In 1950s England, a debutante disappears from a Soho jazz club, pulling a pair of sleuths into a seedy underworld, in this “series that deserves a long run” (Booklist). In the years following World War II, former Secret Service employee Mirabelle Bevan can’t seem to resist an attraction to danger and a thirst for justice . . . The mysterious disappearance of eighteen-year-old debutante Rose Bellamy Gore, last seen outside a Soho jazz club in the company of a saxophone player named Lindon Claremont, has the London tabloids in a frenzy. When Lindon turns up in Brighton desperately seeking help, Mirabelle counsels him to cooperate with the authorities. But after the local police take the musician into custody and ship him off to Scotland Yard, Mirabelle and her best friend, Vesta Churchill, decide to take matters into their own hands. After hopping a train to London, Mirabelle and Vesta scour smoky jazz clubs searching for clues to the deb’s disappearance. What they find is a sinister underworld where the price of admission can be one’s life. Mirabelle will need to draw on her espionage skills to improvise her way out of a disappearing act of her own . . . Praise for the writing of Sara Sheridan and London Calling “Mirabelle Bevan’s second case takes her into the divided worlds of underground jazz clubs and missing debutantes. As a British historical mystery, this fits the bill.” —RT Book Reviews “An extraordinarily rich historical.” —Publishers Weekly “Great fun. The world needs Mirabelle’s feistiness, intelligence, and charm.” —James Runcie, author of the Grantchester mysteries

It's 1833 and the British Navy are conducting a survey of the Arabian Peninsula where slavery is as rife as ever despite being abolition. Zena, a headstrong and determined young Abyssinian beauty has been torn from her remote village, subjected to a tortuous journey and is now being offered for sale in the market of Muscat.

Dangers abound in 1950s Brighton as former Secret Service operative Mirabelle Bevan cuts to the chase to solve multiple murders . . . When sportswriter Joey Gillingham stops off at a Brighton barbershop for a shave and a trim, he gets more than he bargained for—a slashed throat. The journalist's next headline story in the paper is his obituary. With the ghastly murder the talk of the seaside town, Mirabelle and her close friend and coworker Vesta Churchill find themselves irresistibly drawn to the case. Rumors of the newspaperman being a member of the freemasons lead the ladies to the group’s local lodge, where they happen upon a cleaning lady in the throes of poisoning. Are the two deaths related? The common thread seems to connect to the secret society. Despite being warned off by Superintendent McGregor, the fearless friends continue to investigate, breaking into an abandoned royal residence in Brighton and following a trail of clues to a Cambridge college and bizarre masonic rituals. To beard the lion in his own den, Mirabelle and Vesta will need to walk the razor's edge—but with desperate characters and more bodies turning up, it's going to be a close shave . . .

*SELECTED AS THE WATERSTONES SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022* 'Compelling, fascinating . . . A cracking good read' Val McDermid 'An evocative, enjoyable portrait of 1820s Edinburgh' Sunday Times 'Lush, seductive' Daily Mail 'Completely enchanting' Scotsman 'A beautiful tale of scandal and intrigue' Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of Pandora *** Could one rare plant hold the key to a thousand riches? It's the summer of 1822 and Edinburgh is abuzz with rumours of King George IV's impending visit. In botanical circles, however, a different kind of excitement has gripped the city. In the newly-installed Botanic Garden, the Agave Americana plant looks set to flower - an event that only occurs once every few decades. When newly widowed Elizabeth arrives in Edinburgh to live with her late husband's aunt Clementina, she's determined to put her unhappy past in London behind her. As she settles into her new home, she becomes fascinated by the beautiful Botanic Garden which borders the grand house and offers her services as an artist to record the rare plant's impending bloom. In this pursuit, she meets Belle Brodie, a vivacious young woman with a passion for botany and the lucrative, dark art of perfume creation. Belle is determined to keep both her real identity and the reason for her interest the Garden secret from her new friend. But as Elizabeth and Belle are about to discover, secrets don't last long in this Enlightenment city . . . And when they are revealed, they can carry the greatest of consequences . . . *** 'Dazzling, original, full of wonderful characters' Katie Fforde 'An absolute treat for fans of historical fiction and rich storytelling' Red Magzine 'Lively and generous-hearted, with an array of utterly engaging characters, this enchanting novel reads like a warm tonic for the soul' Mary Paulson-Ellis 'As rare and lush as the Agave flower itself, The Fair Botanists is a richly realised, transportive delight' Rachel Rhys 'Beautiful . . . Every sentence is a gift. If you love The Doll Factory or The Binding, you'll love this' Miranda Dickinson 'Delightfully original, sensuous historical fiction, led by a charge of female characters as captivating and complex as the brightest of botanical flowers' Cari Thomas

A disgraced woman. A faraway land. A forbidden love... An unforgettable tale set in Victorian London and 1840s China from a shining, young historical talent.

In post-World War II England, former Secret Service operative Mirabelle Bevan becomes embroiled in a new kind of intrigue . . . In the popular seaside town of Brighton, it’s time for Mirabelle Bevan to move beyond her tumultuous wartime years and start anew. A job at a debt collection agency seems the right step toward a more tranquil life. But as she follows up on a routine loan to a pregnant Hungarian refugee, Mirabelle’s instincts for spotting deception are stirred when the woman is reported dead, along with her unborn child. As Mirabelle investigates the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death, aided by her feisty sidekick—Vesta Churchill (“no relation to Winston,” as she explains)—she unravels a web of evil that stretches from the Brighton beachfront to the darkest corners of Europe. With more than a little British resourcefulness at hand, she must risk her life to navigate a lethal labyrinth of lies and danger in order to expose the truth. Praise for Sara Sheridan and the Mirabelle Bevan Mysteries “Mirabelle has a dogged tenacity to rival Poirot.” —Sunday Herald “I was gripped from start to finish.” —Newbooks magazine “Unfailingly stylish, undeniably smart.” —Daily Record “Plenty of colour and action, will engage the reader from the first page to the last. Highly recommended.” —Bookbag “Fresh, exciting and darkly plotted.”—Good Book Guide

"Scottish Highlands, 1958. Britain is awash in Cold War anxiety as Mirabelle Bevan heads for the Highlands on a holiday to visit Superintendent Alan McGregor's family. More glamorous than she expected, the Robertsons welcome her with open arms and an array of cocktails, but she has scarcely arrived when the body of an American fashion buyer turns up brutally murdered, plunging the local village into disarray and sending shockwaves around the close, Highland community. Mirabelle can't resist investigating, but what she finds lays the limitations of her feelings for McGregor bare and calls into question the loyalties of all those around her from the Robertson's housekeeper Mrs Gillies to the family of the dead woman. What started as a relaxing break in scenic surroundings soon spirals into a week fraught with danger. As the press descend on the Robertson's Highland estate, it rapidly becomes clear that things are not as black and white as they first appeared and Mirabelle can't count on anyone . . ."--Provided by publisher.

Order of authors' names reversed on title page.

'Five engrossing, resonant stories here, with no weak links' ― The Herald The world's first UNESCO city of literature, Edinburgh is steeped in literary history. It is the birthplace of a beloved cast of fictional characters from Sherlock Holmes to Harry Potter. It is the home of the Writer's Museum, where quotes from writers of the past pave the steps leading up to it. A city whose beauty is matched only by the intrigue of its past, and where Robert Louis Stevenson said, 'there are no stars so lovely as Edinburgh's street-lamps'. And to celebrate the city, its literature, and more importantly, its people, Polygon and the One City Trust have brought together writers – established and emerging – to write about the place they call home. Based around landmarks or significant links to Edinburgh each story transports the reader to a different decade in the city's recent past. Through these stories each author reflects on the changes, both generational and physical, in the city in which we live.

An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of Jane Austen's Sanditon television series. Sanditon, the final novel Austen was working on before her death, has been given an exciting conclusion, and will be brought to a primetime television audience on PBS/Masterpiece for the very first time by Emmy and BAFTA Award winning screenwriter Andrew Davies (War & Peace, Mr. Selfridge, Les Misérables, Pride and Prejudice). This, the official companion to the Masterpiece series, contains everything a fan could want to know. It explores the world Austen created, along with fascinating insights about the period and the real-life heartbreak behind her final story. And it offers location guides, behind the scenes details, and interviews with the cast, alongside beautiful illustrations and set photography.