Charles Finch

In great shape except a little flaw in the spine, about midway down front cover. See photos.

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Minnesota

Charles Lennox #4

In Charles Finch'sA Stranger in Mayfair, the next enthralling installment in the Charles Lenox Mysteries, detective Lenox tries to resist the lure of a case and focus on his new career in Parliament.

Returning from a continental honeymoon with his new wife, Lady Jane, Lenox is asked by a colleague in Parliament to consult in the murder of a footman, bludgeoned to death with a brick. His investigation uncovers some unsettling facts about the family he served and a strange, second identity that the footman himself cultivated.

Going into the boxing clubs and public houses, the Mayfair mansions and servants' quarters of Victorian London, Lenox gradually realizes that an old friend may be implicated in the footman's death. Soon a suspect is arrested, but Lenox has his doubts. Desperately trying to balance the opening of Parliament and what he feels sure is a dark secret surrounding the murder, he soon discovers that the killer is someone seemingly beyond suspicion, and may be prepared to spill blood again--even a detective's.

A Stranger in Mayfair

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A little bit of wear, but it's in really good shape overall.

Charles Lennox #3

Charles Lenox, an amateur detective, investigates the murders of two veteran journalists on Christmas Eve in 1866 London, as he tries to deal with unexpected news from his fiancâee, while running for Parliament in his remote district.

The Fleet Street Murders

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Paperback cover has damage but book is fully intact and readable. Previous owner stamp in front cover. Dinged up and soft paper.

Charles Lennox #2

In the small hours of the morning one fall day in 1866, a frantic widow visits detective Charles Lenox. Lady Annabelle’s problem is simple: her beloved son, George, has vanished from his room at Oxford. When Lenox visits his alma mater to investigate he discovers a series of bizarre clues, including a murdered cat and a card cryptically referring to “The September Society.” Then, just as Lenox realizes that the case may be deeper than it appears, a student dies, the victim of foul play. What could the September Society have to do with it? What specter, returned from the past, is haunting gentle Oxford? Lenox, with the support of his devoted friends in London’s upper crust, must race to discover the truth before it comes searching for him, and dangerously close to home.

The September Society

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Covers and pages are soft, a little bit scuffed up, paper just beginning to yellow, but overall readable with no markings that I am aware of.

The First Charles Lenox Mystery

When a servant girl is found dead, a supposed suicide, Victorian gentleman and amateur sleuth Charles Lenox is called in by his old friend, Lady Jane, to investigate and begins to suspect that the girl has fallen victim to a rare and deadly poison, in a case complicated by the discovery of a second body in the middle of London's most fashionable ball. A first novel. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.

A Beautiful Blue Death

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Beth Lincoln

This was a great concept, but although not generally mentioned, it does contain gender issues.

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Instant New York Times Bestseller!

"Knives Out feel by way of Lemony Snicket...This archly told, never muddled debut whodunit reveals a roster of distinct characters, a labyrinthine setting and plot, and a mystery that is as clever as its heroine." - Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The suspenseful denouement is positively writhing with twists." --Booklist, starred review

On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match. 
Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker.

Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile's long-lost treasure. She's excited to finally meet her arriving relatives--until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs.

So what if everyone thinks she'll never be more than a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can become whatever she wants, even a detective. And she's determined to follow the twisty clues and catch the killer.

Deliciously suspenseful and delightfully clever, The Swifts is a remarkable debut that is both brilliantly contemporary and instantly classic. A celebration of words and individuality, it's packed with games, wordplay, and lots and lots of mischief as Shenanigan sets out to save her family and define herself in a world where definitions are so important.

Cover may vary.

The Swifts: a Dictionary of Scoundrels

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Vintage 1963 mass market paperback. Binding is still tight. Has old book smell but not musty, just old. Pages are yellow. A bit of wear at edges of spine and cover. All things considered, for its age this is in great condition.

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

SS incl. The Case of the Late Pig

Mr. Campion: Criminologist

Tessa Arlen

The fourth and final (as yet) Lady Montfort and Mrs. Jackson mystery.

A Lady Montfort Mystery, #4

Lady Montfort and her pragmatic housekeeper Mrs. Jackson investigate a murder of a WWI officer with amnesia in the 20th-century English countryside. Building on the success of her last three mysteries in the same series, Tessa Arlen returns us to the same universe in Death of an Unsung Hero with more secrets, intrigue, and charming descriptions of the English countryside. In 1916, the world is at war and the energetic Lady Montfort has persuaded her husband to offer the dower house to the War Office as an auxiliary hospital for officers recovering from shell-shock with their redoubtable housekeeper Mrs. Jackson contributing to the war effort as the hospital's quartermaster. Despite the hospital's success, the farming community of Haversham, led by the Monfort's neighbor Sir Winchell Meacham, does not approve of a country-house hospital for men they consider to be cowards. When Sir Evelyn Bray, one of the patients, is found lying face down in the garden with his head bashed in, both Lady Montfort and Mrs. Jackson have every reason to fear that the War Office will close their hospital. Once again the two women unite their diverse talents to discover who wouldhave reason to murder a war hero suffering from amnesia.

Death of an Unsung Hero

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Third in the Lady Montfort and Mrs. Jackson mysteries.  

Small sticker on flyleaf identifying the book, but it is not an ex-library book to the best of my knowledge and is in great shape. See photos.

A Lady Montfort Mystery, #3

A Death by Any Other Name is a delightful Edwardian mystery set in the English countryside. Building on the success of her last two mysteries in the same series, Tessa Arlen returns us to the same universe full of secrets, intrigue, and, this time, roses. The elegant Lady Montfort and her redoubtable housekeeper Mrs. Jackson's services are called upon after a cook is framed and dismissed for poisoning a guest of the Hyde Rose Society. Promising to help her regain her job and her dignity, the pair trek out to the countryside to investigate a murder of concealed passions and secret desires. There, they are to discover a villain of audacious cunning among a group of mild-mannered, amateur rose-breeders. While they investigate, the rumor mill fills with talk about a conflict over in Prussia where someone quite important was shot. There is talk of war and they must race the clock to solve the mystery as the idyllic English summer days count down to the start of WWI. Brimming with intrigue, Tessa Arlen's latest does not disappoint.

A Death by Any Other Name

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2nd in the series of four books featuring Lady Montfort and her housekeeper, Mrs. Jackson. 
There is some light adhesive along edges of dust jacket to hold it in place, but it's removable and cannot be seen.

A Lady Montfort Mystery, #2

Filled with deceptions both real and imagined, Death Sits Down to Dinner is a delightful Edwardian mystery set in London. Lady Montfort is thrilled to receive an invitation to a dinner party hosted by her close friend Hermione Kingsley, the patroness of England's largest charity. Hermione has pulled together a select gathering to celebrate Winston Churchill's 39th birthday. Some of the oldest families in the country have gathered to toast the dangerously ambitious and utterly charming First Lord of the Admiralty. But when the dinner ends, one of the gentlemen remains seated at the table, head down among the walnut shells littering the cloth and a knife between his ribs. Summoned from Iyntwood, Mrs. Jackson helps her mistress trace the steps of suspects both upstairs and downstairs as Hermione's household prepares to host a highly anticipated charity event. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Lady Montfort and Mrs. Jackson unravel the web of secrecy surrounding the bright whirlwind of London society, investigating the rich, well-connected and seeming do-gooders in a race against time to stop the murderer from striking again.

Death Sits down to Dinner

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Not quite as tight a a new book, but in otherwise great condition. First in a four book series featuring Lady Montfort and her housekeeper, Mrs. Jackson.

A Lady Montfort Mystery, #1

Lady Montfort has been planning her annual summer costume ball for months, and with scrupulous care. Pulling together the food, flowers and a thousand other details for one of the most significant social occasions of the year is her happily accepted responsibility. But when her husband's degenerate nephew is found murdered, it's more than the ball that is ruined. In fact, Lady Montfort fears that the official police enquiry, driven by petty snobbery and class prejudice, is pointing towards her son as a potential suspect.

Taking matters into her own hands, the rather over-imaginative countess enlists the help of her pragmatic housekeeper, Mrs. Jackson, to investigate the case, track down the women that vanished the night of the murder, and clear her son's name. As the two women search for a runaway housemaid and a headstrong young woman, they unearth the hidden lives of Lady Montfort's close friends, servants and family and discover the identity of a murderer hiding in plain sight.

In this enchanting debut sure to appeal to fans of Downton Abbey, Tessa Arlen draws readers into a world exclusively enjoyed by the rich, privileged classes and suffered by the men and women who serve them. Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman is an elegant mystery filled with intriguing characters and fascinating descriptions of Edwardian life--a superb treat for those who love British novels.

Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman

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Fiona Buckley

Very good condition, mass market paperback, tight, yellowing from age. Queen Elizabeth I mystery featuring Ursula Blanchard, book 1

APA: The Robsart Mystery

Ursula Blanchard, a widowed young mother and a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I, finds herself at the center of a plot that could disgrace and threaten the life of Her Majesty. Reprint.

To Shield the Queen, #1

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Margaret Searles

Author signed, ARC, ex-library. Creased corner on back cover. 

A Mrs. Millet and Mrs. Hark Mystery

Mrs. Millet and Mrs. Hark are on a tour of England when their trip of a lifetime is marred by the murder of a fellow tourist. Why do the police suspect Mrs. Hark? Where did Goldy Greening get all those diamonds? The two snoopy, old ladies see England and enjoy lots of delicious Devonshire Cream as they seek the answers.

Devonshire Cream, signed, arc

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Karen Harper

Complete set of Queen Elizabeth I mysteries by Karen Harper, mass market paperbacks. Bought new and read once years ago, still in very good condition. Slight spine cracking on outside of a few of them and a nick on The Twylight Tower by author’s name. Inside cover of The Poyson Garden is yellowed (see photo), but no markings in the books (that I can remember, I don't usually mark books).

Shipping is almost free with my current shop discounts!

Oversized Paperback (4 to 6 lbs)

Complete set

The letter came in secret, with a pearl eardrop from an aunt long thought dead, resurrecting the forbidden past. Banished by her spiteful half sister, Queen Mary, to Hatfield House in the English countryside, twenty-five-year-old Princess Elizabeth cannot refuse the summons. The Boleyns are in grave danger. And Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, is marked for death by a master poisoner whose reign of terror may have royal sanction. With her few loyal retainers, Elizabeth escapes to Kent. Here, in her ancestral Hever Castle, now held by the Queen's loyalists, Elizabeth seeks to unravel the plot against her. And here, in the embrace of intrigue and betrayal, the princess must find a brilliant, powerfully connected killer--before the killer finds her....

The Poyson Garden, Queen Elizabeth I mysteries, 1-9

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Jennieke Cohen

A little shelf wear but otherwise in very good condition. Historical notes at the end of the book give insight into some of the author’s research.

Create your own bundle of books from my shop for additional discounts. 

Lady Victoria Aston, obsessed with Jane Austen and content to stay home, is suddenly expected to enter society and find a husband, preferably one who cares for her more than her dowry.

Dangerous Alliance: an Austentacious Romance

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Anna Dean

UK edition in very nice condition. Book 4 in series of 4 books, see my other listings for the others. Shop sale additional discount applies if you buy all four.

The Irresistible Historical Whodunnit

Having refused a marriage proposal forced upon her by her family, Dido Kent has been sent to keep her Aunt Manners company. The atmosphere at Charcombe Manor does little to put the exiled Dido's mind at rest. And when the truth surfaces, that a young lady has disappeared, Dido's skill at unravelling mysteries is put to the test.

A Place of Confinement

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Good condition, a little cover wear/corner dings. Book 3 in series of 4 books, see my other listings for the others. Shop sale additional discount applies if you buy all four.

The Investigations of Miss Dido Kent

"If Jane Austen had written Miss Marple, she would have been Dido Kent, the inquisitive spinster."--Kirkus (starred review)

A Woman of Consequence, the third installment in Anna Dean's charming mystery series, opens with a visit to the ruins of an Abbey where Penelope Lambe, suffers a bad fall from the ancient stone steps. Before she slips into unconsciousness, Penelope manages to say, 'I saw her--It was her.' Soon people are certain that she saw the Grey Nun, a ghost reputed to walk the abbey's ruins. Miss Dido Kent, however, does not approve of ghosts. Disregarding everyone else's assumptions, and endeavoring to take her mind off the troubles of her family, Dido turns her energy toward solving the mystery. But events start to seem more sinister when a human skeleton is found at the abbey. Is Miss Lambe's accident connected to this discovery? Everyone is relying on Dido to find out. A captivating continuation of the Dido Kent series: rich in suspense, historical detail, and most of all, characters.

A Woman of Consequence

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Fair condition only due to marred spine where sticker removed and yellowing pages and wear to cover including corner dings, otherwise is in good condition. Book 2 in series of 4 books, see my other listings for the others. Shop sale additional discount applies if you buy all four.

Or, the Suspicions of Miss Dido Kent

"If Jane Austen had written Miss Marple, she would have been Dido Kent."--Kirkus (starred review)

The second installment in Anna Dean's charming mystery series finds Miss Dido Kent vacationing at her cousin Flora's. When Flora's neighbor passes away, Dido can't help but sense something is amiss. While she is ideally placed to observe the reaction of the community, her suitor, Mr. William Lomax, feels otherwise. Dido won't be stopped, however, and as she learns more about the dirty dealings among the upper classes of Surrey, she brings more to light than even she could have imagined. Anna Dean has crafted a delightful historical series; the next best thing to reading Jane Austen.

A Gentleman of Fortune

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Fair condition only due to marred spine where sticker removed and yellowing pages and wear to cover including corner dings, otherwise is in good condition. Book 1 in series of 4 books, see my other listings for the others. Shop sale additional discount applies if you buy all four.

Or, the Deductions of Miss Dido Kent

1805. An engagement party is taking place for Mr Richard Montague, son of wealthy landowner Sir Edgar Montague, and his fiancee Catherine. During a dance with his beloved, a strange thing happens: a man appears at Richard's shoulder and appears to communicate something to him without saying a word. Instantly breaking off the engagement, he rushes off to speak to his father, never to be seen again. Distraught with worry, Catherine sends for her spinster aunt, Miss Dido Kent, who has a penchant for solving mysteries. Catherine pleads with her to find her fiance and to discover the truth behind his disappearance. It's going to take a lot of logical thinking to untangle the complex threads of this multi-layered mystery, and Miss Dido Kent is just the woman to do it.

Bellfield Hall

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Alice Steinbach

Ex-library. Some damage to the cover but overall in decent readable condition. No highlighting that i recall. Entertaining, easy to read a chapter at a time. 

The Travels of an Independent Woman

"In many ways, I was an independent woman," writes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Alice Steinbach. "For years I'd made my own choices, paid my own bills, shoveled my own snow." But somehow she had become dependent in quite another way. "I had fallen into the habit of defining myself in terms of who I was to other people and what they expected of me." But who was she away from the people and things that defined her? In this exquisite book, Steinbach searches for the answer to this question in some of the most beautiful and exciting places in the world: Paris, where she finds a soul mate; Oxford, where she takes a course on the English village; Milan, where she befriends a young woman about to be married. Beautifully illustrated with postcards from Steinbach's journeys, this revealing and witty book transports you into a fascinating inner and outer journey, an unforgettable voyage of discovery.

Praise for Without Reservations:

"A rich account of one woman's journey through Europe and into the self."
--Us Weekly

"I loved going along with Alice Steinbach as she goes off on this rare, wonderful adventure, an escape into discovering herself and some of the truly magical places in this world." --DOMINICK DUNNE

"More than a chronicle of the writer's search for self-discovery, Without Reservations is a lovely travelogue."
--Chicago Tribune

"The best books, like the best vacations, contain unexpected delights, surprises that enrich the soul as well as the senses. This is a book about love, and longing, and the passage of time. It's about hope, and courage, and the resiliency of memory. This book is a feast. Bon appétit!"
--The Des Moines Register

"Beautifully written, clear, insightful, thoughtful . . . Steinbach's book should be taken in slowly and savored all the way."
--St. Petersburg Times

Without Reservations

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Georgette Heyer

Well oops! I have a duplicate, so even though i haven't read this one yet, selling this copy and looking forward to reading the other. 

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

Bookish Squirrel

"Heyer was one of the great protagonists of the historical novel in the post-war golden age..." --Philippa Gregory

Considered the book that launched Gerogette Heyer's career, These Old Shades features two of Heyer's most memorable characters: Justin Alastair, the Duke of Avon, and Leonie, whom he rescues from a life of ignominy and comes to love and marry.

The Duke is known for his coldness of manner, his remarkable omniscience, and his debauched lifestyle. Late one evening, he is accosted by a young person dressed in ragged boy's clothing running away from a brutal rustic guardian. The Duke buys "Leon" and makes the child his page. "Leon" is in fact Leonie, and she serves the Duke with deep devotion. When he uncovers the true story of her birth, he wreaks an unforgettable revenge on her sinister father in a chilling scene of public humiliation.

PRAISE FOR GEORGETTE HEYER:

"Our Georgette Heyer display of the Sourcebooks reprints has been a huge success, not only to those early fans like myself, but to many new readers who appreciate her style and wit."

Nancy Olson, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC

"Reading Georgette Heyer is the next best thing to reading Jane Austen."

Publishers Weekly

"Wonderful characters, elegant, witty writing, perfect period detail, and rapturously romantic. Georgette Heyer achieves what the rest of us only aspire to."

Katie Fforde

"Absolute monarch of the Regency romance."

Kirkus Reviews

These Old Shades

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Books 1-4 of The Grub-and-Stakers cozy mysteries by Charlotte MacLeod writing as Alisa Craig. Vintage mass market paperbacks with yellowing pages, a few dings, markings, and imperfections of age but all still tightly bound and considering their age, in very good shape.

Book 5 of the series is listed separately as it is a hardcover.

Making space on my shelves for the physical TBR. 

Move a Mountain, Quilt a Bee, Pinch a Poke, Spin a Yarn

The Grub-and-Stakers bundle, 1-4

Alisa Craig

Ex-library with usual markings, but otherwise in good condition with no major flaws. Minor shelf wear top and bottom of spine area.

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Book 5

"Lobelia Falls, Ontario, home of the Grub-and-Stake Gardening and Roving Club, has seen some odd things, but the ghost of murdered mule driver Hiram Jellyby is the weirdest yet. And when he manifests himself in the kitchen of the widow Zilla Trott, demanding that she find both his bones and a cache of buried gold, even imperturbable Sergeant MacVicar's aplomb is blown. Can the Grub-and-Stakers avenge the apparition and uncover the loot without starting a gold rush? Can Arethusa Monk, reigning queen of the roguish Regency romance, survive the suspicious attentions of innkeeper Hedrick Snarf? Most enigmatic of all, why is Snarf wearing purple silk socks?" "Alisa Craig's great and growing legion of fans have a particularly warm spot in their hearts for the denizens of Lobelia Falls, and this charming, crafty tale of murder and mayhem is sure not to disappoint even one. The Grub-and-Stakers House a Haunt is undoubtedly her most delightful work yet."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Grub and Stakers House a Haunt #5

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Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Ex-library wirh the usual markings/stickers, but in good readable condition, appears to have had low circulation. 1st of the Asey Mayo Cape Cod Mysteries.

An Asey Mayo Mystery #1

When his best friend is accused of murdering Dale Sanborn, a vacationing writer, Asey Mayo is determined to solve the case, even if his only clue is a sardine can

The Cape Cod Mystery #1

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Daisy Goodwin

Pages yellowing slightly, paper was likely was off white or cream originally. Slight crease lower spine.

Combine with other books from my shop for bundle savings!


A Novel

"Anyone suffering Downton Abbey withdrawal symptoms (who isn't?) will find an instant tonic in Daisy Goodwin’s The American Heiress. The story of Cora Cash, an American heiress in the 1890s who bags an English duke, this is a deliciously evocative first novel that lingers in the mind." --Allison Pearson, New York Times bestselling author of I Don’t Know How She Does It and I Think I Love You Be careful what you wish for. Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts’, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage. Witty, moving, and brilliantly entertaining, Cora’s story marks the debut of a glorious storyteller who brings a fresh new spirit to the world of Edith Wharton and Henry James. "For daughters of the new American billionaires of the 19th century, it was the ultimate deal: marriage to a cash-strapped British Aristocrat in return for a title and social status. But money didn’t always buy them happiness." --Daisy Goodwin in The Daily Mail The American Heiress was originally sold and distributed in the UK as My Last Duchess

Browse by categories

Charles Finch

A Stranger in Mayfair

Charles Finch

The Fleet Street Murders

Charles Finch

The September Society

Charles Finch

A Beautiful Blue Death

Beth Lincoln

The Swifts: a Dictionary of Scoundrels

Margery Allingham

Mr. Campion: Criminologist

Tessa Arlen

Death of an Unsung Hero

Tessa Arlen

A Death by Any Other Name

Tessa Arlen

Death Sits down to Dinner

Tessa Arlen

Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman

Fiona Buckley

To Shield the Queen, #1

Margaret Searles

Devonshire Cream, signed, arc

Karen Harper

The Poyson Garden, Queen Elizabeth I mysteries, 1-9

Jennieke Cohen

Dangerous Alliance: an Austentacious Romance

Anna Dean

A Place of Confinement

Anna Dean

A Woman of Consequence

Anna Dean

A Gentleman of Fortune

Anna Dean

Bellfield Hall

Alice Steinbach

Without Reservations

Georgette Heyer

These Old Shades

Alisa Craig, Charlotte MacLeod

The Grub-and-Stakers bundle, 1-4

Alisa Craig

The Grub and Stakers House a Haunt #5

Phoebe Atwood Taylor

The Cape Cod Mystery #1

Daisy Goodwin

The American Heiress

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