Recommendations based on "Service of the Heir"

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR & GLOBAL TIK TOK SENSATION, EMILY HENRY Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of an heiress with more than a few plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry. When Margaret Ives, the famously reclusive heiress, invites eternal optimist Alice Scott to the balmy Little Crescent Island, Alice knows this is it: her big break. And even more rare: a chance to impress her family with a Serious Publication. The catch? Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud, Hayden Anderson, is sure of the same thing. The proposal? A one-month trial period to unearth the truth behind one of the most scandalous families of the 20th Century, after which she'll choose who'll tell her story. The problem? Margaret is only giving each of them tantalising pieces. Pieces they can't put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they're in the same room. And it's becoming abundantly clear that their story - just like the tale Margaret's spinning - could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad ... depending on who's telling it.

Hailed as the "king of sleaze," tabloid editor Dennis Luxford is used to ferreting out the sins and scandals of people in exposed positions. But when he opens an innocuous-looking letter addressed to him at The Source, he discovers that someone else excels at ferreting out secrets as well.Ten-year-old Charlotte Bowen has been abducted, and if Luxford does not admit publicly to having fathered her, she will die. But Charlotte's existence is Luxford's most fiercely guarded secret, and acknowledging her as his child will throw more than one life and career into chaos. Luxford knows that the story of Charlotte's paternity could make him a laughingstock and reveal to his beautiful wife and son the lie he's lived for a decade. Yet it's not only Luxford's reputation that's on the line: it's also the reputation—and career—of Charlotte Bowen's mother. For she is Undersecretary of State for the Home Office, one of the most high-profile Junior Ministers and quite possibly the next Margaret Thatcher.Knowing that her political future hangs in the balance, Eve Bowen refuses to let Luxford damage her career by printing the story or calling the police. So the editor turns to forensic scientist Simon St. James for help. It's a case that fills St. James with disquiet, however, for none of the players in the drama seem to react the way one would expect.Then tragedy occurs and New Scotland Yard becomes involved. Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley soon discovers that the case sends tentacles from London into the countryside, and he must simultaneously outfox death as he probes Charlotte Bowen's mysterious disappearance. Meanwhile, his partner Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, working part of the investigation on her own and hoping to make the coup of her career, may be drawing closer to a grim solution—and to danger—than anyone knows.In the Presence of the Enemy is a brilliantly insightful and haunting novel of ideals corrupted by self-interest, of the sins of parents visited upon children, and of the masks that hide people from each other—and from themselves.

A princess is missing and a peace treaty is on the verge of collapse in this new Veronica Speedwell adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.January 1889. As the newest member of the Curiosity Club--an elite society of brilliant, intrepid women--Veronica Speedwell is excited to put her many skills to good use. As she assembles a memorial exhibition for pioneering mountain climber Alice Baker-Greene, Veronica discovers evidence that the recent death was not a tragic climbing accident but murder. Veronica and her natural historian beau, Stoker, tell the patron of the exhibit, Princess Gisela of Alpenwald, of their findings. With Europe on the verge of war, Gisela's chancellor, Count von Rechstein, does not want to make waves--and before Veronica and Stoker can figure out their next move, the princess disappears.Having noted Veronica's resemblance to the princess, von Rechstein begs her to pose as Gisela for the sake of the peace treaty that brought the princess to England. Veronica reluctantly agrees to the scheme. She and Stoker must work together to keep the treaty intact while navigating unwelcome advances, assassination attempts, and Veronica's own family--the royalty who has never claimed her.

When living a lie is the right thing to doThe Confederate capital in the height of the Civil War: no place for a Union loyalist. But just the place for a spy. Her father a slaveholder, her suitor a Confederate officer, and she an abolitionist, Sophie Kent must walk a tightrope of deception in her efforts to end slavery. As suspicion in Richmond rises, Sophie’s espionage becomes more and more dangerous. If her courage will carry her through, what will be lost along the way—her true love, her father, her life?Series note:Spy of Richmond is a work of fiction inspired by first-person accounts of Union loyalists and Confederates living in Richmond during the Civil War. This is the fourth and last book in the series Heroines Behind the Lines: Civil War, which offers an inside look at women’s contributions during times of war. For more information about the series, visit heroinesbehindthelines.com.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune will be gruesomely murdered at the ball. Mina's excited to attend the annual Argleton Jane Austen Experience at the stately Baddesley Hall. It's just what she needs after all the recent murders - a whole weekend of dancing with Morrie, attending poetry readings with Quoth, and helping Heathcliff field marriage proposals from adoring fans. But murder and intrigue follow Mina everywhere. When an eminent Austen scholar is run through with his own sword, Mina and her boys must solve the mystery before the killer claims another victim. The Nevermore Bookshop Mysteries are what you get when all your book boyfriends come to life. New from USA Today bestselling author Steffanie Holmes, this book bursts with petticoats and plots, steamy scenes and scandalous liaisons, manners and mystery, magical books and time-traveling rooms, and a healthy dose of Jane Austen humor. Read on only if you believe one hot book hero isn't enough!

"...darkly atmospheric gothic tale set in Cornwall...will allure readers..."-Booklist Innkeeper's daughter Jane Heatherington is sold into indentured servitude to cover her father's debts, sold to Aidan Warrick, a man whose handsome face and form mock the rumors that skulk in his shadow, rumors that paint him a smuggler, a pirate...and worse. On the rainswept Cornish coast, Aidan's business is carried out in the darkest hours of moonless nights, his secrets are many, and death follows in his wake. Isolated and alone, Jane's only companion is the man she dare not trust, the man who looks at her with heated desire that she both fears and craves. As she finds herself ensnared in the twisted schemes carried out within the walls of Aidan's looming estate, Jane must decide if Aidan Warrick is the dark prince of her dreams or a monster preying on the innocent... "With her ability to create the perfect chilling atmosphere, a dark, tormented hero and an intrepid heroine, Silver rises to the ranks of Victoria Holt and Daphne du Maurier..."-RT Book Reviews, Winner RT Reviewers Choice Award "...an outstanding tale about two wounded souls with so much feeling and emotion that there were times my eyes became a little misty...Eve Silver deserves praise for this complicated and moving story."-Fresh Fiction

Featuring many of the characters who first appeared in DADDY'S GIRL, a multi-layered novel about a family split by deceit when a young woman arrives in England to discover who her real father is.

The unforgettable Margaret of Ashbury returns in the second book of the trilogy that began with A Vision of Light.Margaret, a resourceful midwife, is living with the insufferable relatives of her third husband, Gilbert de Vilers, known as Gregory. She is carving out a life for herself and her daughters despite the hostility and greed of her in-laws. But when Gregory is captured in France and held for ransom, Margaret knows she must take action—her in-laws are too tight with money to be of any use—so she teams up with her old friends Mother Hilde, the herbalist, and Brother Malachi, an alchemist on a quest for the secret of changing base metals into gold. Together, the trio plan to rescue Gregory and bring him back to London, where he and Margaret can start a new life away from his meddling family. And thus begins a wild romp across fourteenth-century Europe. Murderous noblemen, scheming ladies, truculent ghosts, and a steady stream of challenges plague the journey. Margaret will need not only her special gift of healing, her quick mind, and her independent spirit but the loyalty of her friends and the love of her new husband to carry them all safely home.

Escaping the ravages of the Civil War, a gently reared lady must leave behind everything she knows -- and trust her life and her future to a dangerous gunfighter with a passion for vengeance. A team of prize Arabian horses is all that Willow Moran has left -- and Caleb Black is the only man who can help her reach her brother in the Colorado Rockies. But she fears this stranger who burns to avenge the wrongs of treacherous men. For Caleb is as wild and unpredictable as the uncivilized land he loves. Yet, though she challenges him at every turn, the spirited southern lady knows this proud, enigmatic loner is her destiny. And no matter what peril awaits, they must face it together -- for Willow has become a fever in Caleb′s blood ... awakening a need so fierce that he would defeat the devil himself to possess her.

From the acclaimed author of THE DESPERATE REMEDY ('A terrific book' The Spectator), comes the fourth novel in the series featuring gentleman spy Henry Gresham. 1598, and Elizabeth I is growing old. Her Court shivers with intrigue as to who will claim the throne when she dies - the Spanish, King James I of Scotland or the upstart Earl of Essex? One man who has inside knowledge of Court is the young Henry Gresham, together with his manservant Mannion and beautiful ward, Jane. Commanded by Robert Cecil to deliver a mysterious letter, and ever watchful of the Earl of Essex's increasingly erratic behaviour, he soon becomes swept up in a battle for power that takes him to all corners of the British Isles, and close to death ...