Autumn has well and truly arrived, and with it the perfect excuse to light the fire, put the kettle on and curl up with a good mystery. It’s been a little while since my last Clue List, so this month’s is a bumper edition, with a few summer releases I didn’t want you to miss alongside the newest books from authors I love. There’s a fire at a Shakespearean theatre, a curse in the Egyptian desert, a body in the Palm House at Kew and a wedding that ends with a gunshot, so there really is something for everyone. And if there’s a new cosy you’re loving that I’ve missed, do share it in the comments below.
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A Devonshire chapel packed with well-wishers. A bride in ivory silk and a pearl headband, standing before the man she loves. And a gunshot that sends the vicar diving behind the pulpit.
England, 1923. Celebrated sleuth Lady Felicity Quick and gallant reporter Mr Alexander Cooper are at last saying their vows. But when a bullet tears through the bridal bouquet, the message is clear — someone wants Felicity dead.
Any of the criminals she has outsmarted could be behind the deadly deed. The police inquiry threatens to be lengthy, but Felicity refuses to play the victim. What kind of marriage begins with a honeymoon spent in hiding?
With the shooter still at large, she can’t investigate alone. The newlyweds must rally an unlikely team — a wilful dowager countess, an over-enthusiastic terrier, and at least one person who’d rather be polishing the silver — and unravel an increasingly tangled trail of clues…
Can Felicity uncover which former foe wants her gone? Or will the happy couple’s marriage end before it begins?
Series: Lady Felicity Quick Mystery — Book 12
No good deed goes unpunished.
Ellison agreed to one afternoon of bridge, one favor for a woman whose husband is having a heart attack. She doesn’t ask who else is playing. She should have.
When Lavinia Denton dies at the bridge table, Ellison is sure she’s been murdered.
Ellison doesn’t mean to investigate. Really, she doesn’t. But people keep telling her things.
And all that information she didn’t ask for? It just might get her killed.
Series: The Country Club Murders — Book 21
The peaceful beauty of Kew Gardens hides a deadly crime.
When the body of a man is discovered inside the Palm House at Kew Gardens, the case captures London’s attention. No one knows who he is or how he got there.
Augusta Peel starts asking questions. But the deeper she delves into the dead man’s past, the clearer it becomes that someone is determined to stop the truth from coming to light. Before long, Detective Philip Fisher fears that Augusta is placing herself directly in the killer’s path.
But Augusta refuses to walk away. Because somewhere behind the lies and intimidation is a killer growing desperate.
Series: Augusta Peel 1920s Mysteries — Book 12
A royal warning. A brother accused. A truth that will change everything.
London, 1889. When Lady Rosalynd and the Duke of Steele’s investigative partnership draws the censorious notice of Victorian society, Queen Victoria herself cautions them to keep their distance, lest they be forced into a marriage neither of them wants.
But distance becomes impossible when Scotland Yard arrives at Rosehaven House with alarming news. A body has been found near Kew Gardens, and a pistol belonging to Rosalynd’s brother lies at the scene. With her brother’s life and reputation at stake, she has no choice but to seek the help of the man she has vowed to avoid.
As Rosalynd and Steele pull at the threads, the knot leads to patient, careful hands that have been moving pieces into place long before the body appeared at Kew—the hands of a shadowy figure responsible for unspeakable crimes. Soon they realize, clearing her brother will not be enough. They must tie the villain to every atrocity he orchestrated and secure justice for the innocents he so cruelly harmed.
All while resisting a longing that threatens to undo them both.
Series: Rosalynd and Steele Mysteries — Book 5
Lady Swift and her handsome husband Hugh Seldon are totally charmed by the picturesque town where Shakespeare once lived. Everyone is abuzz with chatter about the upcoming production of Macbeth… But wait, is that a body backstage?
Dashing showman Richard Ratcliffe is set to return to the stage at the famous Shakespeare Memorial theatre. But when priceless items belonging to Shakespeare himself go missing from the theatre’s collection, Eleanor knows someone has gone off-book…
Then the beautiful old theatre is set on fire. The gang are horror-struck, and while racing to help, Eleanor’s loyal butler Clifford discovers an act of foul play: Ratcliffe, the show’s leading man, is dead inside from a blow to the head. Was the fire a deliberate distraction to cover up the murder? Hugh believes Ratcliffe may have caught the thief in the act, but Eleanor isn’t so certain.
With the production in tatters, the cast and crew are flailing. Everyone is playing a part and Eleanor needs to decide who is putting on a deadly show and who is telling the truth. Did the director have more to gain from the insurance money than a standing ovation? Maybe the leading lady feared she was about to be upstaged?
Hunting for local gossip at the town tearoom, Eleanor discovers Ratcliffe had secrets he was desperate to keep from stealing the show… But the culprit is waiting in the wings. And it’s only a matter of time before Eleanor steps too far into their deadly spotlight. Can she catch the killer before it’s curtains for her too?
Series: A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery — Book 26
Books! Bodies! And… baguettes!?
The son of a powerful politician is strangled in a grand Parisian library. The police call it a mugging gone wrong, but master sleuth Lord Edgington is not convinced. When a second body turns up in another library – this time with a note promising more violence – he discovers a troubling pattern.
The victims belong to a group of radicals who congregate in the city’s cafés. The menacing note speaks of revolution, but is it all just a smokescreen for the killer’s true motive?
With his grandson Christopher at his side, a snooty French rival snapping at their heels, and terror on the streets of the city, Lord Edgington has three days to crack the case. The body count rises, and the clock ticks towards a grand finale at the Paris Opera, but who will be standing centre stage when the killer is finally revealed?
Series: Lord Edgington Investigates Abroad — Book 5
Antiques expert Georgina Carey travels to Tenerife in search of lost treasure, but her island adventure takes a deadly turn when a local official is found dead in a historic house.
Following a fragment of old sea chart, Georgina and Maltese police officer, Jac Galea, trace the story of a shipwrecked captain on the island of eternal spring. But their search draws them into a bitter dispute over the future of a period property.
The victim was at the centre of the controversy, and many people had reason to oppose her. But did one of them kill her? The police believe her death was accidental, but Georgina is not convinced.
Can Georgina separate legend from fact and identify who was responsible?
Series: A Treasured Journey Mystery — Book 4
Her father died years ago. Now he’s back. And a man is dead.
Veronica Vale is still reeling from the impossible return of her father, Davey Vale, long believed to have thrown himself from Beachy Head. His explanation is worse than his disappearance. He has another family, newly arrived in London, and secrets that refuse to stay buried.
Before Veronica can decide whether to expose him or protect what remains of her family, a man is found murdered at the Falcon Arms. The victim is tied to Davey’s hidden life, and suspicion falls squarely on him.
With the police closing in and both families on the brink of collapse, Veronica is pulled into an investigation where every answer risks destroying someone she loves. As she uncovers lies, divided loyalties, and long-buried truths, one question refuses to go away.
Is her father a desperate man who made an unforgivable choice… or a killer who never meant to come back?
With Benji at her side and Ruby swept up in preparations for a society ball Veronica would rather avoid, she must untangle a web of deception before an innocent person is condemned.
Because this time, solving the case might cost her everything.
Series: Veronica Vale Investigates — Book 13
A country house. A dangerous secret. And a fiancé Etty Redgrave definitely cannot trust.
England, 1868: Newly engaged, Etty Redgrave should be planning her wedding. Instead, she travels to the countryside for Lady Darby’s summer house party, determined to uncover why her fiancé lied to secure her hand.
When Tristan Bankes-Fernsby, Duke of Rockingham, arrives asking questions of his own, Etty finds herself under scrutiny. He has no faith in the match and every intention of uncovering the truth behind it.
But when a night of misadventure ends with an abandoned cottage burning to the ground, a far more dangerous secret comes to light. Someone is running a poaching operation on Darby land… and Etty’s fiancé insists they uncover the culprit.
As tensions rise between warring neighbours and the locals close ranks, Etty and Tristan are forced to dig deeper into the secrets of the people around her. They aren’t just searching for the truth. They’re racing to find the poacher before blame falls on the wrong person.
Because if they fail, an innocent family will be ruined, along with Etty’s only chance of escaping her engagement.
Series: The Etty and Tris Victorian Mysteries — Book 3
A sealed tomb, a whispered curse and murder before sunrise.
Egypt, 1925.
Lady Ellen has a week of sightseeing ahead of her in Cairo with an organised tour party. But when Captain Hamilton proposes a private visit to the Pyramids of Giza, she eagerly escapes the city.
At a remote archaeological camp, a long-sealed tomb stands ready to be opened. A professor translates the warning carved above its entrance: A man who takes from this tomb will soon die a painful death.
The Egyptian labourers step back, refusing to break the seal. Undeterred, the expedition’s wealthy patron, Sir Reginald Kingsley, pushes the door open himself and discovers a treasure trove of jewels and ancient artefacts.
That night, whispers of a Pharaoh’s curse drift across the desert. By morning, Sir Reginald is dead. Was it the revenge of the ancients…or murder?
As fear spreads through the camp and suspicion falls on everyone present, Lady Ellen must solve the mystery before the killer strikes again.
Series: Lady Ellen Investigates — Book 9
The only thing worse than a persistent suitor? A dead one on your lawn.
London, 1892. Alice, Duchess of Stortford, has returned to town determined to enjoy her first Season as a wealthy widow. But instead of balls, flirtation, and whispered gossip, she finds herself besieged by ambitious bachelors—none more persistent than the insufferably smooth-talking Miles Fonthill. When Alice firmly refuses his sudden proposal, she assumes the matter is settled.
Instead, he turns up dead in her garden.
The police are happy to call it a tragic accident. Alice is less convinced.
Why was Miles climbing over her garden wall in the middle of the night? Why had he become so determined to win her favour? And what did he really want?
As Alice begins to dig into Miles’ final days, her search leads her into the glittering heart of London society, where old loyalties run deep, secrets are guarded fiercely, and reputation matters more than truth. But when whispers of the mysterious Order of the Golden Key begin circling dangerously close to her own late husband’s name, Alice realises Miles’ death may be far more complicated than one unwelcome suitor meeting an unfortunate end.
And if someone is willing to kill to keep their secrets…this Season may prove positively deadly.
Series: The Duchess of Stortford Mysteries — Book 4