The Virgin of the Wind Rose While probing the murder of her missionary boyfriend in Ethiopia, rookie State Department lawyer Jaqueline Quartermane discovers a strange word square in an underground church. Teaming up with the elusive Elymas she follows the ancient clues to Rome, Nova Scotia and Sumatra. Running alongside the main story is a…
Category: History
‘The Last Days of Newgate’ by Andrew Pepper
The Last Days of Newgate 1829, London. Following a suspect into the dark and dangerous rookeries, Bow Street Runner Pyke stumbles across a brutal murder. Finding himself involved in tracking down the killer, he is dragged into a deepening mystery that challenges all his talents as a thief taker. As the city seethes with religious…
‘Who Killed Little Johnny Gill?’ by Kathryn McMaster
Who Killed Little Johnny Gill? A Victorian True Crime Murder Mystery Bradford, late December 1888. Young Johnny Gill leaves his loving family to help milkman William Barrett on his daily round. As his mother Mary Ann bids the lad goodbye, she has no idea she’ll never see her son alive again. When the boy fails…
‘Prisoner 4374’ by A. J. Griffiths-Jones
Prisoner 4374 Scottish-born Dr. Thomas Neill Cream is often suspected of being the face behind the Jack the Ripper murders, but has he been misrepresented? There’s no doubt he was responsible for several deaths, but does the fact that he spent time in an American prison during the Whitechapel killings let him off the hook,…
Billy Burke – Georgian Villain No. 1
In a previous post (Historical Writing – Fact or Fiction?) I talked about using research as a tool to help create realistic descriptions of everyday life. Generally, what I’m interested in is detail that adds authenticity to the story, rather than using characters who actually existed (although some of my books feature brief appearances by…
‘How to Be a Victorian’ by Ruth Goodman
How to Be a Victorian If you’ve ever wondered what life was like during the reign of Queen Victoria, you should either build a time machine, or get your hands on this book. Historian Ruth Goodman charts the Victorian experience from getting up to going to bed, and everything in-between. Goodman is a historian and…
Colin Garrow 