Showing results for "Jack" in Historical

Hollywood, 1951. Jack Shannon—hobo, rising star, wounded vet, studio publicist—is in exile. Blackballed by the majors for his unauthorized effort to solve the mystery of a sexpot actress’ disappearance, he’s now a stuntman—a drug-store cowboy working from Tinseltown’s Poverty Row, where the budgets are tight and the jobs scarce.

London, 1894. 'I am not a detective, chief constable.' 'No, but you are a poet, a freemason and a man of the world. All useful qualifications for the business in hand.' So says Police Chief Macnaghten to Oscar Wilde in a Chelsea drawing room, in the company of Arthur Conan Doyle. The business they are gathered to discuss is none other than the case of Jack the Ripper, the most notorious murderer in England. And thus the three men set out to solve one of the world's most famous mysteries.

Of the real-life serial killers whose gruesome acts have been splashed across headlines, none has reached the mythical status of Jack the Ripper. In the Ripper's wake, terror swept through the streets of London's East End in the fall of 1888. As quickly as his nightmarish reign came, Saucy Jack vanished without a trace - leaving future generations to speculate upon his identity and whereabouts. He was diabolical in a way never seen before - a killer who taunted the police, came up with his own legendary monikers, and, ultimately, got away with his heinous crimes.

Strange Tales of Scotland all deal with a particular aspect of Scottish mysteries. You'll learn of the ghost that appeared at the wedding of King Alexander II, and of monsters such as the Shellycoat and Water-horse that were thought to inhabit Scotland’s lochs...Finally, we have a look at the legend of the phantom armies of Scotland; soldiers who refuse to fade away even centuries after their wars have been fought, and their causes faded in history. Welcome to the Strange Tales of Scotland.

Shattered by the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, the U.S. is rebuilding its fleet while the badly damaged Submarine Division Seven holds the line against the Japanese Navy. The loss of even one more submarine could be devastating - and every enemy ship that slips through means more lives lost. But Lieutenant Commander Jack Tremain is determined to whip into shape a boat that's returned from a hellish patrol and make the Japanese pay - even if this is his last mission ever.

Charles Otterbourne’s New Century company should have been the perfect partner for Professor Alan Carrington’s radical new gramophone. After all, Charles was not only a leading manufacturer, but also a noted philanthropist. But when murder is the result of their meeting, Jack Haldean takes up the case, in a desperate bid to save a man from the gallows. But what led to the crime? The answer is Off the Record...

1896: Sherlock Holmes has once again hit the headlines, solving mysteries for the cream of London society. But among the workhouses and pudding shops of the city, private detective William Arrowood is presented with far grittier, more violent and considerably less well-paid cases. Arrowood is in no doubt who is the better detective, and when Mr and Mrs Barclay engage him to trace their estranged daughter, Birdie, he’s sure it won’t be long before he and his assistant Barnett have tracked her down.

A missing man leads Jack Haldean straight into danger... Mark Helston, the rising star of Hunt Coffee Limited, was successful and popular, with plenty of money and everything to live for. Yet at half past seven on the evening of the ninth of January, 1925, he walked out of his Albemarle Street flat and disappeared. Desperate to know what happened to Mark, his uncle, old Mr Hunt, appeals to Jack Haldean. Inspector Bill Rackham of Scotland Yard thinks it’s a thankless task.

January, 1554. Light-fingered Jack Blackjack knows he's not going to have a good day when he wakes with a sore head next to a dead body in a tavern's yard. But when he discovers what's in the dead man's purse, his day is set to get much worse. The purse explains why the mysterious man with the broad-brimmed hat wants to catch him. But so does the Lord Chancellor, as does the enigmatic Henry. In fact almost everyone seems to be after Jack Blackjack.

The treasury's coffers are bare, and tensions with the powerful Dutch Republic are boiling over. And now, an investigator sent by the king to look into corruption at the Royal Navy has been brutally murdered. Loathe to leave the pleasures of London, Samuel Pepys is sent dragging his feet to Portsmouth to find the truth about what happened. Aided by his faithful assistant, Will Hewer, he soon exposes the killer. But has he got the right person? And if the mystery isn't solved in time, then England could be thrown into a war that would have devastating consequences....

With the help of old associates Chief Inspector Jellicoe, the newly promoted Detective Inspector Wellbeloved, and Rufus Watts, Kit and Mary soon find themselves in the middle of a race against time before the murderer strikes again in a case where revenge is the motive and everyone is putting on an act. After the Indiana Jones-like adventure in The Tangier Tajine, Kit and Mary Aston return to a more traditional murder mystery set in the world of post-war variety theatre just before the arrival of moving pictures and radio sounded the death knell to this wonderful realm of entertainment.

Black-eyed Nick played a trick and poor old Fred lost his head. It’s 1876 and a dead body is found near the mansion of Lady Agatha Aston in Grosvenor Square, London. The newly formed Detective Branch at Scotland Yard is baffled by the series of grisly murders that seem to come straight from the pages of a "penny dreadful". Who is the demon stalking the streets of London? Lady Agatha takes matters in hand, ably supported by golf fanatic friend, Betty Stevens, former school hockey captain, "Sausage" Gossage and Talleyrand, her unlucky-in-love Basset hound.

Since Jack the Ripper was never caught, fascination with the unsolved mystery has been widespread and enduring. But what of the women? Who were they? What was life like for them in London of that time period? What were their struggles, their hopes, their regrets? The two novels within this volume, Say Anything But Your Prayers, about the life of Elizabeth Stride, and Of Thimble and Threat, about the life of Catherine Eddowes, give possible answers to these questions.

Flanders, June 1917: a British officer and celebrated poet is shot dead, killed not by German fire, but while recuperating from shell shock well behind the lines. A young English soldier is arrested and, although he protests his innocence, charged with his murder. Douglas Kingsley is a conscientious objector, previously a detective with the London police, now imprisoned for his beliefs. He is released, and sent to France in order to secure a conviction.

The Hundred Years’ War is over and newly-knighted Sir John Hawkwood is headed for France to make his fortune as a freebooter. Violence and extortion are rife, and the freebooters will stop at nothing to capture the Papal City of Avignon. This is only the beginning. Italy beckons, and with it, yet more battles against rival mercenaries, powerful cities and the Papal State.

The third Jack McColl espionage thriller by David Downing (also the author of the WWII Station series) brings together two lovers in Bolshevik Russia. Winter 1917: As a generation of Europe's young men perish on the Eastern and Western fronts, British spy Jack McColl is assigned a sabotage mission deep in Central Asia, where German influence is strong. As he quickly realizes, the mission only becomes more dangerous the closer he gets to its heart.

Autumn, 1888. While the city is horrified by Jack the Ripper's murder spree another, less publicized killer is at large. Each murder takes place right after the Ripper killings, as the murderer appears to be taking advantage of the lack of police resources to tackle two major investigations at the same time. Inspector Albert Norris is charged with bringing the railway killer to justice, but clues are few and the killer's motive unclear.

The year is 1929. As the world teeters on the brink of a global recession, Bletchley Park plays host to a rather special event. MI5 is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and a select band of former and current employees are gathering for a weekend of music, dance, and heavy drinking. Among them is Sir Hilary Manningham Butler, a middle-aged woman whose entire adult life has been spent masquerading as a man. She doesn't know why she has been invited, but it is clear she is not the only one with things to hide.

London, 1921: Ex-Secret Service spy Jack McColl is in prison serving time for assaulting a cop. McColl has been embittered by the Great War. He can't stomach spying for the British Empire anymore. He's also heartbroken. The love of his life, radical journalist Caitlin Hanley, parted ways with him three years earlier so she could offer her services to the Communist revolution in Moscow. Then his former Secret Service boss offers McColl the chance to escape his jail sentence if he takes a dangerous and unofficial assignment in Russia, where McColl is already a wanted man.

The charming Eduardo de Valfierno makes a very respectable living in Argentina fleecing the nouveau riche - they pay him to steal valuable pieces of art, and Valfierno sells them flawless forgeries instead. But when Eduardo meets the beautiful Mrs. Hart on his latest con job, he takes a risk that forces him back to the city he loved and left behind: Paris. There he assembles his team of con artists for their final and most ambitious theft, one that will enable them to leave the game forever: the Mona Lisa.