"September, 1930. Fearless detective Miss Clara Vale is bound for Berlin, but this trip is all about la mode - not murder. Clara is set to walk the runway at Berlin Fashion Week, as a favour to her designer friend Juju, with her assistant Bella in tow.
Elections loom in Germany, and among Juju's friends, the Spieglers, all the talk is of the National Socialists. But trouble brews closer to home, when a shocking murder at their clothing factory points the finger at the Jewish couple's brilliant young son.
With the victim an old friend of the fashion crew, emotions run high - and Clara quickly joins the investigation, setting out to untangle Nazi conspiracies and nasty colleagues. To complicate matters, Clara's old flame Larry Winter is in town, and it seems he may know more than he's letting on...
When a second body turns up, pressure mounts. Amidst the dark glamour of 1930s Berlin, on the eve of the Third Reich, can Clara find the real killer and protect those around her? From silks to secrets, peplums to poison, this will be a Fashion Week like no other..."
"It's open season at Penford Manor! But someone has murder in their sights...
At Penford Manor, the guests are arriving to celebrate the start of the grouse-hunting season: lords and ladies, barons and baronesses, a Member of Parliament - and chemistry graduate turned detective, Miss Clara Vale, an old friend of the family. But Clara is no ordinary guest: she's secretly investigating a blackmail plot against Lady Penford herself.
Someone in the house is already up to no good, but when the body of a local trade unionist is found in the grounds, Clara's case gets even more complicated because a clue left by the body links it to the blackmail note.
Who has discovered Lady Penford's secret? Can Clara and her trusted assistant Bella work together to find the murderer? And what do the cornflowers which keep popping up everywhere mean?
Amidst the glittering dresses and sparkling conversation of society, Clara must find the truth - before the killer acts again!"
"A night at the museum, a dead body and a trail to Cairo. Sounds like a case for Miss Clara Vale!
1930: Miss Clara Vale, chemistry major turned detective, is taking a night off from sleuthing to attend the launch party of a new exhibition at the Hancock Museum in Newcastle. But when the piece de resistance, a rare ornate sarcophagus, is finally opened and it turns out the mummy inside it is a fake it looks like there is no rest for Clara after all...
Later that night, she is summoned back to the museum and asked to investigate a series of stolen Egyptian artefacts. Using her scientific and forensic prowess, Clara, with her trusted assistant Bella in tow, embarks on a trail that will lead from Newcastle to London and along the river Nile to Cairo.
But she is not the only person hunting for stolen antiquities and when she uncovers an international smuggling ring with a penchant for murder, it becomes clear that Clara's own life is in danger too.
Can Clara catch the smugglers before they get away with another murder among the pyramids?"
"Someone is killing fairy godmothers in Cinderella... Can Miss Clara Vale crack the case before the clock strikes twelve?
1929, December: Snow is falling, and Miss Clara Vale is wrapped up against the cold as she braves the icy streets of Newcastle in her latest investigation.
When a young actress from the touring pantomime of Cinderella arrives at her door, Clara isn't sure what to make of her request. Sybil Langford, the legendary fairy godmother in their production, has mysteriously vanished. Could Clara help track her down?
But a few days into Clara's search, Sybil's body is pulled from an icy river, and Clara finds herself in the middle of yet another murder mystery.
With scheming stepsisters waiting in the wings, handsome princes who aren't all they seem, and clues as elusive as glass slippers, Clara will need every one of her scientific skills to catch the killer...
And when Sybil's replacement meets her own tragic end, Clara is in a race against time before the murderer sends a third cast member to their unhappily ever after..."
"Murder is no occupation for a lady... or is it?
1929: Miss Clara Vale is a woman ahead of her time. Rather than attending Oxford to bag an eligible Duke (as her mother, Lady Vale, so desperately hoped), she threw herself into a degree in chemistry, with aspirations to become a scientist in her own right.
But the world isn't ready for Clara. Unable to land a job in science because she's a woman, she is stuck behind the desk at a dingy London library. Until her estranged Uncle dies suddenly, leaving her his private detective agency, and laboratory, in his will.
Clara couldn't become a detective, could she?
The decision is made for her when one of her uncle's old clients comes to her for help with a case surrounding the local picture house and invites Clara to see the latest show, before they discuss the details.
But during the film, a fire suddenly engulfs the picture house, with tragic consequences. It seems at first an accident, but Clara soon begins to question if it was in fact a carefully orchestrated murder.
She's suddenly in the middle of a deadly mystery and will discover her scientific skills make her a sleuth to be reckoned with... Can she catch the killer before they strike again?"
"The 1920s most stylish sleuth returns in The Crystal Crypt for another thrilling murder mystery!
“But accidents can still happen… Perhaps there was something out of her control, something she couldn't have foreseen…”
“Like someone plotting to kill her?”
Reporter sleuth Poppy Denby is asked to investigate the mysterious death of an up-and-coming female scientist in an Oxford laboratory known as the Crystal Crypt. The official verdict is that Dr June Leighton died in a tragic accident, but Dr Leighton's lab assistant believes it was murder. However, when Poppy discovers that the colleague has spent time in a mental institution and has an unresolved murder in her own past, Poppy wonders if she is being misled. But then, another female academic is attacked, and Poppy herself becomes a target."
"It's 1924 and investigative reporter Poppy Denby is heading up to Northumberland to celebrate her father's sixtieth birthday. She stops off in Newcastle en route to visit her Aunt Dot, who has temporarily relocated from London to renovate a house she's inherited. One of Aunt Dot's guests is the world renowned artist, Agnes Robson, who is staging an exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery. Reluctantly, Poppy is roped in to help when the artist's press liaison man falls ill. She soon discovers that the local press have dug up some dirt on Agnes relating to the tragic death of a young art teacher in Ashington Colliery, twenty-seven years earlier. As she tries to suppress the story, Poppy begins to suspect that the teacher might have been murdered and that the killer may still be on the loose..."
"Poppy Denby is intrigued when she is invited to attend the auction for the Death Mask of Nefertiti. Held on the country estate of Sir James Maddox, a famous explorer, the auction promises to be a controversial and newsworthy affair. Representatives from the world's leading museums are gathering to bid on the mask, which was discovered in Egypt. Poppy quickly sniffs out that the mask was not the only thing found that night: the underground chamber also contained a dead body. Poppy and her colleagues from The Daily Globe, who are trying to stay one step ahead of their rivals from The London Courier, dismiss rumours about the mask s ancient curse. But when one of the auction party is murdered, and someone starts stalking Poppy, the race is on to find the killer before the curse can strike again..."
"Poppy Denby, Arts and Entertainment Editor at The Daily Globe, covers an exhibition of Russian Art, hosted by White Russian refugees, including members of the surviving exiled Romanov Royal family. There is an armed robbery, a guard is shot, and the largest Faberge Egg in the collection is stolen. The egg itself is valuable, but more so are the secrets it contains within - secrets that could threaten major political powers. Suspects are aplenty, including the former keeper of the Faberge Egg, a Russian Princess called Selena Romanova Yusopova. The interim Bolshevik Russian ambassador, Vasili Safin inserts himself into the investigation, as he believes the egg - and the other treasures - should all be restored to the Russian people. Poppy, her editor Rollo, press photographer Daniel, and the other staff of the Globe are delighted to be once again in the middle of a sensational story. But, soon the investigation takes a dark turn when another body is found and an employee of the newspaper becomes a suspect...The race is on to find both the key and the egg - can they be found before the killer strikes again?"
"Poppy Denby is furious with Rollo, who has gambled away his position at the Daily Globe and is being banished to New York. That is, until she discovers he plans to take her with him to work at the New York Times! Poppy can't wait, but her hopes are crushed when she is allocated The Death Beat – writing obituaries. But Poppy has a nose for a story, and when a body is found in a luxury penthouse apartment she starts to investigate. She unravels a trail of illegal immigrants, forced labour, sex scandals, and an unexpected ghost from her past. Poppy is determined to help, but can she find the evidence to bring the perpetrators to justice without putting her own life in danger...
'Manhattan, beware! Formidable reporter Poppy Danby enjoys a luxury voyage across the Atlantic. Her indefatigable and entertaining search for truth reveals the seediness and glamour of 1920s New York.' FRANCES BRODY, author of the Kate Shackleton mysteries"
"1920. Poppy Denby, an aspiring journalist, arrives in London to look after her ailing Aunt. She encourages Poppy to apply for a job at The Daily Globe, but on her first day, a senior reporter is killed and Poppy is tasked with finishing his story. It involves the mysterious death of a suffragette seven years earlier - an event some powerful people would prefer forgotten... Through her friend Delilah, Poppy is introduced to the giddy world of London in the Roaring Twenties. Will she make it as a journalist in this fast-paced new city? And will she be able to unearth the truth before more people die?"
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