The Discreet Investigations of Lord and Lady Calaway Series

Adelia's broken free of the restraints that Victorian society puts on a woman. By using her wit, unconventional intelligence and good humour, she's risen to marry an earl who dotes on her; she's raised and married off seven beautiful daughters; what more is there for her now?   What, indeed. Adelia's looking for a new adventure. She's not ready for her twilight years of slumber just yet…   Then her daughter's friend is found brutally murdered in the grounds of Mondial Castle – in the company of a man who is not her husband. That man is the Marquis of Mondial but he's also injured and obviously above suspicion. Yet his subsequent peculiar behaviour soon sets fashionable tongues wagging…   Adelia negotiates the gossips of the drawing room while her husband Theodore wrestles with the other gentlemen and their foibles.   Adelia and Theodore are shocked as they peel back layers of deadly secrets in the household of the castle but the truth at the heart of it threatens their own daughter's marriage … and their whole family's place in society.   Unmasking the murderer is impossible alone but working as a team, they are unique.   And unstoppable.

Who killed Viscount Beaconberg?   Lady Beaconberg's a prime suspect: the money-grabbing snob of a wife would do anything to get further up the social ladder, and ditching a lowly viscount would free her for marriage to a much more esteemed nobleman.   Or perhaps the killer was the viscount's business partner, Sir Arthur, who's been arguing in public and in private, desperate to wrest control of the racing stables fully into his own hands.   As Theodore Caxton, the Earl of Calaway and his wife Adelia look further into the viscount's suspicious death, more secrets emerge from the family's past. Everyone had someone to gain from the murder. How far will the killer go to hide the truth?   Theodore's a man of learning and science; Adelia's got a gift for reading people and asking the right questions. Together they get dangerously close to the murderer. When events separate them – one on a wild chase across the northern moors of England, the other into the heart of horse racing at York – can they each survive on their own?   They cannot afford to be losers in this deadly game of murder, love and money.

The Victorian era is an age of excursions. And for every hopeful holidaymaker, there are dozens of businesses hoping to sell them the trip of their dreams. Four such men, eager to make money, come together to offer fossil-hunting expeditions along the south coast of England. But ambition and greed soon rip the venture apart and it ends in violent murder. Unfortunately, the victim is killed right under the noses of Lord and Lady Calaway. It ought to be a simple case; the police order that no-one is to leave their large country house. The suspects are assembled. But each question unearths more unwelcome secrets from the past, and Adelia herself has to confront a love affair that she thought she'd put long behind her. As the revelations threaten to tear her marriage apart, the scandalous behaviour of her daughter Edith is rocking their position in society too. Beset on all sides, Adelia has to defy convention, defy the police … and defy her very own husband. She is used to fixing other peoples' relationships. But if she can't solve this murder, she might lose her marriage too… This is the fourth book in The Discreet Investigations of Lord and Lady Calaway. It is written in British English, which may use unfamiliar spellings, vocabulary and grammatical structures. Enjoy with a nice cup of Earl Grey tea and perhaps a biscuit.

There's something foul in the air around Tavy Castle. The old Lady Buckshaw can't say the word "trade" without feeling ill and the new Lady Buckshaw can't say much at all - at least, not much that makes sense. She's always been a sensitive soul, but have the oppressive swamps around her new home finally driven her into a very Gothic insanity? Madness and death seem to go hand in hand, and it's not long before a corpse turns up in the ice house. Theodore, Lord Calaway is all set to use his considerable powers of investigation but he's immediately thwarted by a stereotypically bumbling inspector from Plymouth who declares it all an accident.  Theodore and his wife Adelia disagree.  Adelia is busy enough with matchmaking for Captain Everard, helping to plan a Floating Ball aboard a ship, and trying to bring order to Tavy Castle. But her people-skills are essential in helping her rather-too-rational husband to make sense of the murder. They think they are making progress until the next murder happens unexpectedly. Chaos breaks out. The inspector returns. Arrests are made which devastate the Buckshaws and the Calaways. If Theodore and Adelia can't find the evidence to bring the real culprit to justice, then their own daughter will hang for it. This is the third book in The Discreet Investigations of Lord and Lady Calaway. It is written in British English, which may use unfamiliar spellings, vocabulary and grammatical structures. Enjoy with a nice cup of Earl Grey tea and perhaps a biscuit.

Did the Countess of Calaway's innocent letter of enquiry cause a murder?   When the body of a young craftsman is found dead, he is surrounded by articles belonging to an ancient local family which has sunk into decline. But those valuables went missing decades ago; this isn't a straightforward case of theft gone wrong.   As Lord and Lady Calaway investigate, they discover that what was stolen goes beyond silver cigar cases and fancy boxes. Names, identities, and even a man's wife: a whole future has been taken and the victim didn't seem to realise it.   Theodore fights for justice, because he's on the side of right.   But Adelia fights for her conscience, because as the truth unravels, she realises she may have been wrong…   How do you bring about true justice when everyone is guilty of something – even the detectives?   The Countess's Deadly Discovery is the sixth book in Issy Brooke's Victorian murder mystery series, The Discreet Investigations of Lord and Lady Calaway. If you are looking for authentic British history with a dash of humour and a traditional style, then you'll love this new novel.   Try this book now, or start with book one, Murder at Mondial Castle, for a diverting escape into a simpler past…    

Lord and Lady Lassiter are young, minted and living the high life in the Bohemian artistic circles of London. It's Christmas, 1893, and the excitement of a new millennium is already gathering pace. New opportunities! New ways of living! An end to stuffiness and convention! But society and business are still controlled by the old guard. Where there is money, there is power. And where there is both, there must be corruption. Lord Lassiter chooses the wrong friends and he quickly finds himself ensnared in a criminal gang within the sophisticated world of art fakes and forgeries. He begs his father-in-law, Lord Calaway, for help to get him out. Theodore agrees, but no sooner than they begin their investigation, the main player is killed. Now they're all involved but this is a far more dangerous world than anything Theodore has known before. He needs all his wits about him. Adelia, Lady Calaway, is at his side but they've made powerful enemies who will stop at nothing to keep control of their secrets. Will he have to choose between justice – and his family's safety? This is the fifth book in the series called The Discreet Investigations of Lord and Lady Calaway. It is written by an actual Brit, so it may contain unfamiliar spellings, vocabulary and grammatical structures.

What connects a jilted bride, the death of a miser, and an eccentric businessman?   Fireworks – perhaps.   Or maybe the answer is simple. After all, when old Mr Spenning died, his widow inherited everything.   But she does not live a life of ease and luxury now. Instead, she huddles in a draughty old house on the wild east coast of England. She hates and shuns the locals; they return the sentiment.   Lord and Lady Calaway are called to investigate the truth behind the miser's death. It happened a year ago, and clues are rare, but other strange occurrences in the area suggest that the next victim could be closer to home.   The answers lie in the deep dark waters of the Norfolk Broads – but stretch out to the British colonies in Hong Kong. The murderer knows the net is tightening and they have nothing more to lose.   The truth is explosive. Literally.   The Lady's Scandalous Secret is the seventh book in Issy Brooke's Victorian murder mystery series, The Discreet Investigations of Lord and Lady Calaway. If you are looking for authentic British history with a dash of humour and a traditional style, then you'll love this new novel.   Try this book now, or start with book one, Murder at Mondial Castle, for a diverting escape into a simpler past…