Ashley Gardner

Cavalry officer Captain Gabriel Lacey of the 35th Light Dragoons comes to the aid of an injured man who believes that his beloved daughter is being held against her will in 22 Hanover Square, an investigation that leads him into a dark world of evil, corruption, and murder. Original.

The Hanover Square Affair

Jennifer Ashley

A Compendium of Historical Mysteries

Past Crimes

A former cavalry officer, Captain Gabriel Lacey accepts a position as secretary to Everard Rutledge, the officious, bullying headmaster of Sudbury School, to find the person responsible for a series of malicious pranks plaguing the institution, but things take a deadly turn when a stable groom is found dead. Original.

The Sudbury School Murders

Captain Lacey, while helping a woman of quality prove the innocence of her husband who has been accused of murdering a cavalry officer, becomes drawn into the deadly game of a criminal mastermind. Original.

A Regimental Murder

London's high society goes to the Glass House to indulge their vices, and when one of them is found floating in the Thames, Captain Lacey uncovers jealousy and murder, as well as a few secrets of his own, while searching for justice. Original.

The Glass House

During a lavish ball at the Berkeley Square mansion of Lord Gillis, a heated argument over a woman leads to murder and Captain Gabriel Lacey discovers that his nemesis and former friend is accused of the crime, and wonders if his thirst for vengeance can finally be quenched. Original.

A Body in Berkeley Square

Book 8 in the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries 1818: 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.

A Disappearance in Drury Lane

When street girls begin disappearing from Covent Garden and no one seems to care, Captain Gabriel Lacey investigates and finds his worst fear realized when his own daughter disappears and his wife's dark past is revealed.

A Covent Garden Mystery

Book 9 in the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries 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.

Murder in Grosvenor Square

Book 7 of the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries September 1817: Captain 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.

A Death in Norfolk

Kat Holloway Victorian Mysteries

A Soupçon of Poison

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. Book 10 of the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries series. This is a full-length novel.

The Thames River Murders

A Mystery at Carlton House

Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries Volume One

Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries Volume Two

Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries Volume Three

An anthology of shorter works from the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries series. The Necklace Affair: Captain Gabriel Lacey agrees to track down the necklace of a society matron and prove the innocence of her maid, who has been arrested for its theft. The investigation reveals scandal and past secrets, and Lacey finds himself competing with the underworld criminal, James Denis, for the necklace's retrieval. The Gentleman's Walking Stick: Captain Lacey untangles a web of deceit involving an old army friend, his only clue being a missing walking stick. The Disappearance of Miss Sarah Oswald: Captain Lacey is asked to locate a gentleman's daughter, although he senses that the family will be just as happy for her to remain missing.

And Other Stories

The Necklace Affair

This anthology includes: The Bishop's Lady (an Émilie d’Armand mystery), A Soupçon of Poison (a Kat Holloway Below-Stairs mystery), and A Matter of Honor (a Regency mystery with a touch of paranormal). Three historical mysteries span time from the court of Louis XIV to Victorian London. Meet Émilie d’Armand, a young woman who witnesses corruption and murder in seventeenth-century France (The Bishop’s Lady), and Katherine Holloway, an English cook sought after by the wealthy, who finds herself embroiled in murder, assisted only by the mysterious Daniel McAdam (A Soupçon of Poison). Finally, explore the darker side of Regency London in an alternate look at that period. Robert Archer, an army soldier whose family faces ruin, searches in desperation for a way to heal his family, assisted by an unlikely ally (A Matter of Honor). The Bishop's Lady (5500 words) and A Matter of Honor (7800 words) are short stories; A Soupçon of Poison is a longer novella (27,000 words).

A Collection of Short Historical Mysteries

Murder Most Historical

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" from ancient Alexandria and procuring it, whatever the cost. The task does not turn out to be so simple. Locating what Denis wants proves difficult, sending Lacey and Grenville exploring tombs along 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 in the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries series.

Ashley Gardner

About

Books

Join the club