Books like 'The Essence of Malice'
Readers who enjoyed The Essence of Malice by Ashley Weaver also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical mystery 20th century suspense heroine sleuth
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The Dance Teacher of Paris by Suzanne Fortin
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 24 ratings'But how will I look after them? Where can I hide them?' She looked up at me and didn't try to stop the tears from falling. 'I'm begging you. Please, save our children.'Paris, 1942. As the Germans occupy the city she calls home, Adele Basset is determined to keep her pupils' spirits up. Their dance class offers a moment of solace in the dark days of occupation... -
![The Stationmaster's Cottage by Phillipa Nefri Clark]()
The Stationmaster's Cottage by Phillipa Nefri Clark
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsChristie is happy in her life... or so she tells herself. Despite the tragedy in her childhood, she has a satisfying career, a city apartment, and a long-term relationship. But deep down she yearns for a simpler life. Family. A garden. And a place to heal her heart.The decision to attend a funeral in a town she's never heard of throws her safe world into disarray, exposing the holes in her life...Categorized as:
heroine sleuth mystery 20th century suspense historical contemporary length-medium audiobook -
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![The Orphan Daughter by Sheila Riley]()
The Orphan Daughter by Sheila Riley
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWinter, Liverpool 1947. Evie Kilgaren is a fighter. Abandoned by her mother and with her father long gone, she is left to raise her siblings in dockside Liverpool, as they battle against the coldest winter on record. But she is determined to make a life for herself and create a happy home for what's left of her family... -
![The Whisper Sister by Jennifer S. Brown]()
The Whisper Sister by Jennifer S. Brown
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe author of Modern Girls delivers an atmospheric coming-of-age story set in Prohibition-era New York, tracing one immigrant family’s fortunes and a young girl’s journey from the schoolyard to the speakeasy.The streets of New York in 1920 are most certainly not paved with gold, as Minnie Soffer learns when she arrives at Ellis Island... -
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![Deadly Betrayal by Carla Simpson]()
Deadly Betrayal by Carla Simpson
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"Ghosts of the past…The very case that made Brodie leave the Metropolitan Police returns to jeopardize his private inquiry business, his relationship with Mikaela Forsythe, and perhaps even his life.Ten years earlier, after Brodie refused to divulge the name of his source in a murder case, Chief Inspector Abberline threatened to have charges brought against him for withholding evidence... -
![Murder in Mayfair by Verity Bright]()
Murder in Mayfair by Verity Bright
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTea and cake at The Ritz, a stolen pearl necklace and a missing dead body… Lady Swift is back on the case!Lady Eleanor Swift has been eagerly awaiting her trip in a hot air balloon to take in London’s amazing sights... -
![Murder Makes Waves by Anne George]()
Murder Makes Waves by Anne George
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsThose hilarious southern sisters, who prove that sibling rivalry never ends, are heading for a vacation at the beach... -
![The Marriage of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King]()
The Marriage of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsLaurie R. King takes readers way back in her bestselling series with this exclusive ebook short story, as Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes embark upon the riskiest adventure of their their wedding. Includes a special preview of the highly anticipated new mystery from Laurie R... -
![The Game by Laurie R. King]()
The Game by Laurie R. King
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsIt’s only the second day of 1924, but Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, find themselves embroiled in intrigue. It starts with a New Year’s visit from Holmes’s brother Mycroft, who comes bearing a strange package containing the papers of an English spy named Kimball O’Hara—the same Kimball known to the world through Kipling’s famed Kim...Categorized as:
mystery suspense 20th century heroine sleuth historical victorian length-long audiobook -
![A Deadly Scandal by Carla Simpson]()
A Deadly Scandal by Carla Simpson
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMurder is such a nasty business…Mikaela Forsythe has returned from safari in Africa with her great aunt, and Lily.The continent survived, but not so the victim in a new murder investigation that she is asked to undertake – that agreement she made with Sir Avery of the Special Services Agency to save Brodie’s life... -
![Evidence of Evil: Victorian Historical Romance Mystery by Mary Lancaster]()
Evidence of Evil: Victorian Historical Romance Mystery by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsPursuing murder and fighting love… Several weeks after they parted company, courtesan Constance calls on the wealthy business-man Solomon Grey to request his help solving another mystery. Her old friend Elizabeth, now the wife of respected magistrate Sir Humphrey Maule, is being accused of murder... -
![Murder at Beacon Rock by Alyssa Maxwell]()
Murder at Beacon Rock by Alyssa Maxwell
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe New York Yacht Club’s exclusive gathering at Newport, Rhode Island’s Beacon Rock mansion hits stormy seas in the summer of 1900 when reporter Emma Cross, a lesser Vanderbilt, discovers a drowned corpse in Alyssa Maxwell’s tenth Gilded Newport Mystery…As a reporter, Emma is used to covering Newport’s social events... -
![A Deceptive Composition by Anna Lee Huber]()
A Deceptive Composition by Anna Lee Huber
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsLady Kiera Darby and her dashing husband, Sebastian Gage, hope they’ve finally found peace after a tumultuous summer, but long-buried family secrets soon threaten to unravel their lives . . .October 1832. Kiera is enjoying the slower pace of the English countryside... -
![The Girl in the Picture by Kerry Barrett]()
The Girl in the Picture by Kerry Barrett
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsTwo women. One house. Centuries of secrets East Sussex Coast, 1855 Violet Hargreaves is the lonely daughter of a widowed industrialist, and an aspiring Pre-Raphaelite painter. One day, the naïve eighteen-year-old meets Edwin; a mysterious and handsome man on the beach, who promises her a world beyond the small costal village she’s trapped in... -
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![The Orphan House by Ann Bennett]()
The Orphan House by Ann Bennett
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsTwo women uncover the secrets of the past in this emotional and poignant story that’s perfect for fans of Lisa Wingate and Kristina McMorris. 1934: Connie Burroughs loves living in the orphanage that her father runs in the English countryside... -
![An Indomitable Woman by Sarah F. Noel]()
An Indomitable Woman by Sarah F. Noel
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Investigative Countess, Rapier Sharp Logic paired with Great Insight and Boldness. A Private Inquiry Agent.When the dowager countess receives her first assignment as a private inquiry agent from Tuchinsky, an East End gangster, she immediately throws herself into the case with gusto... -
![Murder in Moonlight by Mary Lancaster]()
Murder in Moonlight by Mary Lancaster
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA house of secrets, an impossible attraction On a personal quest, Constance Silver, who runs Mayfair’s most exclusive brothel, has lied her way into Greenforth Manor, home of respectable and charismatic provincial banker, Walter Winsom. She feels quite safe from recognition until Solomon Grey joins the party... -
![Murder in Montparnasse by Kerry Greenwood]()
Murder in Montparnasse by Kerry Greenwood
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsMiss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, now streaming on Netflix, starring Essie Davis as the honourable Phryne Fisher "A most charming, sexy, independent, and candid heroine; clever, literate dialog; and closely woven plotting will win immediate fans for this debut series... -
![Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair]()
Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsIn post-WWII London, the matchmakers of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau are involved in yet another murder.In the immediate post-war days of London, two unlikely partners have undertaken an even more unlikely, if necessary, business venture—The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. The two partners are Miss Iris Sparks, a woman with a dangerous—and never discussed—past in British intelligence and Mrs... -
![Murder Most Fair by Anna Lee Huber]()
Murder Most Fair by Anna Lee Huber
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAll is far from quiet on the home front in national bestselling author Anna Lee Huber's captivating mystery series, in which former Secret Service agent Verity Kent receives a visitor—who is being trailed by a killer...November 1919. A relaxing few weeks by the seaside with her husband, Sidney, could almost convince Verity Kent that life has returned to the pleasant rhythm of pre-war days... -
![Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King]()
Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE AGATHA AWARD FOR BEST HISTORICAL NOVEL • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR BY THE SEATTLE TIMESLaurie R. King’s novels of suspense featuring Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, are critically acclaimed and beloved by readers for the author’s adept interplay of history and adventure...Categorized as:
mystery suspense 20th century heroine sleuth historical multicultural length-medium audiobook -
![The Spinster's Fortune by Mary Kendall]()
The Spinster's Fortune by Mary Kendall
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsMoonlit alleys, shadowy tunnels, and buried secrets…Summer of 1929.Of supposed unsound mind without a penny to her name, Blanche Magruder lies alone in a home for the aged and infirm.Meanwhile, her house, a crumbled ruin in the heart of Georgetown, Washington, D.C., is pillaged nightly by thieves looking for treasure rumored to be hidden there... -
![Death Drinks Darjeeling by Sigrid Vansandt]()
Death Drinks Darjeeling by Sigrid Vansandt
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMartha and Helen are having a spring to die for! Helen’s ex-husband, George, has arrived to stir up trouble, and Martha gets sentenced to anger management classes for her illicit gun wielding issues. Sounds like a pair of good reasons to get out of town, so when they’re invited to Germany to be guests on the beloved talk show, “Get Going with Gotts,” they happily accept... -
![An Audacious Woman by Sarah F. Noel]()
An Audacious Woman by Sarah F. Noel
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFor fans of Deanna Raybourn, Tasha Alexander, and Andrea Penrose...Step into 1897 Victorian Unravel Love and Intrigue with The Tabitha & Wolf Historical Mystery Series, where Mystery meets Romance with a splash of Humour... -
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![An Intrepid Woman by Sarah F. Noel]()
An Intrepid Woman by Sarah F. Noel
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFinally, Tabitha and Wolf are married and they couldn't be happier. The last thing either of them wants is to be sucked back into a murder investigation.Tabitha and Wolf, eager to embrace their new life as a married couple, have agreed not to take on any new investigations for the time being. Instead, they want to enjoy a peaceful time as newlyweds, uninterrupted by murder and intrigue... -
![Murder Under A Blue Moon by Abigail Keam]()
Murder Under A Blue Moon by Abigail Keam
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFIVE STARS! "A most delightful novel." -- READERS' FAVORITE Mona Moon is not your typical young lady. She is a cartographer by trade, explorer by nature, and adventurer by heart. But there’s a problem. Miss Mona is broke. It’s during the Depression, and National Geographic has just turned down her application to join an expedition to the Amazon... -
![Murder at Ochre Court by Alyssa Maxwell]()
Murder at Ochre Court by Alyssa Maxwell
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFor fans of HBO’s The Gilded Age, explore the dark side of the alluring world of America’s 19th century elite in this gripping series of riveting mysteries…In the summer of 1898, reporter Emma Cross investigates a shocking death among the bright lights of Newport's high society . . -
![The Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood]()
The Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe fabulous Phryne Fisher, her sister Beth and her faithful maid, Dot, decide that Luna Park is the perfect place for an afternoon of fun and excitement with Phryne's two daughters, Ruth and Jane. But in the dusty dark Ghost Train, amidst the squeals of horror and delight, a mummified bullet-studded corpse falls to the ground in front of them... -
![City of Schemes by Victoria Thompson]()
City of Schemes by Victoria Thompson
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsElizabeth Miles is preparing for her wedding to Gideon Bates, when a menacing shadow from her past threatens to destroy the life she has built for herself in this all-new Counterfeit Lady Novel from USA Today bestselling author Victoria Thompson.The Great War is over, and Elizabeth and Gideon are busily planning their wedding and welcoming home old friends now discharged from the army... -
![The Naturalist's Daughter by Tea Cooper]()
The Naturalist's Daughter by Tea Cooper
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsTwo fearless women--living a century apart--find themselves entangled in the mystery surrounding the biggest scientific controversy of the nineteenth the classification of the platypus.1808 Agnes Banks, NSWRose Winton wants nothing more than to work with her father, eminent naturalist Charles Winton, on his groundbreaking study of the platypus... -
![Island of the Mad by Laurie R. King]()
Island of the Mad by Laurie R. King
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsLaurie R. King’s New York Times bestselling series featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes is “the most sustained feat of imagination in mystery fiction today” (Lee Child)!The last thing Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, need is to help an old friend with her mad, missing aunt...Categorized as:
mystery suspense 20th century heroine sleuth historical queer length-medium audiobook -
![Next of Kin by John Boyne]()
Next of Kin by John Boyne
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsJohn Boyne has been heralded as "one of the most imaginative and adventurous of the young Irish novelists working today" by the Irish Independent. He achieved bestseller status and won numerous awards worldwide for The Boy in the Striped Pajamas... -
![Riviera Gold by Laurie R. King]()
Riviera Gold by Laurie R. King
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsMary Russell and Sherlock Holmes turn the Riviera upside down to crack their most captivating case yet in the New York Times bestselling series that Lee Child called "the most sustained feat of imagination in mystery fiction today."It's summertime on the Riviera, and the Jazz Age has come to France's once-sleepy beaches...Categorized as:
mystery suspense 20th century heroine sleuth historical contemporary length-medium audiobook -
![Dr. Bones and the Christmas Wish by Emma Jameson]()
Dr. Bones and the Christmas Wish by Emma Jameson
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDr. Benjamin Bones had no opinion on Christmas. That is to say, he had no polite opinion on Christmas. His actual opinion, the one he knew better than to say aloud, was that Christmas was a disappointment, a raising of hopes only to dash them, a festival of flash and dazzle which, come January, was hard to pay for and even harder to justify. That was Christmas: disappointment, with a price tag... -
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![Three Debts Paid: A Daniel Pitt Novel by Anne Perry]()
Three Debts Paid: A Daniel Pitt Novel by Anne Perry
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA killer is on the loose, targeting victims with a mysterious connection that young barrister Daniel Pitt must deduce before more bodies pile up, in this intricately woven mystery from New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry.A serial killer is roaming the streets of London, and Daniel Pitt's university chum Ian, now a member of the police, is leading the search... -
![Murder at Chateau sur Mer by Alyssa Maxwell]()
Murder at Chateau sur Mer by Alyssa Maxwell
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFor fans of HBO’s The Gilded Age, explore the dark side of the alluring world of America’s 19th century elite in this gripping series of riveting mysteries…In the late nineteenth century, Newport, Rhode Island, is home to some of America’s wealthiest citizens... -
![The Mortal Blow by Elizabeth Bailey]()
The Mortal Blow by Elizabeth Bailey
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe intrepid Lady Fan is back! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Barbara Erskine and Jane Austen. Lady Fan is back to full health but can she solve the trickiest case yet…? 1791, England Lord Francis and Lady Ottilia Fanshawe are on their way home when their coach comes to a sudden stop. A woman is standing in the middle of the road — covered in blood... -
![A Child Lost: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel by Michelle Cox]()
A Child Lost: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel by Michelle Cox
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA spiritualist, an insane asylum, a lost little girl . . .When Clive, anxious to distract a depressed Henrietta, begs Sergeant Frank Davis for a case, he is assigned to investigating a seemingly boring affair: a spiritualist woman operating in an abandoned schoolhouse on the edge of town who is suspected of robbing people of their valuables... -
![Captivating the Earl by Audrey Harrison]()
Captivating the Earl by Audrey Harrison
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIf nice things come in small packages, surely lovely things come in larger ones?In the unforgiving world of Regency-era London, Isabelle Carrington bears the weight of society’s harshest judgments. Her ample curves and gentle nature make her a target of ridicule in a world obsessed with superficial beauty... -
![The Fisherman's Gift by Julia R. Kelly]()
The Fisherman's Gift by Julia R. Kelly
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe Light Between Oceans meets The Snow Child in this novel set in a Scottish village in the weeks after a young boy mysteriously washes up on shore, causing the buried secrets of the insular community to come to light and rekindling an old love story.It’s 1900 and Skerry, a small Scottish fishing village, is destined for an unyielding winter. During a storm, a young boy washes up on the shore... -
![The Secret Letter by Kerry Barrett]()
The Secret Letter by Kerry Barrett
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsGet ready for another inspirational tale of sisterhood and strength from the brilliant Kerry Barrett, perfect for fans of Tracy Rees and Kathryn Hughes. Readers love Kerry Barrett: ‘All Kerry Barrett's books are brilliant’ ‘I'd highly recommend this: detective fiction, historical fiction, powerful, moving, thrilling, sometimes comic, always very human... -
![The Forthright Woman by Darry Fraser]()
The Forthright Woman by Darry Fraser
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWidow Marcella Ross won't let anything - or anyone - stop her from discovering the truth behind a deadly family mystery ... Mystery and romance collide in this compulsive historical adventure from a bestselling Australian author. 1898, South Australia At the gateway to the Flinders Ranges lies Kanyaka Station, once a thriving sheep and cattle property, now abandoned and in ruins... -
![The Masterpiece by Belinda Alexandra]()
The Masterpiece by Belinda Alexandra
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA wartime betrayal, a race against time ... and a secret hidden in a painting. The must-read new novel from the author of The French Agent and White Gardenia. Paris 1946: A young woman, Eve Archer, has come to Paris to find the father she never knew... -
![The Storyteller's Daughter by Victoria Scott]()
The Storyteller's Daughter by Victoria Scott
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA secret buried for decades… A story that will change everything.1940: When twenty-one-year-old Nita Bineham is offered the chance of independence, away from the high walls of her family’s Surrey estate, she grasps it with both hands. But her new role at a local newspaper coincides with the emergence of a sinister rumour in their quiet village: that there is a traitor in their midst... -
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![A Debt is Finally Paid by Sigrid Vansandt]()
A Debt is Finally Paid by Sigrid Vansandt
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“We've got gypsies!” Old Grimsy, Marsden-Lacey's cantankerous town gossip, warns the patrons of The Traveller's Inn one golden autumn afternoon. Soon, the quaint Yorkshire village is playing host to a family of exotic Romanis, three colorful narrowboats, and a rough bunch of Russian mafiosos who'll stop at nothing to get their hands on a royal treasure lost to time... -
![A Key To Many Doors by Emilie Loring]()
A Key To Many Doors by Emilie Loring
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNancy Jones--as beautiful as her name was plain--faced a life as spinster nurse to her hopelessly scarred brother until--impulsively--she entered into a strange, loveless marriage with diplomat artist Peter Gerard... -
![Written on the Wind by Judith Pella]()
Written on the Wind by Judith Pella
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsBook 1 of the Daughters of Fortune series. Cameron Hayes??? determination to distance herself from her famous father and establish herself as a journalist finds her back in her beloved Russia, now threatened by Hitler's greed. In Moscow she meets Dr. Alex Rostov, a once-prominent US surgeon who has been forced to return to his Russian homeland... -
![Some Murders in Berlin by Karen Robards]()
Some Murders in Berlin by Karen Robards
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsA serial killer on the loose. A profiler with a hidden past. A world at war.Trust is a luxury no one can afford.September 1943: Berlin is the heart of darkness—and the last place Dr. Elin Lund wishes to be. An expert in psychological profiling, she’s been summoned from Copenhagen to investigate the gruesome murders of eight young women... -
![Dead Man's Chest by Kerry Greenwood]()
Dead Man's Chest by Kerry Greenwood
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsMiss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, now streaming on Netflix, starring Essie Davis as the honourable Phryne Fisher Dot unfolded the note. "He says that his married couple will look after the divine Miss Fisher...I'll leave out a bit...their name is Johnson and they seem very reliable." Phryne got the door open at last. She stepped into the hall. "I think he was mistaken about that," she commented... -
![Singapore Sapphire by A.M. Stuart, Saskia Maarleveld]()
Singapore Sapphire by A.M. Stuart, Saskia Maarleveld
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsHarriet Gordon stumbles into a murderous web of stolen gems and cutthroat thieves as she runs from her tragic past in an enthralling new historical mystery series set in early twentieth century Singapore. Singapore 1910--Desperate for a fresh start and to distance herself from her tragic past, Harriet Gordon finds herself in Singapore at the height of colonial rule...
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