KAREN CHARLTON
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Welcome to the official website of historical novelist KAREN CHARLTON

News: Cover Reveal!

17/4/2020

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DEATH AT THE FROST FAIR

I'm absolutely delighted with the new book cover for my latest short story, Death at The Frost Fair. (To be published on May 22nd). 
My fabulous designer, Lisa Horton, has bought and used an image from Alamy, depicting the real fair in February 1814 and I think she's used it so well. Scroll down to see the original old drawing.
'Death at the Frost Fair' is available to pre-order and costs $2.99/£2.99.
​Pre-Order it HERE.

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News: 'Death at the Frost Fair' available to pre-order!

10/3/2020

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DEath at The Frost Fair
Available to Pre-Order!

I'm delighted to announce that, Death at the Frost Fair, my latest Detective Lavender short story, will be published on 22nd May 2020 - and the story is already available to pre-order here!

There's no book cover yet, but here's the blurb: 
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CHILLED TO THE BONE
February 1814: London is gripped in the thrall of the worst winter in living memory. When the River Thames freezes over, thousands of people descend onto the ice to enjoy the Frost Fair, an exciting, frozen extravaganza.

But Detective Stephen Lavender and his loyal constable, Ned Woods, are distracted from this carnival of colour and noise by the perplexing case of a missing man. Their investigation takes on a sinister and more dangerous twist when a body is found on the rapidly thawing ice beneath the arches of Blackfriars Bridge.
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Set against the thrilling backdrop of London’s last Frost Fair – which is also one of history’s darkest moments – this bone-chilling short story is a superb introduction to the Detective Lavender Mysteries and a bonus read for the half a million readers who already enjoy this series.
Pre-order Death at the Frost Fair here. 
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News: 'The Sculthorpe Murder' Sell 100k copies

28/2/2020

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The Sculthorpe Murder
​reaches  100K Sales

I have exciting news! Sales of Book #3 in the Detective Lavender Series, The Sculthorpe Murder, have crossed the 100 thousand milestone. My publishers have sent their congratulations and are thrilled for my continued success. Meanwhile, this little author continues to do her 'happy dance' around the kitchen...
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News: The Willow Marsh Murder - Now published

4/2/2020

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THE WILLOW MARSH MURDER
Now Published

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I'm delighted to announce that The Willow Marsh Murder, the sixth Detective Lavender Mystery is now published and available to purchase on Amazon in eBook and paperback format.  Simply follow this link or click on the image.

Ten years after the death of Irish Nell, Lavender and Woods are summoned to a remote estate in the watery fenland of Cambridgeshire to solve a murder. They soon realise they’ve come across the feuding Delamere family before – in the direst of circumstances. With no dead body and no sign of the woman who summoned them, Woods fears someone has planned a murderous revenge. 

Meanwhile, Lavender dreads the disclosure of his greatest secret. A secret that, if revealed, will destroy both his career – and his relationship with Woods. Haunted by ghosts from the past, Lavender and Woods must tread a careful path through this watery and dangerous terrain in order to solve one of the most perplexing mysteries of their career.
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News: Success of 'Irish Nell' & 'The Willow Marsh Murder'

9/1/2020

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

2020 has already begun with a BANG! for myself and Detective Stephen Lavender.
My short story, The Death of Irish Nell has had a flurry of sales over the last few month, especially in the UK, and is doing very well in the Amazon rankings. It was lovely to see her awarded an Amazon 'Best Seller' badge.
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In addition to this, both Irish Nell and my forthcoming new novel, The Willow Marsh Murder, have been promoted on Amazon as HOT NEW RELEASES in Historical Mysteries.
Apart from doing my famous 'Happy Author Dance' around the kitchen, I added a sexy little wiggle at the end of my usual routine to celebrate my hotness.  Although, when several FB readers on my Author Page asked if they could buy tickets or get video evidence, I stopped that nonsense straight away. (Winky Face)
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News: Cover Reveal for 'The Willow March Murder'

12/12/2019

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Book Cover:
The Willow Marsh Murder

I'm delighted to reveal the amazing book cover for The Willow Marsh Murder, the sixth Detective Lavender Mystery. The Willow Marsh Murder, is due to be published on 1st February 2020 and is now available to pre-order on Amazon.  Simply follow this link or click on the image below.
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Once again, I'm in awe at the imagination and skill of my designer, Lisa Horton. I'm particularly impressed with how she took a stock photo we bought from Alamy of the Great Ouse River near Brandon Creek (a remote area which sees a lot of dramatic action in the novel) and turned it into the background for the book cover.

Of course, Ely Cathedral isn't really in that spot but we all have to suspend our imagination a bit now and then.

I hope you like the finished product as much as I do. 
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News: Cover Reveal for 'The Death of Irish Nell'

8/11/2019

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Revealed: The book Cover For
'The Death of Irish Nell'

TA-RAH!!!
And finally...we have a book cover for The Death of Irish Nell (to be published on 1st December).
I thought grey would be a great contrast to the vivid colours I normally use and I think my cover designer, Lisa Horton, has once again done a super job.
Now you can see what it looks like, if you fancy pre-ordering The Death of Irish Nell at the reduced price of £1.199/$1.99 the link is HERE.
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News: Two New Lavender Mysteries

6/10/2019

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TWO BRAND NEW LAVENDER MYSTERIES TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS!

There are exciting times ahead! 

I'm delighted to announce there will be TWO brand new Detective Lavender Mysteries published in the next six months: The Death of Irish Nell (a short story) and The Willow Marsh Murder (a full-length novel).

The Death of Irish Nell is due out on December 1st, 2019. The book cover is still being designed by the brilliant Lisa Horton (who's created all my lovely book covers) but it should be here soon. Meanwhile, the eBook of is already available to pre-order at the reduced price of $1.99 / £1.99.
 
The Death of Irish Nell is the prequel to my new full-length novel, The Willow Marsh Murder, which is due out in February. The Death of Irish Nell is a taster which has been especially written to whet my readers' appetites while we all wait for the publication of The Willow Marsh Murder. The short story features an early case of Lavender's, which he worked on with Woods at the start of his career as a Principal Officer. The decisions Lavender made back then have a profound effect on both of them ten years later when they're summoned to solve another murder at Willow Marsh Manor in Cambridgeshire.
Here's the blurb and a link to pre-order The Death of Irish Nell. 
Pre-order
The Death of Irish Nell 
Here
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News: 50K Sales for 'Plague Pits & River Bones'

28/3/2019

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Plague Pits & River Bones
​Reaches fifty thousand readers

My publishers have just told me that Plague Pits & River Bones (Book #4) has now surpassed fifty thousand sales. 
I feel humbled and incredibly proud that so many people are buying and enjoying my Detective Lavender novels.
Thank you for your support.
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Article:  Murderous Underwear

4/3/2019

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Killer Corsets

I first came across the unusual effect corsets can have on stab victims while researching the assassination of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria in 1898. ‘Sisi’ as she was called by her family and friends was generally considered to be one of the most beautiful women in Europe and she had the world at her feet.  That same world was devastated when she was stabbed to death by an Italian anarchist while walking with her lady-in-waiting to catch a steam boat on Lake Geneva. 

Part of Sisi’s tragedy is that her life may have been saved if her corset hadn’t been so tight.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria
Due to the pressure from her tight undergarment, the haemorrhage of blood was slowed to mere drops. This confused her attendants who didn’t realise she was fatally injured and were slow to seek medical help. She was helped to her feet, walked another one hundred yards and boarded the steamer which left port. It was part way across the lake before she lost consciousness. Only then did her servants and the crew realise that they needed to turn back for urgent medical help. It was too late.

When I read about Empress Elisabeth’s murder, I knew I’d discovered an unusual device I could use in my fifth Detective Lavender Mystery, Murder in Park Lane. And my victim didn’t have to be restricted to a woman either.  Fat Regency gentlemen (including the Prince Regent) often used male corsets. 
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Further research revealed that the internal bleeding caused by a single stab wound to a tightly-corsetted victim would probably cause them to lose consciousness within half an hour. But a dying person can travel a significant distance from the scene of the crime in half an hour, even in the horse-drawn world of the early 19th century. In addition to that, stabbing is a silent crime and if the victim was alone, the absence of a blood trail would make it very difficult, even impossible, for an investigator like my Bow Street Principal Officer, Stephen Lavender, to identify where the attack actually took place. 

But where would be the fun in an unresolved crime?  

If you’d like to follow how Lavender rose to the challenge and solved the strange murder of David MacAdam in The Murder in Park Lane, you can purchase the novel here. 
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