The Bête Epoque
Enter an 1890s Europe where the empires of the world are ruled by monsters. The Bête Epoque world consists of the Miss Sharp's Monsters trilogy and the Miss Dark's Apparitions series - witty gaslamp/steampunk romps perfect for fans of The Parasol Protectorate!
Miss Sharp's Monsters
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The Werewolf of WhitechapelMurder, monsters…and a disreputable Victorian lady’s maid.
A killer stalks the grimy streets of Whitechapel—but Scotland Yard seems determined to turn a blind eye. With one look at her best friend's corpse, Liz Sharp already knows the truth: the killer is a werewolf. No one important will hold a werewolf accountable—after all, the monsters rule Europe. Certainly, no one will believe a werewolf victim like Liz: the very scars that make her determined to investigate Sal’s death also condemn her as the sort of female who’d sell her blood for easy money. As it happens, Liz’s best hope for justice might well lie with her emotionally repressed employer, Princess May. Though the princess has connections with werewolf royalty, there’s no one else Liz can turn to. Certainly, she can’t risk trusting the irritatingly personable Inspector Short, who dogs her steps from the slums of Whitechapel to the palaces of St James. But as corpses mount up, Liz discovers that no one is precisely who she thought: not Sal, not herself, and certainly not the werewolf. Luckily, she has a few tricks hidden in the pockets of her trusty bloomers… Read it now! Or, listen to the audiobook! |
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Anarchist on the Orient ExpressRevenants, revolution…and an amnesiac lady’s maid on the loose.
A trip to Europe is all in a day’s work for Liz Sharp—that is, until an anarchist throws a bomb at her employer. As a lady’s maid/bodyguard to royalty, Miss Sharp’s duty seems clear: protect Princess May, defuse the bomb, and hand over the would-be-killer to the police. At least, that’s what the distractingly good-looking Inspector Short advises. But Liz isn’t so sure. No one deserves to be executed and revivified as one of the undead policemen that terrorise Europe—and if that wasn’t enough, the bomber, Anton Lupei, claims he and Liz were once lovers. If only she can gain his trust, Anton could be Miss Sharp’s only link with a past and family she has forgotten. As the Orient Express steams from Paris to Hungary, Liz’s search for her past threatens to uncover a continent-spanning conspiracy. Why are the anarchists targeting Princess May? Who was Miss Sharp before she lost her memories? And how do you avoid being drained by a very hungry vampire? It’s just as well Liz thought to bring a set of lock-pick hairpins… Read it now! Or, listen to the audiobook! |
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A Vampire in BavariaVampires, vengeance…and a mutinous Victorian lady’s maid.
It’s not always easy to deal with a ticking bomb—and Miss Sharp just happens to have thrown this one straight at Queen Victoria’s royal train. Liz was only trying to save lives, but now she must face the Kabale, a secret tribunal of royal monsters who don’t easily forgive a stray bomb. If Liz can’t convince them of her loyalty, her life will be forfeit. Her best hope for survival may well rest with her worst enemy: the vampiric Grand Duke Vasily, who offers to help her bring down the Kabale, breaking their iron grip on Europe. Collaborating with Vasily comes with a price, and even if they succeed, Liz will be on the run for the rest of her life. Worst of all, she’ll make an enemy of the starchily attractive Inspector Short, for whom Liz has begun to feel something warmer than professional respect. But if she doesn’t take the war to the Kabale, more people will die—herself among them. It’s a good thing she has a secret weapon in the shape of her imperturbable employer, Princess May… Read it now! Or, listen to the audiobook! |
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A Study in SirensDownload this bonus novelette free when you sign up to my newsletter!
Miss Sharp is supposed be lying low after her run-in with the Whitechapel werewolf. But when a prematurely-aged corpse turns up tucked behind a statue in the Victoria Embankment Gardens, a baffled Inspector Short calls on Liz Sharp for help. Liz realises the killer is a siren—one of the monsters that rules Europe. When a princess asks for help evading an arranged marriage, Liz scents her chance to bring the murderer to justice. The plan is simple. Step one: convince Short it’s a good idea to use herself as the bait. Step two: lure the siren into her trap. No problem. After all, there can’t be too many sirens loose in London…can there? Get it now! |
Miss Dark's Apparitions
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Tall & DarkGhosts, grifters…and a missing heir in 1890s Europe.
It’s easier to conduct a séance when the dead aren’t trying to contact you. As Molly Dark knows all too well, the problem with being able to see ghosts is that they never tell you what you wish to know. For instance, how a proper young lady like Miss Dark is supposed to support an impoverished family after her father has died a ruined man. Or how she is going to impersonate a missing princess long enough to steal a fortune out from under the collective noses of a whole family of royal monsters. Or exactly why the charming imposter claims to be none other than Grand Duke Vasily Nikolaevich, when he certainly isn’t a prince…or a vampire. Alas, the dead normally have something far more unsettling to impart… Read it now! |
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Dark CloudsA cursed diamond…a cyborg detective…and a gang of would-be jewel thieves in Victorian London!
All her life, Molly Dark has been haunted by the restless dead—and now she’s finally able to do something about it. When the rich and monstrous take what they want, Miss Dark and her crew steal it back. At least, that’s the idea. In reality? In reality, the irritable inventor walks out, saying she doesn’t believe in ghosts and has important scientific research to conduct. The charming ex-vampire prince is only waiting for the perfect opportunity to stab Molly in the back. The millionaire American prosthete she’s decided to marry is also a celebrated amateur detective hunting for jewel thieves. And the fabulous, cursed Noor-Jahan diamond isn’t just the key to righting a decades-old wrong—it’s the bait in a fiendish trap. Read it now! |
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Dark & StormyA murdered ballerina…a family of vengeful vampires…and a glittering coronation in Imperial Russia.
Moscow in the springtime is an unhealthy place for a fugitive Grand Duke like Vasily Nikolaevich Romanov. But Molly Dark is learning to trust the ex-vampire prince, who hasn’t betrayed her quite as often as she expected. Besides, there are plenty of good reasons to visit Russia this year. There’s the missing ballerina whose unquiet ghost demands justice. There’s the new tsar’s spectacular coronation, which every royal monster in Europe is scheduled to attend. And there’s the irresistible opportunity to get the secret police off Grand Duke Vasily’s trail once and for all. It could even go well… if Vasily wasn’t bent on stealing back at least some of his lost fortune out from under the noses of his family, who in addition to being bloodthirsty vampires, are all completely bonkers. Never mind about the resentful ex-fiancee he forgot to mention… Read it now! |
Dark & Dawn
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Spectres, smugglers…and the heist of a lifetime in colonial Hong Kong!
Thief she may be, but Molly Dark has rules: she only ever steals to benefit others—never herself. This time Molly only wants answers about the death of her father and the worrying persistence of his ghost—answers which almost certainly lie with his former business partner, Sir Humphrey Seton. Yet from the moment Miss Dark arrives on the doorstep of Sir Humphrey’s towering Hong Kong mansion, she can’t help sensing something rotten in the stifling summer air. Why are there so many barred windows and locked doors at Seton Castle? Why has Lady Seton made a sudden descent into madness? And why is the castle infested with such a catastrophic number of ghosts? It’s just possible the answer has something to do with Molly’s own missing inheritance…but she won’t find out, not unless she’s willing to break a few of her own rules. Not unless she’s willing to steal for herself. And not unless she’s ready to trust her crew…including the ex-vampire who stole her heart. Read it now! |
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A Stab in the DarkUndead dancers, underhanded management…and a deadly opera ghost in 1890s Paris!
Now comfortably wealthy for the first time in her life, Miss Dark finds herself looking forward to her crew’s newest assignment at the Paris Opera. Certainly, it’s tough luck on the tenor whose grisly death has put an unceremonious halt to the new Wagner production. But helping Vasily to steal the Paris Opera in the guise of a squabbling married couple could be exactly the introduction to high society Molly has been itching for. Miss Nijam, meanwhile, has always longed to solve a murder, and helping her to evade the death-traps littered around the Opera might finally give Alphonse Schmidt the opportunity to confess his feelings. And Mimi Laine, whose talents as a cat-burglar have always outstripped her abilities as a ballerina, is eager for her long-awaited chance to study with a master, the mysterious M Christophe. But life isn’t easy for a crew of thieves who’ve relinquished their burglar to the pursuit of Art. And meanwhile, ballerinas like Mimi are disappearing into the depths of the Opera. If Molly and her crew can’t solve the mystery of the Opera Ghost, one of their own might be next… Read it now! |
Coming Soon
Miss Dark's Apparitions Book 6, Dark Secrets, will be published in 2025, DV. Sign up to my mailing list to receive exclusive content including updates on my progress and ARC opportunities!
