Welcome to a thrilling new series, "Crime & Passion," from USA Today Bestselling Author Mary Lancaster. London, 1851 In the shadow of the Great Exhibition, poverty and crime stalk the meaner backstreets of the city. But sin is not confined to the underworld. One couple passes seamlessly between the neighboring worlds of privilege and privation, solving crimes and enabling love to bloom. An unforgettable night at the opera... When she accompanies her family to Covent Garden, Lady Grizelda Niven does not expect to be discovered in a nearby back street, clutching a dagger over the dead body of her maid. However, she is even more surprised when the police arrest, not her, but, the devastatingly handsome young man who found her. Clearly, it behooves her to have him released and to enlist his alliance in discovering who truly killed Nancy. Dragan Tizsa, a Hungarian refugee doctor, revolutionary, and soldier, lives constantly with the anguish of loss. The death of one more acquaintance makes little difference to him, except that it brings the vital and eccentric Griz into his life. He is a man who likes puzzles, and the mystery that is Griz soon assumes as much importance as that of the murder. As they work together to unravel the layers of Nancy’s life and discover why she died, friendship and attraction blossom, much to her family’s unease. From the danger of London’s underworld, to the glittering salons of her married sister, Griz and Dragan look out for each other. But is she right to believe in her new friend when the evidence begins to tell against him? And as she comes face to face with the killer at last, is love and happiness forever beyond her reach?

Will blackmail wreck their marriage? Or save it? When Azalea, the beautiful Viscountess Trench, receives a note threatening to expose her adulterous love letters unless she pays up, she faces even greater anxieties than most blackmail victims. Not only is her marriage a little too frail to withstand such revelations at this moment, but she can’t actually remember the adultery, let alone writing the letters. In fact, there seems to be a great deal she can’t remember, which puts her at considerable disadvantage when facing down a blackmailer. In desperation, she turns to her sister Grizelda, recently returned from her honeymoon, to track down the culprit before her beloved husband finds out. But Eric, Lord Trench, has grown tired of waiting patiently for his wife to come back to him. When he finds her in a bizarre assignation, he sees red, and demands that she gives him her trust and her love. If it is not already too late. For worse dangers than scandal stalk Azalea and they will need to work fast if they are to save their marriage – and Azalea’s very life.

A danger to the world? Or just to her heart? Alexandra Battle is desperate enough to accept a new post as governess to the illegitimate daughter of Sir Nicholas Swan, without having met either of them. Fortunately, Evelina turns out to be delightful as well as challenging, though her father, from their first encounter in the dead of night, remains a disturbingly attractive mystery. Why does a wealthy, well-born baronet choose to live in an old, dusty house in an unfashionable area of London? What is he hiding there that clanks in the night? And who is the dying lady he brought home with him from Italy? Even more worryingly, why does he have such an effect on the prudent Alexandra’s senses? When Evelina vanishes one day, the search threatens to expose secrets they would both rather hide, not least Alexandra’s growing feelings for her distraught employer. Alexandra asks for the help of her friends, Lady Grizelda and Dragan Tizsa, who never leave a puzzle unsolved. But will the solution provide hope for Alexandra and Nicholas? Or will it tear her from him forever?