A CWA prize winning novel (2015) set in Cromwell's London and the first in the Damian Seeker series. London 1654 and Oliver Cromwell is at the height of his power and has declared himself Lord Protector, yet he has many enemies at home and abroad. London is a teeming warren of spies and merchants, priests and soldiers, exiles and assassins. One of the web's most fearsome spiders is Damian Seeker, agent of the Lord Protector. No one knows where he comes from, who his family is, or even his real name. All that is known of him for certain is that he is utterly loyal to Cromwell and that nothing can be hidden from him for long. In the city, coffee houses are springing up, fashionable places where men may meet to plot and gossip. When a popular captain and hero of Cromwell's all-powerful army is murdered, and Elias Ellingworth, an outspoken critic of Cromwell's regime is found standing over the bleeding body clutching a knife, his guilt seems to be without question. Yet Seeker is not convinced and he knows better than any man where to search for the real killer to bring him to justice. We are drawn into the Interregnum while the country was still divided between Royalists and Parliamentarians. 421pp, paperback.

Orphan Ellinor Arden is called from her secluded Paris home to London for the hearing of a will. To her surprise she is named as the inheritor of her estranged uncle's fortune, on condition that she marry his adopted son. Encouraged by her lawyer and guardian, the dashing Horace Margrave, Ellinor enters into wedded life with this perfect stranger, but it soon becomes clear that her trust in a dead man's wishes has been misplaced. Suspense-ridden sensational Victorian literature presented with the counterpart piece 'The Mystery at Fernwood'. The author Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1837-1915) counted W. M. Thackeray and Henry James among her admirers and wrote more than 70 books. 118pp, paperback.

Set in the shabby world of England's theatricals, populated by hack writers, drunken actors, pushy stage mothers and unscrupulous directors, is a drama of greed, ambition and love. Christopher Tatham is trying to 'make it' in acting, surviving on third-rate bit parts and the charity of his uncle and continues to hope for the elusive leading-man role. A chance encounter with the enchanting Peggy Harper seems to herald a change of fortune, but Tatham is soon forced to give up his flagging career for a dispiriting position as a clerk in the City as he wanders nostalgically through the West End. In a London daubed with greasepaint and filled with hungry actors, will Peggy and Tatham manage to carve out a life for themselves and attain the success and stability they crave? An Edwardian classic thankfully reprinted, this is a surprisingly modern dilemma for the young couple. George Orwell writes in his foreword of 'trudging up and down the Strand on worn-out boot soles, the agents' offices where women in dyed frocks sit waiting their turn, the forlorn collection of press cuttings, the manager who bolts in the middle of the tour with all the takings.' 164pp, paperback.

All characters are forced to battle against the bureaucracy and paperwork of Vichy-France and the spectre of the Germans closing in on the Free Zone. The self-serving sadistic gendarme, the grabbing, avaricious curé, the farmers trying to improve their lot with black-market dealings, the chaotic country kitchens filled with chickens and surplus children and rubbish - all are painted with a vivid and dark humour of this humorous and moving tale of a community and its families in turmoil during the Second World War. A lightly fictionalised tale based on the true story of Jewish refugees, the authors echo their experience of attempting to lie low in Nazi dominated France with two young children and take on the role of the Verès family in the novel. It is 1942 and a sleepy village in the Ardèche has become stuffed with refugees from all over France and indeed Europe - expats, exiles and migrant Jews all mingled together and daily life is shambolic. Several separate Jewish families have been lodged in guest houses and rented farmhouses, attempting to carve out a new life for themselves. Bemusing the locals and confused in return, they face the standard privations of food, and the challenging primitive conditions - non-existent toilets and lack of electricity are just the beginning. The crash of intellectual urban life meeting the practicalities of rural survival reverberates throughout the novel. 351pp, paperback.

A captivating historical crime thriller from the true master of the genre and perfect for fans of Ellis Peters, this is one of the popular Brother Athelstan mysteries. The only way to win this murderer's deadly game is to play along. It is 1380. Brutal and sudden death is not uncommon in the foul alleys of London. First the corpse of a clerk is pulled from the Thames. Then a money-lender is found dead in his strongroom, a crossbow bolt firmly embedded in his chest - a real mystery because the windowless chamber was locked and barred from the inside. Sir John Cranston comes to survey the scene. When other clerks are murdered, each with a riddle pinned on the corpse, he enlists the help of Brother Athelstan and together they must pit their wits against a deadly adversary hell-bent on murder and mayhem. 288pp, paperback.

A searing, gritty and blood-soaked historical adventure, book one in the Brothers of the Sands series. The fate of Rome hangs on a mad mission to the edge of the world. Drust and Kag, two ring-hardened fighters who won their freedom with blood, are met with an unusual request. The mysterious and powerful Servilius Structus sends them deep into Scotland, land of the Caledonii, to find and secure a woman and her young son. Accompanied by Ugo, Quintus, Manius and Sibanus, this crew of ex gladiator rogues, tricksters and bar-room philosophers will risk everything on an insane quest and a daring escape. In the dog days of Rome, with decadence and corruption in the air, the consequences of their failure are far greater than they could ever dream. Not only their lives but the Empire itself is at stake. Set in the year AD208, the 10th year of the reign of Emperor Septimus Severus and packed with historical detail and a new cast of characters. 370pp and useful glossary. Paperback.

Ex-gladiators Drust and Kag are in the Alps, battered, bruised and fighting for their lives. On the hunt for a rogue Roman officer, something goes terribly wrong and they are left stranded in the mountains, their escape route cut off. Only then does the true danger of their mission reveal itself. Caught in the crossfire of the mountain tribes, and the vicious power politics of Rome, they must use all their cunning to save themselves from death's icy clutches. Set in the year AD225 during the reign of the boy Emperor Severus Alexander, the story starts off in the Province of Rhaetia where the former gladiators including Drust's wife Praeclarum find themselves ambushed and have to travel through the 'Dark' populated with thick forests and wild tribes before they are captured by the renegade General. They escape for more action-packed and intriguing adventure in what is in fact the final book of a trilogy, the most exciting and can be read as a stand-alone. With useful glossary and historical note. 359pp, paperback.

By the author of The Nursemaid's Secret and previously published as The Summer Season. Set in Wales 1883, young Ruth Owen, a talented musician with a scholarship to a prestigious music school, has a sparkling career ahead of her. But after a run-in with her mysterious tutor, she flees to London, leaving everything and everyone behind. 14 years later Ruth, now married with two children, finds herself struggling for money and a place to live. Left with no other option, they decide to return to Wales and live on a canal boat. Life on the canals may seem idyllic, but what troubles await her return, and can the past ever truly be forgotten? Enjoy a happy and comfortable atmosphere on board a narrow boat in the company of such lovely characters in a novel full of wonderful warmth and charm. 360pp with a charming recipe for lamb chops and potatoes. Paperback.

A Times Historical Fiction Book of the Month which has been highly rated by Elly Griffiths. London 1855 and in the grey mist of the early dawn, a body is dumped on the Thames shore by a boatman in a metal canoe. Talk soon spreads of the killer and his striking accomplice, a young widow in mourning dress. Birdie Quinn's sleeplessness led her to the river that morning. She has always been wilful, haughty, different, but is she a murderess? To clear her name she must retrace the dead man's footsteps to Orkney and the far north, a dangerous journey for a woman alone, but one she must make to save her life. This gripping, richly layered thriller has a mesmerising setting and fantastic characters and gives superb insight into a ruthless trade. The story is full of gaslit menace. 398pp, paperback.

Embroiled in revolutionary war, Alan Lewrie is in for the fight of his life. After being shipped off to the navy in disgrace, he has finally found his sea legs. Although a stark contrast to the relentless whirl of London, his rise in status to naval officer suits him beyond his wildest dreams. But the crew of the Desperate could never have imagined the perils lying in wait within the storms of 1781. Ensnared in the siege of Yorktown, Lewrie must fight not only for his country but for his future and in rescuing a loyalist family from amidst the chaos, he knows he will face his greatest trial yet. The second instalment and a companion to code 94307 H.M.S. Cockerel. 391pp, paperback.