Usually clear-headed editor Samantha Clair stumbles through her post-book-party morning with the hangover to end all hangovers. But before the ibuprofen has even kicked in, she finds herself entangled in an elaborate saga of missing neighbors, suspected arson and strange men offering free tattoos. By the time the grisly news breaks that the fire has claimed a victim, Sam is already in pursuit. Never has comedy been so deadly as she faces down a pair from Thugs ’R’ Us, aided by nothing more than a Scotland Yard boyfriend, a stalwart Goth assistant, and an unnerving knowledge of London’s best farmer’s markets.

Sam Clair figures she’ll be a good sport and spend a night out at the theater in support of her upstairs neighbors, who have small parts in a play in the West End. Her boyfriend Jake Field, a Scotland Yard detective, agrees to tag along to what is apparently an extra-bloody play filled with dramatic, gory deaths galore. But as the curtain opens to the second act, a dummy is hanging from the rafters, who’s been made up to look suspiciously like Campbell Davison, the director of the production. When Sam sees the horrified faces of the actors onstage, she realizes that this is indeed not a dummy, but Davison himself --- and this death is not part of the show. Now everyone wants to know: Who killed Campbell Davison?

Christmas is all things to all people: a religious festival, a family celebration, a period of eating and drinking. In CHRISTMAS: A Biography, bestselling author and acclaimed social historian Judith Flanders casts a sharp eye on myths, legends and history, deftly moving from the origins of the holiday in the Roman empire, through Christmas trees in central Europe, to what might be the first appearance of Santa Claus --- in Switzerland --- to draw a picture of the season as it has never been seen before.

Book editor Samantha Clair learns that the partner of her art-dealer friend, Aidan Merriam, has just been found dead in their gallery, slumped over his desk with a gun in his hand. The police investigation is being led by Inspector Jake Field, who just happens to be Sam's new boyfriend. And Aidan, who just happens to be Sam's ex-boyfriend, wants Sam's help. Finding herself drawn into another investigation, Sam does the only sensible thing and calls her mother. Before long, she finds her loyalties stretched to the limit as she herself is threatened.

It’s just another day at the office for London book editor Samantha “Sam” Clair. Checking jacket copy for howlers, wondering how to break it to her star novelist that her latest effort is utterly unpublishable, lunch scheduled with gossipy author Kit Lowell, whose new book will dish the juicy dirt on a recent fashion industry scandal. Little does she know the trouble Kit’s book will cause before it even goes to print. Someone doesn't want Kit's manuscript published, and unless Sam can put the pieces together in time, they'll do anything to stop it.

From the moment Charles Dickens, the century's best-loved novelist and London's greatest observer, arrived in the city in 1822, he obsessively walked its streets, recording its pleasures, curiosities and cruelties. Now, with him, Judith Flanders leads us through the markets, transport systems, rivers, slums, alleys, cemeteries, gin palaces, chop-houses and entertainment emporia of Dickens' London, to reveal the Victorian capital in all its variety, vibrancy and squalor.