There’s a special kind of magic that happens when you open a book and feel as though you’ve been welcomed into a world that was always waiting for you. Sometimes it’s a centuries-old manor with creaking staircases. Sometimes it’s a hidden library accessed only by pulling the right book off the shelf. Sometimes it’s a group of strangers who, against all odds, decide you’re one of their own.
These are the stories where you don’t just watch events unfold—you belong.
The Comfort of Found Family
Found family stories remind us that connection isn’t limited to the people we’re born to. It’s about shared values, mutual trust, and the quiet certainty that someone will be there when you need them most. Whether it’s a ragtag band of sleuths piecing together clues or an unlikely alliance of spies trading secrets in candlelit rooms, found families make the reader feel wanted. They offer the reassurance that no matter how strange or dangerous the world becomes, someone has your back.
Found families play a strong part of all of our books. Take the Dora & Rex Mysteries – Dora might be a secret spy, but she is hardly alone. She has Inga to keep her on the straight and narrow, Harris to oversee the house, and an ever-growing group of servants with unexpected skills.
The Thrill of Secret Codes
There’s something irresistible about hidden messages. A cipher in the margin of an old letter. A series of cryptic symbols carved into a stone wall. A whispered phrase that only a select few understand. Secret codes pull us into the game, inviting us to become part of the conspiracy. We’re no longer passive readers—we’re co-conspirators, scanning the page for the next clue. And isn’t there a certain satisfaction in knowing something most people don’t?
Secret codes feature heavily in The Cryptic Cold Case. An old batch of cryptic letters has to be decoded in order for Dora and Rex to determine what happened to Lady Audley.
The Allure of Shadowy Societies
Secret societies—whether benevolent, sinister, or somewhere in between—create worlds within worlds. They promise rules known only to initiates, rituals that bind members together, and power that lies just out of reach for outsiders. Readers get to peek behind the velvet curtain, to glimpse the inner workings of an organisation that might be shaping events from the shadows. The tension between loyalty and danger keeps us turning the pages long past midnight.
We introduced a secret society in our Diamond of the Ton Regency Mysteries. Who are the mysterious group of men meeting with the Marchioness of Normanby? And why do they want to recruit Lord Fitzroy to their cause?
Why It Feels Like Home
At first glance, found family, secret codes, and shadowy societies might seem worlds apart. One is warm, one is cerebral, and one is cloaked in danger. But together, they create a perfect balance: belonging, mystery, and the thrill of discovery. These elements make us feel part of something bigger—something worth protecting.
When we close the book, the door to that hidden world might vanish. But the feeling lingers: the comfort of knowing that somewhere, in the realm of fiction, we have a place where we belong.
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