Three thrilling novels from the queens of East End Crime... The Trap by Kimberley Chambers Dirty Game by Jessie Keane Taken by Jacqui Rose

Dysfunctional families, sexual abuse, sheer greed and sometimes just a skewed moral compass. These are some of the triggers that drove the women captured in these pages to become lawbreakers. Queens of Crime demonstrates a haunting criminal power that most people do not associate women with. The acts of depravity described in this book will jolt you to the core, ensuring you have sleepless nights for months. Based on painstaking research, these are raw, violent and seemingly unbelievable but true rendition of India's women criminals.

In this collection of short stories, the legendary detective must solve one mystery per month in a year of chilling crime. Every new year, the seven remaining alumni of the first graduating class of Eastern University gather in Manhattan to reminisce. Within that group, there is a secret clique—the Inner Circle—forged around a crooked business arrangement, the profits of which will be collected by the last living member. When three of the Inner Circle die within a year, the remaining men fear for their lives. Just before Christmas, one of the survivors comes to the great detective Ellery Queen to beg for help. There are just a few days to save a life—and the university itself. Even if Queen can get to the bottom of the Inner Circle, eleven more puzzles will greet him throughout the year. As Calendar of Crime flips onward, the detective will find that there is no off-season for murder.

Featuring sixteen contributions from recognized authorities in their respective fields, this superb new mapping of women's writing ranges from feminine middlebrow novels to Virginia Woolf's modernist aesthetics, from women's literary journalism to crime fiction, and from West End drama to the literature of Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

“Sheer entertainment… Bennett infuses wit and an arch sensibility into her prose… This is not mere froth, it is pure confection.” – New York Times Book Review “[A] pitch-perfect murder mystery… If The Crown were crossed with Miss Marple…, the result would probably be something like this charming whodunnit.” – Ruth Ware, author of One by One The bestselling first book in a highly original and delightfully clever crime series in which Queen Elizabeth II secretly solves crimes while carrying out her royal duties. It is the early spring of 2016 and Queen Elizabeth is at Windsor Castle in advance of her 90th birthday celebrations. But the preparations are interrupted by the shocking and untimely death of a guest in one of the Castle bedrooms. The scene leads some to think the young Russian pianist strangled himself, yet a badly tied knot leads MI5 to suspect foul play. When they begin to question the Household’s most loyal servants, Her Majesty knows they’re looking in the wrong place. For the Queen has been living an extraordinary double life ever since her teenage years as “Lilibet.” Away from the public eye and unbeknownst to her closest friends and advisers, she has the most brilliant skill for solving crimes. With help from her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, a British Nigerian officer recently appointed to the Royal Horse Artillery, the Queen discreetly begins making inquiries. As she carries out her royal duties with her usual aplomb, no one in the Royal Household, the government, or the public knows that the resolute Elizabeth won’t hesitate to use her keen eye, quick mind, and steady nerve to bring a murderer to justice. SJ Bennett captures Queen Elizabeth’s voice with skill, nuance, wit, and genuine charm in this imaginative and engaging mystery that portrays Her Majesty as she’s rarely seen: kind yet worldly, decisive, shrewd, and, most important, a superb judge of character.

Adultery, murder and dangerous love collide in Jessie Keane’s gritty debut thriller set in the London’s East End. Perfect for fans of Martina Cole and Lynda La Plante. For longer than she cares to remember Annie Bailey has lived in the shadow of her older sister Ruthie. Now Ruthie has her hands on Max Carter, the much feared head of the Carter family and a top class villain. Seducing Max wasn't a problem, but the guilt, shame and anger of rejection afterwards was. Thrown onto the streets Annie finds herself living with Celia, a wayward aunt with a shocking secret. As the months pass Annie's resourceful nature sees her mature and carve out a life for herself, albeit not legal. But if you play with fire, you can expect to get burned and her lavish new lifestyle and connections may be about to come crashing down around her. Annie has unwittingly placed herself between two rival gangs and upset too many people, and these kind of people don't forget. But as everyone knows, Annie Bailey is no ordinary woman.

“Sheer entertainment… Bennett infuses wit and an arch sensibility into her prose… This is not mere froth, it is pure confection.” — New York Times Book Review on The Windsor Knot Amateur detective Queen Elizabeth II is back in this hugely entertaining follow-up to the bestseller The Windsor Knot, in which Her Majesty must determine how a missing painting is connected to the shocking death of a staff member inside Buckingham Palace. At Buckingham Palace, the autumn of 2016 presages uncertain times. The Queen must deal with the fallout from the Brexit referendum, a new female prime minister, and a tumultuous election in the United States—yet these prove to be the least of her worries when a staff member is found dead beside the palace swimming pool. Is it truly the result of a tragic accident, as the police think, or is something more sinister going on? Meanwhile, her assistant private secretary, Rozie Oshodi, is on the trail of a favorite painting that once hung outside the Queen’s bedroom and appears to have been misappropriated by the Royal Navy. And a series of disturbing anonymous letters have begun circulating in the palace. The Queen’s courtiers think they have it all ‘under control’, but Her Majesty is not so sure. After all, though the staff and public may not be aware, she is the keenest sleuth among them. Sometimes, it takes a Queen’s eye to see connections where no one else can.

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 18 tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including uncollected stories by Ngaio Marsh and John Dickson Carr.

Female crime writers were not always given the same recognition as today. Edgar Allan Poe’s detective story ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue', written in 1841, is regarded as the beginning of the detective genre. In the following years, the genre was typically dominated by male authors. Since then considerable progress has been made, and female authors have created a very individual way of writing detective novels. However, experts still disagree on a clear definition of the female crime novel. The present study hopes to gain further insight into female detective novels coming from the USA and Great Britain. After giving basic information on the history of female detective novels and the ideal crime scheme, the study analyses the characteristics of female detective novels as opposed to male detective novels and the appeal of detective novels for women writers. Although female detective novels are not a separate sub-genre but rather a separate field within the genre of detective novels, women have given the genre new impulses.

A millionaire ... murdered as she was about to be saved... 'A new Ellery Queen book has always been something to look forward to for many years now' Agatha Christie 'Ellery Queen is the American detective story' New York Times The son of a police detective, Ellery Queen is no stranger to death, and has seen more than his fair share of dead bodies. Yet the thought of seeing a living person sliced open makes him ill. So when a doctor invites him to sit in on an operation, Queen braces himself. The patient is a millionaire in a diabetic coma. To prepare her for surgery, the hospital staff has stabilised her blood sugar level and wheeled her to the operating theatre - but just before the first incision, the doctors realise she is dead, strangled while lying unconscious. Now Ellery Queen moves from observer to detective in his most mysterious case yet.