Books like 'The Secret of the Dashing Detective'
Readers who enjoyed The Secret of the Dashing Detective by Ellie St. Clair also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical regency victorian forced proximity forbidden love mystery
-
What Cannot Be Said by C.S. Harris
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA seemingly idyllic summer picnic ends in a macabre murder that echoes a pair of slayings fourteen years earlier in this riveting new historical mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of Who Cries for the Lost... -
A Gentleman of Dubious Reputation by Grace Burrowes
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA matter of matrimony...Lord Julian Caldicott is summoned to the family seat by his ducal brother, whose bachelorhood is imperiled by the very determined Lady Clarissa Valmond. As the only titled Eligible the hostesses avoid including on their guest lists, Julian has little sympathy for the duke’s situation... -
A Gentleman in Challenging Circumstances by Grace Burrowes
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA legacy of lies...Lord Julian Caldicott, still recovering from his years at war, is tasked with investigating the circumstances of a small boy who could be either the salvation of the Waltham dukedom or a pawn in a scheme to sink the Caldicott family in endless scandal... -
Aurora by D.G. Rampton
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 15 ratings70,000+ readers have already discovered the Regency Goddesses Series. The books, which can be read in any order, are regularly in the U.S. top 20 for Historical Romance and Humor & Satire... -
-
Hope by Beverley Watts
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThere was no doubt that things had definitely looked better for Gabriel Atwood, one time Viscount Northwood. Mainly because everyone who knew him or of him almost certainly believed him dead - the bastard who’d betrayed him had made sure of that...Categorized as:
forced proximity mystery regency historical christmas suspense military length-short -
A Gentleman Under the Mistletoe by Grace Burrowes
Rated: 4.62 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsLord Julian Caldicott is standing in for his ducal brother as manager of Yuletide merriment at the family seat. Alas for his lordship, nothing is going as planned. Cranky relatives arrive uninvited, family squabbles ensue, and Julian's annual case of the blue devils is worsening by the day.Julian decides to combat the mayhem and melancholia by anonymously spreading good cheer... -
Petteril's Folly by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTime to confront reality – and a worrying mystery.Lord Petteril and his new viscountess return to England to face the consequences of their unequal marriage, only to discover that Petteril’s valet, the enigmatic Stewart, has been arrested for theft... -
The Secret Heart by Mary Lancaster
Betrayal, temptation and an impossible love.The final book in the Unmarriageable series...Some suspect that Lily Villin is the true heart of the Hart Inn, a lucky house where love always seems to blossom, whatever the obstacles. But Lily has another secret. She is in love with an enigmatic nobleman, and no luck in the world can make such a marriage possible... -
Petteril's Wife by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsIncognito in Portugal…Lord Petteril’s cousin, the newly commissioned Major Bertie Withan, has gone missing somewhere between landing in Lisbon and joining his regiment on the front line of the Peninsular War... -
A Gentleman in Pursuit of Truth by Grace Burrowes
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsA dogged investigation... Lord Julian Caldicott is summoned to the country home of a family friend to search for a prize foxhound who’s gone missing. The purloined canine turns out to be only the tail of a series of puzzles involving family secrets, slander, blackmail, and fraud... -
My Kind of Scoundrel by Adele Clee
By day, Miss Eleanor Darrow is one of London’s finest modistes. By night, she is a trusted confidante and the keeper of the ton’s scandalous secrets. But what began as an innocent way to supplement her income has her fearing for her life. Her box of secrets is missing. Fortunately, she knows the identity of the handsome scoundrel who stole it... -
Petteril's Christmas by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA merry Christmas for the Petterils?Piers wants to make their first Christmas together special, and so it proves to be - just not quite in the way he planned.His eccentric Great Aunt Prudence summons him to London with the news that she is dying and that one of her servants is stealing from her. Only one of these claims turns out to be true, though both require investigating... -
The Dreadful Duke by Grace Burrowes
He’d rather carry hod in hell…Finn Cathcart, a successful sculptor, is having a fine time on the Continent cavorting with alabaster nymphs and marble goddesses (so to speak), when he’s informed that a ducal title awaits him back in England. The same family who disowned Finn’s father now needs an heir to prevent all their wealth from falling into the Crown’s greedy hands....She’d rather he did too... -
Petteril's Corpse by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA murdered stranger in his home wood…The discovery of a naked corpse upsets the new Viscount Petteril’s return to his ancestral acres. The local magistrate, Robert Lindon, has no idea how to proceed with so heinous a crime... -
-
Petteril's Thief by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsA missing family heirloom – and one of the family stole it.In the spring of 1812, Piers Withan is dragged from his beloved Oxford to be the new Viscount Petteril. Burdened by responsibilities he doesn’t want and the remnants of a family who don’t want him, he is saved from an irredeemable mistake by Ape, the small thief burgling his house... -
Petteril's Ladybird by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAn earl’s son, shot in the home of his mistress…Lord Petteril, with his redoubtable assistant April, is called back to London to help prove the innocence of his friend, Percy Austen, who is suspected of murder.Percy was once the lover of the victim’s mistress, and his pistol was found at the scene of the crime... -
The Earl's Iron Warrant by Kate Archer
Rated: 4.66 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn Icy Lady and an Implacable Lord... Charles Battersea, Earl of Dalton and heir to the Duke of Glastonburg, is the last holdout among the six young heirs who have been pressured to marry by way of the Dukes’ Pact. This surprises precisely nobody, especially not himself. He has unaccountably lost his friend, Grayson, to Miss Dell, but if he is forced to tow the bachelorhood line alone, so be it... -
Murder in St. Giles by Ashley Gardner, Jennifer Ashley
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsLondon, 1819: When Brewster, my bodyguard, comes to me about a murder of a pugilist—and what’s more, says his wife has summoned me—I must hasten to St. Giles to find a killer before Brewster is arrested for the crime. This is made difficult because Donata's late husband’s odious cousin has materialized to try to wrest her son into his care... -
A Gentleman of Unreliable Honor by Grace Burrowes
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHe's cheated death...Lord Julian Caldicott is summoned by his estranged mother to search for old love letters she has misplaced. Julian soon realizes the letters along with other items of sentimental value have been stolen. The thief is preying on wealthy women, purloining mementos both dear and scandalous... -
The Thames River Murders by Ashley Gardner
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsCaptain Lacey is asked by Peter Thompson of the Thames River Police to help him investigate a cold case–the murder of a woman found near the docks Thompson patrols. The investigation was sidelined, considered unsolvable, but Thompson has long wished to find her killer. Captain Lacey joins him in the hunt, entering a part of society that is closed to outsiders... -
A Mystery at Carlton House by Ashley Gardner, Jennifer Ashley
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratings1818: Captain Lacey is drawn into affairs of the highest in the land when his friend Grenville is asked by the Prince Regent to look into odd happenings in his lavish abode of Carlton House. Objects of value have gone missing, paintings and sculpture have been moved, and some of the staff have reported strange sounds and movements in the shadows... -
Miss Determined by Grace Burrowes
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsTrevor, Marquess of Tavistock, has finally decided to stop larking around on the Continent, come home, and take a bride. His solicitors applaud his decision to settle down, provided he chooses a wealthy young lady to be his marchioness. Those years Trevor spent seeing the world were bad years for the lordly coffers... -
Fall of the Lyon: The Lyon's Den by Chasity Bowlin
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsEnter the world of the most notorious gambling den in London, where matches are made... unusually. Welcome to the world of THE LYON'S DEN: The Black Widow of Whitehall Connected World, where the underground of Regency London thrives... and loves... -
The Poet’s Stern Critic: A Regency Historical Romance by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAn elusive poet clashes with an opinionated young lady… Cornelius Vale, hard-working steward of his brother’s land, has another secret identity as acclaimed poet Simon Sacheverill. No one has ever met the mysterious poet – except the woman who once accosted him in a London bookshop and tore his works to shreds.When he encounters That Girl again at a Blackhaven ball, he is appalled... -
-
The Bermondsey Poisoner by Emily Organ
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA trail of suspicious deaths and a culprit who can’t be caught.Journalist Penny Green is reporting on what seems to be a straightforward poisoning case in Bermondsey. But then a series of macabre photographs comes to light. Memento mori with a twist.When Scotland Yard begins exhumations, Penny and Inspector James Blakely are daunted by the size of the investigation... -
The Custom House Murders by Ashley Gardner, Jennifer Ashley
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsCaptain Lacey encounters an old army friend just returned from Antigua, who is being accused of smuggling and possibly murder. Lacey decides to help the man, whom he considers honorable, to clear his name.Meanwhile James Denis has given Lacey a task, to deliver a mysterious package to a man with an office near the Custom House on the bank of the Thames... -
Sleepless in Southampton by Chasity Bowlin
Every touch brings with it a world of temptation. Eventually, there is a point of no return. Miss Sophia Upchurch is not having a good day. Her employer is dead, she’s been robbed, she’s now stranded in a strange city, and the handsome man she’d met on the stage, the man she’d flirted with, is no longer simply Mr. Henry Meredith, a possible suitor... -
A Darkness in Seven Dials by Ashley Gardner, Jennifer Ashley
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsMarch 1820When James Denis is arrested for murder and lands himself in Newgate, it falls to me to prove his innocence. I have nowhere to start but in a dark street in Seven Dials and the name of the unknown man Denis is supposed to have killed.I soon find myself beleaguered by enemies from Denis’s past, secret societies, and a host of people who want Denis to hang... -
Love Blooms with the Duke by Alexa Aston
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsA fourth son instantly propelled into a dukedom . . .A beautiful woman trying to support herself as a governess . . .Two people who want to be accepted—and who long for love . . .Xander Hughes, London’s biggest rake, suddenly finds himself in over his head, becoming the Duke of Brockbank and guardian to two nieces he has never met... -
The Duke's Wicked Widow (Surprise! Dukes) by Caroline Lee
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThey call him the Duke of Death, but he’s her last chance at a life worth living!To Society, Fawkes MacMillian is a nobody; a hanger-on at the edge of respectability with a murky past and an even murkier lineage. But to Lady Danielle Aycock, he is her only hope of salvation before a horrible Christmas deadline... -
The Duke's Virgin Sister by Caroline Lee
They haven’t quite managed to tame her wild streak. It is to be The Match of the Season. At least, that’s what Lady Carlotta Merritt, sister to the cool and aloof Duke of Cashingham, has been told repeatedly by her mother. The Dowager is beyond thrilled about her daughter’s engagement to Society’s most eligible bachelor, Lord What’s-His-Face... -
A Killer in the Crystal Palace by Deb Marlowe
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA grand showcase for technology, art, design and . . . murder. London, 1851, and the Great Exhibition is on. A soaring success despite months of dour predictions, it is the event of the year, on front pages and wagging tongues the world over—and Miss Kara Levett is thrilled to be in the middle of it...Categorized as:
mystery victorian regency historical abduction heroine sleuth length-short audiobook -
Leap of Faith by Elizabeth Johns
A managing beauty. A determined bachelor. A delightful romp!When their elderly guardian dies, Faith Whitford is determined to set up house in Bath and look for respectable country gentlemen for her four sisters. She has no ambitions for mingling with the ton... -
I Like Big Dukes and I Cannot Lie by Annabelle Anders, Amy Rose Bennett
From the delightfully debonair to the devilishly dangerous, these dashing dukes can't help but command your attention. And let's not forget the real stars here—the dazzling, damsel-not-in-distress heroines who don't need a title to rule. These are ladies of wit, grit, and not a little bit of mischief.Every one of these novellas has a duke for its leading man...Categorized as:
regency victorian forbidden love historical from hate to love length-epic explicit-plentiful -
-
The Orphan in the Peacock Shawl by AnneMarie Brear
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsYorkshire Dales 1850As a terrible storm rages, Annabelle Wallis is shocked to find a distressed young woman at her cottage door, heavy with child. Moments later a baby girl is born. But by dawn, the mother has vanished, leaving behind the helpless child wrapped only in a silk peacock shawl... -
So True a Love by Joanna Barker
Danger and passion collide when a plucky young woman becomes embroiled in a Bow Street investigation alongside a handsome officer. London, 1803As the daughter of a renowned actress, Verity Travers is a privileged lady of high society —and the last woman one would suspect of working as a private investigator... -
A Vicious Machination by Lynn Messina
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAs eager as Beatrice, Duchess of Kesgrave, is to meet her husband’s newly discovered illegitimate half sister, she does not want it to happen like in the keeper's house at Newgate. Yes, that Newgate, the abject prison filled with squalor and misery to which Verity Lark has been consigned for murder... -
Kiss The Rake Hello by Tracy Sumner
Cortland DeWitt is the most infamous second son in England. Twin to a duke, he thankfully lost out on the ducal title by a mere three minute's grace. And he's never looked back, living his life with one rule and one rule only: no attachments.But to Alexandra Mountbatten, the fearless woman who's known him since childhood, Cort is merely the loathsome boy next door... -
A Precarious Gamble by Laura Beers
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIs Love worth the gamble?Lord Hugh Calvert has managed to disgrace himself again. He gambled and won a small fortune, as he usually does, but this time the pot included a ward. He has never been responsible for someone other than himself. Perhaps it would be best if he just turns the care of his new ward over to his mother, washing his hands of her... -
His Reckless Bargain by Cynthia Wright
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSpecial Author's Cut EditionOriginally published by Ballantine Books as BARBADOS1818: Nathan Raveneau is known as “The Scapegrace” in Regency London for his rakish exploits and devastating good looks. He's also a sea captain with an estate on Barbados, where his enemy Xavier Crowe lives... -
Found by Tammy Andresen
Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsThe Baron Brightmore is the exact sort of rake a debutante should stay far away from…Not that Miss Alexi Starlit need worry about rogues. She’s too busy blending into the wall to catch the eye of a man like that. That is until this wallflower stumbles across a derelict and drunk baron having a tryst in the garden with an unknown lady... -
Earl of Spades: Regency Romance by Tammy Andresen
Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsShe’s a beauty beyond compare…Ash can’t deny that her fragile beauty holds him captive. And then there’s the fact that he stands between her and the danger circling ever closer. What man doesn’t wish to save a woman like Lily? He’d protect her with his last breath even he can’t give her a future. They are worlds apart and deep down he knows that love isn’t for a man like him... -
Vacancy: Viscount Preferred by Tammy Andresen
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLady Priscilla is in trouble…When a cousin she didn’t even know existed inherits her father’s title, the new Earl of Purlington wants more than just the earldom, he want’s Priscilla too. Or at least, her dowry. What she needs is a hero. A man to swoop in and save her despite her cousin’s intimidating lurking...Categorized as:
mystery victorian regency historical suspense marriage of convenience length-short m-f -
Schooled by the Bastard by Annabelle Anders
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSecond Chance * Secret Past * Bastard Hero In this second chance Regency Romance by Annabelle Anders, an independent headmistress fights to keep her all-girls school open even as the only man she’s ever loved—and lost—barges back into her life. As the daughter of a cruel marquess, Augusta Primm has fought tooth and nail to establish her independence... -
-
The Untamed Duke by Melanie Rose Clarke
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsWhen a Scottish duke targets her brother, Sophia will do anything to protect her family, including kidnapping the powerful lord. What happens when the duke kidnaps her instead?Welcome to book 3 in the bestselling series The Secret Crusaders from the talented Melanie Rose Clarke!Social justice crusader Sophia Hawkins will do anything to protect her family... -
Lyon's Lover by Maggie Sims
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsA wastrel lord and an ex-courtesan forced together must pay the price of their past sins. She’s planning for the future… Having enjoyed a successful career as mistress to various members of the Ton, Isabella Rossi longs to walk away from her past. She wants a normal life with all it entails—a husband, a home, and children... -
The Jilter by Kate Archer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA Cautious Lady and a Courageous LordSix highly placed matrons mourn their lack of daughters until they devise a scheme to launch eligible girls in need of assistance, and so The Society of Sponsoring Ladies is born.Lady Prudence Landry, only daughter of the Earl of Copeland, has been besieged by Lord Luckstone... -
The Secret of Love by Cynthia Wright
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA STOLEN HEARTWhen Lady Isabella Trevarre first set eyes on Gabriel St. Briac, she announced to her best friend: “That is the man I will marry!” Now a woman grown, Izzie has traded her girlish dreams for the independent life of an artist, but she never quite forgot the dazzling Frenchman who captivated her young heart. When he appears again in Cornwall, sparks of desire kindle between them.. -
21 Days with the Lyon: The Lyon's Den Connected World by Shana Galen
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA desperate heiress. A jaded former soldier. They’ve got twenty-one days to fall in love…or risk losing everything. Twenty-one days. A measly three weeks. That’s all the time Bianca Featherswallow is allowed to convince Theo Filliol to marry her. If she doesn’t marry in three weeks, Bianca will once again be prey to fortune hunters who are eager to abduct her for her dowry... -
A Tangled Ruse by Laura Beers
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAfter a failed abduction attempt, Lady Rachel is sent into hiding on her uncle’s estate near the sleepy village of Rockcliffe on the shores of Scotland. As she struggles to cope with the nightmares of her past, she unwittingly stumbles into even greater danger than she left behind. And this time, Shadow isn't around to save her...
Fantastic book recommendations by romance book lovers for romance book lovers.
Find out more about romance.io.
Find out more about romance.io.
Get recommendations by genres & tropes
Use the romance book finder to mix and match over 100 content keywords to find the books that match your preferences

Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.