Ravenscroft Series

A captivating historical murder mystery set in Victorian England. The Malvern murders is packed with delicious dialogue, sly humour and Victorian atmosphere. Perfect for fans of M.R.C. Kasasian, E.S. Thomson, Oscar De Muriel and Karen Charlton. Before Jack the Ripper terrorized London, Police Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft patrolled the streets of Whitechapel. Clever and hard-working, Ravenscroft nonetheless has the worst record in the force. He lets a murderer escape during a chase and is banished to the spa town of Malvern for a water treatment to cure his asthma. Ravenscroft accepts a dinner invitation from a new acquaintance, Jabez Pitzer. Before dinner, the maid finds Pitzer slumped over his desk – dead. Ravenscroft immediately recognizes the signs – Pitzer has been poisoned. But the local authorities are reluctant to believe there is a murderer in Malvern. Hungry to prove himself, Ravenscroft is determined to solve the case. But the bodies mount up. Someone is killing local luminaries.

Jack the Ripper is terrifying London. Outside the capital, another killer will shock the country. It's up to Police Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft to stop him. Perfect for fans of M.R.C. Kasasian, E.S. Thomson, Oscar De Muriel and Karen Charlton. Worcester, 1888. Nicholas Evelyn, the elderly cathedral librarian, has disappeared. A priceless medieval manuscript has been stolen. Its glass case smashed with a candlestick. Ravenscroft is sent from the grimy streets of Whitechapel to investigate. Aided by his trusty companion Constable Tom Crabb, Ravenscroft soon discovers that behind the cathedral's facade lurks a dark world of death and deceit. Could the murder relate to an unsolved mystery dating back nearly forty years? Meanwhile, in London, a mysterious woman in black is wreaking revenge in the dark alleyways of Whitechapel. In a spectacular climax, the two worlds of Worcester and Whitechapel meet.

Inspector Ravenscroft and Constable Tom Crabb return in their most intriguing mystery to date. Perfect for fans of M.R.C. Kasasian, E.S. Thomson, Oscar De Muriel and Karen Charlton. March 1889. Midnight. Six strangers meet for the first time outside the great door of Tewkesbury Abbey. They are searching for the tomb of the medieval crusader knight, Sir Roger de la Pole. What they find inside is unexpected and deeply shocking. They were seeking holy relics. But the body they uncover is barely cold. And Sir Roger's ancient bones are missing. Detective Inspector Ravenscroft and Constable Tom Crabb are called on to solve the crime. They must decipher the strange coded letters on the outside of the Templar's tomb. Soon they will discover that the solution to both mysteries stretches back far into the past and that their origins lie in distant lands . . .

Inspector Ravenscroft and Constable Tom Crabb return for their most dangerous adventure yet. Perfect for fans of M.R.C. Kasasian, E.S. Thomson, Oscar De Muriel and Karen Charlton. A mysterious stranger arrives in the small Herefordshire market town of Ledbury. He offers a solicitor, Anthony Midwinter, a generous sum to look after a package for him until spring, no questions asked. The stranger warns that it must remain sealed or else the very stability of England will come under threat. The Ledbury Lamplighters see out the year with a public ceremony extinguishing the town's lamps, a local tradition. A prominent local businessman is brutally murdered in full view of the revellers. Detective Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft is reunited with his old friend and colleague, Constable Tom Crabb. They unravel a sequence of events that threatens the very political and social stability of the country.

AN EVOCATIVE VICTORIAN DETECTIVE STORY FULL OF CLEVER TWISTS Droitwich, April 1890. A nine-year-old girl vanishes without a trace from the local churchyard. Her father, the salt tycoon Sir Charles Chilton, is beside himself. There's no price he won't pay for his daughter's safe return. AND SOMEONE OUT THERE IS COUNTING ON IT. Sir Charles calls on Detective Inspector Ravenscroft and Constable Tom Crabb to investigate. Meanwhile, Ravenscroft's wife Lucy meets a distraught mother. She gave her baby daughter away under duress. Now she wants her back. The cases unravel, leading Ravenscroft and Lucy ever deeper into the darkened world of child exploitation — where lies, deceit and murder are commonplace. CAN THEY UNCOVER THE TRUTH IN TIME TO SAVE THE ENDANGERED CHILDREN? Perfect for fans of M.R.C. Kasasian, E.S. Thomson, Oscar DeNuriel or Karen Charlton

AN EVOCATIVE VICTORIAN DETECTIVE MYSTERY FULL OF CLEVER TWISTS Pershore, 1890. Talbots' Lodging House is renowned for its revolting fare. But no one ever died from dining there — until now. Everyone who tasted the chef's soup is left with a nasty case of food poisoning. BUT THE MAN WHO REFUSED IT IS FOUND DEAD. Detective Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft and Constable Tom Crabb are called in to investigate. Rumours abound that the dead man has been poisoned — a theory that fits with the circumstantial evidence. Another guest dies in equally mysterious circumstances. Could arsenic be the common lethal ingredient? Ravenscroft and Crabb begin to unearth long-buried secrets. But something's troubling Ravenscroft. CAN THEY SOLVE THE CASE BEFORE THE PAST DESTROYS THE PRESENT? Perfect for fans of M.R.C. Kasasian, E.S. Thomson, Oscar DeNuriel or Karen Charlton

N EVOCATIVE VICTORIAN DETECTIVE MYSTERY FULL OF CLEVER TWISTS Mathon Churchyard, March 1891. The Cleaves family gather in a small country churchyard for their son's funeral. But they don't recognise the dead man in the coffin. WHO IS HE? AND WHERE'S THEIR SON? Detective Inspector Ravenscroft is alarmed by the behaviour of the Upton Undertakers. What are they hiding? And who killed this man? Then another member of the Cleaves family is found dead. Ravenscroft begins to suspect something grisly is afoot — could someone be involved in body snatching? CAN THEY SOLVE THIS PUZZLING MYSTERY BEFORE ANYONE ELSE GETS HURT?

October 1891. A stranger is discovered hanging from a tree in the Malvern Hills. Detective Inspector Ravenscroft and Constable Crabb are called in to investigate. But how can they solve the murder if no one can identify the victim? Whoever killed the man must have really wanted him dead — they strung him up and watched as he suffocated. This may be the most dangerous case Ravenscroft has ever worked. Will the Herefordshire Hangmen ever be brought to justice? CAN RAVENSCROFT FIND THE ANSWERS AND KEEP HIS OWN FAMILY SAFE? Perfect for fans of M.R.C. Kasasian, E.S. Thomson, Oscar de Muriel or Karen Charlton.

AN EVOCATIVE VICTORIAN DETECTIVE MYSTERY FULL OF CLEVER TWISTS Ledbury, December 1892. Detective Inspector Ravenscroft looks forward to spending a quiet Christmas with his family. Then he receives news that an old friend stands accused of a brutal murder. DID YOUNG STEBBINS STAB HIS OWN UNCLE IN THE BACK? Ravenscroft and Detective Sergeant Crabb travel to the old Worcestershire market town of Bromsgrove to investigate. But events soon take a deadly dramatic turn. As the bad weather closes in on the two detectives Ravenscroft begins to wonder whether they will make it home for Christmas. CAN HE CRACK THE CASE AND SAVE HIS FRIEND FROM THE GALLOWS? Perfect for fans of M.R.C. Kasasian, E.S. Thomson, Oscar de Muriel or Karen Charlton.