Archives de catégorie : Mystery

MISS AUSTEN INVESTIGATES: THE HAPLESS MILLINER de Jessica Bull

The first in a series set in Regency Britain, sprinkled with the wit and liveliness of Jane Austen and the addictive intrigue of cosy crime novels such as The Windsor Knot by SJ Bennett and The Appeal by Janice Hallett.

MISS AUSTEN INVESTIGATES: THE HAPLESS MILLINER
by Jessica Bull
‎ Michael Joseph UK/Union Square US, early 2024
(via Mushens Entertainment)

Hampshire, 1795: A young Jane Austen is plotting to secure a marriage proposal from Tom Lefroy when she uncovers the body of a murdered woman. After her beloved brother, Georgie, is implicated in the crime, Jane has six weeks to expose the real killer, or Georgie will face the gallows.
Jane Austen – witty, spirited, and incredibly clever – is suddenly thrust into a mystery when a milliner’s dead body is found locked inside a cupboard in the middle of a ball. When Jane’s brother Georgie is found with some jewellery belonging to the deceased, the local officials see it as an open and shut case: one which is likely to end with his death. Jane is certain that he is innocent, and there is more to the murder than meets the eye. Her investigations send her on a journey through local society, as Jane’s suspect list keeps on growing – and her keen observational skills of people will be put to the test to solve the crime, and save her brother.

The second volume, MISS AUSTEN INVESTIGATES: THE FOREIGN PRINCESS, will be published by Michael Joseph in early 2025.

Jessica Bull grew up in South East London, where she still lives with her husband, two daughters, and far too many pets. She’s addicted to stories and studied English Literature at Bristol University, and Information Science at City University, London. She began work as a librarian (under the false impression she could sit and read all day), before becoming a communications consultant. MISS AUSTEN INVESTIGATES: THE HAPLESS MILLINER is her debut novel.

THE BULLET THAT MISSED de Richard Osman

A new mystery is afoot in the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series from record-breaking, bestselling author Richard Osman..

THE BULLET THAT MISSED
by Richard Osman
Viking UK / Pamela Dorman US, September 2022
(via Mushens Entertainment)

It is an ordinary Thursday, and things should finally be getting back to normal. But trouble is never far away, as The Thursday Murder Club encounter a local news legend on the hunt for a killer headline. They soon find themselves hot on the trail of two murders, ten years apart. To make matters worse, a new nemesis pays Elizabeth a visit – and tasks her with a deadly mission she can’t refuse. To kill or be killed. While Elizabeth grapples with her conscience (and a gun), the mystery unfolds amongst a cast of TV stars, money launderers and ex-KGB colonels. Can the gang, and their unlikely new friends, solve the murders and save Elizabeth before the killer strikes one final time?

Richard Osman is an author, producer, television presenter, and a creative director for Endemol UK. He has worked as an executive producer on numerous shows. His first two novels, The Thursday Murder Club, and The Man Who Died Twice were multi-million-copy number one bestsellers around the world. He became a New York Times bestseller and has been nominated for an Edgar Award in the US. He lives in London with his partner and Liesl the cat.

SOMETHING WICKED de Laura Purcell

From the Sunday Times bestselling author, and recent Edgar Award nominee, Laura Purcell, a gripping tale of obsession, superstition and ambition, set against the atmospheric backdrop of Victorian London. Be careful what you wish for… it may just come true.

SOMETHING WICKED
by Laura Purcell
‎ Bloomsbury, August 2022
(via Mushens Entertainment)

By the pricking of my thumbs…
At The Mercury Theatre in London’s West End, rumours are circulating of a curse. It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her, and desperate for the money to help her family, Jenny agrees. What Jenny finds is a woman as astonishing in her performance as she is provocative in nature. On stage, it’s as though Lilith is possessed by the characters she plays, yet off stage she is as tragic as the Muse who inspires her, and Jenny, sorry for her, befriends the troubled actress. But when strange events begin to take place around the theatre, Jenny wonders if the rumours are true, and fears that when the Muse comes calling for payment, the cost will be too high.
…Something Wicked this way comes

Laura Purcell is a former bookseller living in Colchester, Essex with her husband and pet guinea pigs. She began her career with two historical novels about the Hanoverian monarchs, Queen of Bedlam and Mistress of the Court. Her first Gothic novel The Silent Companions was a Radio 2 Book Club pick, was selected for the Zoe Ball ITV Book Club and was the winner of the Thumping Good Read Award. Her other Gothic titles include The Corset, Bone China and The Shape of Darkness. In the USA Laura is published by Penguin Books, where The Corset is titled The Poison Thread and Bone China is called The House of Whispers. Additionally, Laura’s short stories have been published in a number of collections.

THE UNKEPT WOMAN d’Allison Montclair

The next Sparks & Bainbridge mystery doesn’t slow down as fantastic review attention continues in for this beloved historical mystery series. London, 1946, Miss Iris Sparks – currently co-proprietor of the Right Sort Marriage Bureau – has to deal with aspects of her past exploits during the recent war that have come back around to haunt her…

THE UNKEPT WOMAN
by Allison Montclair
Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press, June 2022

The Right Sort Marriage Bureau was founded in 1946 by two disparate individuals—Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge (whose husband was killed in the recent World War) and Miss Iris Sparks, who worked as an intelligence agent during the recent conflict, though this is not discussed. While the agency flourishes in the post-war climate, both founders have to deal with some of the fallout that conflict created in their personal lives. Miss Sparks finds herself followed, then approached, by a young woman who has a very personal connection to a former paramour of Sparks. But something is amiss, and it seems that Iris’s past may be causing something far more deadly than mere disruption in her personal life. Meanwhile, Gwendolyn is struggling to regain full legal control of her life, her finances, and her son—a legal path strewn with traps and pitfalls. Together these indomitable two are determined and capable—and not just of making the perfect marriage match.

Allison Montclair grew up devouring hand-me-down Agatha Christie paperbacks and James Bond movies. As a result of this deplorable upbringing, Montclair became addicted to tales of crime, intrigue, and espionage. She now spends her spare time poking through the corners, nooks, and crannies of history, searching for the odd mysterious bits and transforming them into novels of her own. She is the author of the Sparks & Bainbridge historical mystery series, which begins with The Right Sort of Man.