Frances Evesham books in order

Historical mystery romance set in a grand Victorian country house.

With nothing left from her childhood except a tiny portrait of a beautiful woman, some skill with a needle, and the knowledge of a dreadful secret, Philomena escapes her tormentor, Joseph, and the dank fogs of Victorian London, only for a train crash to interrupt her quest for independence and freedom.

Trapped between the upstairs and downstairs occupants of the great country house, Philomena hears whispers of the mysteries and lies that lurk in empty corridors and behind closed doors. Her rescuer, the dangerous, enigmatic Hugh, Lord Thatcham, wrestles with his own demons and makes Philomena's heart race, but she must fight her passion for she can never marry.

Ambitious lawyer Nelson Roberts, embittered by war, jilted by his fiancée, and trusting no one, aims to make his name solving the mysterious thefts and violence at Thatcham Hall, a country house in Victorian England.

Olivia Martin, headstrong and talented, will stop at nothing to overcome the conventions of the day, avoid a miserable fate as a governess and fulfill dreams of a musical future.

The pair stumble on a body. Is the farmhand's death a simple accident, or something more sinister? Who attacked the livestock at the Hall and why are the villagers so reluctant to talk? Can Nelson and Olivia overcome their differences and join forces to unravel the web of evil that imperils the Hall?

Love short stories?

Romance, women's fiction, murder mystery or children's stories: you'll find all these, so put your feet up and enjoy fifteen quick clean reads, free from graphic sex, violence or obscene language.

Featured authors:

Sheila Daglish

Frances Evesham

Patricia Fawcett

Mary Gaul

Lucy Harper

Anne Holman

Holly Rye

Have you ever found a body on the beach?

Recently widowed Libby Forest arrives in the small coastal town of Exham on Sea, keen to start a new life baking cakes and designing chocolates.

Walking on the beach one stormy autumn day, Libby and excitable Springer Spaniel ‘Shipley’ discover a dead body under the lighthouse. Convinced the death was no accident, Libby teams up with Max Ramshore, an attractive local resident, and Bear, a huge sheepdog, to confront indifference from the community and unmask the killer.

Libby's chocolates sell like hot cakes… until people die.

When a group of cyclists, all customers at the bakery in small town Exham on Sea, are poisoned, suspicion falls on the shop itself, and Libby’s food.

In partnership with attractive, blue-eyed Max Ramshore and his huge sheepdog, Bear, Libby Forest sets out to uncover the poisoner and save the bakery.

But who can she trust when even her deceased husband wasn’t all he seemed?

A ruthless killer. An ancient curse. A secret past.

When Libby Forest finds a body early one morning in mist surrounding Glastonbury Tor, she will need all her ingenuity to unscramble the threads of past myths and present secrets to discover the truth.

Meanwhile, with the help of the enigmatic Max Ramshore, can Libby uncover the whole truth of her husband's death and find peace in her new life?

Could your best friend be a killer?

When a body is discovered in Wells Cathedral Library, Libby Forest’s best friend Angela Miles becomes the prime suspect.

The last thing Libby needs is another investigation. but with the help of Bear, the beloved Carpathian Sheepdog, and her partner, Max Ramshore, Libby’s determined to uncover the murderer and clear her friend’s name.

A summer wedding, a stolen heirloom, an eccentric aunt. What could possibly go wrong?

When a suspicious death follows a country wedding, Libby Forest’s instincts tell her there's something deeply amiss in the picturesque villages of Exmoor.

Alongside her on-off partner Max Ramshore, Libby delves deeper into the mysterious goings on in Horton as a sinister new acquaintance casts a foreboding shadow over Libby’s investigations.

As people begin to disappear, it’s a race against time to uncover the Exmoor secrets before it’s too late.

Libby Forest is hot on the trail of the killer when disaster strikes closer to home.

The sudden death of an elderly volunteer at Dunster Castle rocks the Castle’s ancient calm to its core leaving members of the local History Society devastated. When the finger is pointed at a fellow volunteer, his wife Margery fears her husband of forty years may be the killer.

Libby Forest, in partnership with Max Ramshore and their two much-loved dogs, Bear and Shipley are determined to find the castle killer – no matter who it may be.

A joke? A prank? Or something more sinister?

When the Exham-on-Sea residents are targeted by anonymous emails containing apparently harmless nursery rhymes, no one knows whether to laugh or shudder until an unexplained death touches the town.

Libby Forest, baker, chocolatier and Exham’s very own resident private investigator, alongside her partner Max Ramshore, set out to solve the puzzle before more people die. But when Max’s ex-wife arrives on the scene, ahead of Max and Libby's long-awaited nuptials, things go from bad to worse.

With the town and their relationship under threat, Max and Libby need the help of the Exham History Society if they're going to find the nursery rhyme killer in time.

An unsolved murder echoes down the corridors of Cleeve Abbey for years.

The Exham-on-Sea’s History Society's annual summer picnic comes to an abrupt end when human bones are discovered in Washford River, beside historic Cleeve Abbey.

Thrilled to find evidence of a possible centuries-old murder mystery, the members of the society organise a ghost-hunting night in the ruins of Cleeve Abbey, despite amateur sleuth Libby Forest's reservations.

Libby is a woman of many talents, a baker, chocolatier, even a reluctant sleuth, but she's no fan of the supernatural.and her doubts are justified when a friend is attacked under cover of darkness at the ghost-hunt.

Distressed and angry, Libby sets out with her new husband Max and their two dogs Bear and Shipley to uncover the connection between the murder of a sixteenth century monk and a present-day attack in picturesque Somerset.

With friends and neighbours as suspects, Libby and Max close in on the culprit only to find that others are still in danger.

There's no time to lose as the sins of the past threaten lives in the community.

An English village can be deadly, when your past catches up with you...

In the beautiful rural Somerset village of Lower Hembrow, crammed full with English eccentrics, something is amiss...

Landscape gardener Imogen Bishop has spent the last thirty years trying to forget one fateful school night but when her estranged husband Greg Bishop is found dead in the grounds of her fathers' Georgian hotel, danger threatens to overwhelm her.

Retired police officer Adam Hennessey, hoping for a peaceful life running his traditional Somerset country pub, finds himself drawn into the unfolding drama in the hotel across the road.

Imogen, Adam and Harley the stray dog form an unlikely partnership as they try to untangle a knot of secrets, solve a murder mystery, and bring a killer to justice.

A winning horse. A fierce rivalry. A sudden death.

Belinda Sandford thrills to the cheers of the crowd as her beautiful grey racehorse, ‘Butterfly Charm’, thunders past the finishing post first at Wincanton Racecourse. She feels like the luckiest girl in the world.

But joy soon turns to despair as a stewards’ enquiry overturns the result and awards the race to her long-time rival, Alexandra Deacon.

When Alex is found dead in suspicious circumstances, a host of accusing eyes turn to Belinda and her distraught mother begs Adam Hennessy, her neighbor, retired police officer and publican, to help clear her daughter’s name.

As Adam, and local hotelier Imogen Bishop, dig deep into the murky and powerful undercurrents of the horse racing world, they lay bare the lives and loves of local jockeys, grooms, trainers and owners.

They soon uncover a web of secrets hidden within the spectacular Somerset countryside as they strive to find the killer in time to prevent more murders.

One unexplained disappearance is strange, but two are sinister.

In Lower Hembrow, an idyllic village nestled beneath Ham Hill in Somerset, the villagers are preparing to enjoy the autumn traditions of the rural English countryside until Joe Trevillion, a curmudgeonly local farmer and the father of six children, vanishes.

When Adam Hennessy, the ex-detective proprietor of The Plough, the village's popular Inn, investigates, he finds ominous undercurrents beneath apparently harmless rumour and gossip.

Meanwhile, a vicious campaign of vindictiveness forces Adam and his three amateur sleuth friends to dig deep into the secret lives of their neighbors to expose the source of a cruel vendetta and prevent another death.

As they uncover the disturbing truth, the friends learn they must also lay their own past lives to rest before they can hope to make their dreams for the future come true.

The country's in danger, but no one knows......until Ben goes underground. Old Mrs Bundle's heart breaks when thieves steal her most treasured possession. Ben and his friends need courage and surprising talents as they race to foil a crazy plot and save the country. If you're looking for a mystery adventure story with plenty of action, for children aged seven to ten, buy Ben's Underground Adventure now and find out whether he can save the day...

Dragons aren't real...or are they?

The dragon's ring is Arkan’s most precious possession. It keeps him alive. But one day, it's stolen, and Thomas must save his friend from a terrible fate.

Thomas needs brainpower, courage, and magic to take on Wicked Wilf, the pirate, in a night-time race to find the dragon ring.

Can Thomas save Arkan, defeat Wicked Wilf, and be home in time for tea?