When Peter 'Mad Max' Maxwell took his kids from Leighford High on an archaelogical dig, all should have been learning and fun. The professionals were very excited - was the grave they had found that of Alfred the Great? No, because the corpse was not Saxon and it wasn't a king, but an altogether more recent murder.No sooner has the first body been found than another, a policeman on the case, is found dead at the wheel of his car. What knowledge did he possess that led to his death? And does his colleague, Maxwell's partner Jacquie Carpenter, unwittingly have the same information?Maxwell locks horns with the great and not so good in a vicious world of skulduggery, academic back-biting and religious mania which can only end in murder.

March, 1587. Christopher Marlowe?s play Tamburlaine, with the incomparable Ned Alleyn in the title role, has opened at the Rose Theatre, and a new era on the London stage is born.Yet the play is almost shut down on its opening night. For a member of the audience, Eleanor Merchant, lies dead, hit by a musket ball fired from the stage. The man with his finger on the trigger? A bit-part player named Will Shakespeare.Convinced of Shakespeare?s innocence, Marlowe determines to find out what really happened. When a second body is found floating in the River Thames, it becomes clear that Eleanor Merchant?s death was no accident, and that something deeper and darker is afoot. And why is the Queen?s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, taking a close personal interest in the case?

Peter Maxwell is delighted when an old college friend asks him to be the historical adviser on a film being made on the coast near Leighford. Dreams of becoming the next Spielberg soon founder when he discovers that the world of film is pretty much the same as the world of education – full of incompetents and backstabbers. Even so, it is out in the open air with no heavy lifting, so he sets to with his usual enthusiasm.Unfortunately, shooting becomes all too literal when the director takes a musket ball to the head. With one of his students implicated, another off on a jealous rant, and almost everyone out to get everyone else, Maxwell finds telling the truth from fiction to be more difficult than even he could have imagined. With characters that leap off the page, the Maxwell series has something for everyone. Anyone who went to school, teaches in one, or has happily escaped from the chalk face will love the series, with humour and sadness intermingled with a plot packed with twists and turns.‘A lot of witty dialogue, especially wonderful for film buffs, accompanies an all-too-plausible plot with much adventure and more physical action than usual for the genre of mysteries.’The Baldwin LedgerReview'An impressive mix of humour, sadness and suspense, this is gripping to the very end' -- Mail on Sunday, on MAXWELL'S MOVIE '[Trow] is a consummate plotter, not afraid to tread new ground, and his Maxwell stories exude compassion and wit in equal measure' -- Yorkshire Post on MAXWELL'S MOVIE 'A good, hard-to-solve mystery' -- Sunday Telegraph on MAXWELL'S HOUSE 'Cleverly conceived and amusingly executed, this is sterling new Trow' -- The Sunday Times on MAXWELL'S HOUSE. About the AuthorM J Trow is a crime writer, historian and biographer who for many years doubled as a history teacher. Now retired, he is the author of three successful crime fiction series – Lestrade, Maxwell and Kit Marlowe, the latest written in collaboration with his wife. He lives in the Isle of Wight, and as well as writing lectures on cruise ships has appeared many times on television in historical and crime documentaries.

School can be murder...With the beginning of a new school year under way, Peter 'Mad Max' Maxwell prepares to get stuck into his curricular routine and is looking forward to his forthcoming wedding to fiancée DS Jacquie Carpenter. The immediate task in hand for senior staff members is the hiring of a new Assistant Headteacher, for which the school caterers have prepared a private buffet. But during the lunch meeting disaster strikes, as guests and staff alike become seriously ill in a matter of minutes.After being reluctantly thrust into the role of Acting Headmaster, Maxwell works in conjunction with the police, including his lovely Jacquie, to try to unravel the mystery. But with certain fingers pointing at him, and Jacquie worried that the attack has infiltrated his life in a way that could soon get out of control, is Maxwell in more danger than he thinks?

MAXWELL’S BACK, AS MURDER COMES TO SLEEPY LEIGHFORD. Are the two things connected? Well, yes and no. Teenage girls are being picked up on the seafront and two of them are found dead. DI Jacquie Carpenter-Maxwell has barely set foot on her old patch before she is up to her jet-lagged neck in somebody else’s tragedy. The prime suspect is Bernard Ryan, Deputy Head at Leighford High, and Mad Max is soon riding to the rescue on White Surrey. But can he pedal fast enough before another girl meets the wrong man, at the wrong time, in the wrong place? The eighteenth in the Peter Maxwell series, after the family sabbatical in LA, shows that the old sleuthing skills are still there with a vengeance and that the Maxwells are one of the most formidable crime-fighting duos in modern crime fiction. Praise for Lestrade and the Kiss of Horus: ‘A wildly entertaining narrative that takes in such diverse historical events as riots in Cairo and, most aptly, Bolton Wanderers’ Cup Final appearance at Wembley. M J Trow proves emphatically that crime and comedy can mix.’ Val McDermid

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...

When Cleopatra took the throne of the kingdom of Egypt, the pyramids and Sphinx were already ancient wonders. As queen she faced conquest by a new, all-powerful empire. A Ptolemy, descended from a general of Alexander the Great who conquered the Nile as part of his Macedonian lands, her relationship with Mark Anthony has become one of the legendary love stories in history. Trow draws on recent archaeological finds and fresh interpretations of ancient texts to separate truth from myth and set this incomparably beautiful queen in context.

Having had his retirement snatched from him by malfunctioning technology, Peter ‘Mad Max’ Maxwell finds himself facing yet another new year at Leighford High School. His wife Jacquie, her hopes of a dedicated house husband dashed, is further annoyed when a family holiday turns into an impromptu Year Seven school trip. And the situation takes another turn for the worse when someone goes missing, forcing Jacquie to play the role of woman policeman.As the investigation escalates and a dead body is discovered, Maxwell, researching with paper and pencil, stumbles by accident on the linchpin to the whole case. He knows the reason – all he has to find is the murderer. With the answer lying in a missing piece of paper, divorces and deceit, will Maxwell survive to apply for retirement again?

Peter Maxwell can handle kids by the tens and dozens, but two nieces give him a little more pause. Thank goodness for Sylvia Matthews, who can always be relied upon to sweep up any waif, stray or relation into her welcoming arms. On a trip to a theme park, Maxwell’s ride on the log flume is a little more white-knuckle than he was expecting when a stray bullet whips past him and his charges before killing the accountant in the car behind. Who was that gunman on the grassy knoll? Deirdre Lessing has Maxwell foisted on her for a charity meeting and is none too happy – it seems unlikely, but could she have put a hit out, enraged beyond sanity at last by his failure to conform to her wishes? Unlikely indeed, but when the first victim is followed by more, and then Maxwell’s niece Tiffany disappears, it is a case of no more Mr Nice Guy – Mad Max is on the warpath. With Jacquie Carpenter by his side, and Henry Hall an exasperated step behind, Maxwell gets to the bottom of the case and finds that evil and greed can lurk in very unexpected places. ‘The most sardonic wit in current crime fiction... one reads Trow for the brilliance of his writing.’ Birmingham Post

Christopher Marlowe investigates a possible act of witchcraft in the third of this intriguing historical mystery series.  - July, 1585. Desperate to pursue his chosen career as a professional playwright, the young Christopher Marlowe abandons his Cambridge studies to join Lord Strange’s men, a group of travelling players. En route to perform at Oxford, the players are rehearsing amongst the famous Rollright Stones on the Warwickshire border when they are rudely interrupted by the discovery of the corpse of actor-manager Ned Sledd. Is it an act of witchcraft, a human sacrifice to mark the festival of Lammastide? Or is there a more personal reason? Kit Marlowe determines to find out.From BooklistDespite a complex and sometimes confusing plot, the fast pacing, fascinating historical characters (including an appearance by a very young William Shakespeare), and an intricately twisted story line make Trow’s latest entry in his Christopher “Kit” Marlowe series a winner. Marlowe is off to London to seek his fortune as a playwright. On the road, he meets a troupe of actors, one of whom steals Kit’s latest play. Furious, Kit is ready to pursue the thief, but when a local nobleman is poisoned, he feels he must stay behind to find who tried to kill the man. Then the stage manager of the acting troupe is murdered, and a coven of witches is seen practicing their dark arts near the murder scene. The whys and wherefores are so complex that even the wise Kit is baffled. He eventually figures out what happened and why, and can devote his full attention to recovering his lost play. Clever allusions to Shakespeare, intriguing historical references, graphic violence, and unholy witch-doings make for an entertaining, satisfying read, although not one for the faint of heart. --Emily Melton Review“Readers will have fun recognizing the many quotations from William Shakespeare, Marlowe’s idol and later his rival, in this complex yet engrossing tale of superstition and murder.”Publishers Weekly "Clever allusions to Shakespeare, intriguing historical references, graphic violence, and unholy witch-doings make for an entertaining, satisfying read, although not one for the faint of heart."Booklist on Witch Hammer

Peter Maxwell may be a dinosaur to his colleagues and a crazy enigma to his students – although most of them think an enigma is one of those mad Australian hedgehogs that lay eggs. But even he was young once and he is thrilled and slightly disturbed to meet his first serious love from his Cambridge days when he is forced to attend a training course. True love never did run smooth, and this time is no exception. With delegates to the conference centre spread all over three counties, working out who hated who and why is no easy task, and without his usual links with the Leighford Police to call on, Maxwell is stumped, but not for long! With characters that leap off the page, the Maxwell series has something for everyone. Anyone who went to school, teaches in one, or has happily escaped from the chalk face will love the series, with humour and sadness intermingled with a plot packed with twists and turns. ‘Maxwell’s Flame manages to be funny, tragic and puzzling, which isn’t an easy trick to pull off.’Manchester Evening News

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 . . .?

Second in the thrilling new Kit Marlowe historical mystery seriesNovember, 1583. Desperate not to let the Netherlands fall into the hands of Catholic Spain, the Queen's spymaster orders Cambridge scholar and novice spy Christopher Marlowe to go there to assist its beleaguered leader, William the Silent. However, travelling in disguise as part of a troupe of Egyptian players, Marlowe encounters trouble at the home of Dr John Dee, one of their tricks ends in tragedy—and an arrest for murder...

Ask any teacher what they dread most and they will say, to a man – or woman: ‘school trips’. Unusually, Peter Maxwell is looking forward to this one, and with good reason – it is to his spiritual home, the Museum of the Moving Image. Sadly, the flu virus is no respecter of persons and so he must stay behind in Leighford, laid horribly low. When the coach comes back, minus two, the hunt is on, and soon a body is found. With a missing student still to find, as well as a murderer to bring to book, Maxwell shakes off his shivers and is on the case; and it isn’t just the flu that has him hot and bothered, as his relationship with DC Jacquie Carpenter starts to simmer. With characters that leap off the page, the Maxwell series has something for everyone. Anyone who went to school, teaches in one, or has happily escaped from the chalk face will love the series, with humour and sadness intermingled with a plot packed with twists and turns. “An engaging crime tale, featuring schoolmaster-detective ‘Mad Max’ Maxwell, who is in top form as he helps the police to investigate the disappearance of a fellow teacher. A character to savour.” Northern Echo

'Tell me a story, Kit...'It's All Hallows' Eve and Kit Marlowe's evening is disrupted by the call of an ethereal voice, requesting a tale for the haunted night. From the depths of his creative mind comes the tale of ghostly horrors and unearthly cries which rattles even the most supernatural of beings...Fans of M. J. Trow's Kit Marlowe mysteries must not miss this chilling short.