Nikki Payne

Celebrate Jane Austen’s classic novels with this short story anthology starring forgotten characters as they experience their own happy endings. In honor of her 250th birthday, eight authors have come together with wildly imaginative reboots of the lives of several of Jane Austen’s minor characters. Written with plenty of love and wit, these clever stories star everyone from Pride and Prejudice’s snobbish Caroline Bingley to the modern descendant of Sense and Sensibility’s Eliza Williams and much more. Blurring genres and taking us across the oceans, Ladies in Waiting is a heartfelt celebration of Jane Austen and her timeless masterpieces.

Famed Reddit detective Fiona Addai is great at solving problems - online, that is. Cold cases, reality TV scandals, everyone calls on @Princess_PI. It''s her way of escaping her strict religious life at home and the memory of her brilliant brother''s sudden death. But when the sheltered sleuth tries to apply her inquisitive skills to real life, her plan to reclaim her late brother''s invention from the ruthless corporation that stole it goes disastrously wrong. Now, instead of getting justice, Fiona finds herself accused of murder. Maurice Bennett is no stranger to insomnia. These days, he''s not losing sleep over the cases he''s solving - but running from the one he couldn''t. Instead, he''s been settling for small-time scandals that don''t stir up the guilt he''s buried. But when he spots Fiona Addai at the centre of a murder investigation, something clicks. And for the first time in a long while, Maurice feels that old spark of intrigue. However, Fiona is not the helpless damsel she appears to be. Sure, she needs Maurice''s help to clear her name, but she''s got conditions of her own: she wants a crash course in real-world detective work. Maurice isn''t exactly thrilled. With every late-night stakeout and tension-filled interrogation, their partnership starts to feel a little too close for comfort. To bring the real killer to light, they''ll need to trust each other and that might be the most dangerous gamble of all.