Victorian Suspense

The road to true love is made rocky with horse thieves, highwaymen, former fiances, and a very determined Bow Street Runner. "Melanie Jackson is a talent to watch." —WritersWrite.com With the letter breaking his engagement, Stephan Kirton's hopes for respectability and happiness went up in smoke. It was inevitable that his travels abroad and "interaction with the lower classes" would put him beyond the scope of polite society. That and he was born a bastard. Ormstead Park was a place for dancing and flirting, for drinking and gambling, and for less innocent sports. It was a place where he...

Miss Ophelia Grey Must Fake a Courtship to Save a Man She Has Never Met! Miss Ophelia Grey is thoroughly relieved when Lord Marchmont decides their courtship should come to an end. However, she is utterly astonished when, within a few days, he is back at her side and begging for a second chance. Lord Peter Marchmont does not think that Miss Grey is the right match for him. Waking up to discover a note stating he must court Miss Grey otherwise his brother Edward will be ruined, Peter realizes he has no choice. Struggling to find answers, Peter eventually tells Miss Grey the truth and ...

A former smuggler and thief, Ariq--better known as the Kraken King--doesn't know what to make of the clever, mysterious woman he rescues from an airship besieged by marauders. Unsure if she's a spy or a pawn in someone else's game, Ariq isn't about to let her out of his sight until he finds out.

Stacie - Lady Eustacia Cavanaugh - is adamant marriage is not for her. Wealthy and well-born, she needs for nothing, and with marriage off the table, to give her life purpose, she embarks on a plan to further the careers of emerging local musicians by introducing them to the ton via a series of musical evenings. Yet despite her noble status, Stacie requires a musical lure to tempt the haut ton to her events, and only one musician commands sufficient cachet - the reclusive and notoriously reluctant Marquess of Albury.

Paris, 1899. Abigail Wilson has received an invitation from Professor Alphonse Flamand, a prominent French Professor of Archaeology, to join him on an archaeological dig in Egypt. Overjoyed to be presented with such an opportunity, Abigail and her husband, Daniel, travel to Paris to meet the professor at his office in the Louvre to discuss plans. However, when Abigail goes to the appointment, she finds Flamand dead with a knife in his chest. In a whirl of confusion and despite her pleas of innocence, Abigail is arrested.

Recently widowed, Charlotte Pennyworth is relishing her independence and it rankles to have to rely on a man to help her with a sinister stalker. Former Yardman, Elliot Baker, is reluctant to take on Charlotte''s case but despite himself and his history with another woman, he is drawn to the bright, attractive widow. Sparks smolder between the PI and his client but neither is looking to form an attachment. Elliot thinks Charlotte is hiding something. Charlotte has no desire to marry again, especially to a private investigator, no matter how handsome, brave and kind he is.

Manchester, England, 1857. When the largest art exhibition ever to be held in Manchester opens, Rosanna Hawkins—one of Manchester’s finest artists to reproduce “parlor versions” of classic masterpieces with near-perfect precision—attends, excited by the chance to sketch such famous works. When she meets the handsome Detective Martin Harrison, who is head of security for the exhibition, she is immediately intrigued. But the couple’s blossoming summer romance takes a strange turn when Rosanna recognizes her own works on display in the exhibition hall.

A plan born of deception… Can Charlotte overcome her stepsister’s cruel actions and find the love she deserves? Miss Charlotte Richardson was heartbroken when her father died, but is elated when her mother remarries. It brings Charlotte such joy to see her mother happy again. Charlotte hopes to develop a close bond with her new stepsister, Lady Emma, but her hopes are quickly shattered. Lady Emma is upset that she must now share her home with Charlotte, whom she feels is beneath her. When the Marquess of Withington develops affections for Charlotte, Lady Emma is furious because she ...

Princess Luisa has devoted her life to duty, quietly preparing to succeed her father as ruler. Nothing, however, primed her to live on the run, disguised as a personal secretary to a notorious English scoundrel. The earl is just the man to help her reclaim her throne, but Luisa is drawn to her powerful employer in ways she could never imagine.

When Emma Langley discovers a mysterious symbol in her late husband's diary, she uncovers a connection to a secretive treasure-hunting group with powerful members. Her investigation takes an unexpected turn when Lord Charles Harpole, a society member, is found dying in his hotel room. The authorities rule it suicide, but Emma and her friend Penny Green aren't convinced. As they follow a trail of cryptic clues leading from St. Paul's Cathedral to Hampton Court, they find themselves caught in a deadly game.

Orphaned ballet dancer Adelaide grew up in the Gilded Palace theatre, never knowing a real childhood or imagining a future beyond dancing. When her flaming red hair catches the eye of dashing business tycoon Crispin, a world of possibilities opens for her. Adelaide begins an education into what it means to be Papa’s little girl. But when Crispin and Adelaide’s budding relationship is threatened on two fronts, can he rescue her in time and make her his little one forever? Publisher’s Note: This steamy historical romance contains elements meant for mature readers only.

Severine de Cabrillac, orphan of the French Revolution and sometime British intelligence agent, has tried to leave spying behind her. Now she devotes herself to investigating crimes in London and finding justice for the wrongly accused. Raoul Deverney, an enigmatic half-Spaniard with enough secrets to earn even a spy's respect, is at her door demanding help. She's the only one who can find the killer of his long-estranged wife and rescue her missing 12-year-old daughter.

Victorian England is a country of sharp divides between rich and poor, but James Lionel Falconer, who spends his days working at his father’s market stall, is determined to become a merchant prince. James quickly rises through the ranks, proving himself both hardworking and trustworthy and catching the eye of Henry Malvern, head of the most prestigious shipping company in London. But when threats against his reputation - and his life - begin to emerge, James will have to prove he truly is the master of his fate.

It is March 1870. London is in the grip of fog and ice. But Scotland Yard's Inspector Ben Ross has more than the weather to worry about when the body of a young woman is found in a dustbin at the back of a Piccadilly restaurant. Ben must establish who the victim is before he can find out how and why she came to be there. His enquiries lead him first to a bootmaker in Salisbury and then to a landowner in Yorkshire.

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.

The daughter of a wealthy merchant, Philippa is on the shelf at twenty-three. That is until she hears her father talking with one of his elderly friends about her marriage. They mentioned the word Sterling, and she thinks her father is trying to sell her into marriage. It’s amazing to her that one little misunderstanding can set her on the path to true love. Sterling Brightwell has just finished serving in the military. When his uncle suggests his marriage to Philippa, he realizes it’s probably a good idea. But when he meets her he finds out she is a woman with her own mind. He is not ...

When Miss Cara Di Abaccio is accused of stealing the Carisbrook emeralds by the infamously arrogant Lady Carisbrook and marched out of her guardian's house by Scotland Yard's finest, Barnaby Adair's cousin Hugo Adair takes umbrage and descends on Scotland Yard, breathing fire in Cara's defense. Hugo discovers Inspector Stokes has been assigned to the case, and after surveying the evidence thus far, Stokes calls in his big guns when it comes to dealing with investigations in the ton - namely, the Honorable Barnaby Adair and his wife, Penelope.

1850: Charles Dickens is in Manchester, performing at the Queen's Theatre with his acting group. But his career on the stage is cut short when a man is shot dead - on set. With Dickens himself caught with the gun in his hands, he is immediately arrested. Along with the help of his good friend Superintendent Sam Jones, Dickens must do all he can to find the real killer, before he is locked up for a crime he didn't commit. Can Dickens convince the authorities of his innocence? Will he unmask the true assassin?

Aristocratic sleuth Charles Lenox makes a triumphant return to London from his travels to America to investigate a mystery hidden in the architecture of the city itself, in The Hidden City by critically acclaimed author Charles Finch...

The Rayne family is trapped in a rut of bad luck. And now, it's up to Lady Theodosia Rayne to steal back the Theodosia sword, a gladius that was pilfered by the rival, loathed Renshaw family. Hopefully, recovering the stolen sword will break the cycle and reverse her family's fate. Damian Renshaw, the Duke of Devlin, is feared by all - all, that is, except Lady Theodosia, the brazen spitfire who enters his home and wrestles an ancient relic from his wall.