by Philip Eliot | Jan 6, 2026 | Action & Adventure |
The first novel in the classic series of Alan Lewrie’s naval adventures—”The best naval series since C. S. Forester” ( Library Journal ). “You could get addicted to this series. Easily.” ? New York Times Book Review 1780: Seventeen-year-old Alan Lewrie is a brash, rebellious young libertine. So much so that his callous father believes a bit of navy discipline will turn the boy around. Fresh aboard the tall-masted Ariadne , Midshipman Lewrie heads for the war-torn Americas, finding?rather unexpectedly?that he is a born sailor, equally at home with the randy pleasures of the port and the raging battles on the high seas. But in a hail of cannonballs comes a bawdy surprise. . . The King’s Coat introduces us to Alan Lewrie, hero of Dewey Lambdin’s acclaimed series of naval adventures, which have often been compared to those by C. S. Forester and Patrick O’Brian. “If Horatio Hornblower is the gentleman’s sailor and Jack Aubrey is the thinking man’s sailor, Lewrie is of and for the working class. Pugnacious and randy, he’s a refreshing sea breeze.” ? San Jose Mercury News
by Philip Eliot | Jan 6, 2026 | Mystery |
Three gripping World War Two mysteries. A captivating amateur sleuth. One great-value box set. In 1940s war-torn London, Eve Duncan’s talent for solving mysteries makes her a force to be reckoned with. ‘A real page-tuner, which captures the atmosphere of WWII London perfectly .’ Robert Foster, best-selling author of The Lunar Code . MEET THE SLEUTH Eve Duncan’s sharp tongue, quick wit and insatiable curiosity make her a magnet for trouble. She juggles her role as a Post Office supervisor with her unexpected involvement in many murder investigations. She’s often assisted by her boyfriend Pete, a good looking young police sergeant – although he doesn’t always approve of her getting involved! Eve’s fierce sense of justice and compassionate heart mean she will tirelessly seek the truth even when others dismiss the crimes as unimportant. Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Susan Elia MacNeal, Anna Lee Huber, Philip Kerr, Anthony Horowitz, and Pauline Rowson. IN THIS THREE-BOOK BOX SET: BOOK 1: A MURDER OF NO ACCOUNT London, 1940 . The height of the Blitz. Eve is shocked to stumble upon the body of a young girl in a rainy alleyway – but no one else seems interested. With bombs raining down on the city and the imminent threat of invasion, no one has the time to worry about the death of a Polish girl. Only Eve is determined to find out what happened. As whispers of treachery surface, Eve must uncover the truth . . . before she becomes the next victim. BOOK 2: A MURDER CLOSE TO HOME London, 1941 . The murder of their beloved milkman rocks the close-knit community of Shepherd’s Bush. Local resident Eve, never one to shy away from injustice, sets out to solve the case. But before she can make headway, the murderer strikes again. Why is this quiet London suburb being targeted? Eve discovers that one of her neighbours is hiding a dark secret. She must expose the killer before more residents die. BOOK 3: A MURDER IN THE COUNTRY 1941 . Eve’s visit to her sister in the pretty Cotswold village of Little Barrington is supposed to be a relaxing break. But events take a dramatic turn when the remains of a young woman are found in the woods. The police soon establish she’s been dead for two years. With no further evidence, they lose interest. Only Eve is determined to find out the identity of the mysterious woman. Then another villager is brutally murdered – and the case takes a shocking twist. PRAISE FOR JULIA UNDERWOOD: ????? ‘ Excellent read! ’ Bibi Reads. ????? ‘Her incredible recreation of life in London during WWII is truly fascinating and absorbing – her books are impossible to put down! ’ M. Saalfeld. ????? ‘Easy to read and highly entertaining .’ M.S. ????? ‘Have read all of Julia Underwood books and am never disappointed .’ Dizzy.
by Philip Eliot | Jan 6, 2026 | Crime Fiction |
“A remarkably accomplished debut mystery, with sensitive character development and a heart-stopping denouement.” — Booklist , starred review Nobody knows what happened to Sarah Cook. The beautiful blonde teenager disappeared fifteen years ago, the same night her parents were brutally murdered in their suburban Ohio home. Her boyfriend Brad Stockton—black and from the wrong side of the tracks—was convicted of the murders and is now on death row. Though he’s maintained his innocence all along, the clock is running out. His execution is only weeks away when his sister insists she spied Sarah at an area gas station. Willing to try anything, she hires PI Roxane Weary to look into the case. Brad might be in a bad way, but private investigator Roxane Weary isn’t doing so hot herself. Still reeling from the recent death of her cop father in the line of duty, her main way of dealing with her grief has been working as little and drinking as much as possible. But Roxane finds herself drawn in to the story of Sarah’s vanishing act, especially when she links the disappearance to one of her father’s unsolved murder cases involving another teen girl. The stakes get higher as Roxane discovers that the two girls may not be the only beautiful blonde teenagers who’ve turned up missing or dead. As her investigation gets darker and darker, Roxane will have to risk everything to find the truth. “Lepionka has created an appealing, relatable lead.” — Publishers Weekly “Confidently portrays complex characters with multiple, sometimes contradictory, motivations.” — Kirkus Reviews
by Philip Eliot | Jan 6, 2026 | Horror & Paranormal |
The stakes are real. The mediator isn’t. “Investigation, Mediation, Vindication.” That’s how the Yellow Pages ad starts, and if it sounds like the sort of thing a drunk teenager might come up with… well, you’d only be wrong about the teenager part. John Smith owns San Diego’s smallest private investigation firm, but he doesn’t know the first thing about mediation. Or vindication. On the other side of town, vampire Lucia Borghesi is having a terrible century. Stripped of her throne and banished from Italy, she’s now somehow found herself in a dispute with the local demigod of nightmares and terror. And to top it all off, the long-time city mediator has been assassinated and her second-in-command just hired a human to fill that role. If he wants to survive, John will need to prove his value to Lucia and her people while keeping that demigod from sucking San Diego into an unnamed hell dimension. And he’ll have to work fast, because his beloved Corolla is parked curbside in Logan Heights, like an open invitation to the neighborhood’s graffiti enthusiasts. Come take a walk on the weird side of urban fantasy, in what Kirkus Reviews described as an “entertaining tale that’s sure to leave readers anticipating the protagonist’s next misadventure.”
by Philip Eliot | Jan 6, 2026 | General Nonfiction |
In “a solid account of what appears to be a shocking injustice” an award-winning journalist uncovers the bias that led to a woman’s conviction for murder ( The New York Times ). When a prominent Alabama doctor is brutally killed, his wife and her twin sister are charged with conspiracy to murder. But while her twin was acquitted of the crime, Betty Wilson was charged with killing her husband. Probing into a trial that deliberated on Betty’s promiscuity, her alcoholism and her adulterous affair with a black man rather than any physical evidence against her, critically acclaimed journalist Jim Schutze reveals how sex, politics and corruption could possibly have led to a scandalous miscarriage of justice that kept the real killer from facing full penalty for his cold-blooded deed. A fascinating true crime account, By Two and Two is a page-turning investigation into the harrowing details of a sensational murder case.
