KJ Charles Livres

Will Darling is all right. His business is doing well, and so is his illicit relationship with Kim Secretan--disgraced aristocrat, ex-spy, amateur book-dealer. It's starting to feel like he's got his life under control.And then a brutal murder in a gentleman's club plunges them back into the shadow world of crime, deception, and the power of privilege. Worse, it brings them up against Kim's noble, hostile family, and his upper-class life where Will can never belong.With old and new enemies against them, and secrets on every side, Will and Kim have to fight for each other harder than ever-or be torn apart for good.

A light-fingered drifter encounters a landless earl…A music hall singer finds the man of her dreams in a thieves’ kitchen…A detective is plunged into a Christmas conspiracy…A rogue magician needs the help of a waste-paper seller…Chaos reigns in a dark and twisted alt-Victorian London...KJ Charles’ shorter stories are collected in print for the first time, in five tales of queer historical romance spiced with song, larceny, mayhem, magic, and defenestration (just the one, though).Includes the stories: A Thief in the Night The Rat-Catcher's Daughter Masters in this Hall A Queer Trade The Price of Meat

Archaeologist Saul Lazenby, struggling since his disgrace during the War, works for a wealthy eccentric who believes in magic. He encounters the mysterious Randolph Glyde, an arcanist with extraordinary powers. As supernatural threats rise, Saul must confront his trust issues and his growing feelings for Randolph, who may hold the key to his salvation.

Sir Philip Rookwood is the disgrace of the county. He’s a rake and an atheist, and the rumours about his hellfire club, the Murder, can only be spoken in whispers. (Orgies. It’s orgies.)Guy Frisby and his sister Amanda live in rural seclusion after a family scandal. But when Amanda breaks her leg in a riding accident, she’s forced to recuperate at Rookwood Hall, where Sir Philip is hosting the Murder.Guy rushes to protect her, but the Murder aren’t what he expects. They’re educated, fascinating people, and the notorious Sir Philip turns out to be charming, kind—and dangerously attractive.In this private space where anything goes, the longings Guy has stifled all his life are impossible to resist...and so is Philip. But all too soon the rural rumour mill threatens both Guy and Amanda. The innocent country gentleman has lost his heart to the bastard baronet—but does he dare lose his reputation too?

"Major Rufus d'Aumesty has unexpectedly become the Earl of Oxney, master of a remote Norman manor on the edge of the infamous Romney Marsh. There he's beset on all sides, his position contested both by his greedy uncle and by Luke Doomsday, son of a notorious smuggling clan. The earl and the smuggler should be natural enemies, but cocksure, enragingly competent Luke is a trained secretary and expert schemer-exactly the sort of man Rufus needs by his side. Before long, Luke becomes an unexpected ally...and the lover Rufus had never hoped to find. But Luke came to Stone Manor with an ulterior motive, one he's desperate to keep hidden even from the lord he can't resist. As the lies accumulate and family secrets threaten to destroy everything they hold dear, master and man find themselves forced to decide whose side they're really on...and what they're willing to do for love"--

It's been two months since Will Darling saw Kim Secretan, and he doesn't expect to see him again. What do a rough and ready soldier-turned-bookseller and a disgraced, shady aristocrat have to do with each other anyway?But when Will encounters a face from the past in a disreputable nightclub, Kim turns up, as shifty, unreliable, and irresistible as ever. And before Will knows it, he's been dragged back into Kim's shadowy world of secrets, criminal conspiracies, and underhand dealings.This time, though, things are underhanded even by Kim standards. This time, the danger is too close to home. And if Will and Kim can't find common ground against unseen enemies, they risk losing everything.

If you stop running, you fall. Jonah Pastern is a magician, a liar, a windwalker, a professional thief...and for six months, he was the love of police constable Ben Spenser's life. His betrayal left Ben jailed, ruined, alone, and looking for revenge. Ben is determined to make Jonah pay. But he can't seem to forget what they once shared, and Jonah refuses to let him. Soon Ben is entangled in Jonah's chaotic existence all over again, and they're running together-from the police, the justiciary, and some dangerous people with a lethal grudge against them. Threatened on all sides by betrayals, secrets, and the laws of the land, the policeman and the thief must find a way to live and love before the past catches up with them... A Charm of Magpies linked story

Theodore Swann is a jobbing writer, proprietor of the Matrimonial Advertiser lonely hearts gazette, and all-round weasel. He's the very last man that Martin St. Vincent would choose to rely on-and the only one who can help. Martin is a wealthy merchant who finds himself obliged to put a stop to a young heiress's romantic correspondence in the Matrimonial Advertiser. When she and her swain make a dash for Gretna Green, Martin drags Theo on a breakneck chase up the country to catch the runaway lovers before it's too late. Theo guards his secrets. Martin guards his heart. But as the two of them are thrown irresistibly together, entanglements, deceptions, and revelations come thick and fast... RT Book Reviews Seal of Excellence winner, January 2017

Lord Alexander Pyne-ffoulkes, the younger son of the Duke of Ilvar, holds a bitter grudge against his wealthy father. The Duke intends to give his Duchess a priceless diamond parure on their wedding anniversary—so Alec hires a pair of jewel thieves to steal it. The Duke's remote castle is a difficult target, and Alec needs a way to get the thieves in. Soldier-turned-criminal Jerry Crozier has the he'll pose as a Society gentleman and become Alec's new best friend.But Jerry is a dangerous controlling, remote, and devastating. He effortlessly teases out the lonely young nobleman's most secret desires, and soon he's got Alec in his bed—and the palm of his hand. Or maybe not. Because as the plot thickens, betrayals, secrets, new loves, and old evils come to light. Now the jewel thief and the aristocrat must keep up the pretence, find their way through a maze of privilege and deceit, and confront the truth of what's between them...all without getting caught.

A shooting party at the Earl of Witton's remote country house is a high treat for champion shot Patricia Merton-until unexpected guests turn the social atmosphere dangerously sour.That's not Pat's biggest problem. She's visiting her old friend, the Earl's heir Jimmy Yoxall-but she wants to spend a lot more time with Jimmy's fiancée. The irrepressible Miss Fenella Carruth, with her laughing eyes and lush curves, is the most glorious woman Pat's ever met, and it quickly becomes impossible to remember why she needs to stay at arm's length.But while the women's attraction grows, the tensions at Rodington Court get worse. Affairs, secrets, betrayals, and blackmail come to light. And when a body is discovered with a knife between the shoulderblades, it's going to take Pat and Fen's combined talents to prevent the murderer destroying all their lives.