Lord Gabriel Thurston returns home from war to find his fiancée much changed. She's grown from a sweet girl into a mysterious woman who guards her dark secrets well. When he sees her sneaking away from a ball, he's convinced it's for a lovers' rendezvous. Following her to London's slums, Gabriel watches in horror as his fiancée ruthlessly slays a man. Lady Belinda Clayton's only concern was her dress for the next ball—until demons nearly killed her, and a group of Demon Hunters saved her life. Now, a lady by day, and a demon hunter by night, she knows where her duty lies.

Wren Taggart is no lady. Her life consists of kitchen duties at Newcastle Inn. Mistaken for Lady Anne, the illegitimate daughter of England's Prince Regent, she is kidnapped and forced to marry a man who cares nothing for her or for Britain. Deception and lies is the only way for her to return home. But when her heart softens toward her new husband, she fears she will lose more than the life she's known.

To atone for her father's evil, Lauren Campbell agrees to help Malcolm MacGregor. By the time she realizes she's the bargaining price to free Malcolm's mother from indentured servitude, it's too late. Malcolm MacGregor wants only to free his family and exact revenge against Duncan Campbell. As the pride and joy of Duncan's life, his daughter, Lauren, is the perfect answer, but during the voyage to America, her faith continues to witness to Malcolm.

They call him the Devil Earl - a scoundrel and accused murderer who grew up on the violent London streets. A proper young lady risks more than her reputation when consorting with the roguishly handsome Lucian Langdon, but Lady Catherine Mabry believes she has no choice. To protect those she loves, she would do anything-even strike a bargain with the devil himself. Lucian desires respectability and a wife above all else, but the woman of his choosing lacks the social graces to be accepted by the aristocracy.

Douglas "Devil" Radcliffe has spent years carving out Devil's Acre, an area where the titled and entitled lords of London come to play. But when Queen Victoria proposes a reformation plan to the House of Lords that would have the wretched souls of nearby St. Giles moving into his territory, Devil sets out to buy, bribe, and steal the votes he needs to stop her. One vote short and running out of time, Devil has Lord Edwards's daughter kidnapped and held captive. The price of her freedom? Lord Edwards's vote.

How to seduce an estranged husband - and banish debt! - in four wickedly improper, shockingly pleasurable steps.... 1. Learn the most intimate secrets of London's leading courtesan. 2. Pretend to be a courtesan yourself, using the name Juliet Leighton. 3. Travel to Venice and locate said husband. 4. Seduce husband, conceive an heir, and voila, your future is secure! For Julia, the Duchess of Colton, such a ruse promises to be foolproof. After all, her husband has not bothered to lay eyes on her in eight years.

For too long Miss Emily Parr has been subject to the whims of her indebted uncle and the lecherous advances of his repulsive business partner. Her plan to be done with dominating men forever is simple: find herself a kind husband who will leave her to her books.It seems an easy enough plan, until she is unexpectedly abducted by an incorrigible duke who hides a wounded spirit behind flashing green eyes.

When Sir Alan Watleigh goes searching for sex, he never imagines the street rat he brings home for one last bit of pleasure in his darkest hour will be the man who hauls him back from the edge of the grave. A single night of meaningless sex turns into an offer of permanent employment. Jem acts as Alan's valet, but offers him so much more than polished boots and starched cravats.

Marlowe is a pickpocket, a housebreaker - and a better actress than any professional on the stage. She runs with the Covent Garden Cubs, a gang of thieves living in the slums of London's Seven Dials. It's a fierce life, and Marlowe has a hard outer shell. But when she's alone, she allows herself to think of a time before - a dimly remembered life when she was called Elizabeth.

Jude Samson has worked for the Woodley family for such a long time that he is seen as a brother. But he has very unbrotherly feelings toward the youngest of the clan, Lady Audrey. When they find themselves off at the family's country estate, long simmering desires will come to the forefront and Jude won't be able to stop himself from taking that one, oh-so-forbidden taste.

Alexander Cole was a man ruled by his voracious appetite for carnal pleasures until a golden-haired devil in the guise of a goddess lures him into an encounter that costs him his humanity. With nothing left but bitterness in his heart, he locks himself away in his dilapidated Elizabethan mansion and chains the gates to all intruders....

Tormented by the deaths of his wife and child, Griffin Blackmoor spends his days drowning his grief in whiskey. But when a bullet that was meant for him kills his best friend, Griffin makes a promise to the dying man that will thrust him back into London Society - and into the path of the one woman who could make his life worth living again. The daughter of a drunkard, Lady Anne Carmichael swore she would never love a man like Griffin Blackmoor.

On a desperate journey to America, Rebecca Neville promises the dying wife of the Earl of Stanmore to raise and care for her newborn son, James. Once in the New World, Rebecca begins her new life - as a mother.... Ten years later, the Earl of Stanmore learns of the fate of his family. He sends to the colonies for his young heir so he can raise him as a peer of the realm. With no intention of forsaking her vow, Rebecca returns to England with James to face a future without her beloved charge. But she must also face her tumultuous past....

Lady Grace Warren will do anything to protect her sisters, even betroth herself to a man so depraved that all of London fears him. Faced with a lifetime of misery, Grace has only one chance for escape: to relinquish her virtue before her wedding. Such abandon will destroy her reputation - and ensure her freedom. But when she disguises herself as courtesan to lure a handsome nobleman, she cannot anticipate the tender surprise destiny has in store….

This boxed set contains the first three books in C. J. Archer's popular Ministry of Curiosities series. Titles in the set include The Last Necromancer, Her Majesty's Necromancer, and Beyond the Grave. Description of The Last Necromancer: For five years, Charlotte (Charlie) Holloway has lived as a boy in the slums. But when one theft too many gets her arrested, her only means of escape lies with a dead man.