Books like 'Deadly Illusions'
Readers who enjoyed Deadly Illusions by Brenda Joyce also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical romance mystery historical-fiction suspense crime female-mc amateur-sleuth industrial-era regency
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Taken to the Grave by Cara Devlin
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Bow Street Duchess Mystery series comes to a thrilling conclusion in the seventh and final book, Taken to the Grave.As Audrey Sinclair reaches the end of her mourning period, she and Hugh Marsden, the Viscount Neatham, are at long last looking toward their future together — and hoping for a respite from the dangerous criminal investigations they’ve found themselves entrenched in... -
Fatal by Design by Cara Devlin
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA summer house party in the English countryside.A missing rare jewel.An abducted viscountess.The secrets and complications keeping Audrey and Hugh apart begin to unravel when they team up to solve a puzzling mystery surrounding the disappearance of Audrey’s sister, the Viscountess Redding, and a long-lost ring worth a fortune... -
Your Scarred Heart by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn enquiry agent hiding from her past.When Miss Honora Wild meets her first client, she fears there has been a dreadful mistake. Having escaped from a domineering father, she shouldn’t have to work for a man suspected of murder, one whose mood matches his frightening facial scar. She shouldn’t have to venture to his clifftop castle to prove the devil is innocent of the crime... -
No Life for a Lady by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter almost a year spent playing chaperone to Mr Daventry’s female enquiry agents, Miss Trimble knows she must find a new position. All his agents are married, and so what other reason could he have for calling her to his office late at night? Except her employer is a master matchmaker, a man who has discovered her true identity, knows her real name and her darkest secret...Categorized as:
crime female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era regency suspense adult arranged-marriage -
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A Lark's Release: A Regency Cozy by Lynn Messina
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt is hardly surprising Verity Lark can’t sleep at night with all the thoughts darting through her her recent stay in Newgate, her debt to Colson Hardwicke, the horrible abuse suffered by the children at Fortescue’s that her reporting on the orphan asylum several years earlier had failed to uncover...Categorized as:
historical-fiction female-mc suspense industrial-era regency romance mystery fiction -
A Gentleman's Curse by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe wait for vengeance is over. When a man wakes to find himself gripping a dagger and sprawled next to a corpse, what else can he do but board a boat sailing for India? But after five years spent avoiding the hangman’s noose, Hudson Lockhart has returned to England to prove himself innocent of any crime... -
Temptations of a Duke's Daughter by Samantha Holt
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSolving a murder is dangerous business. So is falling in love…Lady Chastity Fallon will not stand idly by while her sister is suspected of murder. Since no one wants to help, she’ll take matters into her own hands. The plan? Simple. She’ll disguise herself as a servant and investigate...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era regency suspense action-adventure adult book fiction -
Mine at Midnight by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Miss Eliza Dutton discovers her first case for the Order involves helping a lord who has a gambling habit, her instinct is to refuse. The fact her father lost his fortune and his life at a gaming hell is the reason she despises Lord Roxburgh. But Eliza is given an ultimatum: help the handsome rogue or find work elsewhere... -
A Mystery at Carlton House by Ashley Gardner, Jennifer Ashley
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratings1818: Captain Lacey is drawn into affairs of the highest in the land when his friend Grenville is asked by the Prince Regent to look into odd happenings in his lavish abode of Carlton House. Objects of value have gone missing, paintings and sculpture have been moved, and some of the staff have reported strange sounds and movements in the shadows... -
The Secret of Bow Lane by Jennifer Ashley
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA stranger who appears on Kat's doorstep turns out to be one Charlotte Bristow, legal wife of Joe Bristow, the man Kat once believed herself married to—who she thought died at sea twelve years ago. Kat is jolted by Charlotte’s claims that not only was Joe murdered, but he had amassed a small fortune before he died...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era crime regency amateur-sleuth female-mc romance mystery -
A Deadly Affair by Carla Simpson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLondon 1889 — Murder, mystery, and two people in a most unlikely partnership.She's an unconventional lady who has traveled the world, practices the art of self defense most excellently, and has an interesting tattoo in, ahem... a very unusual place...Categorized as:
historical-fiction crime industrial-era suspense female-mc romance mystery historical -
Death at the Crystal Palace by Jennifer Ashley
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsIntrepid cook Kat Holloway puts aside her apron to delve into Victorian London’s high society and catch a killer in this thrilling new mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Murder in the East End.While attending an exhibition at the Crystal Palace, young cook Kat Holloway is approached by a woman in distress...Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth crime female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era suspense adult audiobook -
Mistress of Netherfield by Julia Winter
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt is a truth universally acknowledged that on escaping an unhappy marriage, a young widow will be delighted to remove to the dower house and lease the marital abode to a single man in possession of a good fortune, provided he looks elsewhere to fulfil his want of a wife... -
Betting Against The Scoundrel by Mariah Stone
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"I'll be your scoundrel, not your hero."Broken and devastated, the former Duke of Grandhampton, Lord Spencer Seaton, returns home from the war to find he has lost everything. His only goal is to exact vengeance upon the man who took everything from him.Nothing will stop Spencer... except, Miss Joanna Digby—intelligent, cunning, and mysterious...Categorized as:
female-mc industrial-era regency suspense historical-fiction romance mystery historical -
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Devil's Bride and A Rake's Vow by Stephanie Laurens
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWelcome to the wonderful world of the Cynsters! When I embarked on the stories of the Cynster clan, I knew they fascinated me, but I had no idea how much they would appeal to readers. This volume contains the books that first introduced readers to the glittering, glamorous, passionate, and sometimes dangerous lives of the Cynster cousins and their ducal dynasty... -
The Candlelit Coffin by Elizabeth Bailey
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA thrilling mix of mystery and romance! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Barbara Erskine and Jane Austen. Murder lurks behind the scenes… 1791, England Lord Francis and Lady Ottilia Fanshawe have suffered a devastating blow. With Ottilia sunk deep into a depression, Francis is desperate to get his beloved wife back... -
The Mystery of the Debonair Duke by Ellie St. Clair
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThere was one man Lady Emma vowed she would never marry.The rakish Duke of Warwick — brother to her very best friend.But one chance encounter on a balcony has Lady Emma questioning all she ever believed about the duke. When her friend — and the duke’s sister — is abducted, they must work together to find her, and determine who has been threatening the Remington family... -
Dauntless by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNoah Ashwood has suffered his fair share of injustices. It’s why he joined the Gentlemen of the Order, why he solves crimes committed against the vulnerable and needy. To his friends he’s known as Dauntless—a fearless fighter, a man with steely determination. And yet his strength is tested when he forms an infatuation for his new client... -
Shadows of Swanford Abbey by Julie Klassen
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn pursuit of an author who could help get her brother published, Rebecca Lane stays at Swanford Abbey, a grand hotel rumored to be haunted. It is there she encounters Sir Frederick--the man who broke her heart. When a mysterious death occurs, Rebecca is one of the suspects, and Frederick is torn between his feelings for her and his search for the truth... -
An Impossible Impostor by Deanna Raybourn
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhile investigating a man claiming to be the long-lost heir to a noble family, Veronica Speedwell gets the surprise of her life in this new adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.London, 1889. Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian beau Stoker are summoned by Sir Hugo Montgomerie, head of Special Branch...Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth crime female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era regency suspense action-adventure -
Murder at the Serpentine Bridge by Andrea Penrose
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFor fans of Bridgerton looking for a mysterious twist on the glittering ballrooms of the Regency—a masterfully plotted story from a USA Today bestselling author that combines engaging protagonists with rich historical detail and international intrigue, plus a touch of romance that readers of Amanda Quick and Deanna Raybourn will savor...Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth historical-fiction industrial-era regency suspense adult book fiction -
A Gentleman Under the Mistletoe by Grace Burrowes
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA Cozy Regency Holiday MysteryLord Julian Caldicott is standing in for his ducal brother as manager of Yuletide merriment at the family seat. Alas for his lordship, nothing is going as planned. Cranky relatives arrive uninvited, family squabbles ensue, and Julian's annual case of the blue devils is worsening by the day...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era regency amateur-sleuth romance mystery historical fiction -
His White Wager by Tammy Andresen
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsShe’s no lady...Rebecca White makes her own way. She’ll dress as a man to support her mother if she chooses, she’ll participate in illegal gaming if it pleases her, and she’ll even cheat a lord now and then if the idea catches her fancy. But what she didn’t count on was an entire family of White’s tracking her down and being just as stubborn and independent as—well—herself... -
The Vengeance Trail by Elizabeth Bailey
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJoin Lady Fan in her most dangerous case yet! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Barbara Erskine and Jane Austen.Is someone from her past trying to kill Lady Fan…?1796, EnglandWhen Lady Ottilia Fanshawe finds herself launched into a river and fighting for her life, she becomes convinced someone pulled her under the water... -
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Curse of the Wicked Scoundrel by Sadie Bosque
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPeople call him Hades. He is like the dark prince himself: enigmatic, mysterious and dangerous. Nobody knows his real name. Nobody knows anything about him. Only that he's been cursed to lead his life in loneliness. Because everyone who's ever been close to him, very soon, died.Eloise has led a dull, practical life...Categorized as:
historical-fiction suspense industrial-era regency female-mc romance historical steamy -
An Inexplicable Woman: A Historical Romance Mystery by Sarah F. Noel
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsStep into 1897 Victorian Unravel Love and Intrigue with The Tabitha & Wolf Historical Mystery Series, where Mystery meets Romance with a splash of Humour.Who is this mysterious woman from Wolf’s past who can so easily summon him to her side?When Lady Arlene Archibald tracks Wolf down and begs him for help, he plans to travel to Brighton alone to see her... -
Mary and the Captain: A Pride and Prejudice Continuation by Nancy Lawrence
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPride and Prejudice … the story continues.Jane and Charles Bingley's plan for a quiet stay at Netherfield with Kitty and Mary Bennet takes a wrong turn, thanks to Caroline Bingley. Caroline is determined to add her brother Robert and her best friend Helena to the party...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era regency female-mc romance historical fiction mystery -
Governess to the Duke's Heir by Maggi Andersen
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGet Book Four in the Dangerous Lords series! Read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited! Andrew, the Duke of Harrow, has returned to his Oxfordshire estate after years away in Vienna on a diplomatic engagement. He left England after losing his beloved wife in childbirth. But his children consider him a stranger, and the new governess disapproves of him... -
Cast in Shadows by Laura Landon
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGideon Wayland , heir to the Duke of Townsend, had everything a young man could need―a promising future, a title, charming good looks, great friends, and a family who adored him. Until his body turned him into a monster. He had no choice but to separate himself from the world, to hide his monstrous self from society, to cast away his future... -
Discreet Destruction by K.J. Jackson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA wayward ruler of the London underworld. The woman determined to protect him at all costs. Where betrayal and obsession meet, does love stand a chance in this adventure-filled historical romance?He’s oblivious to the danger bearing down on him.A titan of the rookeries, the last thing Declan Rudderton needs in his life is another thing to worry about... -
A Veil Removed by Michelle Cox
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMurder is never far from this sexy couple . . . even during the holidays! Their honeymoon abruptly ended by the untimely death of Alcott Howard, Clive and Henrietta return to Highbury, where Clive discovers all is not as it should be...Categorized as:
suspense historical-fiction crime female-mc amateur-sleuth romance historical mystery -
An Appearance of Goodness: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery Variation by Heather Moll
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCan a Derbyshire meeting lead to love or will Pemberley be plunged into mystery?In the rainy summer of 1812, Mr Darcy returns to Pemberley with a large party with the hope that coming home will help him recover from his disappointment. He lost Elizabeth Bennet’s good opinion, but Darcy did all he could to rectify his errors...Categorized as:
industrial-era regency historical-fiction suspense romance mystery fiction historical -
A Dog in a Doublet by Emma V. Leech
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHarry Browning was a motherless guttersnipe, and the morning he came across the elderly Lord Preston clinging to a sheer rock face he didn't believe in fate. But the fates have plans for Harry whether he believes or not, and he's not entirely sure he likes them. As a reward for his bravery, and in an unusual moment of charity, miserly Lord Preston takes him on...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era regency suspense amateur-sleuth romance mystery historical -
Deadly Promise by Brenda Joyce
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt is March of 1902, and Francesca Cahill-Fifth Avenue heiress, undaunted political activist and intrepid amateur sleuth-has just learned of a grave new danger haunting the streets of New York. A beautiful teenage girl named Emily O'Hare is missing and Francesca fears that the girl has been abducted... -
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Only a Viscount Will Do by Tamara Gill
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLady Alice Worthingham never conforms to Society’s norms. Ever. She loves adventure, new experiences, and approaches life with a sassy attitude Society can take or leave. But even for her, robbery by a highwayman is a bit much.Lord Arndel, Lady Alice’s neighbor, is playing a dangerous game—acting the proper viscount by day and the Surrey Bandit by night... -
The Last Earl Standing by Gemma Blackwood
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA bluestocking with a secret nom de plume and a dashing spy compete to uncover a scandal – and their undeniable attraction puts all their secrets at risk. Lady Anthea Balfour has never had much luck with eligible gentlemen – and she’d have even less if they knew she was the infamous Lady X behind London’s most popular newspaper column...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era regency adult anthologies fiction historical mystery -
Murder at King’s Crossing by Andrea Penrose
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFor fans of Miss Scarlet and the Duke and Bridgerton—a masterfully plotted mystery that combines engaging protagonists with rich historical detail and “an unusually rich look at Regency life,” (Publishers Weekly), plus a touch of romance that readers of Amanda Quick and Deanna Raybourn will savor...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era regency suspense female-mc amateur-sleuth mystery historical -
A Murderous Tryst by Lynn Messina
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe past rears its gorgeous head…Deeply distressed to discover her husband lied about his whereabouts the day before, Beatrice, Duchess of Kesgrave, emerges from a wretched night’s sleep to discover him embracing the most beautiful woman she has ever seen.His former mistress!It is shocking, yes, but not so very alarming, for Penelope Taylor is actually there to see Bea...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era regency female-mc amateur-sleuth romance mystery historical -
A Wicked Wager by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTwo lonely people discover that true love doesn’t have to be perfect. The gentleman makes a wager. Devlin Drake is out for revenge. Since his brother’s mysterious death, the cruel and devious Miss Bromfield has taken to spouting vicious lies, spreading vile gossip—and he vows to make her pay. How better to punish the lady than to make her his wife? A lifetime of misery is what she deserves... -
A Disappearance in Drury Lane by Ashley Gardner
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLate December, 1818 As Captain Gabriel Lacey prepares for his upcoming wedding, his former neighbor, Marianne Simmons, comes to him about an actress friend who’s gone missing. Lacey agrees to help look for the actress, little realizing that the search will pit him against men who think nothing of abduction, assault, or sending incendiary devices to the innocent... -
A Death in Norfolk by Ashley Gardner
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSeptember 1817 Captain Gabriel Lacey travels with Lady Breckenridge to his boyhood home in northern Norfolk only to discover mysterious happenings in and around the Lacey estate. A young woman, cousin of an old friend, has gone missing, strange objects appear in Lacey's ruined house, and the dark windmills on the marshes keep pulling Lacey to them... -
Crimes Of The Brothers by D. L. Carter
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBrothers are supposed to be kind... caring... supportive... protective. Catherine Walman's brother, however, is not. He has maligned her reputation until no honorable man will seek her company, wasted her dowry and endangered her home with his gambling and now his new wife has made it clear Catherine is no longer welcome... -
The Lady Who Loved Him by Christi Caldwell
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn this passionate, emotional Regency romance by Christi Caldwell, society's most wicked rake meets his match in the clever Lady Chloe Edgerton! And nothing will ever be the same! She doesn’t believe in marriage…. The cruelty of men is something Lady Chloe Edgerton understands. Even in her quest to better her life and forget the past, men always seem determined to control her...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era regency suspense adult alpha-mc anthologies -
A Bucket of Ashes by P.B. Ryan
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“As always, the author excels at setting the scene, evoking the time and place by use of the day-to-day details as well as historical events. The resolution of the central mystery is almost secondary to the revelations about Nell’s past and the way the author ties up all the loose ends of her present situation. Longtime readers will enjoy this aspect immensely; I know I did... -
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Murder In the North End by P.B. Ryan
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“It’s always a good day when a new Nell Sweeney book arrives.” —CA Reviews July 1870: Nell Sweeney’s position as governess for the venerable Hewitts of Boston affords her a unique perspective in an era of sharp class distinctions. Neither servant nor gentlewoman, she can fit in among the denizens of a waterfront tenement or the bluebloods of Colonnade Row... -
A Body in Berkeley Square by Ashley Gardner
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLondon, 1817. A Bow Street Runner summons Captain Gabriel Lacey to a Berkeley Square ballroom where a young dandy has been found stabbed to death during a society ball. The prime suspect: Lacey’s former commander, Colonel Brandon...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction industrial-era regency suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
Murder at Queen's Landing: A Captivating Historical Regency Mystery by Andrea Penrose
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe many strands of a dark mystery entangle Lady Charlotte Sloane and the Earl of Wrexford in a dangerous web of secrets and lies that will call into question how much they really know about the people they hold dear--and about each other..Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth crime female-mc historical-fiction industrial-era regency adult alpha-mc -
Death on Beacon Hill by P.B. Ryan
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 17 ratings“Death on Beacon Hill continues Ms. Ryan’s excellent Nell Sweeney series. The rich characterization and her strong evocation of place, coupled with a well-plotted tale, make for a rich story. Add a clever conclusion and Ms. Ryan delivers a fascinating read... -
Murder at the Merton Library by Andrea Penrose
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsResponding to an urgent plea from a troubled family friend, the Earl of Wrexford journeys to Oxford only to find the reclusive university librarian has been murdered and a rare manuscript has gone missing. The only clue is that someone overheard an argument in which Wrexford’s name was mentioned. At the same time, Charlotte—working under her pen name, A. J...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era regency crime suspense amateur-sleuth romance mystery -
Dead Beside The Thames by Stephanie Laurens
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratings#1 NYT-bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns with a confounding case that sees her favorite sleuths acting to save a friend wrongly accused of murder.When a detested viscount is found murdered by the banks of the Thames and Charlie Hastings becomes the prime suspect, Barnaby and Penelope Adair join forces with Stokes to discover the real story behind the unexpected killing...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era regency suspense amateur-sleuth romance historical mystery
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