It is a beautiful warm August day in 1880: perfect weather for the annual Metropolitan Police Annual Fête held at Alexandra Palace. Inspector Best is summoned to uncover the identity of 'Quicksilver' who has sent an anonymous note threatening to cause an horrific explosion at the event. When a second note is received and its threats become increasingly confusing with their literary allusions, Best seeks out the help of Helen Franks, a close friend from the past. However, i...

The explosion was heard twenty miles away. It killed boatmen and wrecked the exotic villa of Lawrence Alma-Tadema, the fashionable St John's Wood artist. But what caused the 1874 Regents Park explosion? Fenian bombs? Sabotage by rival railways or other firms? Or was it something personal? And whose was the other body found in the canal? An artist's model? The missing King's Cross barmaid? Or another victim of the so-called Thames murderer? As he struggles to find the answers, Scotland Yard...

***'A gripping and satisfying murder mystery with an unguessable final twist'***- Mystery Women***'[A] gripping Victorian mystery'***- Publishers Weekly***'Asking an historian to review a historical novel is asking for trouble – but Joan Lock's book is something else. Her knowledge of London and its policing in the 19th century makes this into a very different kind of novel – one with an extremely realistic setting'***- London Archive Users ForumWhen the bod...

Many Golden Age detective novels, with their engrossing puzzles and attractive backgrounds were a comforting read – particularly after the horrors of the Great War. The murders often left the bumbling police without a clue but some aristocrats and Oxford Graduates found them a piece of cake to solve.Meanwhile, real life was painting a different picture. Guns were left over from the war and many men were familiar and hardened to the results of using them. There was a surplus of wome...

Joan Lock's warm and nostalgic account of her three years of training as a young student nurse in the early 1950s. Perfect for fans of CALL THE MIDWIFE.When Joan Lock began her formal training as a young nurse in the 1950s, she was unprepared for the strict discipline and long hours which were to follow and quickly realised she was no Florence Nightingale. Her honest and humorous account of the next three years reveals her most intimate experiences of being a nurse...

When Scotland Yard’s first detective branch was set up in 1842 crime was very different from today. The favoured murder weapon was the cut-throat razor; carrying a pocket watch was dangerous; the most significant clue at a murder scene could be the whereabouts of a candlestick or hat; large households (family, servants and lodgers) complicated many a case and servants sometimes murdered their masters. Detectives had few aids and suffered many disadvantages. The bloody handprints found at t...

Bow Street Magistrates Court is justly famous as the birthplace of an efficient system of summary jurisdiction. Less well-known are some of the fascinating characters who have taken part in the court's dramas over the years. Most people know of the early pioneer stipendiary magistrates, Henry and John Fielding. But what of Nicholas Bond, the ambitious and devious Bow Street Runner, who (under John's patronage) became a clerk of the court, and later a Bow Street Magistrate? And what of the ...

In 1878 the Criminal Investigation Department replaced Scotland Yard's corrupt and discredited Detective Branch. In this classic story of the early days of detection, Joan Lock tells the fascinating story of the creation of the CID, the scandal which preceded it, and the successes and failures of the new organization, including early cases such as the four murders by Ernest Southey, the ferocious outbreak of dockland killings in 1869 and the more familiar Bravo, Neill Cream and Jack the Ri...

1217: Lincoln is not a safe place to be. A French army has captured the city, and the terrified citizens huddle in the rubble of their homes as the castle, the last remaining loyal stronghold in the region, is besieged. Edwin Weaver finds himself riding into grave danger after his lord volunteers him for a perilous mission: he must infiltrate the city, identify the traitors who are helping the enemy, and return to pass on the intelligence. The last man who attempted such a thing was captur...

1361: Orphaned by the Black Death, all John possesses are the tools that belonged to his father, a carpenter, and an uncanny ability to work wood. His travels bring him to Chesterfield, where he finds work erecting the spire of the new church. But no sooner does he begin than the master carpenter is murdered and John himself becomes a suspect. To prove his innocence John must help the coroner in his search for the killer, a quest that brings him up against some powerful en...

The tenth century dawned in violence and disorder. Charlemagne's empire was in ruins, most of Spain had been claimed by Moorish invaders, and even the papacy in Rome was embroiled in petty, provincial conflicts. To many historians, it was a prime example of the ignorance and uncertainty of the Dark Ages. Yet according to historian Paul Collins, the story of the tenth century is the story of our culture's birth, of the emergence of our civilization into the light of day.The Birt...

Game of Thrones fans will love the New York Times bestselling Abhorsen series. Sabriel, the first installment in the trilogy, launched critically acclaimed author Garth Nix onto the fantasy scene as a rising star.Dark Secrets, Deep Love, and Dangerous MagicSent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her ...