Books like 'The Devil Card'
Readers who enjoyed The Devil Card by Chris Holcombe also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical mystery lgbtq crime amateur-sleuth
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Murder on the Golden Arrow by Magda Alexander
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhat’s a bright young woman to do when her brother becomes the main suspect in a murder? Why, solve the case, of course.England. 1923. After a year away at finishing school where she learned etiquette, deportment, and the difference between a salad fork and a fish one, Kitty Worthington is eager to return home... -
Precious Jules by C.J. Bishop
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA Gangster Cowboy Novella They will bring him home...by any means necessary. When Adrian's 4 y/o nephew, Jules, is abducted by Adrian's brother Tazz - leader of a motorcycle gang - it is up to Clint and the boys to get him back, by any means necessary... -
When Blood Lies by C.S. Harris
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, has spent years unraveling his family’s tragic history. But the secrets of his past will come to light in this gripping new historical mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of What the Devil Knows.March, 1815. The Bourbon King Louis XVIII has been restored to the throne of France, Napoleon is in exile on the isle of Elba, and Sebastian St... -
The Gang of St Bride's by Emily Organ
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLondon 1885. A gang of lady thieves is targeting Piccadilly’s wealthy shoppers and no one seems able to stop them. As frustrations build, the body of a young woman is pulled from the River Thames. Reporter Penny Green has a lot to write about, and she faces a new challenge when a stranger approaches her with a riddle...Categorized as:
crime amateur-sleuth romance mystery historical-fiction fiction historical audiobook -
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The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man, Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratings(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)The three classic novels published here in one volume are rich with the crisp prose, subtle characters, and intricate plots that made Dashiell Hammett one of the most admired writers of the twentieth century. A one-time detective and a master of deft understatement, Hammett virtually invented the hard-boiled crime novel... -
Murder at the Folly by Beth Byers
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSeptember 1923. When Violet and Victor run into an old friend in Belgium, they have an idea of what to expect. What they don’t expect is to be followed back to England, persuaded to spend an additional weekend away from home, or to have their group experience another murder. This time, the suspect is their long-time friend Tomas St. Marks—-a shell-shocked former soldier... -
Kennington House Murder by Beth Byers
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsApril 1923. After a winter on the Amalfi Coast, Lady Violet Carlyle returns home for her little sister’s wedding. The last time Vi was with her family, she was the pauper daughter who needed to wed before she lost her chance. After the events of the holidays, Vi’s richer than Midas. When Violet meets her sister’s fiancé Violet knows something must be done... -
The Orange Lilies by Nathan Dylan Goodwin
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMorton Farrier has spent his entire career as a forensic genealogist solving other people's family history secrets, all the while knowing so little of his very own family's mysterious past. However, this poignant Christmastime novella sees Morton's skills put to use much closer to home, as he must confront his own past, present and future through events both present-day and one hundred years ago... -
Feu d'artifice mortel by Faith Martin
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratings‘An explosive read… Characters, dialogue and plot were superb.’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars As the Hughes family celebrate bonfire night, a terrible accident leaves the garden shed in flames – and father and grandfather Thomas trapped inside. Tragic though it is, Thomas’s death passes without suspicion – until a local journalist makes accusations of a police cover-up in the press... -
The Black Cat Murders by Karen Baugh Menuhin
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDownton Abbey meets Agatha Christie with a touch of Wodehouse and a dog of distinction. Who killed Sir Crispin Gibbons? A wedding invitation and news of mischief that could be murder, takes Lennox to The Earl of Bloxford's country estate. He soon finds himself in a world of purloined artworks, forgeries and a priceless Bloxford Beauty... -
A Fatal Secret by Faith Martin
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOxford, 1961A family day out at Briar’s Hall ends in tragedy when a young boy goes missing – and his body is found at the bottom of a disused well in the orchard.It looks like a simple case of an eleven-year-old exploring where he shouldn’t: a tragic accident. But Coroner Clement Ryder and Probationary WPC Trudy Loveday aren’t convinced... -
The Lies That Bind by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe eighth book of the best-selling Boystown Mystery Series begins with a phone call in the middle of the night. Private investigator Nick Nowak is pulled into the troubled world of freelance journalist, and all around pain-in-the-ass, Christian Baylor. When Christian can’t stop lying about the corpse in his bathroom things slip slowly out of control... -
Bloodlines by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the latest book in the Boystown Mystery series, Private Investigator Nick Nowak finds himself simultaneously working two cases for his new client, law firm Cooke, Babcock and Lackerby. A suburban dentist has just been convicted of murdering her adulterous husband, Nick is asked to interview witnesses for the penalty phase of the trial—and possibly find the dead man’s mistress... -
Fade Out by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Lambda Award-winning Boystown Mystery series comes to a close with Boystown 13: Fade Out. When a box containing a woman’s corpse shows up at his doorstep, Private Investigator Nick Nowak finds himself accused of murder. The police are convinced it’s Rita Lindquist—a woman who once shot Nick. Their case is thin, but they and the state’s attorney are determined to prosecute him... -
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Lay Your Sleeping Head by Michael Nava, Michael Hames-García
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThirty years ago, The Little Death introduced Henry Rios, a gay, Latino criminal defense lawyer who became the central figure in a celebrated seven novel series... -
The Fateful Marriage by Elizabeth Bailey
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA brand new mystery featuring Lady Fan! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Barbara Erskine and Jane Austen. Wherever Lady Fan goes, murder follows… 1791, England Lady Ottilia and Lord Francis Fanshawe are holidaying in Tunbridge Wells when they stumble across the scene of a horrific accident... -
Late Fees by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt’s Thanksgiving, 1992 and Noah Valentine is late picking his mother up from the airport. When he arrives he discovers that she’s made a friend on the flight whose also waiting for her son. When women’s son doesn’t show up, they eventually take the woman home for breakfast with neighbor’s Marc and Louis... -
The Atlantis Stone by Nick Hawkes
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBenjamin is part Aborigine, but nightmares from the past cause him to disown his heritage. Unfortunately, he feels no more at home in the Western world and so struggles to know his identity. Benjamin seeks to hide from both worlds in his workshop where he ekes out a living as a wood-turner... -
Murder on the Boardwalk by Lee Strauss, Denise Jaden
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBrand New 1950s Cozy Mystery series by USA TODAY bestselling author Lee Strauss! Murder's such a shock! When Rosa Reed, aka CPW Reed of the Metropolitan Police, and her cousin Gloria decide to spend a carefree and fun-filled afternoon in 1956 at the fair on the boardwalk in Santa Bonita, California, they're in for a shocking surprise... -
Murder in the Library by Martha Bond
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMurder mystery at the manor!After months of travel, former maid, Lottie Sprigg, returns to Fortescue Manor in the rolling hills of Shropshire. Her arrival coincides with a celebratory dinner to mend a family feud. But the flow of champagne dwindles to a trickle when a body is found in the library…Who committed the atrocity? Suspicion falls on several some above stairs and some below... -
Murder in the Churchyard by Catherine Coles
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDownton Abbey crossed with Murder, She Wrote...set in a Yorkshire village!When the body of Isolde Newley's long lost husband is found in the grounds of St Augustus churchyard, suspicion falls on Isolde and everyone close to her - especially her new love interest, the dashing Dr Mainwaring.The mystery is exacerbated by the largest snowfall seen in North Yorkshire for years... -
No Stone Unturned by Pam Lecky
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA suspicious death, stolen gems and an unclaimed who will be the victor in a deadly game of cat and mouse? London October 1886 : Trapped in a troubled marriage, Lucy Lawrence is ripe for an adventure. But when she meets the enigmatic Phineas Stone, over the body of her husband in the mortuary, her world begins to fall apart...Categorized as:
crime amateur-sleuth mystery historical historical-fiction industrial-era victorian fiction -
Guaranteed to Bleed by Julie Mulhern
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWith his dying breath, Bobby Lowell begs Ellison Russell, “Tell her I love her.” Unable to refuse, Ellison struggles to find the girl the murdered boy loved. Too bad an epically bad blind date, a vindictive graffiti artist, and multiple trips to the emergency room keep getting in the way... -
Murder at the Village Fete by Catherine Coles
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDownton Abbey crossed with Murder, She Wrote...set in a Yorkshire village!Evelyn Christie, the new Lady Northmoor, is looking forward to hosting the local village fete in the grounds of Hessleham Hall... -
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The Lost Ancestor by Nathan Dylan Goodwin
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom acclaimed author, Nathan Dylan Goodwin comes this exciting new genealogical crime mystery, featuring the redoubtable forensic genealogist, Morton Farrier. When Morton is called upon by Ray Mercer to investigate the 1911 disappearance of his great aunt, a housemaid working in a large Edwardian country house, he has no idea of the perilous journey into the past that he is about to make... -
Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the brothels and gin-shops of Covent Garden to the elegant townhouses of Mayfair, Laura Shepherd-Robinson's Daughters of Night follows Caroline Corsham, as she seeks justice for a murdered woman whom London society would rather forget . . .Lucia’s fingers found her own. She gazed at Caro as if from a distance. Her lips parted, her words a whisper: ‘He knows.’London, 1782...Categorized as:
crime amateur-sleuth historical-fiction mystery historical fiction audiobook suspense -
A Conspiracy of Wolves by Candace Robb
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen a prominent citizen is murdered, former Captain of the Guard Owen Archer is persuaded out of retirement to investigate in this gripping medieval mystery.1374. When a member of one of York’s most prominent families is found dead in the woods, his throat torn out, rumours spread like wildfire that wolves are running loose throughout the city... -
Hidden Treasures by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt’s about a dress. A valuable blue sequined dress worn by a famed actress in a film from the 1940s. For some reason everyone thinks video storeowner Noah Valentine has it. Which might not be a big deal except that it’s connected to the murder of a prominent Hollywood costumer.In the second of the Pinx Video Mysteries, Noah attempts to solve the mystery of the dress... -
All Lessons Learned: A classic mystery romance by Charlie Cochrane
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“A sparkling, intelligent series, not to be missed” – The Historical Novel Society The Great War is over. Freed from a prisoner of war camp and back at St. Bride’s College, Orlando Coppersmith is discovering what those years have cost.... All he holds dear—including his beloved Jonty Stewart, lost in combat... -
Kathleen Catches a Killer by M. Louisa Locke
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt’s the very end of December, 1880, and the servant Kathleen Hennessey expects to spend a quiet week taking care of the O’Farrell Street boarding house while her employers, Annie and Nate Dawson, are off spending the Christmas holidays with Nate’s family... -
The Anarchists' Club by Alex Reeve
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt's been a year since Leo Stanhope lost the woman he loved, and came closing to losing his own life. Now, more than ever, he is determined to keep his head down and stay safe, without risking those he holds dear... -
One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA mystery she can't remember. A friend she can't forget.I kept your secret Lucy. I've kept it for more than sixty years . . .It is 1951, and at number six Sycamore Street fifteen-year-old Edie Green is lonely. Living alone with her eccentric mother - who conducts seances for the local Ludthorpe community - she is desperate for something to shake her from her dull, isolated life...Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth crime mystery historical-fiction fiction historical audiobook friendship -
Just a Little Seduction by Merry Farmer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDavid Wirth has made it his life’s work to fight for the rights of those who cannot defend themselves and to navigate England’s choppy legal waters for fellow members of The Brotherhood. Tracking down the three villainous noblemen, including a powerful duke, who have masterminded a child kidnapping ring promises to be the pinnacle of his career seeking justice for the helpless... -
The Cursed Writer by Holly Hepburn
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPreorder the BRAND NEW instalment in Holly Hepburn's page-turning Baker Street Mystery series Join Harriet White in 1930's London for another glorious Sherlock Holmes-inspired mystery, for fans of Nita Prose and Janice... -
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The Burning Plain by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGay Mexican American lawyer Henry Rios has fought bigotry and prejudice, battled alcoholism, and watched his lover die from AIDS. In The Burning Plain, he's wrongly accused of murder after a male prostitute he spent an evening with is savagely murdered... -
Howtown by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWinner of six Lambda Literary awards, the Henry Rios mystery series is iconic and Michael Nava has been hailed by the New York Times as "one of our best" crime writers. Upon its original publication, the Los Angeles Times said of Howtown and its author: "Nava's mysteries are faithful to the conventions of the genre, but they are set apart by their insight, compassion, and sense of social justice. -
The Hidden Law by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWinner of six Lambda Literary awards, the Henry Rios mystery series is iconic. In The Hidden Law, Rios delves deeply into his Latino identity as he defends a young man charged with assassinating a prominent Los Angeles Latino politician... -
Lessons in Power by Charlie Cochrane
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe ghosts of the past will shape your future. Unless you fight them. Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 4 Cambridge, 1907 After settling in their new home, Cambridge dons Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart are looking forward to nothing more exciting than teaching their students and playing rugby... -
Disaster at the Christmas Dinner by Emily Organ
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA poisoned plum pudding. A mutilated snowman. Christmas has gone disastrously wrong in Compton Poppleford.Elderly sleuths Churchill and Pemberley are enjoying Christmas dinner with friends when a guest is fatally poisoned... -
Death in the Spires by K.J. Charles
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe newspapers called us the Seven Wonders. We were a group of friends, that’s all, and then Toby died. Was killed. Murdered. 1905. A decade after the grisly murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham, the case remains hauntingly unsolved. For Jeremy Kite, the crime not only stole his best friend, it destroyed his whole life... -
My Dearest Holmes by Rohase Piercy
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"The accounts of these cases are too bound up with events in my personal life which, although they may provide a plausible commentary to much of my dealings with Mr Sherlock Holmes, can never be public while he or I remain alive... -
The Red Hill by David Penny
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA killer who can’t be stopped. A request that can’t be refused.In 1482 the Englishman Thomas Berrington is living in the last remnants of Moorish Spain. A physician, he is an unwilling friend to the most powerful man in the kingdom. When bodies start to turn up, each showing the marks of a savage attack, Thomas is asked to investigate... -
Slash and Burn by Colin Cotterill
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe good doctor and renowned coroner needs a holiday... -
Turning the Tide by Edith Maxwell
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"An intriguing look at life in 19th-century New England, a heroine whose goodness guides all her decisions, and a mystery that surprises."--Kirkus Reviews A suffragist is murdered in Rose Carroll's Massachusetts town Excitement runs high during presidential election week in 1888... -
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A Country of Old Men by Joseph Hansen
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHansen offers the final novel of his epic mystery series--an intricately-plotted story of action, irony, and twists. Dave Brandstetter comes to the aid of an old friend and ends up investigating a case that involves child abuse, drugs, AIDS, and victimization of the elderly... -
Just a Little Danger by Merry Farmer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEverett Jewel is the hottest star the London stage has seen in a generation. He is brash, sensual, and sure of himself. Men and women throw themselves at his feet, and he laps up the attention. But all of Everett’s glittering star power hides his wounded heart. He has adoration, but he longs for a love that he doesn’t think he’s worthy of, due to his dark past... -
Selected Novels and Short Stories by Patricia Highsmith
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPatricia Highsmith's dark talents, obsessive interest in love and murder, and macabre sensibility produced some of the most influential and deeply unsettling fiction of the twentieth century. For the reader uninitiated in the deadly world of her canon, this collection offers the first serious introduction to her remarkable range and psychological insight... -
An Ancient Evil by Paul Doherty
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn Ancient Evil inaugurates an ingenious new series of historical mysteries by P. C. Doherty, each one using characters from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. In Chaucer's poem, the pilgrims narrate tales to pass the time during their journey to the sacred shrine of Canterbury; Doherty's pilgrims entertain their companions with stories of mystery, terror, and murder... -
The Noble Outlaw by Bernard Knight
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRenovations of a school in 12th-century Exeter are disrupted by the shocking discovery of a partially mummified corpse hidden in the rafters, and the county coroner Sir John de Wolfe is called in to investigate. Richard de Revelle, Sir John's brother-in-law and founder of the school, immediately blames Nicholas de Arundell, a young outlawed knight...Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth crime adult book fiction historical historical-fiction law-enforcement -
The Traitor of St Giles by Michael Jecks
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn 1321, the King's favorite, Hugh Despenser, is using his position to steal land and wealth from the other lords. His rapacity has divided the nation, and civil war looms. In Tiverton, rape and murder have unsettled the town, which is preparing for the feast of St. Giles; Philip Dyne has confessed and claimed sanctuary in St. Peter's church...
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