Accompanying American heiress Belle Seldon on a visit to her ancestral family home in Somerset, Ursula Grandison soon discovers that the decaying stately Mountstanton House and its inhabitants has many secrets, including a crumbling marriage and a missing dowry. When Ursula discovers the drowned body of the nurserymaid, she is determined to reveal the killer and, in doing so, reveals a tangled web of deception and adultery that threatens the reputation of the house of Mountstanton.
A chill hung heavy in the air of Willington Castle, seeping from the very stones of the ancient building. It was a chill that had nothing to do with the late October weather, but rather with the impending storm brewing within the castle's walls. The sprawling estate, nestled in the misty hills of rural England, had stood for centuries, a silent witness to generations of Willington family drama. But never had it seen a night quite like this. Sir Edward Willington, the patriarch of the family, lay sprawled on the thick Persian rug in his study. His lifeless figure, eyes wide with terror, hinted at a final, horrific realization. The once-proud man, his face contorted in a grotesque mask of fear, was a stark contrast to the opulence that surrounded him. Leather-bound books lined the walls, their spines gleaming in the flickering firelight. A half-empty glass of brandy sat on the mahogany desk, the amber liquid catching the light like a trapped tear. Detective Inspector Marcus Thorne stood over the body, his face impassive. At fifty-three, Thorne was a veteran of the force, his salt-and-pepper hair and lined face testament to years of solving gruesome crimes. But there was something unsettling about this scene, a sense of calculated malice that chilled him to the bone. Beside him, the young and eager Detective Sergeant Emily Carter looked visibly shaken, her bright blue eyes wide with a mix of horror and fascination. "Looks like a clean shot, Inspector," Carter murmured, her voice trembling slightly. "Right through the heart." Thorne nodded, his gaze fixed on the body. "No forced entry, no signs of struggle. Looks like a classic case of someone close to the victim." His deep voice resonated in the quiet room, each word weighted with years of experience. A soft gasp echoed through the room. Lady Eleanor Willington, Sir Edward's wife of thirty years, stood in the doorway. Her face was a mask of carefully cultivated grief, but her eyes held a flicker of something else – a cold calculation that belied her outward sorrow. She was a striking woman in her early fifties, her silver-streaked dark hair pulled back in an elegant chignon. "Someone close to Edward?" she echoed, her voice laced with feigned disbelief. "That's impossible. He was a kind and generous man. Beloved by all." Her hand fluttered to her throat, adorned with a string of flawless pearls. Thorne's lips curved into a wry smile. "We'll see about that, Lady Willington," he replied, his voice low and measured. He'd seen enough high-society murders to know that beneath the veneer of respectability often lurked the darkest of motives. As the night wore on, the castle became a hive of activity. Forensic teams combed the study, their cameras flashing like silent lightning in the somber room. Outside, the wind howled, rattling the ancient windows and adding to the atmosphere of unease that permeated the castle. Thorne and Carter set up a makeshift incident room in the castle's expansive library. The walls were lined with centuries of books, their leather bindings a silent audience to the unfolding drama. As they pinned up photos and notes on a hastily erected evidence board, Thorne couldn't shake the feeling that they were missing something crucial. "Sir," Carter said, breaking the silence. "I've been going through Sir Edward's financial records. There's something odd here." She handed Thorne a stack of papers, her brow furrowed in concentration. Thorne leafed through the documents, his eyes narrowing. "Multiple large withdrawals over the past six months. All in cash. What was old Willington up to?" Before Carter could respond, there was a commotion in the hallway. Lord Richard Willington, Sir Edward's eldest son, burst into the library, his face flushed with anger and what Thorne suspected was a generous amount of whiskey. "What's the meaning of this?" Richard demanded, his words slightly slurred. "Why haven't you arrested the murderer yet? It's obvious who did it!" Thorne raised an eyebrow. "Is it, Lord Willington? Perhaps you'd care to enlighten us." Richard's eyes darted around the room, a hint of panic breaking through his bravado. "Well... it must have been one of the servants. Probably that new gardener. He always looked shifty to me." Carter exchanged a glance with Thorne. They both recognized the desperate attempt at misdirection for what it was. "We'll be sure to look into that," Thorne said smoothly. "In the meantime, Lord Willington, perhaps you could tell us where you were at the time of your father's death?" Richard's face paled. "I... I was in the billiard room. Alone. But I didn't do it! I loved my father!" As Richard stormed out, Thorne turned to Carter. "Well, Sergeant, it seems we have our work cut out for us. A house full of suspects, each with their own secrets. And somewhere among them, a killer." Carter nodded, her eyes gleaming with determination. "Where do we start, sir?" Thorne looked out the window, where the first light of dawn was beginning to break over the misty grounds. "We start Sergeant, by digging. Every family has its skeletons, and I have a feeling the Willingtons have more than most." As the new day dawned, Willington Castle stood silent and brooding, its ancient stones holding tight to the secrets of the night. But secrets, like bodies, have a way of surfacing. And for Detective Inspector Marcus Thorne, the hunt for a killer was just beginning. The following days were a whirlwind of interviews and investigations. The Willington family, a sprawling clan of greedy relatives, was a veritable minefield of suspicion. Each member seemed to harbor their own dark secrets, their eyes darting nervously whenever Thorne entered a room. Lord Richard Willington, the eldest son, was a study in entitled arrogance. At forty-five, he had spent his entire life waiting to inherit, his impatience growing with each passing year. Thorne found him in the conservatory, nursing a glass of expensive scotch despite the early hour. "I don't see why this is necessary," Richard sneered, his manicured hands fidgeting with his silk tie. "My father's killer is obvious. It's that gardener, I tell you." Thorne leaned back in his chair, his piercing gaze never leaving Richard's face. "And yet, Lord Willington, the gardener has a solid alibi. Unlike yourself." Richard's face flushed an ugly red. "Are you accusing me? I'm the victim here! I've lost my father, my inheritance is in limbo, and now I'm being hounded by the police!" "Interesting that you mention the inheritance before your father," Thorne noted quietly. Before Richard could respond, the conservatory door burst open. Lord Thomas Willington, the younger son, stumbled in. At thirty-eight, Thomas was the black sheep of the family, his once-handsome face ravaged by years of hard living. "Dickie!" Thomas slurred, ignoring Thorne completely. "I need money. The bookies are after me again."
Murder, intrigue and marriage in the Welsh Marches of old . . . - When Sir Geoffrey's unpopular brother, Henry, is murdered, he unwillingly inherits Goodrich Castle in the Welsh Marches. Immediately, his sister pushes him towards a marriage that will provide an heir and stability for the family. But when Geoffrey survives attempts on his own life, he wonders whether they are linked to Henry's death, to his potential brides, or even to the rumoured murder of the Duchess of Normandy, as a Welsh revolt against the English looms.
When aspiring actress Liza Channing inherits a Caribbean island estate, she's sure it will solve her money problems. All she has to do is follow the terms of the will and deal with a few resentful relatives--no problem. But falling for the family attorney wasn't part of her calculations. Especially when she learns he's not quite what he seems. Stephen Albright planned to keep his distance from the new heiress, but soon finds himself drawn to her. When she asks for advice, he can't refuse. But it quickly becomes apparent Liza needs more than legal help. Somebody wants her dead. When her cousin is murdered, Liza realizes just how deadly her inheritance can be. Amid the serenity of sensuous tropical nights lurks a killer who will stop at nothing. She and Stephen must put their growing love on hold to find a murderer before Liza becomes the next victim.
Murder, intrigue and marriage in the Welsh Marches of old . . . - When Sir Geoffrey's unpopular brother, Henry, is murdered, he unwillingly inherits Goodrich Castle in the Welsh Marches. Immediately, his sister pushes him towards a marriage that will provide an heir and stability for the family. But when Geoffrey survives attempts on his own life, he wonders whether they are linked to Henry's death, to his potential brides, or even to the rumoured murder of the Duchess of Normandy, as a Welsh revolt against the English looms.
Social standing is everything in Regency England—and no one knows better than Miss Caroline Morton, a lady’s companion from a disgraced line. But when she has a chance to claim what’s rightfully hers, the one obstacle in her way is a dangerous murder mystery . . . Miss Caroline has doubts when she receives an urgent invitation from a London law firm to discuss her late father’s estate. After all, the dishonored Earl of Morton died without a pound sterling to pass on to his two daughters. But while immersing herself in helping Mrs. Frogerton’s capricious daughter navigate the high social season, Caroline meets with a cagey lawyer, Mr. Smith, who shares life-altering news—the earl composed a second will, leaving behind an undisclosed fortune. Mrs. Frogerton, however, is thoroughly unimpressed with the firm’s conduct and suspicious of their true motives. Her instinct proves right when the two ladies find the office ransacked, staff in turmoil, and Mr. Smith missing. The full weight of the situation doesn’t sink in until Mr. Smith dies following a brutal attack on the street—discovered with an empty envelope bearing Caroline’s name in his pocket. With a connection forming between two deaths at the firm, Caroline can’t imagine why anyone would kill twice over the contents of a will. Further complicating matters is the amorous Mr. DeBloom—who claims his mother goaded the earl into making bad investments and promises to link Caroline to her inheritance—and the disappearance of Susan, her younger sister. As Caroline unwittingly becomes the center of both a criminal case and a sordid love triangle, she must tread with caution while seeking the truth . . . because someone is waiting to reduce her to nothing more than a signature on a dotted line.
Get swept away to the enchanting South of France with this “exquisite and shimmering” (Lisa Jewell, New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone) suspenseful historical novel, where perilous secrets lurk under the glitz and glam of seaside wealth. She didn’t have an enemy in the world…until she inherited a fortune. London 1948: Eve Forrester is stuck in a loveless marriage, isolated in her gray and gloomy house when out of the blue, she receives a letter. A wealthy stranger has left her a mysterious inheritance but in order to find out more, she must travel to the glittering French Riviera. There, Eve discovers she has been bequeathed an enchanting villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and suddenly, life could not be more glamorous. But while she rubs shoulders with the rich and famous, challengers to her unexplained fortune begin to emerge—challengers who would love to see Eve gone forever. Alone in paradise, Eve must unlock the story behind her surprise bequest—before her unexpected twist of fate turns deadly… With Rachel Rhys’s “thrilling, seductive, and utterly absorbing” (Paula Hawkins, #1 bestselling author of The Girl on the Train) prose, Fatal Inheritance is an intoxicating story of dysfunctional families and long-hidden secrets, set against the decadence of the Côte d’Azur.
Following Lady Jane Grey's journey from the deadly intrigues of her childhood that led inexorably through to her trial and execution, historian Nicola Tallis unravels the grim tapestry of her life along the way.
A riveting medical mystery about a young woman’s quest to uncover the truth about her likely fatal genetic disorder that opens a window onto the exploding field of genomic medicine When Joselin Linder was in her twenties her legs suddenly started to swell. After years of misdiagnoses, doctors discovered a deadly blockage in her liver. Struggling to find an explanation for her unusual condition, Joselin compared the medical chart of her father—who had died from a mysterious disease, ten years prior—with that of an uncle who had died under similarly strange circumstances. Delving further into the past, she discovered that her great-grandmother had displayed symptoms similar to hers before her death. Clearly, this was more than a fluke. Setting out to build a more complete picture of the illness that haunted her family, Joselin approached Dr. Christine Seidman, the head of a group of world-class genetic researchers at Harvard Medical School, for help. Dr. Seidman had been working on her family’s case for twenty years and had finally confirmed that fourteen of Joselin’s relatives carried something called a private mutation—meaning that they were the first known people to experience the baffling symptoms of a brand new genetic mutation. Here, Joselin tells the story of their gene: the lives it claimed and the future of genomic medicine with the potential to save those that remain. Digging into family records and medical history, conducting interviews with relatives and friends, and reflecting on her own experiences with the Harvard doctor, Joselin pieces together the lineage of this deadly gene to write a gripping and unforgettable exploration of family, history, and love. A compelling chronicle of survival and perseverance, The Family Gene is an important story of a young woman reckoning with her father’s death, her own mortality, and her ethical obligations to herself and those closest to her.
Weaving his own moving family story with a sweeping history of cancer research, Lawrence Ingrassia delivers an intimate, gripping tale that sits at the intersection of memoir and medical thriller Ingrassia lost his mother, two sisters, brother, and nephew to cancer—different cancers developing at different points throughout their lives. And while highly unusual, his family is not the only one to wonder whether their heartbreak is the result of unbelievable bad luck, or if there might be another explanation. Through meticulous research and riveting storytelling, Ingrassia takes us from the 1960s—when Dr. Frederick Pei Li and Dr. Joseph Fraumeni Jr. first met, not yet knowing that they would help make a groundbreaking discovery that would affect cancer patients for decades to come—to present day, as Ingrassia and countless others continue to unpack and build upon Li and Fraumeni’s initial discoveries, and to understand what this means for their families. In the face of seemingly unbearable loss, Ingrassia holds onto hope. He urges us to “fight like Charlie,” his nephew who battled cancer his entire life starting with a rare tumor in his cheek at the age of two—and to look toward the future, as gene sequencing, screening protocols, CRISPR gene editing, and other developing technologies may continue to extend lifespans and perhaps, one day, even offer cures.
