Showing results by author "C.J. Archer" in All Categories

It’s customary for Gothic romance novels to include a mysterious girl locked in the attic. Hannah Smith just wishes she wasn’t that girl. As a narcoleptic and the companion to an earl’s daughter with a strange affliction of her own, Hannah knows she’s lucky to have a roof over her head and food in her belly when so many orphans starve on the streets. Yet freedom is something Hannah longs for. She did not, however, want her freedom to arrive in the form of kidnapping.

To investigate the source of gossip about Cyclops, Willie does the unthinkable: She dons a dress. However, her plan goes awry when she’s kidnapped by a disgruntled magician with the power to detonate gunpowder at will. The magician forces India and Matt to race all over London in the hunt for her before the bombs go off.

When a set of bound manuscripts written on magician-made paper is brought to the Glass Library, Sylvia and the professor send the owner away. After all, the library collects books about magic, not containing it. But the murder of the bookbinder who bound them sees the books returned to the library, along with Gabe in his role as consultant for Scotland Yard. When his investigation uncovers a link to Sylvia’s past, they’re even more determined to find the murderer. But they’re not the only ones searching for answers.

The king's magnificent palace was built in a matter of weeks. No one saw the builders, no villagers are allowed beyond the gilded gate, and only one servant has ever left. The haunted look in her eyes as she was recaptured by the palace guards is something Josie, daughter of the village doctor, has never forgotten. For Josie, the palace is a mystery that grows more intriguing after she meets the captain of the guards, a man known only as Hammer, as mysterious and captivating as the palace itself. Whispers of magic fuel Josie's desire to uncover the truth, but an ordinary girl like her can only dream of ever being invited inside.

When bodies go missing from the cemetery, Lincoln and the Ministry of Curiosities investigate. But not Charlie. As a housemaid at Lichfield Towers, she doesn't get involved in Ministry business. Instead, she conducts investigations of her own...As secrets are revealed, and investigations don't go as planned, Charlie finds her necromancy sucking her into a whirlpool filled with betrayal, lies and danger.

To find the one man who can fix the magic in Matt's watch, he and India are led to a convent where the nuns will do anything to keep their secrets private. Including murder? Matt and India must uncover the truth behind the disappearance of the mother superior and two babies given to her care many years ago. But sometimes, the truth is painful and its exposure can have deadly consequences.

She was admired by women and desired by men, until jealousy and past secrets took center stage. Help Cleo and her friends solve the murder of one of London’s leading actresses. When a hotel guest’s mistress is found dead in the stalls of the Piccadilly Playhouse, a verdict of suicide is given. Convinced his lover didn’t kill herself, Lord Rumford wants the truth uncovered. Against his better judgement, he hires Cleo Fox to find the murderer. Cleo needs to solve this case if she wants to make a living from being a private detective.

When the editor of The Weekly Gazette is killed, controversial journalist and ink magician, Oscar Barratt, asks India and Matt to investigate. As the recipient of threatening letters written on magic paper, he believes he was the intended target. With suspects ranging from Oscar's brother to guild masters and London's elite, India and Matt have a lot of investigating to do. But the more they dig, the more dark secrets they uncover.

The Goldsmith’s Conspiracy is the final book in the best-selling Glass and Steele series. Tensions between the artless and magicians are flaring, but India and Matt discover someone is deliberately fuelling the flames. Relentlessly pursuing his own agenda, Lord Coyle employs the former master of the Watchmaker’s Guild to make trouble and be a thorn in India’s side. But India has the ear of the government now, and her own political influence is growing, something which pushes Lord Coyle over the edge.

A wealthy businessman with a reputation for taking risks rose from the slums to the height of success. But success comes at a price, especially when it’s achieved at the expense of others.

Charlie is gone, and Lincoln finds that Lichfield Towers offers no sanctuary. With reminders of her at every turn, and employees threatening to mutiny, he must try to find the murderer who is killing supernaturals on his own. And keep the murderer away from Charlie. When the strongman from the visiting Barnum and Bailey's circus is murdered, Lincoln suspects a link, but piecing together the clues becomes dangerous and difficult work. He can't afford to be distracted, yet he finds he can't concentrate fully on the task.

Hannah Smith thinks she’s safe now that Reuben Tate is set to face trial. But when an unusual creature is let loose on the Freak House estate, everybody is in danger, including Jack. To hunt it down, the household must take risks, but the greatest risk is to Hannah’s heart. She’s in danger of falling deeply in love with Jack, a man whose very touch can kill her.

Cara Moreau is dying from a supernatural curse. Her only chance of survival lies with the warrior, an enigmatic man who comes from a realm "in between." Quin St. Clair lived hundreds of years ago, but now exists solely to protect the world he once called home. That's all he will tell Cara, the woman he must keep alive by remaining close to her. Very close.

When the husband of the king’s mistress is poisoned, Josie must pretend he died of natural causes, or risk putting her own life in danger. It’s yet another secret she must learn to keep, yet another intrigue whispered about in the gilded halls of King Leon’s mysterious palace. With her enemies intent on ruining her, Josie needs all the friends she can get. Friends that include the captain of the guards, a man determined to find out about his past before he gives in to desire.

With the social season just around the corner, the women in Cleo’s family are having new outfits made by the most sought-after designer in the city. Madame Poitiers is bold, self-absorbed, and not French, despite her claims. When Cleo stumbles on her dead body in the salon, she is in a unique position to gather clues and speak to witnesses. But she doesn’t expect to find Harry Armitage’s business card in Madame’s possession. What is the alluring private detective’s connection to the victim? And why is he avoiding Cleo?

When an apprentice from the Mapmakers' Guild goes missing, Matt and India are employed to find him. Going undercover as a married couple, they discover that not everyone at the guild is what they seem, and the lad's unearthly maps caused jealousy, suspicion and fear. With one of the apprentice's magic maps in their possession, India and Matt must use their wits and India's fledgling, untried magic to find him.

An ancient family diary. A timely prophecy. An epic conclusion. As Sylvia prepares to meet Gabe’s parents for the first time, the last thing she needs is for her long-lost father to cause trouble. While his answers to her questions finally bring clarity, they also usher in danger. But that's not all her elusive father brings into Sylvia's life. His treasured gift of an ancient journal passed down through the generations, connects her to the past with its mystical spells and captivating stories.

Seventeen-year-old spirit medium Emily Chambers has a problem. Actually, she has several. As if seeing dead people isn’t a big enough social disadvantage, she also has to contend with an escaped demon and a handsome ghost with a secret past. And then there’s the question of her parentage. Being born an entire year after her father’s death (yes, a year), Emily is as much a mystery as the dead boy assigned to her.

Charlie's life is perfect. She has everything her heart desires. Until it all goes horribly wrong. Charlie and Lincoln return to London to find two supernaturals have been murdered, and Charlie might be next. As if that wasn't bad enough, the man who adopted her has escaped from prison, and the committee members have just learned some news that infuriates them. Now there's talk of sending Charlie away again. Far away. Charlie is kidnapped and forced to summon one of the murder victims - but she's unable to send him back.

December 1899. After the death of her beloved grandmother, Cleopatra Fox moves into the luxury hotel owned by her estranged uncle in the hopes of putting hardship and loneliness behind her. But the poisoning of a guest throws her new life, and the hotel, into chaos. Cleo quickly realizes no one can be trusted, not Scotland Yard and especially not the hotel’s charming assistant manager. With the New Year’s Eve ball approaching fast and the hotel’s reputation hanging by a thread, Cleo must find the killer before the ball, and the hotel itself, are ruined.