British House

A burglar is found shot dead in the home of Viscount Tallis, a wealthy industrialist. The man was equipped with a stethoscope, and appears to have been attempting to open a safe in the study. Tallis himself is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, on his way to America on Government business. Although various members of his family are present in the house, together with guests, nobody has access to the safe – nobody even knows what it might contain. It isn't even clear if the safebreaker succeeded in opening it. Detective Inspector Tommy Rees is given the case. Rees is approaching ...

A series of baffling murders among a group of imprisoned agents threatens the outcome of World War II in this chilling mystery from the New York Times best-selling author of Mr. Churchill’s Secretary. World War II is raging, and former spy Maggie Hope knows too much. She knows what the British government is willing to do to keep its secrets. She knows the real location of the planned invasion of France. She knows who’s lying. She knows who the double-crossers are. She knows exactly who is sending agents to their deaths.

Neil Carson, a lifelong sceptic inherits his late uncle’s Victorian house where, in spite of life-long scepticism, he starts to experience increasingly weird events and seeing spectral figures all seemingly reliving a long forgotten tragedy. His scepticism is stretched still further when he meets the living counterpart of one of the spectres he has seen and then matters take a horrifying turn as those long-ago events start to play themselves out once more. Extract I suppose I must have been working sporadically for maybe an hour when suddenly I once again had that feeling that I wasn’t ...

"Matt Drabble is a name that will one day be as widely recognized as Stephen King & Dean Koontz" - READERS FAVORITE Lucy Sheppard hadn't been back to the small town of Woodforge Valley in a long time, but it still didn't seem long enough since she'd set foot inside the black hole of terror that had once been her childhood home. The family run care home had closed its doors some time ago and her mother had spent her final months fading away inside the manor house walls. The large building and sprawling grounds have seen better days, a once proud beacon on the local map now lies in tatters as...

These were among the questions that philosophers wrestled with in mid-twentieth-century Britain, a period shadowed by war and the rise of fascism. In response to these events, thinkers such as Philippa Foot (originator of the famous trolley problem), Isaiah Berlin, Iris Murdoch, Elizabeth Anscombe, Gilbert Ryle, and J. L. Austin aspired to a new level of watchfulness and self-awareness about language as a way of keeping philosophy true to everyday experience.

An assembly of family, friends, lovers, and enemies are ensnared by the long-running court case Jarndyce and Jarndyce. For orphan Esther Summerson, it might lead to the truth of her parentage. The arrogant Lady Dedlock fears the legal tangle could expose her secret. For the malevolent solicitor Mr. Tulkinghorn, the costly dispute is a gainful opportunity. As for John Jarndyce, Esther’s guardian and master of Bleak House, it’s a chance to correct the past. When questions of inheritance become a trigger for murder, the sharp-eyed Inspector Bucket enters the fray.

Amber ignored the tales of Gull's Nest, the sea-cliff house shrouded in dark history. When she realizes the legends are terrifyingly real, it's already too late. Amber's world spiraled into the unknown when her brother, Jeremy, ignored all cautions and bought Gull's Nest, an eerie house perched on a sea cliff, notorious for its dark past. Jeremy's disturbing visions were hardly a shock, given his penchant for delving into the mystical, beyond mere earthly indulgences. Amber's visit to Gull's Nest took a chilling turn when she was greeted not by her brother, but by the police, demanding she ...

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 ...

Attention: Please note that this is the second edition of this book. Apart from an updated formatting, there is no new content for those who have already read or purchased the previous edition. It is the summer of 1811 and dark clouds overshadow the beauty and peace of Pemberley. Fitzwilliam Darcy is fighting to protect his sister’s honour and reputation, after her attempt to elope with the scoundrel George Wickham. He has brought her home to Derbyshire, where he hopes she can heal the wounds of her soul and regain her spirit. But some things are beyond his control, as he discovers when a...

The career of playwright Joy Sinclair comes to an abrupt end on an isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands when someone drives an 18-inch dirk through her neck. Called upon to investigate the case in a country where they have virtually no authority, aristocratic Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers grapple for both a motive and a murderer. Emotions run deep in this highly charged drama, for the list of suspects soon includes Britain’s foremost actress, its most successful theatrical producer, and the woman Lynley loves.

This is another of the great action-packed stories taken from the records of Cornwall’s Company of Archers. The mouse-eaten parchments on which this particular tale is based were found in a chest at the Bodleian Library during the 1887 renovation of its basement. It is the witty and almost true story, with a bit of embellishment that Harry Flashman would have enjoyed, about the early days of the Windsor family during the early days of Britain's rise as a great military power and the founding of the great merchant companies that came to have more power and commanded more allegiance than ...

World War II rages on across Europe, but Maggie Hope has finally found a moment of rest on the pastoral coast of western Scotland. Home from an undercover mission in Berlin, she settles down to teach at her old spy training camp, and to heal from scars on both her body and heart. Yet instead of enjoying the quieter pace of life, Maggie is quickly drawn into another web of danger and intrigue.

The British Press. A pack of relentless ill-mannered mouth breathers notorious for their bumbling through the streets in pursuit of celebrity prey which they can torment with their foul and obnoxious questions endless insults and fruitless attempts to illicit photo-worthy reactions. If they had two brain cells between them all they’d still be fighting for third place. This band of asinine clowns answer to their tabloid overlords like starved street mutts desperate for any sign of praise that might move them up the ladder of journalistic depravity. If they were half as smart as they ...

Turning her back on her privileged life in Victorian England, Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), fired by her innate curiosity, journeyed the world and became fascinated with all things Arab. Traveling the length and breadth of the Arab region, armed with a love for its language and its people, she not only produced several enormously popular books based on her experiences but became instrumental to the British foreign office. When World War I erupted, and the British needed the loyalty of the Arab leaders, it was Gertrude Bell's work and connections that helped provided the brain for T. E. Lawrence's military brawn.

As the Season of 1899 comes to an end, the world is poised on the brink of profound, irrevocable change. The Earl of Dilberne is facing serious financial concerns. The ripple effects spread to everyone in the household: Lord Robert, who has gambled unwisely on the stock market and seeks a place in the Cabinet; his unmarried children, Arthur, who keeps a courtesan, and Rosina, who keeps a parrot in her bedroom; Lord Robert's wife Isobel, who orders the affairs of the household in Belgrave Square; and Grace, the lady's maid who orders the life of her mistress.

Alexander Larman completes his acclaimed Windsor family trilogy, using rare and previously unseen documents to illuminate their unique family dynamic. Through his chronicling of events like the Royal Wedding, George VI’s death and the discovery of the Duke of Windsor’s treacherous activities in WWII, Larman paints a vivid portrait of the end of one sovereign’s reign and the beginning of another’s that heralded a new Elizabethan Age which would bring power and glory back to a monarchy desperately in need of it.

A quirky, dark-edged mystery full of twists, turns and playful surprises Max Black, retired stock broker and single parent, is facing a crisis. His daughter has left for university, and despite the companionship of his faithful Cairn terrier Monty, he feels panicked, untethered and not very well. His doctor tells him to get out more, change his lifestyle and find himself a job. Could Duntisbourne Hall, a rundown stately home recruiting tour guides, be the answer to his empty-nest syndrome? Joining the team of eccentric retired professionals who shuffle the general public around on tour, he ...

In MI5 a scandal is brewing and there are bad actors everywhere. A key member of a Downing Street think-tank has disappeared without a trace. Claude Whelan, one-time First Desk of MI5's Regent's Park, is tasked with tracking her down. But the trail leads straight back to Regent's Park HQ itself, with its chief, Diana Taverner, as prime suspect. Meanwhile her Russian counterpart has unexpectedly shown up in London but has slipped under MI5's radar.

England, 1925. When a strange young woman is found murdered on the grounds of Unsworth Castle, the duke and his family are astounded at first, but quickly become enraged when the police begin asking all sorts of impertinent questions. And when suspicions dare to fall on one of their own, it is up to Mr. Quayle, Lord Unsworth's exceedingly efficient secretary, to find the true culprit and save the House of Unsworth from scandal and ruin.

It's not always a question of "whodunit?" Sometimes there's more mystery in the why or how. And although we usually know the unhealthy fates of both victim and perpetrator, what of those clever few who plan and carry out the perfect crime? The ones who aren't brought down even though they're found out? And what about those who do the finding out who witness a murder or who identify the murderer but keep the information to themselves? These are some of the mysteries that we follow through those six stories.