Grand & Batchelor Books

Introducing 19th-century private investigators Matthew Grand and James Batchelor in the first of a brand-new historical mystery series. April, 1865. Having been an eye witness to the assassination of President Lincoln, Matthew Grand, a former captain of the 3rd Cavalry of the Potomac, has come to London on an undercover assignment to hunt down the last of the assassin’s co-conspirators. Ambitious young journalist Jim Batchelor has been charged with writing a feature article on the visiting American, with the aim of getting the inside story on the assassination. Both men are distracted from their missions by the discovery of a body behind the Haymarket Theatre in London’s Soho district. It’s the latest in a series of grisly garrottings by a killer known as the Haymarket Strangler. As Grand and Batchelor team up to pursue their investigations through the dark underbelly of Victorian London, it becomes clear that there may be a disturbing connection between the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the Haymarket Strangler.

Intrepid 19th-century private investigators American Matthew Grand and Englishman James Batchelor return in their second mystery. July, 1868. On receiving a commission from Matthew’s cousin Luther to look into the suspicious death of Lafayette Baker, Head of the US National Detective Police, private investigators Matthew Grand and his business partner James Batchelor leave London for Washington DC. They find a country still scarred by the bitter legacy of the Civil War and even in death Lafayette Baker remains one of the most hated men north or south of the Potomac. The newly-created Ku Klux Klan wanted him dead. So did the Washington brothel-keepers, bar-owners and gamblers whom Baker had closed down. What does beautiful former spy Miss Belle Boyd know that she’s not telling them? And could the President himself be involved? Matthew Grand finds he has come home to a mixed reception, while Batchelor struggles as an Englishman abroad. Will either of them survive long enough to uncover the truth?

Nineteenth century private investigators American Matthew Grand and Englishman James Batchelor investigate the murder of Charles Dickens. June, 1870. The world-famous author Charles Dickens has been found dead in his summerhouse where he had been hard at work on his final, unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood . Did he die of natural causes – or is there something more sinister behind his sudden demise? George Sala, Dickens’ biographer, is convinced his friend was murdered – and he has hired Grand and Batchelor to prove it. Could Dickens’ death have something to do with his unconventional private life? Who is the mysterious woman who appears at his funeral? If they are to uncover the truth, Grand and Batchelor must leave no stone unturned. But are they prepared for the shocking secrets some of those unturned stones will reveal . . .?

The wedding of Matthew Grand's sister is marred by cold-blooded murder in the intriguing new Grand & Batchelor Victorian mystery. March, 1873. Private investigators Matthew Grand and James Batchelor have arrived at Matthew's substantial family home on the Maine coast for the wedding of his sister Martha. Friends and relatives have gathered from far and wide to celebrate the occasion, but nothing is going according to plan. A long-lost cousin turns up out of the blue after an absence of fourteen years. The best man is nowhere to be found. And no one seems to have a good word to say about the bridegroom. Preparations are thrown into chaos when a body is discovered in an upstairs bedroom. As Grand and Batchelor investigate, they discover that more than one member of the household has a scandalous secret to hide. And several more family skeletons are destined to tumble from the closet before the two enquiry agents uncover the shocking truth

A grisly discovery fished out of the River Thames marks the start of an intriguing new case for private detectives Grand & Batchelor. September, 1873. Private enquiry agents Matthew Grand and James Batchelor have been hired by timber merchant Selwyn Byng following the disappearance of his heiress wife. The only clue they have to go on is a badly spelled note demanding the princely sum of £5,000 if Byng is ever to see Emilia again. As the two investigators assess whether Byng has been telling them the whole truth, a second package brings an extremely unwelcome surprise. At the same time, a human torso is found floating in the River Thames. Could there be a connection to Emilia Byng’s disappearance … ?

Private detectives Grand & Batchelor embark for the Wild West - and headlong into a baffling murder investigation in this gripping Victorian mystery. March, 1875. Although he has never had much time for George Custer, hero of the American Civil War and Commander of the 7th Cavalry, Matthew Grand feels duty bound to respond to a call for help from his West Point contemporary. Arriving at Fort Abraham Lincoln, deep in Dakota territory, private enquiry agents Grand and Batchelor discover the fort to be a powder keg of rumour and suspicion, petty rivalries, resentments - and closely-guarded secrets. When a body is discovered during a routine scouting patrol, some of those secrets rise uncomfortably close to the surface. Are the Lakota Sioux responsible? Or does the killer lie closer to home? Could it have been a case of mistaken identity - and was Custer himself the real target? The General has made many enemies - but does someone have a good enough reason to kill him?

Private detectives Grand & Batchelor's latest case draws them into the arcane world of high art and high society in this compelling Victorian mystery. London. May, 1878. Private enquiry agents Matthew Grand and James Batchelor have been hired by the artist James Whistler to dig into the past of outspoken critic John Ruskin, with whom he has an ongoing feud. Not particularly optimistic of success, the two detectives are sidetracked from the investigation by the murder of a prostitute in nearby Cremorne Gardens. Her body posed on a park bench, a book on birth control sitting on her lap, Clara Jenkins is not the first young woman to have met a similarly grisly fate - and she won't be the last. Could there be a connection between the Cremorne killer and their art world case? With the investigation heading nowhere fast, Grand comes up with a decidedly unorthodox plan to ensnare the killer. But even the best-laid plans have a nasty habit of going catastrophically awry ...