Spring, 1858. The route of the Caledonian Railway through the southern uplands of the Scottish countryside is disrupted by a fatal crash. Inspector Robert Colbeck and Sergeant Victor Leeming are called from the crime of London to investigate, and must contend with old enemy Superintendent Rory McTurk to uncover the criminals behind the disaster. The motive for the crash is unclear, with suspects including the North British Railway, a group of sabbatarians and those with personal vendettas to enact. Colbeck and Leeming face further obstacles when the Railway announces a reward of £400 for information – soon they are pitched against criminals, the public and their own colleagues in their attempts to solve the case.Meanwhile, with the investigation stalling, the newly married Madeleine Colbeck and her father race to reach Inspector Colbeck with important information. Will they be in time to save the royal family before their train journey to Balmoral?

1865. A passenger train stands ready to depart amid the bustle at York station. The flurry of passengers and porters, the swooping pigeons and barking dogs are thrown into a state of turmoil when an explosion ripsthrough the brake van of the train killing guard Jack Follis.In response to a summons from the North Eastern Railway, Inspector Robert Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming are sent to investigate. Was it an accident, deliberate vandalism or targeted murder? The longer the investigation goes on, the more complex it becomes. With a dizzying array of suspects and motives, will the combined skills of the detectives be enough to identify and catch the culprit?

Noted beauty and singer Harriet Gow has earned a position envied by every available women of the Restoration period: she is the King's favorite mistress. After seeing her perform, Christopher Redmayne is also captivated and the impression Harriet made is still lingering in his mind when he is summoned urgently by Charles II. Harriet has been kidnapped, and Redmayne, with the help of his friend Jonathan Bale - a Puritan constable - is engaged to resolve this delicate affair. The facade of elegance and gentility soon begins to crumble in the face of their investigations. Harriet is, indeed, an amorous nightingale; the fabric of her life entangled in jealousy, avarice and lust. Just as Redmayne and Bale start to question whether she is really the victim or the guilty party a brutal murder provides the answer...Review'Probably the best of our British writers of historical crime stories' --Birmingham Post About the AuthorEDWARD MARSTON was born and brought up in South Wales. A full-time writer for over thirty years, he has worked in radio, film, television and the theatre. Prolific and highly successful, he is equally at home writing children's books or literary criticism, plays or biographies and the settings for his crime novels range from the world of professional golf to the compilation of the Domesday Survey. He is also a former Chairman of the Crime Writers Association.

A maritime mystery from Edward Marston, author of the bestselling Railway Detective series.Southampton, 1910. When the Oceanic sets sail its ultimate destination is New York. But it must make one very important stop first: at Cherbourg, France to pick up internationally renowned financier and art collector J. P. Morgan, fresh from a continental buying spree.George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield, ship's detectives aboard the Oceanic, are slightly nervous about the presence of such an important passenger, not to mention his valuable cargo. After all, it is rare for a transatlantic voyage to pass without incident for the two sleuths. The everyday difficulties of managing passengers including a charming rake intent on causing mischief and a controversial painter traveling with his bohemian wife and his alluring French model, are brought to a pitch when a major art theft takes place and a throat is cut. Dillman and Masefield must draw upon all their...

Christmas, 1669. In the grip of the coldest winter for years, the River Thames is frozen from bank to bank and London celebrates with a traditional frost fair held on its broad back. Revellers come from far and wide to enjoy the spectacle. Among the throng is ambitious young architect Christopher Redmayne. By chance he meets a good friend, Constable Jonathan Bale, attending with his family. As the adults talk, Bale’s sons skate around them. But their competitive nature spells trouble onto thin ice and is in danger of crashing into the freezing water below. Christopher and Jonathan save the boy but make a chilling discovery – the frozen corpse of a naked man embedded in the ice. Bale vows to investigate but Christopher sees no reason to involve himself further until his own brother Henry is accused of the murder and thrown in jail. Now Henry faces execution if Christopher cannot prove his innocence. The architect must risk all he holds dear, both professionally and personally, to uncover the truth.Amazon.com ReviewRather than exacerbating that winter's gloom, a sudden freezing-over of London's Thames River in 1669 becomes a cause of public delight in Edward Marston's The Frost Fair. "In place of a river, we have the widest street in Europe," exclaims architect Christopher Redmayne, as he observes the myriad merchants and entertainers who've mounted an eccentric celebration on the ice. But this revelry soon cools, after Redmayne and his sober-sided associate, Constable Jonathan Bale, discover a corpse trapped in the glacial crust. The deceased is Jeronimo Maldini, an Italian fencing master who was stabbed with a dagger belonging to none other than Redmayne's foppish, pleasure-seeking elder brother, Henry. Though once friendly, those two gents evolved into bitter foes, and Henry had rashly threatened to slay the duelist. Most Londoners, including Bale, are convinced of Henry's guilt, and the accused was too inebriated on the night of the murder to be sure of his own innocence. Christopher, however, is sure, and so sets off to find the real killer--an errand that will find him nearly drowned in the Thames and crossing swords with a "hero" of dubious acclaim. Meanwhile, the designer detective must fend off the amorous advances of a new client and, not insignificantly, prevent Henry's suicide in squalid Newgate Prison.Although The Frost Fair is actually the fourth of British author Marston's Redmayne/Bale novels, it's the first to see U.S. publication. Like its predecessors, this circuitously plotted work adroitly portrays the alternately respectable and ribald atmosphere of post-Great Fire London. Christopher Redmayne, who labors to restore his city in the shadow of real-life architect Christopher Wren, has matured into a credible sleuth, bedeviled by his sybaritic sibling but forging a relationship of grudging respect with the puritanical Bale. If the tone of this series isn't quite so jauntily whimsical as that of Marston's better-known Nicholas Bracewell books (The Bawdy Basket, etc.), The Frost Fair nonetheless proves itself an historical mystery with thrills on top of chills. --J. Kingston PierceFrom BooklistAn unexpected blizzard paralyzes London and provides a chilling venue for murder in this Restoration-era mystery. After the storm subsides, the city remains at a standstill. Even the Thames is frozen, presenting Londoners with the unique opportunity of hosting a Frost Fair on the river. When the body of a well-known Italian fencing master is discovered beneath the ice, architect Christopher Redmayne and constable Jonathan Bale once again join forces to solve the crime. This time the investigation takes on a more personal tenor because Christopher's brother, Henry, is the primary suspect. Desperately trying to prove his brother's innocence and to protect Susan Cheever, his inquisitive love interest, from harm, the wily young architect-cum-detective has his capable hands full. Though he churns out volumes in the Nicholas Bracewell series, the Domesday Books, and the Redmayne Mysteries at an unbelievable pace, Marston continues to supply a superior brand of historical mystery. Margaret FlanaganCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

'Marston has tapped into a rich vein of inspiration. This series promises a long run' Daily MailDecember, 1917. Ada Hobbs has cleaned for Dr Tindall for many years and begins this frosty morning like any other day. But it turns out the house is not empty after all. The blood-covered George Tindall is sprawled across the floor. Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy arrive to a horrific scene. Someone enjoyed killing Tindall, without a doubt. Their investigation takes them out of London, and on the trail of three different women as it emerges that Dr Tindall was not the respectable local GP after all, but a bigamist whose third wife had some very interesting connections in the crime fraternity.

"COLORFUL . . . A BREATHTAKING CLIMAX."--Publishers WeeklyDAME FORTUNE HAS ABANDONED LORD WESTFIELD'S MEN TO CALAMITY . . . One member of the popular London acting troupe has died. Their present production is a failure. Then an anonymous playwright hands company mainstay Nicholas Bracewell a chance for salvation: a new script that exposes a tragic miscarriage of justice in a murder case.News of the impending production of The Roaring Boy swiftly reaches high places. Long before rehearsals begin, the company is menaced by enemies who destine both script and players for destruction. For The Roaring Boy establishes the innocence of the two people executed for the crime and points a bold finger at the real murderer. Not even Lord Westfield, the company's powerful patron, can save the troupe from the mortal danger that now encompasses them. . . . "The author's mastery of plot, atmosphere, and character is at its peak here: a powerhouse from start to finish."--Kirkus Reviews"Edward Marston delights . . . The best yet of the series."--Anniston Star**

When plague strikes London, Lord Westfield's Men count themselves fortunate they've been invited to perform as part of the wedding celebrations for Sophia Magdalena, the fair maid of Bohemia. The long journey across Europe is a daunting prospect but stage manger Nicholas Bracewell is confident they will arrive safely, and confident the mission Lord Westfield sets them to deliver secret documents to Talbot Roydon, an English alchemist at the Imperial Court, will go without a hitch. En route, murder strikes one of the actors during their first performance at Flushing. It's the first of many setbacks. Once in Prague, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II proves a madcap host. Worse, not only do attacks on the players continue as the royal wedding day approaches, but someone kidnaps Nicholas' sweetheart Anne Henrik....**