1587, and Mary, Queen of Scots, dies by the executioner's axe, her head, shorn of its auburn wig, rolling across the platform. Will her death end the ceaseless plotting against Mary's red-haired cousin, Elizabeth? 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada, is a time of more terror and triumph, not just for queen and court but for the whole of England. The turmoil is reflected in its theatres and under the galleries of inns like London's The Queen's Head where Lord Westfield's Men perform. The scene there on grows even more tumultuous when one of the actors is murdered by a mysterious stranger during a brawl. Nicholas Bracewell, the company's bookholder, a role far wider than mere producer, faces two immediate repercussions. The first is to secure a replacement acceptable to its temperamental star -- and chief shareholder -- Lawrence Firethorn. The second is to keep his promise to the dying Will Fowler and catch his killer. Soon further robberies, accidents, and misfortunes strike Lord Westfield's Men even as their stage successes swell. Bracewell begins to suspect a conspiracy, not a single murderous act, but where lies the proof? Then the players are rewarded with the ultimate accolade -- an appearance at court -- and the canny bookholder senses the end to the drama is at hand.... First published to great acclaim in 1988, The Queen's Head anticipated the lure of bawdy, boisterous, yet elegant epics like Shakespeare in Love. Actor and playwrite Marston has followed with, to date, ten more lusty, historically grounded, theatrically sound Bracewell mysteries that explore the face of England and reveal his deep love for its rich literary and dramatic heritage. The Roaring Boy wasnominated for a 1996 Edgar Award for Best Novel. From Publishers Weekly Marston launches a series with this first appearance of Nicholas Bracewell, "book holder" for an English theatrical company in 1588. Not only the prompter but also the wise manager of the group, Bracewell must cope with temperamental thespians and other, more grave crises. As England rejoices in the triumph over the Spanish Armada, the troupe rehearses a play honoring Queen Elizabeth, which she will attend. Hopes for a gala performance are dashed when a villain named "Redbeard" kills actor Will Fowler; that event and other incidents lead Bracewell to suspect a plot to ruin the company. Helped by Sam Ruff, who substitutes for Fowler, the manager keeps up morale and takes steps to guard against Redbeard in advance of the queen's arrival at the theater. Marston's exhilarating mystery, ending with a bang-up close--on and off stage--is colored by details about the acting profession at that time and, sadly, about the era's mortal quarrels between Catholics and Protestants.

'Thefts of this kind are highly unusual. I'm sure the clerk never believed he was in any danger.' 'Well, he was. You're after a cunning devil, Inspector – smoke him out.'An eagerly awaited collection of brand new, specially commissioned short stories from the master of historical crime fiction Edward Marston, featuring his quick-witted Railway Detective, Inspector Robert Colbeck.In this thrilling selection of stories, a young porter is found dead in a coal tub; Colbeck devises a trap to catch a thief; and a burnt train carriage holds a gruesome secret in a small coastal village. As Colbeck and his trusty aide Sergeant Victor Leeming begin to piece together clues and motives for each crime, it becomes clear the pair must stay a step ahead of the culprits to solve the cases. With a new suspect at every turn, can the duo unearth the real villains?Including 'The End of the Line' and 'The Barber of Ravenglass', jealousy, vengeance and duplicity all...

The year is 1855, and on the LNWR train to London, a criminal is being escorted to his appointment with the hangman. But the wily Jeremy Oxley, con-man, thief and murderer, has one last ace up his sleeve: a beautiful and ruthless accomplice willing to do anything to save her lover, including committing cold-blooded murder. Inspector Robert Colbeck is dreaming of his impending wedding to Madeleine Andrews as he enters Superintendent Tallis's office. When he learns that Oxley, his nemesis, has once again escaped, black memories of their shared past leave him no choice but to do his duty. No matter the cost, he must bring the murderous Oxley to justice once and for all. But Jeremy Oxley is no ordinary adversary. He knows the law is on his trail and retreats to his favourite hunting ground: the complex web of railways, sinews of empire, where he can stalk his prey. It spells deadly peril for the famous Railway Detective. With the faithful Victor Leeming at his side and the idealistic young Ian Peebles at his back, Colbeck must use all of his considerable skill to track his elusive enemy. But could Colbeck have finally met his match?

January 1916. Britain is on the brink of enforcing conscription. Eligible young men who have not yet signed up to fight are despised as 'conchies' and 'shirkers', subjected to hatred and verbal abuse. Cyril Ablatt, leader of Shoreditch's group of conscientious objectors, makes a rousing speech at a meeting of the No-Conscription Fellowship, refusing to be 'an instrument of slaughter in a khaki uniform'.When Cyril is brutally bludgeoned to death, Scotland Yard detectives Inspector Marmion and Sergeant Keedy are assigned to the case. As the pair build up a portrait of Cyril, they unearth an intriguing private life behind the man's saintly facade. It soon becomes clear there are plenty of suspicious characters with motives for the killing.Meanwhile, public sympathy is lukewarm. Some people even claim that a conchie deserves to die if he won't fight for King and Country. And in the wake of the murder, three close friends of Ablatt fear that they may also be under threat....

Colonel Aubrey Tarleton is a man respected by his neighbors in the small Yorkshire village of South Otterington as much for his heroic feats in the army as for his social position. So the community is left stunned when Tarleton, deliberately, walks into the path of a speeding train. He is crushed to death on the track, but it is not his broken limbs that attract the attention of the train driver; rather, it is the note pinned to his chest, fluttering in the breeze: 'Whoever finds me, notify Superintendent Tallis of the Detective Department at Scotland Yard'. The famous Railway Detective, Inspector Robert Colbeck, finds his superior officer in great distress when he arrives at the Yard the following morning. Tallis is clutching a letter from his now deceased friend. In it, Tarleton makes it clear that he no longer wishes to live if he has to do so without his beloved wife, who has disappeared. When the news arrives that a man's body has been found on the track near Thirsk, the coincidence is too great. Was Tarleton responsible for his wife's disappearance, and was his suicide the act of a guilty man? Tallis cannot believe that to be the case and sets out for Yorkshire, accompanied by Colbeck and his trusty Sergeant Victor Leeming, determined to uncover the truth.

The theaters of Elizabethan England can be a very dangerous environment. With dozens of troupes competing for the attentions of a fickle theater-going public, rival companies regularly resort to nefarious activities to thwart a competitor's success, tensions occasionally erupt into violence and, in some instances, the result is murder. So it is no surprise that Westfield's Men, the most successful troupe in London and a prime target for jealousy and resentment, are plagued by a series of practical jokes. But when one of their actors is murdered, the humor turns distinctly sour. Appalling events continue: Lawrence Firethorn, actor-manager, is stalked by a mysterious lady; the sole copy of The Malevolent Comedy, the company's new play, is stolen; their leading apprentice is abducted; and there is an attempt on the life of Lord Westfield, their patron. It's soon clear that someone more vicious than a practical jokester is trying to destroy the troupe. Nicholas Bracewell, the resourceful book holder, has an almighty struggle to save his beloved company from certain demise. Of course thwarting disaster is Nick's specialty, and Edward Marston's longtime readers will thoroughly enjoy this suspense-filled, raucous romp filled with the delightful backstage antics of mystery fiction's favorite ensemble cast.

Captain Daniel Rawson's most dangerous escapade yetFlanders, 1707. Returning to camp from a dangerous solo mission behind enemy lines, Captain Daniel Rawson finds himself stranded, with French soldiers in fierce pursuit. A kindly farmer helps Daniel hide and then to escape – but with dire consequences.Back in England there is political unrest. Queen Anne's favour has shifted causing the Duke of Marlborough to resign as Commander-in-Chief. And all the while, the treacherous and scheming Duc de Vendôme, is hell-bent on capturing Daniel, by any means at his disposal.With the odds stacked against him, Daniel, aided by his friend Henry Welbeck, must face his greatest challenge yet and fight for his life at the bloody battle of Oudenarde.

Bookholder Nicholas Bracewell, fresh from his triumph holding together his volatile players' company during a treasonous plot against Queen Elizabeth, is set to make the galleries of The Queen's Head ring with laughter with a new comedy, The Merry Devils. The lugubrious landlord is sure mischief will result. Nicholas sees only a harmless comedy that will not summon up real devils, but two actors adept at tumbling. How then, during the crucial scene, do three devils appear on stage, one looking disturbingly real? And what of the deviltry that follow? One imp, in fact, soon lies dead beneath the stage... The author's knowledge of Elizabethan statecraft and his deep affection for the period show in every word.