Cora Harrison, a former headteacher, transitioned to writing, publishing twenty-six children's novels. Her foray into adult fiction began with a Celtic historical crime series, introducing readers to Mara, Brehon of the Burren. Set in the evocative landscape of western Ireland, her work often draws inspiration from her surroundings. Harrison's writing offers a blend of compelling mystery and rich cultural context.
March, 1859. During an exhibition to showcase London's top engineers' plans to solve the 'Great Stink' of sewage from the River Thames, proceedings are disrupted by an agonised scream - and the discovery of a blood-soaked body. Charles Dickens is convinced of foul play, and once again he and Wilkie Collins set about uncovering the shocking truth.
1920s. Cork, Ireland. The Reverend Mother's Christmas Day festivities are shattered by the terrible news of two suspicious deaths at St Fin Barre's Cathedral. When it is revealed that both the deceased were poisoned, the Reverend Mother is drawn into another puzzling mystery. Can she uncover the truth behind these heinous crimes?
Wealthy widow Charlotte Hendrick summons her closest family, including her cousin, the Reverend Mother, to her home on Bachelor's Quay to divide her riches between them. But then a body is discovered in the master bedroom, its throat cut. Could there be a connection to the riots on the quays the night before - or does the killer lie closer to home?
August, 1856. The dress rehearsal for a charity performance atKnebworth House is disrupted by the discovery of a body lying in the centre ofthe stage, shot to death. With everyone involved in the play coming undersuspicion, writer- sleuths Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens, spending thesummer at Knebworth House, feel compelled to investigate.
`To shoot a man on the spur of the moment in the presence of the king and his court, not to mention the cardinal and his household, that took a boldness ... Or utter despair.'
The Reverend Mother's investigative skills are called into action when a local tobacco factory burns down and fingers are pointed at one of her ex pupils..."Stellar . . . Harrison is writing at the top of her game" - Publishers Weekly Starred Review 1920s. Cork, Ireland. Early one morning the Reverend Mother receives news of a deadly fire at the local cigarette factory, a place where she'd been so proud that some of her pupils had been given a steady job. In a city full of poverty, unemployment and political unrest, these ex pupils of hers had surely been blessed with such prospects. Now, though, she is worried . . . What happened at the cigarette factory and why are there rumours circulating that one of her 'girls' was responsible?Inspector Patrick Cashman is under pressure to quickly find the cause of the fire - and identify a suspect - to placate the visiting Lord Mayor and Commissioner and secure his hopes of promotion. Patrick turns to his friend, the journalist and law student Eileen MacSweeney, for help, along with the ever insightful and calm Reverend Mother. From the fog-ridden streets of the slums to the green pastures and prosperity of nearby Youghal, together they begin to unravel a seedy history of greed, ambition and a desire for power.
Wilkie Collins is looking forward to spending Christmas at Gads Hill, Charles Dickens' Kentish country home, but the festivities are cut short when a body is found on the marshland. Timmy O'Connor was invited to the gathering with his four nephews after a chance encounter with Dickens, but is now dead. Who was this unpleasant stranger?
The peaceful atmosphere of the Reverend Mother's annual retreat is shattered by sudden, violent death in this gripping historical mystery. 1920s. Cork, Ireland. The Reverend Mother regrets the bishop's decision to invite the five candidates for the position of Alderman of the City Council to join them for their annual retreat. Constantly accosted by ambitious, would-be politicians hoping to secure the bishop's backing, she's finding the week-long sojourn at the convent of the Sisters of Charity anything but peaceful. What she doesn't expect to encounter however is sudden, violent death. When a body is discovered in the convent's apple orchard cemetery, blown to pieces by a makeshift bomb, it is assumed the IRA are responsible. But does the killer lie closer to home? Was one of the candidates so desperate to win the election they turned to murder? Does someone have a hidden agenda? Once again, the Reverend Mother must call on her renowned investigative skills to unearth the shocking truth.
Meet Jenny Cooper: shy, pretty cousin of clever, sparky Jane Austen.
'Meet the teenage Jane Austen in the gorgeous tale of dances, dresses, disasters ... and first love'--cover.
On her first visit for fifty years to Cork's main department store, the Queen's Old Castle, the Reverend Mother is struck by how little has changed. But when the store's owner staggers from his office and topples over the railings to his death, Mother Aquinas is once again drawn into a baffling murder investigation.
Bright lights, dark secrets and first love in the second book in this gorgeous series.It’s 1924. Leaving their beloved Beech Grove Manor to go to London for the season, Poppy and Daisy Derrington know that they must shine as debutantes.Since a girl cannot inherit her father's estate, the sisters have to marry well or face being left penniless.But it’s not money or marriage that interests them. It’s music, cinema, literature, fashion, parties, love – everything that is shiny and new. Trapped by the dusty traditions of their class, Daisy and Poppy must choose between family duty and the bright lights of the roaring twenties . . .
November, 1853. Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins are summoned to examine a body found in an attic studio, surrounded by a lacerated painting titled A Winter of Despair. Wilkie recognizes the victim as a friend of his brother Charley. What secrets lie among the close-knit group of Pre-Raphaelite painters who were the victim's friends?
Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins team up after a housemaid is dragged from the River Thames in this new Victorian mystery series. The woman was being blackmailed, but by who and why? The woman's friend, Sesina, discovers only fragments of the woman's journal... but is she withholding information or doomed to end up like her friend?
The first in a series of historical romances set in the roaring 1920s, perfect for Downton Abbey fansIt's 1923 and London is a whirl of jazz, dancing, and parties. Violet, Daisy, Poppy, and Rose Derrington are desperate to be part of it, but stuck in an enormous crumbling house in the country, with no money and no fashionable dresses, the excitement seems a lifetime away. Luckily the girls each have a plan for escaping their humdrum country life: Rose wants to be a novelist, Poppy a jazz musician, and Daisy a famous film director. Violet, however, has only one ambition: to become the perfect debutante, so that she can go to London and catch the eye of Prince George, the most eligible bachelor in the country. But a house as big and old as Beech Grove Manor hides many secrets, and Daisy is about to uncover one so huge it could ruin all their plans—ruin everything—forever.
Cork, 1923: Der Fluss Lee bringt der Nonne Mutter Aquinas eine junge Frau im feinen Ballkleid, offensichtlich tot. Die resolute Oberin informiert umgehend Sergeant Patrick Cashman, einen ehemaligen Klosterschüler mit scharfem Verstand und einem besonderen Blick fürs Detail. Am Hals der Toten, der als vermisst gemeldeten Angelina Fitzsimon, finden sich Strangulationsmale. Der unorthodoxe Dr. Scher, der obduzierende Arzt, bestätigt den Mord. Angelina, die Tochter eines respektablen Teehändlers, stand kurz vor einem großen Erbe. Als Cashman in ihrer Handtasche eine Fahrkarte für die Mitternachtsfähre nach Liverpool findet, ahnt die Mutter Oberin, dass mehr hinter dem Mord steckt. Gemeinsam mit Cashman und Dr. Scher begibt sich die Nonne auf die Spur des Mörders und kommt ihm bald näher, als ihr lieb ist. „Harrison vereint in ihrem Buch eine clevere Ermittlerin mit einem Schauplatz voller Intrigen und Spannung - ein Volltreffer.“ (Publishers Weekly)
Irland, 16. Jahrhundert: Im Clan der MacNamaras gärt es, denn ihr neues Oberhaupt hat sie mit viel zu hohen Steuern belegt. Als die Leiche des Steuereintreibers gefunden wird, scheint für die Richterin Macha der Fall klar. Dann wird jedoch der ermordete Müller Angus gefunden – ebenfalls ein MacNamara! Handelt es sich um eine Fehde zwischen verfeindeten Sippen? Macha hat es schwer, hinter die Fassaden der verschwiegenen Clans zu blicken.
Im 16. Jahrhundert in Irland sorgt Richterin Macha mit Klugheit für Gerechtigkeit und behandelt verschiedene Fälle. Nach einem Vergewaltigungsfall und dem Mord an ihrem Assistenten wird die Suche nach dem Täter durch Colemans Unbeliebtheit erschwert.
