Bøker av Ashley Gardner

Rome: AD 63Leonidas's former trainer, Aemil, asks him to look into the disappearances of gladiators from his ludus. Leonidas and Cassia investigate, and soon uncover gruesome murders involving some of the wealthiest citizens of Rome.Leonidas pits his skills against an unknown killer who hunts gladiators from the back lanes of the Subura to prestigious villas atop Rome's hills. He and Cassia must succeed in uncovering the murderer's identity before Nero grows impatient and makes Leonidas pay for the chaos the killer has rained down upon his city.

James Denis gives Captain Lacey a task, to deliver a mysterious package to a man with an office near the Custom House on the bank of the Thames. Lacey, who has been drawn into danger delivering items for Denis before, opens the package to find a single chess piece, a white queen.The piece tells Lacey nothing, but he soon realizes it plays deeply into Denis''s ongoing battle for control of London''s underworld.Meanwhile 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.But Lacey is drawn farther into the dark games of James Denis and his rival, until only his wits and memories from his past can save himself and his family from gravest danger.

When Captain Gabriel Lacey finds himself standing over a dead body in Brighton Pavilion, bloody sword in hand and no memory of how he got there, he immediately fears he is a murderer.The dead man is Colonel Hamilton Isherwood, a man Lacey clashed with after the battle of Salamanca in Spain seven years before. As Lacey tries to piece together the events of the previous night, he discovers he’d promised to help a Quaker gentleman find his missing son, and that the Society of Friends might know far more about his strange night out than anyone else.With the help of Brewster, Grenville, and his wife, Lacey races to save himself from arrest, even it means bringing to light painful scandals from his own past.

A Bow Street Runner summons Captain Gabriel Lacey to a Berkeley Square ballroom where a young dandy has been found stabbed to death during a society ball. The prime suspect: Lacey's former commander, Colonel Brandon.Instead of denying the charges, Colonel Brandon allows himself to be arrested, and claims, to Lacey's shock, that the lady he'd stayed protectively near at the ball is his mistress. Lacey realizes that he is the only person not convinced of Brandon's guilt-all present, including Brandon's wife, believe Brandon committed the murder.Colonel Brandon's reticence to tell the truth proves to be Lacey's greatest obstacle in his race against time to prove Brandon's innocence. Lacey's hunt for evidence uncovers dark secrets that go back to the Peninsular Wars and involve the origins of Lacey's and Brandon's own private war.Book 5 in the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries

Step into the past through three historical mysteries that span from Imperial Rome to Victorian London.A Soupçon of Poison (Kat Holloway Victorian Mysteries)Kat Holloway, a young cook, highly sought after by the wealthy of Victorian London, becomes embroiled in murder and must clear her name. Only the mysterious Daniel McAdam, who is much more than he seems, can come to her aid.Blood Debts (Leonidas the Gladiator Mysteries)Leonidas, freedman, once the most popular gladiator in Rome and champion of the games, now must fight for his life outside the arena. A man who owed him money was murdered, and Leonidas is a prime suspect. With the assistance of Cassia, daughter of a Greek scribe who has been bestowed upon him as his slave, Leonidas fights for justice in the back lanes of Imperial Rome.The Necklace Affair (Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries)Captain Lacey agrees to help a society matron discover what has become of her cherished diamond necklace and to clear her maid, who has been arrested for its theft. Lacey quickly becomes enmeshed in scandal and past secrets, and finds himself competing with the underworld criminal, James Denis, for the necklace's retrieval.

1819: 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 the Regent suspects ghosts or other malign spirits.The Bow Street Runners have a more human suspect for these doings, and Captain Lacey is asked by a Runner to help him prepare a case against the man they've already arrested.But the suspect is under the protection of James Denis, a leader of crime, which brings Lacey head-to-head with him once more. Opposing Denis can be dangerous, and so can dividing the loyalties of the men who work for him.Meanwhile Lacey has his family to worry about-his daughter, his wife, and new members who have joined. In addition, he's not convinced that either Denis or the Runners have the right idea in this matter. He must produce the correct answer before Denis loses his patience or one malevolent Runner in particular makes Lacey answer for the crimes.

1818--Captain Gabriel Lacey accompanies famous dandy Lucius Grenville to Egypt, a land that Lacey has long anticipated visiting. Lacey travels there for more than a simple holiday, however-James Denis has tasked him with finding an "object" in Alexandria and procuring it, whatever the cost.The task does not turn out to be so simple. Locating what Denis wants in the teeming city proves difficult, sending Lacey and Grenville exploring tombs and temples down the Nile. Lacey must deal with treasure hunters, a shadow following him and his friends, murder, and missing his new family as he explores the exotic country he has so longed to see…Book 11 of the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries.

Captain 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. Meanwhile, he must deal with his daughter's debut and more developments in his new domestic life, including a anonymous blackmailer who's out to ruin Lacey any way he can.

Captain Gabriel Lacey begins Spring 1818 preparing for a duel. But while he focuses on the affair of honor, darkness, greed, and death stalk the streets of London and bring tragedy to a family Lacey has grown close to.With the aid of Lucius Grenville, London's most famous dandy, and Brewster, a ruffian employed by an underworld criminal, Lacey explores the world of molly houses and the double lives some men of society lead. His investigation takes him from the elegant mansions of Grosvenor Square to the squalid lanes of Seven Dials, to taverns that practice a highly illegal trade, spelling ruin and possible hanging for those caught within.Lacey once again comes into the realm of James Denis, a crime lord, when what appears to be a simple crime of hatred becomes far more complex.Book 9 of the Captain Lacey Regency mysteries.

This anthology brings together three short mysteries in the Captain Lacey series: The Necklace Affair (novella); and The Gentleman's Walking Stick and The Disappearance of Miss Sarah Oswald (short stories).In The Necklace Affair, Captain Lacey agrees to help a society matron discover what has become of her expensive diamond necklace and to clear her maid, who has been arrested for its theft. Lady Clifford declares that the rival for her husband's affections has stolen the necklace, but Lacey soon realizes that the problem is not so simple. He quickly becomes enmeshed in scandal and past secrets, and recruits Grenville and Lady Breckenridge to assist him. As he investigates, he finds himself competing with the underworld criminal, James Denis, for the necklace's retrieval.In The Gentleman's Walking Stick, Captain Lacey is asked to retrieve a walking stick, which embroils him in an affair of theft, deception, and betrayal.In The Disappearance of Miss Sarah Oswald, Lacey hunts for a missing young woman, learning more about a family's sordid secrets than he wanted to know.

As Captain Gabriel Lacey prepares for his upcoming wedding, his former neighbor, Marianne Simmons, asks for his help to find an actress friend who's gone missing. Lacey agrees to help look for the actress, little realizing that the search will pit him against men who think nothing of abduction, assault, or sending incendiary devices to the innocent.At the same time, Lacey's personal life is changing, and his time for investigation is frequently and frustratingly interrupted. He is also commanded by a new Bow Street Runner to assist in bringing down James Denis, a criminal with whom Lacey now has complicated ties. Lacey must help or else risk hanging alongside Denis.The search for the actress takes Lacey from elegant assembly rooms to the backstage of the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, where he finds darkness in all corners. Lacey's life and honor are constantly challenged as he tries to settle into his new life, until he realizes he can follow no code but his own.Book 8 in the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries.

September 1817Captain Gabriel Lacey travels with Lady Breckenridge to his boyhood home in northern Norfolk only to discover mysterious happenings in and around the Lacey estate. A young woman, cousin of an old friend, has gone missing, strange objects appear in Lacey's ruined house, and the dark windmills on the marshes keep pulling Lacey to them.The underworld criminal, James Denis, uses Lacey's visit to Norfolk as an opportunity to have Lacey deliver a message to a local squire. A simple task--but one that lands Lacey squarely in international theft and murder. Lacey learns more about Denis's past, and finds himself joining forces with Denis to flush out a brutal killer and save the one person about whom Denis admits to caring.Book Seven of the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries.

Captain Lacey stops to assist a young woman in the market at Covent Garden, and realizes to his astonishment that she is his daughter, Gabriella. Lacey then discovers that his estranged wife and her paramour, a French officer, have journeyed to London at the invitation of James Denis to dissolve her marriage to Captain Lacey.Meanwhile, a Bow Street Runner and a man from the Thames River Police have asked Lacey to help them look into the disappearances of "game girls" from Covent Garden. The magistrates aren't interested in their fate, but perhaps Lacey can learn a thing or two. Lacey agrees and recruits old friends to help.But when the goings-on in Covent Garden put his daughter in danger, Lacey's crusade turns personal. He will do anything, and call in any favor from anyone, in order to protect his own Gabriella.Book Six in the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries.

Cavalry captain Gabriel Lacey returns to Regency London from the Napoleonic wars, burned out, fighting melancholia, his career ended. His interest is piqued when he learns of a missing girl, possibly kidnapped by a prominent member of Parliament.Lacey's search for the young woman leads to murder, corruption, and dealings with a leader of the underworld. At the same time, he struggles with his disorientation transitioning from a soldier's life to the civilian world, redefining his role with his former commanding officer, and making new friends--from the top of society to the street girls of Covent Garden.Book 1 of the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries.

Captain Lacey takes a post as a secretary at the Sudbury School in Berkshire, a school for sons of the wealthiest merchants and bankers in England. He discovers as soon as he arrives that he's been hired for more than his letter-writing skills-a series of disturbing pranks have kept the school in an uproar. The headmaster expects Lacey to discover the identity of the prankster-immediately.Problems intensify when a groom of the school's stables turns up dead in a lock of the nearby canal. A Romany is arrested for the murder, and Lacey is the only person who believes him innocent.As Lacey works to discover what happened, he gets drawn into the secrets of Marianne Simmons, the actress who'd lived upstairs from Lacey in London. Marianne swears Lacey to silence, which puts a new strain on his friendship with Grenville. Meanwhile the intrigue surrounding the murder becomes as murky as the waters of the canal itself and puts Lacey and Grenville into grave danger.

On a cold January night in 1817, former cavalry officer Captain Gabriel Lacey is summoned to the banks of the Thames to identify the body of a young woman. When Lacey views the pretty, dead young woman, cut down too soon, he vows to find her murderer.Lacey's search takes him to the Glass House, a sordid gaming hell that played a large part in the victim's past, as well as to gatherings of the haut ton and the chambers of respectable Middle Temple barristers. Lacey uncovers secrets from the highborn and the low, finds himself drawn deeper into the schemes of a crime lord, and explores his tentative new friendship with Lady Breckenridge.Book 3 of the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries

London 1816Returning home through a London night in July 1816, Captain Gabriel Lacey spies a well-dressed, elegant woman hurrying to the middle of an unfinished bridge. Following her in curiosity, Lacey is on hand to rescue her from an attack by a footpad. As grateful as she is for the help, the lady refuses to give her name and direction, and so Lacey takes her to his rooms in a street off Covent Garden to rest.He discovers that she is one Lydia Westin, wife of Colonel Roehampton Westin, who has recently been accused of murdering an English officer in Portugal during the Peninsular War. Before he could come to trial, however, Colonel Westin was found dead at the foot of the staircase in his own house.Lydia Westin, to Lacey's surprise, declares he was murdered and that she knows the culprits' identities. Intrigued, Lacey begins to investigate, and soon finds himself mired in scandals past and present, with a journalist dogging his footsteps, eager to print Lacey's latest adventure.Lacey also becomes embroiled with Lydia, a lady with many secrets, and with James Denis, who continues his quest to bring Lacey under his thumb.Lucius Grenville returns in this installment, the rich man-about-town who has become Lacey's sidekick. The story also contains the first appearance of Lady Breckenridge.Book 2 of the Captain Lacey Regency mysteries.