The Confounding Case Of The Carisbrook Emeralds Read online

  Therese has never had to manage small children, not even her own. She assumes the children will keep themselves amused, but quickly learns that what amuses three inquisitive, curious, and confident youngsters isn’t compatible with village peace. Just when it seems she will have to set her mind to inventing something, she and the children learn that with only twelve days to go before Christmas, the village flock of geese has vanished.

  Every household in the village is now missing the centerpiece of their Christmas feast. But how could an entire flock go missing without the slightest trace? The children are as mystified and as curious as Therese—and she seizes on the mystery as the perfect distraction for the three children as well as herself.

  But while searching for the geese, she and her three helpers stumble on two locals who, it is clear, are in dire need of assistance in sorting out their lives. Never one to shy from a little matchmaking, Therese undertakes to guide Miss Eugenia Fitzgibbon into the arms of the determinedly reclusive Lord Longfellow. To her considerable surprise, she discovers that her grandchildren have inherited skills and talents from both her late husband as well as herself. And with all the customary village events held in the lead up to Christmas, she and her three helpers have opportunities galore in which to subtly nudge and steer.

  Yet while their matchmaking appears to be succeeding, neither they nor anyone else have found so much as a feather from the village’s geese. Larceny is ruled out; a flock of that size could not have been taken from the area without someone noticing. So where could the birds be? And with the days passing and Christmas inexorably approaching, will they find the blasted birds in time?

  First in series. A novel of 60,000 words. A Christmas tale of romance and geese.

  Click here to read an excerpt.

  Buy & Read LADY OSBALDESTONE’S CHRISTMAS GOOSE.

  AND FOR HOW IT ALL BEGAN…

  Read about Penelope’s and Barnaby’s romance, plus that of Stokes and Griselda, in

  The first volume in

  The Casebook of Barnaby Adair mystery-romances

  WHERE THE HEART LEADS

  Penelope Ashford, Portia Cynster's younger sister, has grown up with every advantage - wealth, position, and beauty. Yet Penelope is anything but a typical ton miss - forceful, willful and blunt to a fault, she has for years devoted her considerable energy and intelligence to directing an institution caring for the forgotten orphans of London's streets.

  But now her charges are mysteriously disappearing. Desperate, Penelope turns to the one man she knows who might help her - Barnaby Adair.

  Handsome scion of a noble house, Adair has made a name for himself in political and judicial circles. His powers of deduction and observation combined with his pedigree has seen him solve several serious crimes within the ton. Although he makes her irritatingly uncomfortable, Penelope throws caution to the wind and appears on his bachelor doorstep late one night, determined to recruit him to her cause.

  Barnaby is intrigued—by her story, and her. Her bold beauty and undeniable brains make a striking contrast to the usual insipid ton misses. And as he's in dire need of an excuse to avoid said insipid misses, he accepts her challenge, never dreaming she and it will consume his every waking hour.

  Enlisting the aid of Inspector Basil Stokes of the fledgling Scotland Yard, they infiltrate the streets of London's notorious East End. But as they unravel the mystery of the missing boys, they cross the trail of a criminal embedded in the very organization recently created to protect all Londoners. And that criminal knows of them and their efforts, and is only too ready to threaten all they hold dear, including their new-found knowledge of the intrigues of the human heart.

  Click here to read an excerpt

  Buy & Read WHERE THE HEART LEADS

  FURTHER CASES AND THE EVOLUTION OF RELATIONSHIPS CONTINUE IN:

  The second volume in

  The Casebook of Barnaby Adair mystery-romances

  THE PECULIAR CASE OF LORD FINSBURY’S DIAMONDS

  #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens brings you a tale of murder, mystery, passion, and intrigue – and diamonds!

  Penelope Adair, wife and partner of amateur sleuth Barnaby Adair, is so hugely pregnant she cannot even waddle. When Barnaby is summoned to assist Inspector Stokes of Scotland Yard in investigating the violent murder of a gentleman at a house party, Penelope, frustrated that she cannot participate, insists that she and Griselda, Stokes’s wife, be duly informed of their husbands’ discoveries.

  Yet what Barnaby and Stokes uncover only leads to more questions. The murdered gentleman had been thrown out of the house party days before, so why had he come back? And how and why did he come to have the fabulous Finsbury diamond necklace in his pocket, much to Lord Finsbury’s consternation. Most peculiar of all, why had the murderer left the necklace, worth a stupendous fortune, on the body?

  The conundrums compound as our intrepid investigators attempt to make sense of this baffling case. Meanwhile, the threat of scandal grows ever more tangible for all those attending the house party – and the stakes are highest for Lord Finsbury’s daughter and the gentleman who has spent the last decade resurrecting his family fortune so he can aspire to her hand. Working parallel to Barnaby and Stokes, the would-be lovers hunt for a path through the maze of contradictory facts to expose the murderer, disperse the pall of scandal, and claim the love and the shared life they crave.

  A pre-Victorian mystery with strong elements of romance. A short novel of 39,000 words.

  Click here to read an excerpt

  Buy & Read THE PECULIAR CASE OF LORD FINSBURY’S DIAMONDS

  The third volume in

  The Casebook of Barnaby Adair mystery-romances

  THE MASTERFUL MR. MONTAGUE

  Montague has devoted his life to managing the wealth of London's elite, but at a huge cost: a family of his own. Then the enticing Miss Violet Matcham seeks his help, and in the puzzle she presents him, he finds an intriguing new challenge professionally…and personally.

  Violet, devoted lady-companion to the aging Lady Halstead, turns to Montague to reassure her ladyship that her affairs are in order. But the famous Montague is not at all what she'd expected—this man is compelling, decisive, supportive, and strong—everything Violet needs in a champion, a position to which Montague rapidly lays claim.

  But then Lady Halstead is murdered and Violet and Montague, aided by Barnaby Adair, Inspector Stokes, Penelope, and Griselda, race to expose a cunning and cold-blooded killer...who stalks closer and closer. Will Montague and Violet learn the shocking truth too late to seize their chance at enduring love?

  A pre-Victorian tale of romance and mystery in the classic historical romance style. A novel of 120,000 words.

  Click here to read an excerpt

  Buy & Read THE MASTERFUL MR. MONTAGUE

  The fourth volume in

  The Casebook of Barnaby Adair mystery-romances

  THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY LATIMER’S SHOES

  #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens brings you a tale of mysterious death, feuding families, star-crossed lovers—and shoes to die for.

  With her husband, amateur-sleuth the Honorable Barnaby Adair, decidedly eccentric fashionable matron Penelope Adair is attending the premier event opening the haut ton’s Season when a body is discovered in the gardens. A lady has been struck down with a finial from the terrace balustrade. Her family is present, as are the cream of the haut ton—the shocked hosts turn to Barnaby and Penelope for help.

  Barnaby calls in Inspector Basil Stokes and they begin their investigation. Penelope assists by learning all she can about the victim’s family, and uncovers a feud between them and the Latimers over the fabulous shoes known as Lady Latimer’s shoes, currently exclusive to the Latimers.

  The deeper Penelope delves, the more convinced she becomes that the murder is somehow connected to the shoes. She conscripts Griselda, Stokes’s wife, and Violet Montague, now Penelope’s secretary, and the trio s
et out to learn all they can about the people involved and most importantly the shoes, a direction vindicated when unexpected witnesses report seeing a lady fleeing the scene—wearing Lady Latimer’s shoes.

  But nothing is as it seems, and the more Penelope and her friends learn about the shoes, conundrums abound, compounded by a Romeo-and-Juliet romance and escalating social pressure…until at last the pieces fall into place, and finally understanding what has occurred, the six intrepid investigators race to prevent an even worse tragedy.

  A pre-Victorian mystery with strong elements of romance. A novel of 76,000 words.

  Click here to read an excerpt

  Buy & Read THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY LATIMER’S SHOES

  The fifth volume in

  The Casebook of Barnaby Adair mystery-romances

  LOVING ROSE: THE REDEMPTION OF MALCOLM SINCLAIR

  #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns with another thrilling story from the Casebook of Barnaby Adair…

  Miraculously spared from death, Malcolm Sinclair erases the notorious man he once was. Reinventing himself as Thomas Glendower, he strives to make amends for his past, yet he never imagines penance might come via a secretive lady he discovers living in his secluded manor.

  Rose has a plausible explanation for why she and her children are residing in Thomas’s house, but she quickly realizes he’s far too intelligent to fool. Revealing the truth is impossibly dangerous, yet day by day, he wins her trust, and then her heart.

  But then her enemy closes in, and Rose turns to Thomas as the only man who can protect her and the children. And when she asks for his help, Thomas finally understands his true purpose, and with unwavering commitment, he seeks his redemption in the only way he can—through living the reality of loving Rose.

  A pre-Victorian tale of romance and mystery in the classic historical romance style. A novel of 105,000 words.

  Click here to read an excerpt

  Buy & Read LOVING ROSE: THE REDEMPTION OF MALCOLM SINCLAIR

  Also by Stephanie Laurens

  Cynster Novels

  Devil’s Bride

  A Rake’s Vow

  Scandal’s Bride

  A Rogue’s Proposal

  A Secret Love

  All About Love

  All About Passion

  On A Wild Night

  On A Wicked Dawn

  The Perfect Lover

  The Ideal Bride

  The Truth About Love

  What Price Love?

  The Taste of Innocence

  Temptation and Surrender

  Cynster Sisters Trilogy

  Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue

  In Pursuit of Eliza Cynster

  The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae

  Cynster Sisters Duo

  And Then She Fell

  The Taming of Ryder Cavanaugh

  Cynster Special

  The Promise in a Kiss

  By Winter’s Light

  Cynster Next Generation Novels

  The Tempting of Thomas Carrick

  A Match for Marcus Cynster

  The Lady By His Side

  An Irresistible Alliance

  The Greatest Challenge of Them All

  Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Chronicles

  Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Goose

  The Casebook of Barnaby Adair Novels

  Where the Heart Leads

  The Peculiar Case of Lord Finsbury’s Diamonds

  The Masterful Mr. Montague

  The Curious Case of Lady Latimer’s Shoes

  Loving Rose: The Redemption of Malcolm Sinclair

  The Confounding Case of the Carisbrook Emeralds

  The Murder at Mandeville Hall (August 16, 2018)

  Bastion Club Novels

  Captain Jack’s Woman (Prequel)

  The Lady Chosen

  A Gentleman’s Honor

  A Lady of His Own

  A Fine Passion

  To Distraction

  Beyond Seduction

  The Edge of Desire

  Mastered by Love

  Black Cobra Quartet

  The Untamed Bride

  The Elusive Bride

  The Brazen Bride

  The Reckless Bride

  The Adventurers Quartet

  The Lady’s Command

  A Buccaneer at Heart

  The Daredevil Snared

  Lord of the Privateers

  The Cavanaughs

  The Designs of Lord Randolph Cavanaugh (April 24, 2018)

  Other Novels

  The Lady Risks All

  The Legend of Nimway Hall - 1750: Jacqueline

  Novellas

  Melting Ice – from the anthologies Rough Around the Edges and Scandalous Brides

  Rose in Bloom – from the anthology Scottish Brides

  Scandalous Lord Dere – from the anthology Secrets of a Perfect Night

  Lost and Found – from the anthology Hero, Come Back

  The Fall of Rogue Gerrard – from the anthology It Happened One Night

  The Seduction of Sebastian Trantor – from the anthology It Happened One Season

  Short Stories

  The Wedding Planner – from the anthology Royal Weddings

  A Return Engagement – from the anthology Royal Bridesmaids

  UK-Style Regency Romances

  Tangled Reins

  Four in Hand

  Impetuous Innocent

  Fair Juno

  The Reasons for Marriage

  A Lady of Expectations

  An Unwilling Conquest

  A Comfortable Wife

  Medieval (writing as M.S. Laurens)

  Desire’s Prize

  About the Author

  #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens began writing romances as an escape from the dry world of professional science. Her hobby quickly became a career when her first novel was accepted for publication, and with entirely becoming alacrity, she gave up writing about facts in favor of writing fiction.

  All Laurens’s works to date are historical romances, ranging from medieval times to the mid-1800s, and her settings range from Scotland to India. The majority of her works are set in the period of the British Regency. Laurens has published more than 70 works of historical romance, including 39 New York Times bestsellers. Laurens has sold more than 20 million print, audio, and e-books globally. All her works are continuously available in print and e-book formats in English worldwide, and have been translated into many other languages. An international bestseller, among other accolades, Laurens has received the Romance Writers of America® prestigious RITA® Award for Best Romance Novella 2008 for The Fall of Rogue Gerrard.

  Laurens’s continuing novels featuring the Cynster family are widely regarded as classics of the historical romance genre. Other series include the Bastion Club Novels, the Black Cobra Quartet, and the Casebook of Barnaby Adair Novels. All her previous works remain available in print and all e-book formats.

  For information on all published novels and on upcoming releases and updates on novels yet to come, visit Stephanie’s website: www.stephanielaurens.com

  To sign up for Stephanie’s Email Newsletter (a private list) for heads-up alerts as new books are released, exclusive sneak peeks into upcoming books, and exclusive sweepstakes contests, follow the prompts at Stephanie’s Email Newsletter Sign-up Page

  Stephanie lives with her husband and a goofy black labradoodle in the hills outside Melbourne, Australia. When she isn’t writing, she’s reading, and if she isn’t reading, she’ll be tending her garden.

  www.stephanielaurens.com

  [email protected]

 

 

 
yscale(100%); -moz-filter: grayscale(100%); -o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share