Discover Mysteries to Read
As any herpetologist will tell you, the fer-de-lance is among the most dreaded snakes known to man. When someone makes a present of one to Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin knows he’s getting dreadfully close to solving the devilishly clever murders of an immigrant and a college president. As for Wolfe, he’s playing snake charmer in a case with more twists than an anaconda — whistling a seductive tune he hopes will catch a killer who’s still got poison in his heart.
“The murderer is with us—on the train now . . .”
Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Without a shred of doubt, one of his fellow passengers is the murderer.
Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man’s enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again.
“What more . . . can a mystery addict desire?”—New York Times
In the cold Toronto winter of 1895, the unclad body of a servant girl is found frozen in a deserted laneway. Detective William Murdoch quickly finds out that more than one person connected with the girl’s simple life has something to hide.
When the castle of Shrewsbury is taken during the war between Empress Maud and King Stephen, 94 prisoners are taken, 94 are hanged. When Brother Cadfael arrives to perform the burial rites, he finds one corpse too many among the bodies stacked about the fortress. Cadfael reports the discrepancy to Stephen’s newly appointed Sheriff Gilbert Prescote, who reluctantly announces it to the town, asking if anyone can identify the unknown man.Godith identifies the murdered man as Nicholas Faintree, a squire of the rebel leader FitzAlan.
From the creator of the much-loved Constable Evan Evans mysteries comes a colorful new series set in turn-of-the-century New York City. When spirited redhead Molly Murphy was growing up a peasant on the coast of Ireland she always imagined there was something more in store for her. She couldn’t have known how right she was until the day she became a murderer, albeit in self-defense. Under drastic circumstances, Molly is forced to strike out into a new world. With the police right behind her, Molly’s only chance at escape is a false identity and a steamship that will take her far, far away: to America.
When her ship sails into New York Harbor, with the majestic figure of the Statue of Liberty providing comfort and inspiration, Molly is sure her whole life is in front of her. But she’s got one last hurdle to clear: Ellis Island. She is just one among thousands of immigrants on the tiny island, awaiting their fate with anxiety and hope. Unfortunately for Molly, before she is able to leave the island a man is brutally murdered, his throat cut from ear to ear, and coincidence and fate make her a suspect in a crime she didn’t commit. Under a cloud of suspicion, and due largely to a growing mutual attraction between Molly and the handsome police captain in charge of the case, she is allowed to leave Ellis Island for Manhattan. Unfortunately, she’s got a mission she couldn’t have anticipated: clear her own name of murder. Alone in a new country with no one to lean on, Molly hits the vibrant streets of New York intent on finding out what really happened. After all, if she can’t, she’ll be sent back to Ireland, where the dreaded gallows await.
With the sweeping skyline of 19th century New York and the gritty, pulsating underworld of recently arrived immigrants forming a vivid backdrop, Rhys Bowen transports readers back in time to America’s not-so-distant past. The first entry in the Molly Murphy series is a fascinating look at our immigrant history as well as an intensely absorbing page-turner.
Lord Peter Wimsey investigates the sudden appearance of a naked body in the bath of an architect at the same time a noted financier goes missing under strange circumstances. As the case progresses, it becomes clear that the two events are linked in some way!
The New York Times–bestselling series and its Italian detective explore the seedy underworld of Venice: “Procedural writing at its best” (The Washington Post).
Commissario Guido Brunetti’s hopes for a refreshing family holiday in the mountains are once again dashed when a gruesome discovery is made in Marghera—a body so badly beaten the face is completely unrecognizable. Brunetti searches Venice for someone who can identify the corpse but is met with a wall of silence. He then receives a telephone call from a contact who promises some tantalizing information. And before the night is out, Brunetti is confronting yet another appalling, and apparently senseless, death.
“[One of] the real charms of this series [is] the endearing character of Brunetti and his compassionate insights into the heart of Venice and the soul of its people. . . . Truly, a refreshing hero.” —The New York Times Book Review
Angel of Mercy by Melina Druga
She had her entire life planned until the Great War began and everything changed.
April 1914. Barrie, Ontario. Hettie Steward is feisty, educated, ambitious and stubborn. Her fiancé, Geoffrey Bartlette, the love of her life since childhood, has been a patient man. He waited while she attended nursing school and worked a year, but now it is time to wed. While Hettie is thrilled to be starting her life with Geoffrey, she laments that marriage means sacrificing her beloved nursing career, and domestic life brings her nothing but drudgery and boredom.
When the Great War begins a few months into their marriage, Geoffrey enlists and persuades Hettie to join the Canadian Army Nursing Service and follow him overseas. After all, everyone says the war will be short, and it will be their opportunity to have a proper honeymoon. Returning to work is exactly what Hettie was craving, and she eager accepts.
The war, however, does not end quickly. Soon tragedy strikes, proving true the old adage “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.” Geoffrey is killed at the Second Battle of Ypres, and Hettie is faced with a choice. Return home or stay in Europe and continue nursing? Moreover, will she discover the person she is meant to be now that her life has been steered onto a new path?
Angel of Mercy is the first in a trilogy following Hettie and her family as they navigate the challenges and heartbreak World War 1 brings. Each novel is a standalone story.
Also available: Those Left Behind, the home front story. Adjustment Year, the homecoming story.
A fine lady must pose as a mere snip of a housemaid to carry off a bold diamond heist. The catch? Her humble disguise exposes her to the harsh law of domestic discipline. This fast-paced Victorian historical crime novel moves from the infamous bordellos of London to the perverse practices of an isolated manor house full of eccentrics.
Targeted Age Group:: adults
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
There's nothing more inspiring than a spunky anti-heroine willing to go undercover to carry off her heist.
[Read more…] about Deceit and Discipline: A Victorian Lady in Disguise Heist Novel by Cherry Redde
In 1853, Australia was rocked by the robbery of £6,000 of gold from an escorted shipment on a country road heading from the McIvor gold fields to Melbourne, Within days, 400 men were searching the bush for the audacious bushrangers who numbered between 6 and 15 depending on who was telling the story. Despite aboriginal trackers and extensive searches, they could not be found. The full weight of the constabulary was thrown behind the case and a round up of possible suspects began. The leader was a man by the name of Joe Grey. He disappeared and was never heard of again. Or was he? The ship that some of the bushrangers intended to use to escape to London left Melbourne and was never seen again. Mystery upon mystery. And then there is the involvement of one of Australia’s most famous bushrangers, Frank Gardiner.
This is a fast-paced story of a daring robbery in the rumbustious times of the Victorian gold rush and what happened next.
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