Inspector Thomas Pitt learns that a boy, clearly from the upper classes, has been found in the filthy sewers of Bluegate Fields, one of London's most dangerous slums. And the boy had been violated before he was murdered. The boy's family refuses to answer the police's questions, and the inspector begins to wonder what secrets they are trying to hide.

In nine previously published short stories and one brand new, never-before-seen Sherlock Holmes mystery, Laurie R. King blends her long-running brand of crime fiction with historical treats and narrative sleight of hand. At the heart of the collection is a prequel novella that begins with England's declaration of war in 1914.

The dead body of a peer of the realm sitting upright in an empty hansom cab was an odd sight indeed. He had been decently buried once before, Inspector Pitt knew. There was something terribly amiss. Despite a doctor's claims of death by natural causes, Pitt insisted on serious digging to unearth the truth -- even if it killed him.

The Bookworld's leading enforcement officer, Thursday Next, has been forced into a semiretirement following an assassination attempt, returning home to Swindon and her family to recuperate. But Thursday's children have problems that demand she become a mother of invention: Friday's career struggles in the Chronoguard, where he is relegated to a might-have-been; Tuesday's trouble perfecting the Anti-Smote shield, needed in time to thwart an angry Deity's...

"The Rosalind Thorne Mysteries--inspired by the novels of Jane Austen--continues as the audacious Rosalind strives to aid those in need while navigating the halls of high society ... Rosalind Thorne has slowly but assuredly gained a reputation as "a useful woman"--By helping respectable women out of some less-than-respectable predicaments. Her latest endeavor is a tragedy waiting to happen. Desperate Margaretta Seymore is with child--and her husband...

"In Uneasy Lies the Crown, the thrilling new mystery in Tasha Alexander's bestselling series, Lady Emily and her husband Colin must stop a serial killer whose sights may be set on the new king, Edward VII. On her deathbed, Queen Victoria asks to speak privately with trusted agent of the Crown Colin Hargreaves, slipping him a letter with her last, parting command: Une sanz pluis. Sapere aude. "One and no more. Dare to know." The year is 1901 and the...

Winter 1917. As the First World War enters its most brutal phase, back home in England, everyone is seeking answers to the darkness that has seeped into their lives. At Blackwater Abbey, on an island off the Devon coast, armaments manufacturer Lord Highmount has arranged a spiritualist gathering to contact his two sons, both of whom died at the front. Among the guests, two have been secretly dispatched from the intelligence service: Kate Cartwright,...

March, 1588. With England in a state of high alert as King Philip of Spain amasses a vast fleet of warships ready to invade, Queen Elizabeth and her advisors seek a possible alliance with the Duke of Parma, Governor of the Netherlands. But their plans suffer a major setback when one of their most reliable spies is found murdered in the Hertfordshire countryside, shot dead by a crossbow bolt as he was transporting secret correspondence between the...

"London, 1703. In a time when the old approaches to science coexist with the new, one elite community attempts to understand the world by collecting its wonders. Sir Barnaby Mayne, the most formidable of these collectors, has devoted his life to filling his cabinets. While the curious-minded vie for invitations to study the rare stones, bones, books, and artifacts he has amassed, some visitors come with a darker purpose. For Cecily Kay, it is a passion...

"After the final curtain of Swan Lake, an animated crowd exits the Mariinsky theatre brimming with excitement from the night's performance. But outside the scene is somber. A ballerina's body lies face down in the snow, blood splattered like rose petals over the costume of the Swan Queen. The crowd is silenced by a single cry-- "Nemetseva is dead!" Amongst the theatergoers is Lady Emily, accompanying her dashing husband Colin in Russia on assignment...