When the dust settled and the blood dried after the Battle of Plataea, Greeks might have thought that their freedom was secured. But before the corpse of the Great King’s general was cold, Athens and Sparta began to bicker over dividing up the spoils. After an autumn of victory, it’s a long cold winter among […]
Resurrection by David Gilman
Somewhere in the Sahara, on the desolate border between Sudan and Chad, a P51 Mustang with long-range drop tanks slowly emerges from the dunes. Inside, the skeletalised remains of a man missing for three decades. His flying jacket bears no insignia, a worn leather attaché case lies by his side, held securely by a manacle […]
Chasing the Dragon by Mark Wightman
It’s Singapore, 1940. When a local fisherman discovers the body of a missing American archaeologist, supposedly drowned, Detective Inspector Betancourt of the Singapore Marine Police decides things don’t quite add up. The archaeologist was close to deciphering the hitherto-untranslatable script carved on a pre-colonial relic known as the Singapore Stone, and was in prime position to capture […]
Historia interview: SG MacLean
To mark SG (Shona) MacLean’s new novel, The Winter List, being published, Historia spoke to her about returning to characters we thought we’d seen the last of, as well as how she goes about researching her novels and the importance of place. Shona also offered us some advice for new writers as well as a […]
Blessed are the Dead by CB Hanley
In April, 1219, Edwin Weaver finds himself at Tickhill Castle under false pretences. Earl Warenne wants Tickhill for himself and is convinced that a royal order for the castle to be handed over has been hidden, so he’s sent Edwin to find it and told him not to come back until he does. Frantic with […]
The Winter List by SG MacLean
By the summer of 1660 the last remnants of the Republic have been swept away and the Stuarts have been restored under their king, Charles II. A list of regicides believed to be involved in the death of Charles I is drawn up. Gruesome executions begin to take place and the hunt intensifies for those […]
Protector of Mercia by MJ Porter
We’re in Tamworth in the year 833. After successfully rescuing her husband, Lord Coenwulf, from the Isle of Sheppey, Icel hears the deathbed confession of Lady Cynehild — which leaves him questioning what he knows about his past, as well as his future. Icel is in the unenviable position of being oath-sworn to protect their […]
A Fire at the Exhibition by Tim Kinsey
It’s May in 1912, and after the previous year’s deadly heatwave, it’s been an uneventful spring in Littleton Cotterell. Though for Lady Hardcastle and her fiercely loyal lady’s maid Flo, at least there are the provincial delights of the village’s inaugural art exhibition — and bicycle race — to look forward to. But at the […]