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Viper In The Nest
Behind the virtues of polite society, there are secrets worth killing for. London, 1759. When a charmless civil servant takes his own life, few are interested in his death. But Lizzie Hardwicke, harlot and informer for the magistrate, is desperate to satiate her curiosity and find out why. Lizzie's search for answers takes her from the smoke-filled rooms of fashionable gambling houses, where politicians mix ambition with pleasure, to the violent streets of Soho. All the while, she is navigating her complicated feelings for the magistrate's assistant, Willam Davenport, and secretly planning her retirement from her increasingly dangerous life at Mrs Farley's Bawdy House. But when the gambling house owner is brutally murdered, Lizzie finds herself tangled in a web of affairs far more complex than she had ever imagined. The darkest of secrets threaten to turn Davenport against her forever and if exposed, could send Lizzie to the gallows.
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The Corpse Played Dead
The curtain rises on a corpse, but who waits in the wings? London, 1759 An undercover assignment for the Bow Street magistrates has the fabulous Lizzie Hardwicke posing as a pitiable seamstress at a popular theatre on Drury Lane. She soon learns that behind the scenes there is a world as sordid as the bawdy house she calls home, but possibly far more dangerous. When a nobleman and patron of the arts is brutally murdered and left on display centre-stage, the theatre is thrown into disarray. The investigation becomes all the more urgent with public scrutiny on the magistrate’s men including William Davenport, his assistant, with whom Lizzie continues to grow closer. Her suspect list is long but she must find a way to see through all the masks worn backstage without letting her own slip.
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Death And The Harlot
When information is power, secrets are worth lives. London, 1759 Lizzie Hardwicke has learned to escape her history and survive the perilous streets of Soho within the walls of Mrs Farley’s Bawdy House, a reputable brothel. But entertaining wealthy customers may not be so profitable when one of them is brutally murdered after a night with her. Lizzie must escape the investigator Davenport’s suspicious eye by solving the murder herself. But the deeper she goes, the more bodies pile up. From her customers to the doorman, everyone has something to hide. All Lizzie needs to do is find the person willing to kill for theirs, before they come for her. Death and the Harlot is the first instalment of the gripping and vividly imagined historical mystery series. Perfect for fans of Sarah Waters and Diana Gabaldon, echoing the atmospheric pull of a Nancy Drew-esque mystery.