Black Thorn – The Bell Bookshop

The Art of Dying

Emma — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

‘Parry’s Victorian Edinburgh comes vividly alive – and it’s a world of pain’ Val McDermid
‘Brilliantly conceived, fiendishly plotted’ Mick Herron

SHORTLISTED FOR THE McILVANNEY PRIZE 2020

Edinburgh, 1849. Hordes of patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their remedies powerless. And a whispering campaign seeks to paint Dr James Simpson, pioneer of medical chloroform, as a murderer.

Determined to clear Simpson’s name, his protégé Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah Fisher must plunge into Edinburgh’s deadliest streets and find out who or what is behind the deaths. Soon they discover that the cause of the deaths has evaded detection purely because it is so unthinkable.

A Season for the Dead

Emma — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

THE FIRST IN THE ACCLAIMED NIC COSTA SERIES

‘No author has ever brought Rome so alive for me – nor made it seem so sinister’ PETER JAMES

‘David Hewson’s Rome is dark and tantalizing, seductive and dangerous, a place where present-day crimes ring with the echoes of history’ TESS GERRITSEN

‘Hewson keeps the reader guessing . . . relentlessly tightening the suspense until the end’ Daily Telegraph

There’s no rest for the wicked . . .

While Rome is sweltering in the height of summer, a serial killer is on the loose. Sara Farnese is working in the Vatican library, when a man bursts in intent on showing her the contents of his bloodied bag, until a guard shoots him. But why was the man targeting Sara? Determined to find answers, Sara’s path crosses with a young up-and-coming Roman detective, Nic Costa. He’s determined to track down the dangerous killer behind this bizarre and brutal murder and to protect Sara from becoming the next victim . . .

The Almanack

Emma — Thu, 07 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

‘Bailey’s prose sparkles’ The Times

‘Puzzle solvers and historians will love this mystery’ Booklist

‘Murderously dark and delightful’ MELISSA BAILEY

SUPERSTITION. MURDER. VENGEANCE.

Tabitha Hart earns a scandalous living in London, with whichever gentleman has enough coin for her company. But in the summer of 1752, her mother urgently summons her home to the village of Netherlea and, with reluctance, she returns. However, she is greeted by the news that her mother has died in disturbing circumstances.

Finding cryptic notes in her mother’s almanack, Tabitha is determined to discover the truth, but the superstitious villagers are wary of her. Only the enigmatic Nat Starling is prepared to join her, as she sets out to uncover her mother’s killer. But soon the summer draws to a close and snow sets in, cutting off Netherlea from the outside world. As an unknown killer prophesies their deaths, Tabitha and Nat now face the darkest hours of their lives.