Central Kansas Library System

"It is not the custom for the commander of Special Branch to receive a royal summons—so Thomas Pitt knows it must be for a matter of the gravest importance. The body of Sir John Halberd, the Queen’s confidant, has been found in the shallow water of the Serpentine in Hyde Park, bearing the evidence of a fatal blow to the head. At Her Majesty’s request, Sir John had been surreptitiously investigating Alan Kendrick, a horse-racing enthusiast who...

The ritual murder of a prostitute named Ada McKinley in a bedroom on decrepit Pentecost Alley would ordinarily occasion no stir in Victoria's great metropolis. But under the victim's body the police find a Hellfire Club badge inscribed with the name Finlay Fitzjames--a name that instantly draws Superintendent Thomas Pitt into the case. Finlay's father--immensely wealthy, powerful, and dangerous--refuses to consider the possibility that his son has...

While on patrol near the Waterloo Bridge, Inspector William Monk and his men witness the deaths of a young couple, but as Monk tries to investigate the deaths, he stumbles upon a conspiracy with ties to the highest levels of government.

"When Thomas Pitt is tasked with playing bodyguard to Sofia Delacruz, a young and controversial British preacher who has been living in Spain and has returned to England on a mysterious errand, he thinks it's a waste of Special Branch's time and resources. But when kidnappers manage to reach Sofia, murdering two of her companions in the process, Pitt learns that the message the lovely evangelist was meant to deliver was far more urgent than he knew....

"Detective John Hooper, William Monk's right-hand man at the Thames River Police, has fallen in love with Celia, the cousin of the victim in their most recent murder case. Now Celia has discovered that the man her good friend plans to marry this Christmas is far from what he seems. His first marriage ended with his wife walking into the sea -- not of her own accord -- and Celia hopes Hooper can help show her friend the truth. But Celia herself has...

Early one morning on the shore of the Thames, DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene of a gruesome discovery. When Owusu sends the evidence for examination, he learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead on the kitchen floor in a Chelsea mansion thirty years ago. Rachel Rimmer has also received a shock--news that her husband, Michael, has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France. All signs point to an intruder,...

"Scotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge is assigned one of the most baffling investigations of his career--a cold murder case with an unidentified victim and a cold trail with few clues to follow. Chief Inspector Brian Leslie, a respected colleague of Ian Rutledge's, is sent to Avebury, a village set inside a great prehistoric stone circle not far from Stonehenge. A young woman has been murdered next to a mysterious, hooded, figure-like stone, but...

"Newly promoted, Detective Inspector William Warwick, is tasked with a dangerous new line of work--to go undercover and expose corruption at the heart of the Metropolitan Police. Along with constables Rebecca Pankhurst and Nicky Bailey, his team is focused on following Detective Sergeant Jerry Summers, a young officer whose lifestyle exceeds his income. But the investigation risks being compromised when Nicky falls for Summers. As the undercover...