historical – victorian

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Character Identities: Click here to revealLesbian (Click here to hide)

Summary: A sapphic historical romance, set in Paris in an alternate 19th century, a Belle Epoque That Never Was. Solange's ambition doesn't leave room for longing. And love was never part of her plan. Louise-Marie escaped a gilded cage, trading the halls of Versailles for a cramped millinery. She expected hard work—but not Solange. As their secrets threaten to unravel, one wrong stitch could cost them everything.

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Summary: When the chairman of London’s Thirteen Club wakes to find 13 dead rabbits in his bedroom, he hires Jack Merrit to track down the intruder. The questions are many: Why were the rabbits each missing a foot? How did someone break in through bolted doors, and what is the criminal’s goal? Jack and Baxter face a table of thirteen suspects. Among them are Jack himself and his lover, Larkin Chase. The case becomes a personal minefield as the mystery thickens, and when a more chilling threat appears in the same impenetrable house, a disturbing story from the property’s past intrudes into the present. As Will Merrit investigates suspicious events from thirty years ago, Jack and Baxter move in on their only suspect. Except, this is a game of opposites, superstitions and deception, and when the truth finally comes to light, Jack faces the most difficult decision of his career.

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Summary: Jack Merrit longs for a case more challenging than burglaries and missing jewels, and when someone finds a skeleton inside a pipe organ, his wish comes true. At first, the strange discovery in the church of St Clement Danes seems like a prank, but when Jack’s next call is to a crime within earshot of the bells of St Martin’s, an uneasy pattern emerges. Oranges and lemons say the bells of St Clement’s You owe me five farthings, say the bells of St Martin’s And then, the murders start. If the first is chance, a second becomes a coincidence, but a third? That’s a pattern, and these are no ordinary murders. They involve diabolical contraptions that kill seemingly random victims. Asked by both London police forces to investigate without being told why, Jack and his men embark on an investigation knowing where the killer will strike next, but not when. When the killer invites Jack to join his game, a contest of intellect begins, and knowing failure will lead to disgrace, he pits himself against his most cunning adversary so far.

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Summary: Albert Arbon collapses at Delamere House after a three-day trek. His only son, Robert, has vanished after seeing a strange light in the Suffolk sky, and Arbon is desperate to find him. Detectives Jack and Baxter, with young Simeon, accompany Arbon back to his remote Suffolk farmhouse, only to find themselves faced with a combination of rural legends seemingly tied to a series of unsettling events. A body lies inexplicably in the middle of an untouched wheat field. Other children have gone missing. There is talk of a ‘fire snake’, and no-one dare share the secrets of what can be seen from Snake Hill. As the investigation deepens, Jack must navigate more than the mystery. He must also face the burdens of responsibility — not only for uncovering the truth and doing the right thing, but also for guiding Simeon, a boy on the cusp of manhood, who’s willing to risk everything to prove himself.

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Summary: When the Commissioner of Police assigns a personal case, failure is not an option. However, what begins as a simple mystery soon turns into something far more complicated. An opera singer dead in her bath, a Smithfield butcher skinned alive, a dentist locked inside a steam engine… What is the connection? With Baxter’s help, the Clearwater detectives begin investigating the gruesome and seemingly unrelated murders, fully aware that failure could spell disaster for the agency. As Baxter strives to prove his worth as a detective, he finds himself falling for a young police constable, but his search for love and success takes a chilling turn when he makes a horrifying discovery: the killer may be closer than he thought.

Word Count: Click here to reveal100000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Graverobbing, a faceless corpse, a woman dead from shock, and a woodland cemetery where men indulge their forbidden desires. What ties these to the pastor of the Stoke Newington Congregationalist Chapel, a Greek immigrant, and an affluent family? Everything is connected, but the puzzle is complex, and it’s up to Jack Merrit to solve the macabre mystery.

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Summary: Jack is left in charge of the agency, its new staff, and a missing person case that arrives unexpectedly from the Cheap Street Mission. A fourteen-year-old boy has vanished, and his older brother, Simeon, is desperate to find him. At first, the only clue is a cutthroat razor, but as Simeon’s past unfolds, so the case darkens with complications. As they race to find the boy, Jack and Will’s journey takes them from the unbelievable illusions of Piccadilly’s Egyptian Hall to an opium den in Whitechapel, and from a molly house to the sewers deep beneath London. What the Delamere detectives don't know is that if they fail to find the boy in time, the razor will play a gruesome part in a very public death. Kidnapping, illusions, East End rent boys, and murders in the style of Grand Guignol, the fifth book in the Delamere Files series is the darkest yet. The books should be read in order.

Word Count: Click here to reveal95000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Will and Jack Merrit are set a simple task: Journey to an island in the Bristol Channel to attend the reading of a will. Why? No-one knows. Charles Marisco can guess what’s in his father’s will. Everything will go to his twin brother, Simon, because he was born first. However, Charles has other things on his mind, namely, his best friend, Barrett Newton, a man he would like to know more intimately. A storm-lashed castle, a remote island, and a cast of eccentric characters set the stage for Will and Jack Merrit's most baffling case yet—one that grows deadlier as the body count rises. This is the fourth book in the Delamere Files series. The books should be read in order.

Word Count: Click here to reveal100000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: When the eligible Eddy Hawkstone enlists Jack Merrit's services to recover a stolen book, it seems like a straightforward task. However, the clues lead Jack into the turbulent world of the music hall, where he uncovers the unnerving tale of his father's death at the feet of Marie Lloyd. Desperate to prove himself to his mentor, Jimmy Wright, Jack finds himself entangled in a web of sexual temptation, loyalty, and fraternal bonds, all while grappling with his emotions for Larkin Chase. To triumph, Jack must confront the shadows of his past and embrace the realities of the present. The path is fraught with danger and self-discovery and leads him to a twisting theatrical climax worthy of a melodrama. Follow the Van is the third book in the Delamere Files series. The books should be read in order.

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Summary: Five characters from the Clearwater, Larkspur and Delamere Mysteries find themselves taking the train to Cornwall for the 1892 Larkspur Hall Christmas Eve ball. To pass the time, they each tell a story from their past. Sitting in their carriage is a stranger who listens to their stories of detection, mystery and prophesy, and recognises some of the people involved. As they near their destination, the stranger realises he is more involved with his fellow passengers than they know, but who is he? Where is he going, and why? 1892 can be read as a short, standalone novella, and there’s no need to have read the Clearwater, Larkspur or Delamere series to enjoy the story. However, you might gain more from reading 1892 if you already know the characters and their histories.

Word Count: Click here to reveal105000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Hired by the esteemed Clearwater Detective Agency, and determined to prove themselves worthy, Jack and Will Merrit face their first case: They have eight days to unravel past events at an English public school, find a missing man and prevent his suicide. A new life brings intriguing potentials as Jack grapples with his attraction towards men. As the assistant to the manly and assured, Jimmy Wright, he must put aside his longing for Larkin Chase and the temptations of a new stable lad, and face the weight of his new responsibility. The Merrit brothers’ future depends on it. But when circumstances pull Jimmy away, Jack and Will are left alone to navigate a map of deceit, solve the case, and save a man’s life, even if it means risking their own. ‘A Fall from Grace’ is the second book in the Delamere Files series of romantic, Victorian gay mysteries, and follows on from ‘Finding a Way.’ The books should be read in order.

Word Count: Click here to reveal103000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: It began with a man sobbing in the night. When he is robbed by a fare, London cabman, Jack Merrit, thinks his life is over, but then he meets the dashing writer of social observations, Larkin Chase, a man in search of love. Larkin sees the chance for Jack to earn a twenty-pound reward. All Jack has to do is identify the pair of crooks that robbed him, but the crooks are part of a notorious East End gang who know no boundaries when silencing a witness. Despite the possibilities Larkin offers, Jack’s world begins to crumble. He must either deny or allow his unnatural desire and decide if he is to see justice done and win his reward. But when an equally dashing young detective arrives on the scene, Jack's life becomes even more complicated. Finding a Way is the first of a new series of thrilling Victorian mysteries. If you enjoyed the Clearwater Mysteries and Larkspur Mysteries, you'll love this book. There is no need to read them first.

Word Count: Click here to reveal160000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Straight (Click here to hide)

Summary: Henry Hope lies in a coma, and Lord Clearwater’s hunt for his mother’s secret treasure is on hold. But when a new clue comes to light, Clearwater and the academy men resume their greatest adventure. It is also to be their most dangerous. With murderous enemies behind, the unknown ahead, and a warrant out for Clearwater’s arrest, no-one is safe. Loyalties and friendships are tested as the men face harrowing confrontations, a war of attrition in the national newspapers, storms, gunfights and death. Will love and friendship be enough to secure the lives and futures of Lord Clearwater and his crew? Can they solve the riddles in time, and will anyone ever know the meaning of the seemingly unlockable riddle? Behind four points ’neath gifted crook, the light awaits for those who look… ◆ ◆ ◆ The Larkspur Legacy follows on directly from ‘Starting with Secrets’ and is the culmination of both the Clearwater and Larkspur mystery series. It is not necessary to have read the Clearwater Mysteries, but to get the best from this ‘end of season finale,’ you’re advised to read both, the Larkspur Mysteries in particular, and to read them in order. With themes of friendship, bromance, male love and revenge, the story combines historical fact with fiction. As with all of Jackson Marsh’s mysteries, the novel contains humour, love and action, while offering the reader the chance to solve the clues with the cast of disparate, well-drawn characters. “This is a book that could have been written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dan Brown.”

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Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Pansexual (Click here to hide)

Summary: Sometimes doing the right thing means being disagreeable Alistair returns to Misselthwaite College of Magic only to face his biggest challenge yet. The curse on his lover, William, is only growing worse. Soon the temporary measures they've taken will no longer protect him. Even worse, Alistair learns that all three of his lovers may share William's danger Desperate to hone his magical skills, Alistair explores all options he has, including the two new teachers to Misselthwaite. One offers a logical breaking down of the mystery surrounding William, while the other hints at the powerful possibilities of forbidden magic. Alistair finds himself the target of a smear campaign designed to expel him from the college. Can he save William without damning himself? If Alistair makes the wrong choice, not even the Secret Garden's power will be enough to save his lovers--or himself. ------ Garden of Mysteries is book two in a duology, set in a magical new universe. A Secret Garden retelling with a queer twist and featuring MMMM polyamory.

Word Count: Click here to reveal12000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Straight (Click here to hide)

Summary: “The greatest reward often lies at the end of the stoniest path.” Lady Dorothy Marshall, March 1891 When Lord Clearwater inherits a set of enigmatic clues and a compass, it becomes clear he has the means to uncover a momentous secret. He calls upon the men of the Larkspur Academy to help with the hunt, including the latest recruit, the bewildered ex-sailor, Bertie Tucker. The academy men investigate follies, national monuments and ancient churches, using their diverse skills to unlock a series of random messages. The men must work together to find Clearwater’s secret and ‘treasure’, but relationships threaten the status quo. Edward Hyde has turned his affections from Henry and aimed them at Bertie Tucker, opening a rift which must be mended if the hunt is to succeed. And when two of Clearwater’s adversaries conspire to beat him to the secret, what begins as an adventure becomes a game of cat and mouse that leads to a fight for survival. Starting with Secrets is the sixth book in the Larkspur Mysteries series. With themes of friendship, bromance, male love and revenge, the story is the first part of a two-part adventure, and combines historical fact with fiction. As with all of Jackson Marsh’s mysteries, the novel contains humour, love and action, while offering the reader the chance to solve the clues with the cast of disparate, well-drawn characters.

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Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay, Genderfluid, Pansexual, Polyamorous (Click here to hide)

Summary: The opera house holds many secrets, but none are as frightening as the Opera Ghost. Matthieu has harboured a crush on his best friend, Christophe, since they started dancing together in the Paris opera ballet troupe, but he's never acted on it. When disaster strikes only hours before a gala performance, Christophe reveals a hidden talent for singing. But where did he learn to hit such beautiful high notes? Why won't he tell his best friend who his singing tutor is? And what are those bruises he's covering up? The rehearsals for their new opera are plagued with "accidents" and a dashing stranger who has a past connection with the beautiful Christophe disrupts their lives. To make matters worse, Matthieu seems to have attracted the attention of the Phantom of the Opera himself... but who is the man behind the mask? And why is he so very alluring? The melody heard in the darkest part of the night is terrible, but beautiful as well. ---- Night's Melody is an MM horror retelling of the Phantom of the Opera, as part of the collaboration Monsters & Mayhem: An MM Horror Collection, adapting some of your favourite classic horror stories with an MM romance twist. It is a standalone story, featuring accidents of a violent nature, overdramatic characters, BDSM, why choose/ MMMM scenes and some very intriguing chambers under the opera's stage floor.

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Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Questioning, Pansexual, Polyamorous (Click here to hide)

Summary: Alistair Lennox is disagreeable. Isolated and miserable, with parents who don’t care about him, his life has been equal parts privilege and loneliness. But when his parents die, his life is turned upside down. In order to gain his inheritance, Alistair is forced to attend a college he's never heard of - for good reason. Misselthwaite College is a school for the magically gifted Alistair has no magical gifts - unless being magically inept counts. What were his parents thinking? And what is the mysterious affliction plaguing William Carlisle, the affluent and arrogant heir to Misselthwaite? Is there a connection to the strange key Alistair discovers in a book, the stranger noises in the night, and, strangest of all, the multiple men who desire his friendship? Misselthwaite has no end of secrets. But if being disagreeable is good for anything, it's for getting to the bottom of mysteries. -- Garden of Secrets is book one in a duology, and the first installment in a magical new universe. A Secret Garden retelling with a queer twist and featuring MMMM polyamory.

Word Count: Click here to reveal95000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: March 1891. A parliamentary committee arrives at Larkspur Hall to assess Lord Clearwater’s suitability to become an earl. Prince Albert Victor will announce their decision at a society dinner on Archer’s thirty-second birthday. However, the MP with the authority to advance Archer to the title is the same man who caused Edward Hyde never to speak again. When the parliamentarians arrive to inspect the Larkspur Academy, Edward comes face to face with the man he had arrested for making unnatural advances. A man who was never tried for his crime. Silas Hawkins and the academy men band together to ensure Edward sees justice done while protecting Lord Clearwater’s reputation and each other. Using their skills in chemistry, physics and deception, they embark on a game of secrets and subterfuge where the unspoken causes the loudest outcry. “The quiet ones have the loudest voice. Them as say most by speaking in silence.” Fiona Hawkins, 1881 Speaking in Silence is the fifth book in the Larkspur Mysteries series, and touches on themes of victimisation and suicide. Like all books in the series, it is inspired by actual events from the late 1800s. With themes of friendship, bromance, male love and revenge, the story is more of a ‘how dunnit?’ than a ‘who dunnit?’ and like all of Jackson’s mysteries, contains humour, while mixing fact with fiction.

Word Count: Click here to reveal105000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: “Risk is the spark that ignites adventure.” Barbary Fleet, 1891   The Larkspur Academy — Where men explore the mysteries of love and learning Chester Cadman has been duped by unscrupulous men, ridiculed in the newspapers, and disowned by his family. Only twenty-two, he is on the verge of starvation when a Clearwater detective makes him an offer he can't refuse: Join the Larkspur Academy and investigate a haunting that has plagued Lord Clearwater’s family for nearly four hundred years. Mystified, but determined, Chester enlists the help of fellow academy man, Frank Andino, and is soon presented with a second mystery: his attraction to the loyal, but bawdy young Greek. Together, they unearth sinister family secrets that could destroy Clearwater’s reputation and the academy, but the truth must be known. Faced with a double dilemma, Chester is forced to confront the past, even if it means Clearwater’s downfall and a broken heart. It’s a risk, but, as Fleet says, ‘Risk is the spark that ignites adventure, and love is the greatest adventure of them all.’ ★★★★★ ‘Seeing Through Shadows’ is the fourth book in The Larkspur Mystery series. A combination of mystery, male love and adventure set in England in 1890 and 1891, the Larkspur Mysteries blend historical fact with fiction. Rescued from destitution, young gay men are invited to Lord Clearwater’s Larkspur Academy. There, they explore their talents as they encounter romance, bromance and a variety of intriguing mysteries. The Larkspur series follows on from the popular Clearwater Mysteries and is set in the same world, but you don’t have to have read the Clearwater series to enjoy this collection of full-length historical novels.

Word Count: Click here to reveal125000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Intelligencers: men and women from all walks of life and from all sections of society, servants of the Crown who work for the Home Office gathering information vital to the security of the nation. London, 1855. While Great Britain is at war with the Russians in the Crimea, a cadre of disaffected seditionists and insurrectionists, made up of members of the aristocracy and wealthy industrialists, have set a plan into action that’s been decades in the making—a plan that aims to overthrow the Queen and to install a puppet king on the throne in her place. With the war raging and disquiet in the industrial north and in Ireland, their perfidious plot, unless stopped, threatens to bring about anarchy and revolution. Aware of the imminent danger, Sir George Grey, the Home Secretary, has tasked The Brothers, a band of four men, friends of over twenty years, to root out the source of the infection, destroy the clique, and track down and eradicate its foreign pretender by any means necessary. From molly houses to state banquets, from hospitals to steam baths, from aristocratic households to the meanest of slums, the friends find themselves in a succession of increasingly perilous situations. Like the mighty Thames, undercurrents flow swift and deep as they uncover plot after plot and treachery and treason in abundance.