they discover the house has a sinister past connected to an identical killing.Following another attack, Simon disappears, and the police uncover disturbing secrets about his past.Compelling evidence against Simon mounts, leaving Kate alone, unsure what to believe or who to trust. Is Simon the killer? Or a pawn in somebody else’s game?As Kate closes in on the truth, she realises too late that the ...

Down the road from a working-class British pub, along the brick wall of a narrow alley, if the conditions are exactly right, you'll find the entrance to Slade House. A stranger will greet you by name and invite you inside. At first, you won't want to leave. Later, you'll find that you can't. Every nine years, the house's residents - an odd brother and sister - extend a unique invitation to someone who's different or lonely: a precocious teenager, a recently divorced policeman, a shy college student. But what really goes on inside Slade House? For those who find out, it's already too late....

1957: Jean Swinney is a feature writer on a local paper in the southeast suburbs of London. Clever but with limited career opportunities and on the brink of forty, Jean lives a dreary existence that includes caring for her demanding widowed mother, who rarely leaves the house. It’s a small life with little joy and no likelihood of escape.

I fell in love with Mr. Darcy on a reality TV show. Cue the happily ever after. Can you believe it? Me, Emma Brady, the girl who managed to turn reality TV humiliation into a real-life fairy tale, has fallen head over heels for my own Mr. Darcy while the entire nation watched. Yep, I'm the living proof that even the most unlikely of matches can light up the screen. And guess what? Hold onto your tiaras because now my Mr. Darcy has gone and proposed, complete with a promise of happily ever after in his posh English manor. Cue the confetti cannons and unicorns, right? Not so fast. Life ...

Escape to the enchanting world of Victorian England with Abigail Adams’s spellbinding new novel, The Duke’s Forbidden Passion! Meet Lady Arabella Chester, the spirited and rebellious daughter of a powerful lord, determined to carve her own path. Her world turns upside down when she crosses paths with the notorious Duke of Edinburgh, Alexander Smith. This chance meeting ignites a magnetic attraction that defies their better judgment and societal norms. Experience the thrilling tension as Arabella and Alexander grapple with their forbidden love. Will they choose the luxurious life they ...

Smoke hides many truths … and many sins … After a case of industrial espionage leads to a manic pursuit gone fatally wrong, private investigator Thomas Blume is forced to face the agonizing pain of his role in a seemingly innocent bystander’s death. But when the victim’s wife shows up the next day suggesting a mysterious deeper conspiracy with much more going on beneath the surface, Blume is drawn into a case involving dangerous organized criminals, a seedy London underworld, and gangsters with nothing to lose. Now, with police closing in and a mob boss hunting him, can Blume ...

The rare letters Tell Sackett received always had trouble inside. And the terse note from his cousin Logan was no exception. Logan faced starvation or a hanging if Tell couldn't drive a herd of cattle from Kansas to British Columbia before winter. To get to Logan, he must brave prairie fires, buffalo stampedes, and Sioux war parties. But worse trouble waits, for a mysterious enemy shadows Sackett's every move across the Dakotas and the Canadian Rockies.

Fifteen years ago, a serial killer was on a rampage murdering young women in Middlehampton. Then, suddenly, the killings stopped, and the murderer was never found… So when the body of another young woman is found bearing the twisted killer’s unique hallmark—the overpowering stench of lavender and an origami heart—DS Kat Ballantyne knows this can only mean one thing: the killer is back.