Victorian English Mystery

The legend of Maggie's Bridge is well known to locals. In the late 1800's a young girl, pregnant and frightened, loses her life on a lonely bridge in a terrible storm. But what is the truth behind the story? Who was Maggie Bloxom? What fates brought her to that dark place and stole her future away from her? Claire Ludlow is a local. She grew up visiting the bridge at midnight and calling for Maggie. One night when she was 16 she sees more than she thought possible. When life draws her back to her home town years later and drops her within arms reach of the bridge, can she use newly ...

Miss Lucinda Williams has very rarely felt happiness. With an overbearing father dictating her every move, she finds herself longing for just a moment of freedom. When she meets Lord Wiltshire, a viscount and gentleman, Lucinda finds herself immediately drawn to him – but her father, instead, pushes her towards the arrogant Viscount Astley. When she continues to enjoy the company of Lord Wiltshire, much to her horror, he suffers a dreadful accident which she is certain is Lord Astley's doing. Fearing for Lord Wiltshire’s safety, Lucinda pulls back from their acquaintance and resigns ...

This short story in the USA Today best-selling Victorian San Francisco Mystery series features one of the most beloved characters in the series, as well as giving the listener a tour of the boardinghouse itself. Chronologically, this story come soon after the events in Scholarly Pursuits, so if you don't like spoilers, you might want to wait to listen to it until you have finished that book.

Isobel Amsel is wasting away in an asylum. Mad with boredom, she recklessly risks her future wandering the countryside. When an excursion nearly turns deadly, Isobel fears one of her enemies is targeting her, but she quickly discovers something far more insidious. The lives of two boys are at stake, and she desperately wishes her partner were by her side.

When Inspector Witherspoon becomes the main suspect in a murder case, Scotland Yard refuses to let him investigate. But no one said anything about Mrs. Jeffries and her polished detection skills, proving that behind every great man there's a woman - and that a crime solver's work is never done.

Matilda Hayward is determined to have a career. After all, it is 1888! While reporting for the Women’s Journal newspaper, Matilda is sent to cover the visiting Freak Show and interview Mrs Anna Tufton, a giantess. During the interview, the giantess slips a note to Matilda begging for her help to escape the show she is forced to do by her husband. But when the giantess’s husband is found murdered, the giantess is a likely suspect.

In the heart of Regency-era Bath, two souls find solace and love amidst the shadows of their pasts. Lydia Pritchard, a young woman with a mysterious past, serves as a companion to the kind and vivacious Lady Avery. With a heart burdened by secrets and a fierce devotion to her younger brother, Max, Lydia has found refuge in her newfound home. Unbeknownst to her, the arrival of the enigmatic and dashing Lord Jasper Ravenscroft, known as Ravenstock, will change her life forever. Ravenstock, a charismatic and influential man, is captivated by the shy and beautiful Lydia from the moment they ...

A detective mystery novel set in London during the late 19th century, "Dead Diamond" brings readers into the gritty, desperate world of Paddington, where a struggling writer's life becomes entangled in an intricate web of crime, desperation, and love. The narrative thrusts protagonist, Andrew Thomas, into the heart of an intriguing criminal investigation set against the backdrop of poverty-stricken London. Thomas, a struggling writer fighting poverty, pawns his father’s treasured items and encounters the enigmatic Zillah, the impressive granddaughter of pawnbroker Daniel Stevens. This ...

Adeline Furlough just graduated from Oberlin College, a hotbed of abolitionism, and she has every intent of establishing herself as a journalist in the frontier river town of Brownville, Nebraska, where abolitionism is frowned upon. Once arrived, she soon discovers some suspicious activity that could be fodder for her debut article. As she investigates, though, she experiences more than one misadventure, as Indians, gun play, dancing, and a ghostly apparition, to say nothing of two charming frontiersmen, all impede her inquiries. If you're fascinated by the wild west and appreciate a young ...

After the love of his life left him at the altar in a rather cruel manner, Lord Godden understandably falls into a deep sadness that concerns his parents to a desperate extent. When they announce that he is to be married to the Duke and Duchess of Stowe’s daughter, Lord Godden is less that thrilled. He had sworn himself off women and no-one was going to convince him otherwise. Lady Hannah is unlike anyone Lord Godden has ever met in in his life and soon he learns that it only takes the right person to both heal his heart, and to restore the feelings he had buried within himself. This Box ...

A forceful young typist arrives at 221B Baker Street on the first of April, 1886, with the alarming news that her employer, an eccentric old professor for whom she’d worked for just over two months, had suddenly vanished without a trace from his home, and to make matters worse, she has discovered the house occupied by three others whom she has never before met, who claim to have resided in the home for over a year, and to know of no professor ever being in residence there. What is the truth of the matter? Whatever has transpired in the seemingly quite ordinary suburban London home? Find ...

Do No Harm by Harper Stanwick, Sr. is a captivating mystery fiction and psychological mystery fiction novel set in Victorian England. This story delves deep into the psychological and medical enigmas of the time, unraveling a dark and suspenseful plot that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Follow Dr. Petrie, a dedicated physician, as he uncovers sinister plots and faces life-threatening dangers in the heart of London. Experience the chilling atmosphere of Victorian society, from its grandiose mansions to its shadowy alleyways. Encounter a web of secrets involving high-ranking ...

Justine DeCabrillac, daughter of the nobility whose parents died in the chaos of the Revolution, is rescued from a decadent child brothel by a woman of the French Secret Police. Justine, too, becomes a great spy for France. Attacked on a rainy London street, Justine knows only one man can save her: Hawker, her oldest friend - her oldest enemy. London is crawling with hidden assassins, and someone is out to frame Hawker for murder. The two spies must work together to find who's out to destroy them.

Annabelle is struggling to overcome a personal tragedy without losing the man she loves. Suddenly, she finds herself locked in a Victorian country home, nannying royal children in a strange time and place. How did she get here? Why is she embroiled in the abdication crisis of 1936 when King Edward VIII gave up the throne for Wallis Simpson? Is she meant to influence the future of the British monarchy? More importantly, how can she unlock the key back to the modern life she desperately misses? If The Time Traveler’s Wife were to meet Downton Abbey, you’d find The Royal Key. Travel back ...

Amelia and Lord Blackwell must defy all odds for their love to survive, but can they overcome their biggest challenge yet? London 1860 Amelia and Dimitri must fight for their love in the face of those who seek to hunt Dimitri and his kind. When Amelia faces a new challenge, she must keep it a secret before it puts everyone she loves in danger. Separating herself from the vampire she loves is a torment Amelia can hardly bear, but she knows she must endure it for his safety. Will Amelia and Dimitri find a way to fight those who are seeking to end their lives? Or will Amelia’s secret tear ...

Lord Blackwell revealed his darkest secret to Amelia Darlington, but still, she loved him. It seems that was not enough. Amelia has been left alone. Again. London 1860 Learning that Lord Blackwell was a vampire didn’t dampen Amelia’s feelings and, when he took her to bed, she didn’t hesitate. Now she has woken to find her world turned upsides down. A note makes her question everything she knows of Dimitri, leaving her feeling used and alone. What could be the reason behind his cruel betrayal? Trying to put him from her mind, she throws herself back into society’s whirlwind, ...

This short story, set in 1879 San Francisco, features two elderly dressmakers, Miss Minnie and Miss Millie Moffet, who face a moral dilemma of no small dimensions. They turn for advice to Annie Fuller, a widowed boardinghouse owner who supplements her income as a clairvoyant, Madam Sibyl.

A small village has been struck by a curse! Villagers are dropping dead for no apparent reason. Holmes and Watson are seeking to discover if there's truth behind the legendary curse, or if there's another force at work...far worse!

Lady Antonia discovers a body at the opening of the Great Exhibition, in the presence of Queen Victoria, no less. The newly married Lord and Lady Danvers put all such unpleasantness behind them, though, as they sail off in his aerostat for a secluded honeymoon in Scotland. Until the shades of grave robbers a generation earlier come back to haunt them.

Ghost stories date back centuries, but those written in the Victorian era have a unique atmosphere and dark beauty. Michael Sims, whose previous Victorian collections Dracula’s Guest (vampires) and The Dead Witness (detectives) have been widely praised, has gathered twelve of the best stories about humanity’s oldest supernatural obsession. The Phantom Coach includes tales by a surprising and often legendary cast, including Charles Dickens, Margaret Oliphant, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, and Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as lost gems by forgotten masters such as Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and W. F. Harvey. Amelia B. Edwards’s chilling story gives the collection its title, while Ambrose Bierce ("The Moonlit Road"), Elizabeth Gaskell ("The Old Nurse’s Story"), and W. W. Jacobs ("The Monkey’s Paw") will turn you white as a sheet. With a skillful introduction to the genre and notes on each story by Sims, The Phantom Coach is a spectacular collection of ghostly Victorian thrills.