Simon Prebble

It is Christmastime, 1914, and World War I rages. A young French soldier named Pierre who had quietly left his regiment to visit his family for two days is imprisoned when he returns. Now he faces execution for desertion, and as he waits in isolation, he meditates on big questions: the nature of patriotism, the horrors of war, the joys of friendship, the love of family, and how, even in times of danger, there is a whole world inside every one of us-and...

As Maureen Quilligan wrote in the New York Times Book Review of The First Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn "was a real victim of the sexual scandals her brilliant daughter escaped, and a subject Ms. Erickson's sensitivity to sexual and political nuance should well serve." Indeed, Carolly Erickson could have chosen no more fascinating and appropriate a subject. Alluring and profoundly enigmatic, Anne Boleyn has eluded the grasp of historians for centuries. Through...

The grand adventure continues in George Mann's Newbury & Hobbes steampunk mystery series, as a Victorian special agent races across a continent to save his beloved's life on board The Revenant Express. Sir Maurice Newbury is bereft as his trusty assistant Veronica Hobbes lies dying with a wounded heart. Newbury and Veronica's sister Amelia must take a sleeper train across Europe to St. Petersberg to claim a clockwork heart that Newbury has commissioned...

On a cold January day in 1851, twelve-year-old Patrick O'Connell huddles on the deck of the Robert Peel. He is leaving his impoverished home behind in Ireland, while in America, his father is waiting with the promise of a new life. But as Patrick watches the shoreline fade from view, he feels torn with worry. His new friend Laurence Kirkle, who is running away from home, waits for food in the ship's hold. If the captain finds the young stowaways,...

Thirty-four-year-old Derek Franklin, recovering from a race injury, is thrown into familial chaos when his older brother Greville dies from a bizarre, seemingly random accident. With little more to go on than his brother's expensive toys and a few vague diary entries, Derek becomes more and more convinced that his very straight brother was brought down by some crooked men.

In December, 1924, a murder took place on a chicken farm in East Sussex, England. Although Norman Thorne never confessed to killing his girlfriend, Elsie, he was tried and hanged for the crime. In Chickenfeed, Walters burrows deep into an English legend, creating a suspenseful tale of fiction based in fact. Was Thorne guilty? If so, what was his motive? Set in the small village of Sowerbridge, The Tinder Box is a tale of chilling ambition. Patrick...

When a Frenchman vanishes during the bustling afternoon tea on the terrace at Shepheard's Hotel, Police Captain Owen can scarcely believe the gentleman has been kidnapped. There must be dozens of witnesses, but they remain as silent as the Sahara sands. Someone, Owen thinks, is silencing witnesses-someone who is concealing a dangerous conspiracy.

Well-plotted and full of atmospheric charm, Reflex demonstrates the fine style that earned Dick Francis the title of Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America. This fast-paced story of a jockey's courageous murder investigation exposes the politics and corruption at the heart of the British racing world. Philip Nore has no greater ambition than to successfully complete the last years of his career as a jockey, even if it means bending the rules...

In April 1945, Hitler's Reich is on the verge of extinction. Assaulted by Allied bombs and Soviet shells, ruled by Nazis with nothing to lose, Berlin has become the most dangerous place on earth. John Russell's son Paul is stationed on the Eastern Front with the German Army, awaiting the Soviets' final onslaught. In Berlin, Russell's girlfriend Effi has been living in disguise, helping fugitives to escape from Germany. With a Jewish orphan to care...

The Rogue's Return continues the popular Company of Rogues series by New York Times best-selling author Jo Beverley. Simon St. Bride has been in Canada fighting the War of 1812-but the war is over now, and Simon is ready to come home. Before he leaves, however, Simon must defend a young woman's honor. What does her past hide?