The House on Vesper Sands

Author: Paraic O'Donnell
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1951142985
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
London, 1893: high up in a house on a dark, snowy night, a lone seamstress stands by a window. So begins the swirling, serpentine world of Paraic O’Donnell’s Victorian-inspired mystery, the story of a city cloaked in shadow, but burning with questions: why does the seamstress jump from the window? Why is a cryptic message stitched into her skin? And how is she connected to a rash of missing girls, all of whom seem to have disappeared under similar circumstances? On the case is Inspector Cutter, a detective as sharp and committed to his work as he is wryly hilarious. Gideon Bliss, a Cambridge dropout in love with one of the missing girls, stumbles into a role as Cutter’s sidekick. And clever young journalist Octavia Hillingdon sees the case as a chance to tell a story that matters—despite her employer’s preference that she stick to a women’s society column. As Inspector Cutter peels back the mystery layer by layer, he leads them all, at last, to the secrets that lie hidden at the house on Vesper Sands. By turns smart, surprising, and impossible to put down, The House on Vesper Sands offers a glimpse into the strange undertow of late nineteenth-century London and the secrets we all hold inside us.

The Maker of Swans

Author: Paraic O'Donnell
Publisher: Tin House Books
ISBN: 1953534260
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 267

Book Description
A New York Times BEST BOOK OF THE SUMMER A CrimeReads & Book and Film Globe BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A Tor.com BEST BOOK OF JUNE “Truly bewitching.” —David Mitchell It is no small matter, after all, to create something—to make it so only by setting down the words. We forget the magnitude, sometimes, of that miracle. In the dead of night, shots ring out over the grounds of a sprawling English estate. The world-weary butler Eustace recognizes the gunman—his longtime employer, Mr. Crowe—and knows he must think and act quickly. Who is the man lying dead on the lawn? Who is the woman in his company? Can he clean up his master’s mess like he always has before? Or will this bring a new kind of reckoning? Mr. Crowe was once famed for his gifts—unaccountable gifts, known only to the members of a secretive order. Protected and privileged, he was courted by countesses and great men of letters. But he has long since retreated from that glittering world, living alone but for Eustace and Clara, his mysterious young ward. He has been content to live quietly, his great library gathering dust and his once magnificent gardens growing wild. He has left the past behind. Until now. Because there are rules, even for Mr. Crowe and his kind, that cannot be broken. And this single night of passion and violence will have consequences, stirring shadows from the past and threatening those he now cares for. He and the faithful Eustace will be tested as never before. So too will Clara, whose own extraordinary gifts remain hidden, even from herself. If she is to save them all, she must learn to use them quickly and unlock the secret of who she is. It is a secret beyond imagining. A secret that will change everything.

An Extravagant Death

Author: Charles Finch
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 1250767148
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
In what promises to be a breakout in Charles Finch's bestselling series, Charles Lenox travels to the New York and Newport of the dawning Gilded Age to investigate the death of a beautiful socialite. London, 1878. With faith in Scotland Yard shattered after a damning corruption investigation, Charles Lenox's detective agency is rapidly expanding. The gentleman sleuth has all the work he can handle, two children, and an intriguing new murder case. But when Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli offers him the opportunity to undertake a diplomatic mission for the Queen, Lenox welcomes the chance to satisfy an unfulfilled yearning: to travel to America. Arriving in New York, he begins to receive introductions into both its old Knickerbocker society and its new robber baron splendor. Then, a shock: the death of the season's most beautiful debutante, who appears to have thrown herself from a cliff. Or was it murder? Lenox’s reputation has preceded him to the States, and he is summoned to a magnificent Newport mansion to investigate the mysterious death. What ensues is a fiendish game of cat and mouse. Witty, complex, and tender, An Extravagant Death is Charles Finch's triumphant return to the main storyline of his beloved Charles Lenox series—a devilish mystery, a social drama, and an unforgettable first trip for an Englishman coming to America.

A Death of No Importance

Author: Mariah Fredericks
Publisher: Canelo
ISBN: 1788635051
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
The woman no one sees, but who witnesses everything, is the ideal person to solve a murder... Invisible until she's needed, Jane Prescott has perfected the art of serving as a lady’s maid to Manhattan's elite. Jane takes up a position with the Benchley family – a family of ‘new money’– who cause outrage when their daughter Charlotte becomes engaged to notorious playboy Norrie, the son of the eminent Newsome family. When Norrie Newsome is found murdered at a party, Jane realises she is uniquely positioned to solve the crime with her access behind the scenes of high society. Many people held grudges against Norrie, and Jane knows that amongst both the upper classes and the city's underbelly, morals can become cheap in the wrong hands. As scandal and violence simmer beneath the surface of New York, can Jane solve the mystery that threatens to result in more deaths? A gripping and suspenseful historical murder mystery, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Bailey and Emily Organ.

The Eyes of Darkness

Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101525363
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Book Description
A mother’s greatest wish—or worst nightmare—comes true in this chilling novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz. Tina Evans has spent a year suffering from incredible heartache since her son Danny's tragic death. But now, with her Vegas show about to premiere, Tina can think of no better time for a fresh start. Maybe she can finally move on and put her grief behind her. Only there is a message for Tina, scrawled on the chalkboard in Danny's room: NOT DEAD. Two words that send her on a terrifying journey from the bright lights of Las Vegas to the cold shadows of the High Sierras, where she uncovers a terrible secret...

NVK

Author: Temple Drake
Publisher: Other Press, LLC
ISBN: 1590519361
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Book Description
A novel by RUPERT THOMSON writing as TEMPLE DRAKE HER SECRET MUST BE KEPT FOR ALL ETERNITY. Set in the otherworldly megalopolis that is today’s Shanghai, Temple Drake’s suspenseful first novel blends the gothic, the erotic, and the supernatural as it charts an intense and dangerous affair. One night in 2012, executive Zhang Guo Xing takes a group of European clients to a fashionable nightclub in Shanghai. While there, he meets a strikingly beautiful young Western woman called Naemi Vieno Kuusela. The physical attraction between them proves irresistible, and they embark on an intoxicating affair. But Naemi is not what she appears to be… To Zhang’s surprise, she veers between passion and wariness, conducting the relationship entirely on her own terms. He feels driven to find out more about her, and is swiftly drawn into a web of intrigue, mystery, and horror. Is she a ghost? A demon? Do the living dead walk the streets of twenty-first century Shanghai? Written in spare, high-octane prose, NVK is the first in a series of dark, hypnotic novels that explore the roots of desire and the cruel costs of immortality.

The Hocus Girl

Author: Chris Nickson
Publisher: Severn House Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 1448303486
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Book Description
Thief-taker Simon Westow must save one of his closest friends from a grim fate at the hands of the government in this compelling historical mystery. Leeds, May 1822. Thief-taker Simon Westow owes Davey and Emily Ashton everything - the siblings gave him sanctuary when he needed it most. So when Davey is arrested for sedition and Emily begs Simon for help, he starts asking questions, determined to clear his friend. Are the answers linked to rumours of a mysterious government spy in town? Davey's not the only one who needs Simon's help. Timber merchant George Ericsson has been 'hocussed' by a young woman who spiked his drink and stole his valuable ring and watch. Who is she, and how does she know one of Simon's assistant Jane's deepest secrets? The path to the truth is twisted and dangerous. Simon and Jane encounter murder, lies, betrayal and a government terrified of its own people as they attempt to save Davey and find the hocus girl.

The Thousand Eyes: The Serpent Gates Book 2

Author: A. K. Larkwood
Publisher: Tor UK
ISBN: 1761260413
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 496

Book Description
Brilliant, bold and thrilling, The Thousand Eyes by A. K. Larkwood is the epic fantasy sequel to The Unspoken Name. Could you sacrifice your dreams to escape a nightmare? Csorwe, Shuthmili and Tal survey abandoned Echentyr worlds to make a living. The empire’s ruins seem harmless but fascinating. Yet disaster strikes when they stumble upon ancient magic during a routine expedition. This revives a warrior who’d slept for an age, reigniting a conflict thousands of years old. And the soldier binds Csorwe to her cause. Shuthmili is desperate to protect the woman she loves. However, as events escalate, she’s torn. Can she help Csorwe by clinging to her own humanity or by embracing her eldritch powers? Tal heads home, but his peace is shattered when a magical catastrophe hits his city. The wizard Sethennai is missing and Tal can’t face seeking his former lover to ask for help. So, he flees – but there’s no escaping the future. For throughout the Echo Maze’s linked worlds, fragments of an undead goddess are waking. Soon all must choose a side. Praise for The Unspoken Name: ‘An outstanding debut . . . unlike anything I’ve read before’ – Nicholas Eames ‘Richly detailed, enthralling and extraordinary’ – Jenn Lyons ‘Stylish, classy and timeless . . . I cannot recommend it enough’ – Tamsyn Muir ‘An adventure I couldn’t put down’ – S. A. Chakraborty

Murder by the Book

Author: Claire Harman
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0525436154
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Book Description
Early on the morning of May 6, 1840, the elderly Lord William Russell was found in his London house with his throat so deeply cut that his head was nearly severed. The crime soon had everyone, including Queen Victoria, feverishly speculating about motives and methods. But when the prime suspect claimed to have been inspired by a sensational crime novel, it sent shock waves through literary London and drew both Dickens and Thackeray into the fray. Could a novel really lead someone to kill? In Murder by the Book, Claire Harman blends a riveting true-crime whodunit with a fascinating account of the rise of the popular novel and the early battle for its soul among the most famous writers of the day.

The Book on the Bookshelf

Author: Henry Petroski
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307773280
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 308

Book Description
From the author of the highly praised The Pencil and The Evolution of Useful Things comes another captivating history of the seemingly mundane: the book and its storage. Most of us take for granted that our books are vertical on our shelves with the spines facing out, but Henry Petroski, inveterately curious engineer, didn't. As a result, readers are guided along the astonishing evolution from papyrus scrolls boxed at Alexandria to upright books shelved at the Library of Congress. Unimpeachably researched, enviably written, and charmed with anecdotes from Seneca to Samuel Pepys to a nineteenth-century bibliophile who had to climb over his books to get into bed, The Book on the Bookshelf is indispensable for anyone who loves books.