A puzzling new Christmas mystery from USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Benedict!

Rest. In. Pieces.

On 1st of December, renowned puzzle setter, loner, and Christmas curmudgeon Edie O'Sullivan finds a hand-delivered present on her doorstep. Unwrapping it, she finds a jigsaw box and, inside, six jigsaw pieces. When fitted together, the pieces show part of a crime scene - blood-spattered black and white tiles and part of an outlined body. Included in the parcel is a message: 'Four, maybe more, people will be dead by midnight on Christmas Eve, unless you can put all the pieces together and stop me.' It's signed, Rest In Pieces.

Edie contacts her nephew, DI Sean Brand-O'Sullivan, and together they work to solve the clues. But when a man is found near death with a jigsaw piece in his hand, Sean fears that Edie might be in danger and shuts her out of the investigation. As the body count rises, however, Edie knows that only she has the knowledge to put together the killer's murderous puzzle.

Only by fitting all the pieces together will Edie be able to stop a killer - and finally lay her past to rest.

Curl up by the fire (and lock all the doors) for this Christmas cracker of a book. --C.S. Green, author of Sleep Tight

Twelve clues. Twelve keys. Twelve days of Christmas. But how many will die before Twelfth Night?

Agatha Christie meets Clue in this delightful, tense manor house murder mystery.

The annual Christmas Game is afoot at Endgame House, the Armitages' grand family home. This year's prize is to die for--deeds to the house itself--but Lily Armitage has no intention of returning. She hasn't been back to Endgame since her mother died, twenty-one years ago, and she has no intention of claiming the house that haunts her dreams.

Until, that is, she receives a letter from her aunt promising that the game's riddles will give her the keys not only to Endgame, but to its darkest secrets, including the identity of her mother's murderer.

Now, Lily must compete with her estranged cousins for the twelve days of Christmas. The snow is thick, the phone lines are down, and no one is getting in or out. Lily will have to keep her wits about her, because not everyone is playing fair, and there's no telling how many will die before the winner is declared.

Including additional scavenger hunts for the reader, this clever murder mystery is the perfect gift for fans of classic mysteries, festive Christmas books, and armchair detective work.

Strong prose and a bevy of plausible suspects keep things intriguing. Readers willing to embrace this Christmas story's jagged edges are in for a ripping mystery.-- Publishers Weekly

All aboard, but beware! Passengers who sleep on this train may never wake up.

In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train from London to the Highlands derails, along with the festive plans of its travelers. With the train buried in snow in the middle of nowhere, the passengers have only each other, and not all of them will reach their holiday celebrations.

As a killer tries to pick passengers off one by one, former Met Detective Roz Parker can't resist one last investigation, but murder in a locked room is a formidable puzzle for even the most seasoned investigator. As accusations begin to fly, the group of travelers fractures and unexpected alliances form. Can Roz find the culprit before anyone else is lost?

According to rumor, Captain William Hawkins has no heart. But a great fire burns beneath his stone facade. He's determined to protect his family from a dark secret that threatens to tear them apart, and when the former pirate turned gentleman apprehends a lady jewel thief, he takes advantage of the quandary and offers the seductress an unusual proposition.

Lady Madeline Winters is running out of time. Her beloved grandfather is being held captive and the penniless beauty must resort to scandalous measures to pay off his ransom. But when a handsome devil thwarts her plans, all seems lost-until the striking captain makes her a deal: he will save her grandfather if she plays party to his scheme.

As the couple form an uneasy alliance, adventure sweeps them across the sea, while steamy ship-bound nights tempt them with promises of pleasure . . . but can a hardened captain let the wild and stormy ways of love take root? Or will Madeline have to steal the brigand's heart?

ONCE UPON A DREAM is a collection of previously published e-shorts now available for the first time in PRINT; each bedtime story is based on a classic fairy tale and ranges in heat from spicy to kisses, so there is something for every romance lover. A perfect read for a night of sweet dreams!

In ASHES one widow's broken heart leads her to seek earthly pleasures as a courtesan ... until her long lost husband returns home.

When a young lady is snubbed by HER LORD CINDER at her debut ball, she vows to make the scoundrel pay ... but matters of the heart never do run smooth.

A runaway bride, THE HIGHLAND ROSE falls into the hands of a beastly laird, imprisoned on his estate for an unforgivable sin. Her only escape? She must melt the laird's heart.

A fearsome lord kidnaps a reckless beauty to be THE WOLFE'S BRIDE. Trapped in the castle, Leora must tame The Wolfe to regain her freedom ... but she uncovers his darkest secret instead.

In BRAIDED HEARTS a straight-laced duke seduces a broken-hearted enchantress from her ivory tower.

BOOKS: 1-5

He wanted revenge. She wanted escape. Neither wanted the love of a lifetime ...

A lord so sinful he is dubbed the Duke of Rogues, Damian Westmore lives for pleasure--until the day his brother dies at the hands of pirates. Abandoning the libertine life to pursue revenge, Damian finds the criminals he seeks and joins their crew in disguise, waiting for the chance to strike the brigands down. But he never imagined there would be a woman on board--or that the stunning siren would inflame the very passions Damian swore to resist until his brother's death was avenged.

Beautiful, fiery Mirabelle Hawkins longs for the freedom of the high seas--so she stows away on her brother's pirate ship at the first opportunity. But she finds something more exciting than chase and plunder: a bold, handsome, secretive sailor whose touch makes her tremble with desire . . . but whose love is a cutlass that could destroy all she holds dear.

He needed salvage. She needed protection. Both needed the healing power of love ...

Lonely and overcome with grief after a painful loss in his past, Adam Westmore walks the ocean's edge in solitude.

Forced to marry a depraved prince, a desperate Evelyn Waye believes she has no choice but to throw herself from the jagged cliffs into the crashing surf below.

When Adam sees the enchanting woman in terrible danger, he rescues her from death and brings her back to his humble cottage. Hesitant to reveal his true identity as a distinguished lord, he nonetheless offers to protect her. And she needs protection, for the prince will find her--and harm her.

Evelyn wants to trust the handsome stranger who saved her life, but her cursed beauty has made her suspicious of all men--even one whose kindness disarms her, whose gentle touch inspires passion within her.

Soon Adam and Evelyn are consumed by desire--a dangerous desire that puts their very lives in peril.

***Includes the bonus novella, MISTRESS OF PARADISE, the prequel to The Hawkins Brothers Series.***

It's Christmas Eve. Mistletoe is in the air. And seduction is afoot ...

Unwilling to taint any woman with the terrible secret hidden in his heart, Sebastian, Viscount Ravenswood, has sworn never to marry. Luckily, whimsical Henrietta Ashby was never much of a temptation for the devilishly handsome rogue--until now. Suddenly, with the help of England's most notorious courtesan, Henrietta has learned to seduce him with a bewitching charm ... and clandestine midnight kisses. Will the viscount surrender to seduction? Or will he ultimately prove too scandalous to wed?

***this fun, fast and flirty read, previously titled Too Scandalous to Wed, was re-released in 2021 with new content, cover and title.***

Sinfully decadent Anthony Kennington, Viscount Hastings, lives for pleasure-and he rues the day when he must wed and produce an heir. But he is not a man who runs from danger, and when he chances upon an enchanting gypsy maiden in the woods hounded by bandits, he leaps to her defense. Now, surely, there is but one place for the injured and unconscious lovely to properly recuperate: in his bed.

Sabrina is shocked when she awakens in an opulent bedchamber, nursed in every way by a dashing gentleman. She knows she must leave the haven of Anthony's home at once, even though her life is still in grave danger-though a different kind of peril awaits her in the viscount's arms. If Sabrina surrenders to this handsome rogue, she will be an outcast. Yet does she dare ignore the future that's written on his palm-the promise of a shared lifetime of love and ecstasy?

Alexandra Benedict has a gift for storytelling.

--Cathy Maxwell

A rich and sensuous story that carries the reader from the dark and dangerous underworld to the gleaming halls of society, The Notorious Scoundrel is another sizzling and edgy read from the extraordinarily talented Alexandra Benedict. The second book in her Hawkins Brothers series featuring a family of former pirates navigating their way through London society, The Notorious Scoundrel is a novel reminiscent of the early works of Stephanie Laurens--a tale brimming with sensuality and intrigue, featuring a darkly mysterious hero and red hot love scenes, that fans of Suzanne Enoch and Cathy Maxwell will absolutely adore.

Emily Wright is rich, beautiful, spoiled-and friendless-until she discovers her arrogant servant boy is hiding a secret talent. As unlikely friendship blossoms into forbidden love, Emily must choose between her passion for a pauper and her place in high society.

A Pauper Turned Prince . . .

Grey Rees is now a famous, wealthy musician, but his soul still burns for the princess who once ruled his heart and rejected him. When fate gives him the chance to make Emily his servant, he seizes it. Now he is HER master. And he will finally wrest from her the power she still yields over him . . . But old passions are hard to tame.

A Kingdom in Peril . . .

When a sinister secret from the past returns to torment the star-crossed lovers, can they find redemption and a second chance at love? Or are some broken hearts impossible to mend?

The downtrodden daughter of a viscount, the Honorable Miss Holly Turner is desperate for money and assumes the secret identity of Lord H--the erotic artist--but her carefully crafted world turns on its ear when she stumbles into the room of one very handsome-and very naked-gentleman, mistaking him for her model.

Quincy Hawkins is chasing the dragon, hoping to outrun the demons from his past, but when an audacious--albeit beautiful--wench paints him in the buff, mayhem erupts. What is a gentleman pirate to do when scandal strikes? Marry the wench, of course. There's just one hitch. He won't bed her. Ever. His charming wife has already stolen from him his likeness, his freedom, and Quincy won't give her anything more . . . not even his body.

Holly can't believe her ears. A marriage in name alone? She will never have a wedding night? She will never know the pleasure of her husband's sensuous touch? Well, she won't stand for it. She intends to have a real marriage--with all the sensual benefits--even if it means seducing her stubborn pirate.