M. J. Trow

Layers of myth and history are peeled back to reveal the real Vlad the Impaler.

In Search of the Real Dracula

Vlad the Impaler

Richard Denham

ROMAN BRITAIN STOOD ON THE BRINK OF CHAOS The story opens in 367 AD. Four soldiers - Justinus, Paternus, Leocadius and Vitalis - are out hunting for food supplies at an outpost of Hadrian's Wall, when the Wall comes under attack. The four find their fort destroyed, their comrades killed, and Paternus is unable to find his wife and son. As they run south to Eboracum, they realize that this is no ordinary border raid. Ranged against the Romans at the edge of the world are four different peoples, and they have banded together under a mysterious leader who wears a silver mask and uses the name Valentinus - man of Valentia, the turbulent area north of the Wall. Faced with questions they are hard-pressed to answer, Leocadius blurts out a story that makes the men Heroes of the Wall. Their lives change not only when Valentinus begins his lethal sweep across Britannia but as soon as Leo's lie is out in the world, growing and changing as it goes. WILL THE WALL BE REBUILT AND THE POWER OF ROME RE-ESTABLISHED? AND WILL OUR FOUR HEROES REACH THE END OF THEIR JOURNEY? 367 AD is one of the critical dates in British history, but the year means little to most people now, and it is only rarely mentioned in historical books. Britannia: Part I - The Wall introduces the reader to this tumultuous age, as we share the adventure, confusion and bewilderment of our heroes - four common soldiers stationed at Hadrian's Wall. We find them caught up in the madness of a chain of events which will eventually lead to the fall of Roman Britain, and the descent into the Dark Ages.

Part I: The Wall

Britannia

Maxwell's Match (Peter Maxwell Mystery)

In Search of Dracula

part iii

Let Him Have It Chris (Psychology/self-help)

Book four in the Inspector Lestrade series. It is 1891 and London is still reeling from the horror of the unsolved Ripper murders when Inspector Lestrade (that 'ferret-like' anti-hero so often out-detected by the legendary Sherlock Holmes) is sent to the Isle of Wight to investigate a strange corpse found walled up in Shanklin Chine. But this is only the start of the nightmare. It is merely the beginning of a series of killings so brutal, so bizarre and, apparently, so random, that only a warped genius - and a master of disguise - could be responsible. Even when Lestrade pieces together the extraordinary pattern behind the crimes from the anonymous poems sent after each murder, he is no closer to knowing the identity of the sinister, self-styled 'Agrippa', the 'great, long, red-legg'd scissor-man'. It becomes a very personal battle and Lestrade's desperate race to avert the next death in the sequence takes him all over the country, from London to the Pennines and back, resulting in a portfolio of suspects which covers the entire range of late-Victorian society.

The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade

Sixteenth-century British Spy Christopher Marlowe travels incognito with a group of Egyptian players, and must investigate when a private performance of theirs ends in murder. By the author of Dark Entry.

Silent Court

Chronicles the whole vampire phenomena, beginning with its origins, from the warrior prince Vlad of Wallachia (aka Dracula), who defended Europe from Muslim invaders in the 15th century, up through the present day. Original.

A Brief History of Vampires

This vivid and bloodthirsty tale explores the true story of the woman who took on the might of the greatest power of the ancient world and nearly drove it out of part of its empire.

The Warrior Queen

Boudicca

Maryanne Coleman

Samantha Evergreen

Justin Alcala

Julia Cowan

Kyt Wright

Taliesin Trow

Bethan White

Faye Irwin

The War is over, Britain has fallen. It wasn't necessarily that Britain had lost the Second World War. In fact, the Citizen Survivors would disagree whether they had simply bowed out, if it was still raging on somewhere else, or whether the whole thing was simply an unfortunate misunderstanding that they were better off having no part of. Citizen Survivors: The Red Book is a nightmarish black comedy, retelling history's most famous 'what if?’ - Not only what if Britain lost World War Two, but what would that mean for those who survived? The Red Book is a dystopian anthology containing eleven short stories written by ten authors. Often tragic, often spooky, often funny, but always weird. Mirroring and inspired by many historical realities and possibilities, join the Citizen Survivors as they try to piece together what has happened to their world and how they confront their new reality. The Inmate by Maryanne Coleman The Reverend by M. J. Trow The Policeman by Kyt Wright The Agent by Maryanne Coleman The Widow by Julia Cowan The Busker by Taliesin Trow The Arbitrator by Faye Irwin The Soldier by Richard Denham The Entrepreneur by Justin Alcala The Housewife by Samantha Evergreen The Partisan by Bethan White Praise for Citizen Survivors: The Red Book: ‘Psychological horror may have just found its newest champion.’ – Gillian Philip ‘It’s said that good fiction's job is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable, this book delivers that challenge in spades.’ – Georgia Hill ‘A genre-defying triumph. Franz Kafka, David Lynch and Philip K. Dick would be proud of this off-kilter anthology.’ – Russell Brown ‘Either a work of genius, a work of insanity or both! You’ll start as lost as the characters as you piece together the world of the Citizen Survivors in this unsettling and addictive read.’ – Nikki Turner ‘This book is like a good puzzle that teasingly never quite comes together, leaving you in anticipation for more clues about this nightmarish world.’ – Sarah Anne Carter

Citizen Survivors: The Red Book

Book eleven in the Inspector Lestrade series. The Papers call it suicide. The deceased’s father doesn’t. But when Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard investigates the death by duelling pistol of Anstruther Fitzgibbon, 27, son of the Marquess of Bolsover, his suspicions of foul play are immediately aroused. One of Britain’s leading athletes, ‘nimbler than a wallaby on heat’, Fitzgibbon is the first victim in a series of murders which threatens to extinguish the exhilaration of the Olympic Games held in London that glorious summer of 1908. As the capital plays host to an army of athletes from the Empire, Europe and the United States, international politics rears its ugly head; a respected German journalist is discovered with an ornate paper-knife embedded in his back. When a hurdler of the Ladies’ Team falls victim to her own bust improver (dubbed ‘the killer corset’) fingers are pointed in all directions and not least of Lestrade’s worries is that his leading lady’s husband is an American detective with a short temper and the physique of a brick privy.

Lestrade and the Deadly Game

Matthew Grand, a former captain in the Union army, arrives in London to track down the last conspirator behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and teams up with journalist James Batchelor to investigate a series of killings that may be connected to the assassination.

The Blue and the Grey

Book thirteen in the Inspector Lestrade series. ‘I cannot sing the old songs I sang long years ago, For heart and voice would fail me And foolish tears would flow.’ Claribel Recovering from a broken leg after his ignominious fall from the Titanic, Superintendent Lestrade goes to convalesce at the home of his betrothed, Fanny Berkley and her father Tom, the Chief Commissioner of Surrey. It should have been a relatively peaceful time, apart from Lestrade’s lack of dexterity in steering his Bath chair, but an attempt on the life of his father-in-law (that kills the butler instead) makes him realise that a policeman is never really off duty. What is even more puzzling is the arrival of a letter which simply reads ‘Four for the Gospel Makers’ – and it isn’t the first Lestrade’s been sent. So begins one of Sholto Lestrade’s most mystifying cases; a case that encompasses not only the present, but the past. Lestrade walks down Memory Lane to the time when he was a young and very naïve constable. He looks back on episodes in his career that never came to a satisfactory conclusion and that hold other clues as to who the sender of the letters is – because whoever it is, it is a cold blooded killer.

Lestrade and the Brother of Death

All the world’s a stage when a character in Marlowe’s play kills a spectator in this absorbing historical tale of murder, spies, and greed. March, 1587. Christopher Marlowe’s play Tamburlaine, with the incomparable Ned Alleyn in the title role, has opened at the Rose Theatre, and a new era on the London stage is born. Yet the play is almost shut down on its opening night when a member of the audience, Eleanor Merchant, is struck dead by a musket ball fired from the stage. The man with his finger on the trigger? A bit-part player named Will Shakespeare. Convinced of Shakespeare’s innocence, Marlowe determines to find out what really happened. When a second body is found floating in the River Thames, it becomes clear that Eleanor Merchant’s death was no accident, and that something deeper and darker is afoot. “Fans of the series and of Edward Marston’s amusing Elizabethan theater mysteries, featuring Nicholas Bracewell, will enjoy Kit Marlowe’s part in the drama at the Crimson Rose.” —Booklist

Crimson Rose

The Second World War ended over seventy-five years ago and yet it holds a lasting fascination for millions. Most school children worldwide have studied it but it is unlikely that they would have learned any of the fascinating facts to be found in The Ultimate World War Two Trivia Book. Funny, heart-breaking and downright borderline unbelievable, the snippets in this book are perfect for dropping into conversations to amaze and amuse your friends. You might also find yourself becoming the king or queen of the pub trivia quiz when you have knowledge of Winkie the Pigeon, the Battle of the Tennis Court and the Bee Bombs of Prester John. One thing to be careful of - never, ever lend this book to anyone; it is totally addictive and you will never see it again! Many books of trivia push the envelope and the facts inside can't be trusted. This is not something to worry about with The Ultimate World War Two Trivia Book because it comes from the pens of Richard Denham (Robin Hood: English Outlaw and Arthur: Shadow of a God) and M. J. Trow (The Black Book and Enemies of the State). Just because a fact sounds unlikely doesn't mean it isn't true and you can amaze your friends and colleagues as well as clean up at the Dog and Duck by memorizing absolutely any of these facts, presented in short snippets for either devouring all at once or for browsing in the loo. Complete with a whistle-stop tour of the causes, course and consequences of the war by M. J. Trow who, to quote a recent reviewer could 'make a shopping list interesting', this book is a quick way to learn more than you ever thought there was to know about the weird and wonderful side of World War Two.

The Ultimate World War Two Trivia Book: Unbelievable Facts, Extraordinary Accounts and Tall Tales from the Second World War

Book nineteen in the Mad Max series. ﻿The end of civilization, as Peter Maxwell knows it, is just around the corner. It comes in the form of Fiona Braymarr, the new superhead of Leighford Academy. She is a new broom, sweeping away the cobwebs of educational mediocrity and she sweeps good people along the way. And the odd thing about her? She has no past. And within days of her arrival, two local women have no future; one is found dead in a car showroom, the other is stabbed at the foot of her own stairs. Two murders so closely linked in time and space must surely be connected. Maxwell’s wife, DI Jacquie Carpenter-Maxwell, thinks so. So does her boss, DCI Henry Hall. And Maxwell? Well, it’s hard to keep a good amateur sleuth down, especially when the kids of the deceased attend Leighford Academy. So he takes it all personally and puts his life on the line in the process. He’s got a murderer to catch and a school to save. Whatever will he find to do after lunch?

Maxwell's Academy

Book one in the Mad Max series. ﻿Two men had the job of tracing seventeen-year-old Jenny Hyde's killer. One was Chief Inspector Henry Hall, an elitist cop of the old school, who was driving in one direction only - to the top. It was his job. His territory. The other was Peter Maxwell – ‘Mad Max’ - widower, film buff, golden-hearted cynic, and bow-tied, eccentric teacher under suspension and suspicion. Maxwell didn't have to become involved at all. But he was so involved he didn't know how to get out. Jenny had been one of his students. Peter Maxwell was mad enough and determined to find her killer.

Maxwell's House

Book three in the Mad Max series. The school outing to the Museum of the Moving Image is not an unqualified success. For in the darkened cinema complex of MOMI two members of the party disappear without trace... As the instigator of the doomed trip, Peter ‘Mad Max’ Maxwell feels personally responsible for the fate of the missing teacher, Alice Goode, and sixth form pupil, Ronnie Parsons. His search for the missing pair drags him into a world far removed from the essay crises and staff-room banter of Leighford High. Sucked into the sleazy and sinister work of Soho and the porn industry. Maxwell finds himself ensnared in a mesh of blackmail, vice and murder.

Maxwell's Movie

1591. The Queen is embarking on a Royal Progress, visiting some of the grandest homes in England, and Kit Marlowe has been sent on ahead to ensure all goes smoothly. When his reconnaissance mission is derailed by a series of alarming and tragic incidents, Marlowe suspects there's a conspiracy to sabotage the Progress. Who is pulling the strings - and why?

M. J. Trow

About

Books

Join the club