Victorian Thriller

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.

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.

Nobody comes to a brothel seeking a true story. But you will want to learn the truth about Aimée Bonnard, the best-paid woman in Galveston. Formerly known as Yvonne LaCroix, Aimée arrives on the Island in the summer of 1898. She’s looking for work in a high-end brothel, but she is also outrunning the consequences of a deadly night in New Orleans–a night in which a rival prostitute lost her life. Mistress of deception, Aimée charms and entices her way into an existence of extravagance and adventure in one of the most exclusive brothels of Galveston.

When wealthy banker Sir Gerald Mariner posts a handsome reward for finding his missing infant, all of London joins in, hoping to win that money for themselves. Usually discouraged by a saturated market, photographer and private detective Sarah Bain is instead curiously allured as she realizes the case hits much closer to home than she first thought.

The evidence was all there: a dead body, two dessert plates, and a gun. Could it be that Mr. Ashbury was sharing his cake with his killer? The old bloke had enemies galore - even his own daughter disliked him. Mr. Ashbury's son-in-law doesn't want Inspector Witherspoon asking questions. Of course this doesn't stop Mrs. Jeffries and her staff from snooping around.

The award-winning Sherlock Holmes narrator David Timson leads us through Conan Doyle's most famous tale. This extended story brings the archetypal detective to the moors with his friend and biographer Dr. Watson to investigate the mystery of a beast terrorizing the neighborhood.

It is the winter of 1880, and the future looks promising for Annie and Nate Dawson. Nate's law practice is taking off. Annie has made the transition from pretend clairvoyant to a successful financial consultant. And they are looking forward to spending their first Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays together. For Robert Livingston, the owner of San Francisco's newest grand emporium, the holidays don't look so promising. Not if he can't figure out how to stop whoever is stealing from his department store, the Silver Strike Bazaar.

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.

After almost a year of marriage, amateur sleuths Lord William and Lady Amy have put aside their investigating skills to prepare for their first child. It would be an easy thing, except dead bodies are once again popping up.

London, April 1891. When the severed torso of a woman washes up on the bank of the river Thames, London believes a serial killer from the past has struck again. Crime photographer and investigator Sarah Bain Barrett is on the scene with her friends Mick O’Reilly and Lord Hugh Staunton. This is their chance to solve a cold case and deliver a monster to justice, with help from Sarah’s husband Detective Sergeant Thomas Barrett; her sister Sally Albert, an intrepid newspaper reporter; and Hugh’s psychologist, Dr. Joshua Lewes, a pioneer in the new science of criminal profiling.

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.

London, 1849 When a boy is found drowned in the River Thames at Hungerford Stairs, novelist Charles Dickens and Superintendent Jones of Bow Street are mystified to discover that the child is not the missing youngster for whom they have been searching. As Dickens and Jones delve deeper into London's poverty-stricken backstreets, they stumble across two more bodies. A serial killer is on the loose. And Charles is terrified that someone close to him may be one of the victims.

The year is 1898. Following the harrowing events that nearly destroyed London, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson set sail aboard the RMS Lucania, bound for America. A well-earned speaking tour awaits—or so they believe. But the Atlantic crossing is anything but ordinary. When a series of mysterious deaths shakes the ship’s crew, Holmes and Watson are drawn into a chilling investigation that points to something far more sinister than mere illness or accident. Whispers spread through the lower decks of strange cargo, locked holds, and shadowy figures that disappear into the night. As ...

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.

In Bloody Lessons, it's the winter of 1880, and the teachers of San Francisco are under attack: their salaries slashed and their competency and morals questioned in a series of poison pen letters. Annie Fuller, the reluctant clairvoyant, has been called in to investigate by Nate Dawson, her lawyer beau. The case becomes personal when they discover that Laura, Nate's sister, may be one of the teachers targeted for attack.

A thrilling mix of espionage, danger, and the supernatural, The Vampire Spy box set follows Nora Kelly as she trades the backstreets of London for the shadowy world of spies. Book 1: The Vampire Spy When an English gentleman offers Nora Kelly a new life, she soon discovers her work involves more than intelligence gathering; after all, this elite team of spies also happen to be vampires. Once a woman of the night, now an agent of the crown, Nora joins Lord Alfred Covington’s elite team of vampires spies sworn to protect the Realm. Her first mission? Hunt down a ruthless adversary ...

A gothic book set in Venice during the mid to late 19th century.Dive deep into the intricate world of "Haunting in Venice", where the pomp and splendor of Venetian high society hide layers of deceit, ambition, and unexpected supernatural elements. Haunting in Venice artfully explores these dark themes against the majestic backdrop of grand palaces and an undercurrent of stifling societal expectations. When Deception Turns DeadlyDr. Starkweather, a respected London physician, finds himself plunged into an unsettling tale of deceit and potential madness. It begins with a mysterious foreign ...

Haunted Montague by Harper Stanwick, Sr. is a gripping mystery fiction novel set in the eerie, fog-shrouded valleys of the English countryside during the early 20th century. This chilling story of secrets, shadows, and psychological suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Explore the haunting mystery surrounding Montague Hall, a sprawling estate with a dark past. Follow Major Sauer and his friends as they uncover secrets buried deep within the ancient walls of the house. Encounter eerie apparitions, unsettling whispers, and chilling discoveries that will leave ...

Her: Curvy brilliant and pure Him: Older, rough, sexy tough. When I took an internship at my best friend's father's company, I never expected it to change my life. She said his testosterone is low. I want to help out. Late nights at the office became something more when I found Jack, my best friend's incredibly attractive dad, in a compromising situation. Unable to resist, I decided to help him, and our professional boundaries quickly blurred into a world of heated moments and stolen glances. The chemistry between us is undeniable, and every touch, every look, ignites a fire I can't put out...

In the foreboding halls of Worthington Manor, eighteen-year-old Briar has always known she was different. Raised by a stern housekeeper and a reclusive uncle, her only friend the housekeeper's daughter, Briar's sheltered life is shattered when she stumbles upon a chilling secret. Every week, a mysterious coach leaves the manor at midnight. But where does it go? And what sinister purpose does it serve? As Briar delves deeper into her family's shadowy past, she uncovers a legacy of dark rituals and otherworldly power. With each revelation, the line between reality and the supernatural blurs, ...