Showing results by author "Amanda Quick" in All Categories

Beatrice Poole may be a vicar's daughter, but that doesn't mean she's a stranger to the darker passions. Indeed, she knows enough about gothic terrors to have carved out a highly successful career penning "horrid novels." But now the talented authoress finds herself in the midst of an ominous adventure that rivals anything she's ever written.Her beloved Uncle Reggie is dead, Beatrice suspects that he was murdered - all because of his keen interest in a fabled treasure that may not even exist. Rumors abound that the Forbidden Rings of Aphrodite, said to give their possessor the most unnatural powers, have surfaced in London. Yet Beatrice needs more than rumors to uncover the truth. That's why she's braved the wilds of Devon to seek out a leading authority on antiquities and ancient legends: The famously eccentric, unquestionably reclusive, possibly dangerous Earl of Monkcrest, a man believed to dabble in the supernatural.But bearding the Mad Monk of Monkcrest in his den and dangling the possibility of uncovering a fabulous artifact before him may be the biggest mistake of Beatrice's life. For suddenly, she finds herself joined in an uneasy alliance with a man who is every bit as fascinating as one of the heroes in her novels.

Maggie Lodge, assistant to the reclusive advice columnist known only as Dear Aunt Cornelia to her readers, hires down-but-not-quite-out private eye Sam Sage to help track down the person who is blackmailing her employer. Maggie and Sam are a mismatched pair. As far as Sam is concerned, Maggie is reckless and in over her head. She is not what he had in mind for a client, but he can’t afford to be choosy. Maggie, on the other hand, is convinced that Sam is badly in need of guidance and good advice. She does not hesitate to give him both.

Miss Amity Doncaster, world traveler, is accustomed to adventure and risk. Benedict Stanbridge, a man of science and a spy for the Crown, has faced danger in the darker corners of foreign lands. But they are about to face a threat that is shockingly close to home . . . One does not expect to be kidnapped on a London street in broad daylight.

Vivian Brazier never thought life as an art photographer would include nightly wake-up calls to snap photos of grisly crime scenes or headshots for aspiring male actors. Although she is set on a career of transforming photography into a new art form, she knows her current work is what’s paying the bills. After shooting crime scene photos of a famous actress, the latest victim of the murderer the press has dubbed the “Dagger Killer,” Vivian notices eerie similarities to the crime scenes of previous victims details that put Vivian at the top of the killer’s target list.

Former trapeze artist Amalie Vaughn moved to Burning Cove to reinvent herself, but things are not going well. After spending her entire inheritance on a mansion with the intention of turning it into a bed-and-breakfast, she learns too late that the villa is said to be cursed. When the first guest, Dr. Norman Pickwell, is murdered by his robot invention during a sold-out demonstration, rumors circulate that the curse is real.

New York Times best-selling author Amanda Quick returns to the exclusive seaside community of Burning Cove, where more than one person with a dark past has gone to reinvent themselves. But some secrets are just too deadly to stay hidden, and some pasts can never stay buried.

Under the plain gray skirts of Miss Beatrice Lockwood’s gown, a pistol waits at the ready. For Beatrice is a paid companion on a secret mission - and with a secret past - and she must be prepared to fight for her life at any moment. Yet she is thrown oddly off guard by the fierce-looking man who joins her in foiling a crime outside a fancy ball - and then disappears into the shadows, leaving only his card. His name is Joshua Gage....

The first kiss occurred in a dimly lit hallway on the upper floor of Elwin Hastings's grand house. Louisa Bryce never saw it coming. Of course, handsome, wealthy Anthony Stalbridge couldn't possibly have had romantic intentions. The kiss was merely meant to distract the armed guard about to catch the two unlikely sleuths. After all, the only thing these two interlopers have in common is a passionate interest in uncovering the dastardly secrets of Mr. Hastings—a prominent member of society whom they suspect of murder.

An invitation to a country house party at Beaumont Castle provides a perfect solution to Tobias and Lavinia's most exasperating challenge: how to escape the chaos of London for a remote, relaxing, romantic retreat from prying eyes. But the lovers' plans are foiled when their first cozy interlude of the weekend is disrupted by the appearance of a stunning woman from Tobias's past. Aspasia Gray's beauty is as haunting as her connection to Tobias. Her long-deceased fiancé was a friend of his - in addition to being an eccentric assassin. The mysterious nature of the bond between Tobias and Aspasia makes Lavinia more than a little uncomfortable.

Virginia Dean wakes at midnight beside a dead body, with a bloody knife in her hand and no memory of the evening’s events. Dark energy, emanating from the mirrors lining the room, overpowers her senses. With no apparent way in or out, she’s rescued by a man she’s met only once before, but won’t soon forget.... Owen Sweetwater inherited his family’s talent for hunting the psychical monsters who prey on London’s women and children, and his investigation into the deaths of two glass-readers has led him here.

Investigative apprentice Lyra Brazier, the newest resident of Burning Cove, is unsettled when her boss suddenly goes on a health retreat at an exclusive spa and disappears without another word. Lyra knows something has happened to Raina Kirk, and she is the only one who can track her down. The health spa is known for its luxurious offerings and prestigious clientele, and the wealthy, socialite background Lyra desperately wanted to leave behind is perfect for this undercover job.

The Kern Secretarial Agency provides professional services to its wealthy clientele, and Anne Clifton was one of the finest women in Ursula Kern's employ. But Miss Clifton has met an untimely end, and Ursula is convinced it was murder. Archaeologist Slater Roxton thinks Mrs. Kern is crazy to meddle in such dangerous affairs. Together they must reveal the identity of a killer who is determined to stay hidden....

The earl of St. Merryn needs a woman: his intentions are purely practical.... He needs a fiancée to keep the husband-hunting ladies of the town at bay. His solution is to hire a paid companion, and Miss Elenora Lodge appears to be the perfect candidate. Elenora's sorry financial circumstances convince her to accept the earl’s generous, if scandalous, offer. But the earl soon discovers that the meek and mild companion he'd initially envisioned stirs a bothersome passion in his heart.

Being Madame Ariadne, Psychic Dream Consultant, wasn't Prudence Ryland's ideal gig, but it paid well which was reason enough to do the work—until she realizes that her latest client intends to kill her. But Prudence, a master at reinvention, finds a new job and home as far away as possible and is finally able to relax—which turns out to be a big mistake. Letting her guard down means being kidnapped and drugged and waking up in a bloodstained wedding dress in the honeymoon suite next to a dead man.

When the fearsome knight called Hugh the Relentless swept into Lingwood Manor like a storm, everyone cowered - except Lady Alice. Sharp-tongued and unrepentant, the flame-haired beauty believed Sir Hugh was not someone to dread but the answer to her dreams. She knew he had come for the dazzling green crystal, knew he would be displeased to find that it was no longer in her possession. Yet Alice had a proposition for the dark and forbidding knight.

Calista Langley operates an exclusive 'introduction' agency in Victorian London, catering to respectable ladies and gentlemen who find themselves alone in the world. But now a dangerously obsessed individual has begun sending her trinkets and gifts suitable only for those in deepest mourning. Desperate for help, Calista turns to Trent Hastings, a reclusive author of popular crime novels. It becomes clear that the danger may be coming from Calista's own secret past.

While investigating a suspicious death, private inquiry agent Ambrose Wells finds himself on the grounds of Aldwick Castle - and in the midst of utter chaos. The ramshackle castle is in flames - and a beautiful woman and four young girls are taking flight on horseback. It turns out that the strong-minded Miss Concordia Glade and her four bright students are on the run from a notorious London crime lord who'll stop at nothing to destroy them.

Charlotte Arkendale was quite sure she knew all there was to know about men. After all, she'd made a highly lucrative career out of steering marriage-minded women away from untrustworthy members of the opposite sex. But nothing in Charlotte's considerable experience had prepared her for the arresting stranger who appeared on her doorstep to apply for the position of her new man-of-affairs.He claimed to be a respectable gentleman - discreet, unassuming, ordinary to the point of being dull. Yet something about the set of Mr. St. Ives's broad shoulders and the unrelenting determination that smoldered in the depths of his amber eyes warned Charlotte to be wary. For the strong-minded beauty was already embroiled in a wealth of danger.Two months earlier, Miss Drusilla Heskett had become on of Charlotte's clients. Now the woman was dead, murdered in her own home, and Charlotte feared that the killer may have been one of the suitors she herself had advised Miss Heskett to reject. Still, with the right man by her side, Charlotte was certain she could uncover the truth and bring Drusilla's killer to justice. But was the enigmatic St. Ives Mr. Right...or Mr. Wrong?

One does not expect to be kidnapped on a London street in broad daylight. Amity Doncaster barely escapes. Her quick thinking, and her secret weapon, save her. But the monster known as the Bridegroom, who has left a trail of female victims in his wake, has survived the wounds she inflicts and will soon be back. As Amity prepares to confront the criminal, she must also face feelings she can't run away from.

After a year of grand adventures touring the classical ruins of Italy and Greece, Iphiginia Bright returned to England to discover that the real excitement was at home. It seems that her Aunt Zoe has fallen victim to a sinister blackmailer and only Iphiginia can hope to stop the culprit before he can do more harm. Her plan is inspired: Imitating history's most legendary beauties--Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Aphrodite--the former schoolmistress will remake herself, and descend upon London Society as the dazzling mistress of Marcus Valerius Cloud, the infamous Earl of Masters.