Fiona Hampton

Beatrice Steele has none of the accomplishments of a true lady but Little does anyone know that Beatrice also harbours a dark secret: an obsession with the true crime cases she reads about in the newspaper.

For her family's sake, she's vowed to put this most unladylike obsession behind her. Eligible bachelor Edmund Croaksworth is set to attend the autumnal ball, and the Steele family hopes that her eldest sister Louisa will steal his heart. Their future depends on this match! Beatrice needs be on her best behaviour...

But maybe, just maybe, it's Beatrice's time to shine when Croaksworth drops dead in the middle of a minuet…

1940. The royal family must do all they can to assure the British public of their solidarity. But what of the two young princesses - Elizabeth and Margaret? How can they be kept safe without jeopardising morale in the capital? 

Meanwhile Celia Nashe is delighted when she finally gets her long-awaited transfer to MI5. But whatever she was expecting of her mission for the war effort, it wasn't this. A crumbling castle in remote, rural Ireland, playing nursemaid to two pampered young girls.

But her posting soon turns out to be very far from tame. Questions are being asked by the locals about the identities of Celia's secret charges. And when a dead body turns up at the castle gates, it will take every effort to uncover the truth, and to stop it from coming to light.