Classic crime and mystery fiction

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Book SynopsisMore in the bestselling, fan favourite crime series from Leigh Russell.

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW NOVEL FROM ONE OF THE UK'S FAVOURITE CRIME WRITERS WITH OVER 1.5 MILLION COPIES SOLD.

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Book SynopsisRural Iraq, during the war against the so-called Islamic State. A pregnancy out of wedlock. The young woman knows her fate is sealed. In crystalline prose May the Tigris Grieve for You enters the minds of all protagonists, before and after death; fragments of the legend of Gilgamesh, the Mesopotamian hero who carries along the memory of the country and its people, punctuate the family members' short monologues, spaced with the mythical voice of the Tigris River, who has seen it all.; Inspired by her experience of Iraq's complex reality and brutal wars, Malfatto delivers an uncompromising yet compassionate insight into a rigid society ruled by fathers and sons, a world in which life matters less than honour. Winner of the Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman 2021.Trade Review'A chorus of a novel with a rare intensity... here honour rhymes with horror. Each page is dazzling.' - Le Figaro Litteraire;'With masterful lyricism and elegant language, Emilienne Malfatto gives an account of one of the intimate tragedies that so often pass unnoticed between falling bombs' - Liberation; 'Approaching the tragedy of femicide from the inside, Emilienne Malfatto brings a stripped back lyricism to these destinies of submission.' - Livres Hebdo; 'The writing is simple, the sentences often short and arresting. The story comes swift and powerful, a true literary achievement.' - France Info Culture; 'A long poem in prose, like a fable, or Greek tragedy. A beautiful book, and beautiful first novel.' - France bleue radio; 'A hard-hitting tale of many voices, that is strong, moving and painful in equal measure.' - Femmes ici et ailleurs; 'A first novel that reads raw, laid bare, short and hard-hitting. A taut tragedy, like a rope that we know is fragile, threatened by obscurantim, the weight of tradition and taboo. A deep dive into present day Iraq.' - Bernard Magnier, Le francais dans le monde

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Book SynopsisLittle treasures, the FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library. Each stunning, gift edition features deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers and gilded edges. The unabridged text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader. Originally published as a series in The Strand Magazine, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s second collection of Sherlock Holmes stories was originally intended to mark the final appearance of the brilliant detective. Holmes’ exceptional powers of observation and deduction are once more put to the test in these twelve adventures full of murder and intrigue, culminating in “The Final Problem”. After finally meeting his match in Professor James Moriarty, a nefarious criminal mastermind, Holmes must face off against his most dangerous nemesis yet.

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Book SynopsisLittle treasures, the FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library. Each stunning, gift edition features deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers and gilded edges. The unabridged text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader. Regarded by many as one of the greatest crime novels, The Hound of the Baskervilles brings Sherlock Holmes to the brink of failure before the inevitable triumph at the end. His deductive, rational approach, one that determines his every move, is pitched against supernatural forces, in the search for the mysterious cause of Sir Charles Baskerville's death. Was it the family curse, a huge phantom hound, or something more logical and explainable? Sherlock Holmes has entertained readers and viewers alike for over 120 years, remaining one of the most celebrated movie characters, played more recently by Robert Downey Jnr (Iron Man) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr Strange).

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Book SynopsisA friend and contemporary of Richard Wright and James Baldwin - and every bit their equal - Chester Himes was the acclaimed author of literary novels, stories and essays, as well as the classic crime fiction series for which he is best known, featuring detectives Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones.Himes wrote nine novels in the Harlem Detectives series, and in these four popular, accomplished instalments, his cold, wise-cracking sleuths are thrown into a brutal, murderous world peopled with conniving con men, gut-toting gangsters and opium-smoking preachers. Himes's vision of Harlem's criminal underground, enriched by deft plotting and scintillating dialogue, is both riotous entertainment and penetrating enquiry into the fraught tensions of race in postwar America.Trade ReviewThese wholly original, occasionally disorienting and sometimes surreal books are a must for all crime fiction aficionados * Guardian *Chester Himes is perhaps the most singular American novelist of the past century, whose insight and innovation are still only beginning to be recognised * Independent *Himes's Harlem saga vies with the novels of David Goodis and Jim Thompson as the inescapable achievement of postwar American fiction * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisDetective Daf Davies is called to deal with an explosion at a local train station; the obvious assumption is that ISIS has reached rural Montgomeryshire. There is no room to relax as Daf attends courses on how to deal with terrorists and dicovers a body.

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Book SynopsisWhen a body is found on farmland, everyone is convinced that it is the body of the farm''s son who disappeared five years previously. But who killed him, and why?

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Book SynopsisWhen Francis Raven is roused from his sleep on the eve of his birthday and confronted by the sight of a woman trying to stab him, he is unsure whether she is real or an apparition. Years later, against the wishes of his mother, he marries Alicia, a woman with a strange resemblance to the mysterious visitor, who ends up attacking him on his birthday, before vanishing from his life. Is Francis's wife a ghost, a demon or a living human being? And will the prophecy of the night-time visitation be fulfilled one day? Originally published in Household Words in 1855 as 'The Ostler', but recast and expanded two decades later, The Dream Woman is a powerfully dark and suspenseful multi-narrative novella from the master of the mystery genre and the author of some of the most enduringly popular novels of the Victorian era.Trade ReviewA master of plot and situation. -- T.S. Eliot

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Book SynopsisAn enigmatic countess is tormented by a dark secret. An English aristocrat, Lord Montbarry, falls ill and dies in a decaying Venetian palazzo. An Italian servant disappears, and his wife receives a note containing one thousand pounds. With the palazzo now transformed into a luxury hotel, and the late Lord Montbarry’s family in residence, these strands begin to come together, yet strange and macabre events are occurring, and the dead seem unable to rest.Trade ReviewWilkie Collins is the finest practitioner of the novel of sensation. * The Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisWhen Sherlock Holmes receives a bungled tip-off from one of the agents of his nemesis, Professor Moriarty, the great detective hopes to avoid a murderous crime and bring the would-be assassin to justice. But on being informed soon afterwards that one John Douglas of Birlstone Manor has been found with his head blown apart by a shotgun, he realizes that he is too late. And so begins an enthralling tale of revenge, vigilantism and secret societies, one that transports the reader from the English countryside to the violent world of the American frontier of the 1860s. The fourth and final novel in the Sherlock Holmes canon, originally published in the Strand magazine between September 1914 and May 1915, The Valley of Fear is a riveting whodunit that showcases all of the classic elements that have ensured the enduring popularity of the stories featuring Conan Doyle's most famous creation.

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The hit BBC series Sherlock has introduced a new generation to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective. This edition of the classic collection of stories, with an introduction by Sherlock creator Mark Gatiss, allows fans to discover the power of those original adventures.After his deadly plunge over Reichenbach Falls, Sherlock Holmes seemed gone forever – but, as mysteriously as he left, he returns three years later. Now, reunited with Watson, a host of thrilling new adventures through London’s underworld awaits, battling thieves, kidnappers and killers alike. But Holmes is about to meet his most despised villain yet: the dastardly Charles Augustus Milverton.

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Book Synopsis“Three hundred years ago, Lord Carpenter, I’d have had your head on a spike on Tower Hill..” It is 1938 and newspaper chief Lord Carpenter is about to publish a front-page story that will guarantee war with Russia. But before the paper can go to print, he is found stabbed in his office, and circumstances suggest the killer is one of his staff. Everyone from the editor-in-chief to the staff librarian had the opportunity. But was the motivation for the murder political or personal? Crime reporter Charles Venables finds himself both suspect and sleuth as he tries to disentangle the clues and determine which of his colleagues is the guilty party. Red herrings abound, but it soon becomes apparent that more than one person had a reason to want Carpenter dead…. Fatality in Fleet Street displays the author’s trademark wit and a plot with plenty of twists and ingenuity to please the reader. Equally interesting are the political overtones and the militaristic pretensions of the deceased newspaper baron. The novel is set in 1938 – five years later than its real publication date – and presents a Russia whose economy is growing, which makes the country ‘a real menace to the established order of things’ in Carpenter’s worldview. Although the imperious newspaper baron meets his demise early on, his outsized personality and ambition are the bedrock that propels the story. Sprigg makes his satire clear; there is more than a passing resemblance between the fictional Lord Carpenter and the real world Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, owner of the Evening Standard and Daily Express. Sprigg started his career as a cub reporter and the book’s setting of a busy newspaper is well realised. Fatality also takes a sardonic view of socialist activity in Britain. When Venables goes to investigate a local chapter of the Communist Party, the situation is alternately threatening and farcical, with members parading their revolutionary credentials and loudly denouncing the ‘bourgeois’. Sprigg later became an active member of the Communist Party and published Marxist literary criticism, but his gently mocking tone in Fatality suggests this conversion was some way off in 1933.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: A Prime Minister Threatens 2: A Reporter Protests 3: A Magnate is Murdered 4: A Pathologist is Uneasy 5: Newspaper Cuttings Behave Oddly 6: The Editor Regrets 7: A Chinaman is Helpful 8: Russians are Mysterious 9: A Secretary is Frank 10: A Detective is Arrested 11: A News Editor is Suspicious 12: A Deputy Commissioner is Astonished 13: A Young Lady is in Love 14: The Accused is Unhelpful 15: A Landlady is Helpful 16: A Trial Begins 17: An Editor Struggles 18: A Court is Electrified 19: A Wife Betrays 20: A Judge is Angry 21: A Truth is Revealed

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Book SynopsisIt was not until the fifth death in Long Greeting that Miss Tidy made up her mind to go to the police. It was not a sense of civic duty that compelled her but the arrival of two letters that made it clear her life was in danger. The local villagers had been agitated for months over whether the seemingly unconnected deaths were the suicides they appeared to be. Better to say nothing of her intentions though, not even to her immediate circle: the staff of the Minerva hat shop who worked for her, or Léonie, her old Breton maid. Nor would she mention the letters to her interested neighbours or the rector, who had buried four of the victims, or even to Owen Greatorex, the novelist of international reputation, who seemed disarmingly gentle. For who was to be trusted? Scotland Yard is soon on the scene but more deaths occur before Detective-Inspector Raikes puts the pieces together. Dorothy Bowers (1902–48) was a champion of “fair play” mysteries, in which all the clues are cunningly displayed within the story. She combined a satirist's eye (particularly for village life) with a penetrating view of character. A master of the red herring, The Bells at Old Bailey (1947) was her fifth and last novel. Bowers died in 1948 from tuberculosis, having been inducted the prestigious Detection Club a few months earlier.Trade ReviewWhen a series of threatening anonymous notes drives Bertha Tidy to the police, she is put off with the statement, "These things are worth usually no more than the paper they're written on. You were prompt to put the matter in our hands and we'll see you come to no harm." Twenty-four hours later this proprietress of a hatshop, tearoom and beauty parlor is murdered. Scotland Yard in the person of Detective Inspector Raikes goes determinedly to work on the case, which may be related to five other deaths under suspicious circumstances. Skillfully plotted against an authentic English background, the story draws to a climax not wholly unexpected. It proves that a whodunnit can be a literate and entertaing excursion into murder rather than a hackneyed, pace-ridden dialogue-laden cliche. -- Jack Glick, The New York Times * Transatlantic Mayhem *“Skillfully plotted against an authentic English background….[the story] proves that a whodunit can be a literate and entertaining excursion into murder” * The New York Times *“A really good detective story. Five suicides (or murders?) in one village may seem a little extravagant; but Detective-Superintendent Raikes goes about the business unravelling the tangle with more than competence. This is good writing, with the telling, character-revealing phrase skilfully used. Readers who prefer the detective story pure and simple should make a note of this one.” -- Laurence Meynell * The Sunday Times *The Bells at Old Bailey is a village job with sinister spinsters on the slopes of schizophrenia, and plenty of gossip in the tea shoppe. -- Maurice Richardson * The Observer *

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Book Synopsis“My accidents can’t be accidental. Very well, there’s only one thing they can be–and that’s attempted murder.” Archy Mitfold had always loved a mystery, but he never expected to take the lead role in a thriller. Yet there was no doubt in his mind that someone was trying to kill him. First there was the narrow miss on Trumpeter’s Row, where a car accelerated straight at him. Then there were the chocolates Archy received on his birthday—with an unsigned card—that made him ill. Most recent was the sharp push in the back that almost sent him sprawling in front of an oncoming commuter train. What does Archy know that someone is willing to kill for? And does the recent kidnapping of millionaire Sampson Vick have anything to do with his accidents? Or is all this just the sign of self-absorbed and histrionic young man? Before long, Chief Inspector Dan Pardoe is called to investigate and untangles more than one mystery in the process. A Deed Without a Name has a well-realised and atmospheric setting during England’s “phony war” period in 1939.Trade Review“Curiosity is the test of detective stories. If it is continually whetted all faults can be forgiven. If it is not, then all graces of style and character tend to remove the novel into another class. Comparatively few of the goods that bear the label are “detective” through and through; the boys’ book of adventure, the nursemaids’ novelette, the tale of mystery and terror, the drawing-room melodrama, the tough school’s callisthenics and all other types of popular fiction mongrelize the strain. There is almost a thrill of discovery in recognizing the pure breed and this is what Miss Bowers gives us in “A Deed Without A Name.” She begins quietly and unpromisingly with a young man of Chelsea whose tales of poisoned chocolates, a push in the back on a railway platform and a narrow escape from being run down in the street suggest a persecution complex or self-dramatization that he will grow out of. Of course, he would climb a wall and let himself in by a back-door rather than enter his home in the usual way. And then the crimes begin. Miss Bowers’ story is exciting because it steers clear of familiar ways. There is no Fuss over detectives’ personal appearance or idiosyncrasies and though she cannot overcome the prevailing passion for apt quotations she keeps them for chapter headings instead of dialogue. Her business is strictly the unravelling of a murder mystery. Plodding police methods are unassisted by “hunches”, amateur or professional. The task is tackled like washing-day by constable, sergeant and inspector, acting on information received from a prying housemaid. Whether you spot the guilty party or not make little difference. The very nature of the crime has an interest that forbids the skipping of odd chapters. Miss Bowers brings a fresh box of tricks on the stage just when the audience was becoming jaded. Her illusions may amount to the old business of vanishing live ‘uns and producing dead ‘uns, but they seem new. She ranks with the best.” -- The Times Literary SupplementGood intellectual titillator in an adroit follow-up of Shadows Before. Innocuous Archy Mitford nosed into another murder and paid the price. Slow moving Pardoe of the Yard pulverizes all the clues -- and runs down blackmail into kidnapping into murder -- and eventually gets his man. * Kirkus Reviews *In "A Deed Without a Name" Miss Dorothy Bowers tells of the murder during the black-out of a young man already the victim of mysterious attempts on his life, of the disappearance of a millionaire, and shows, with a high degree of constructive skill, how Chief Inspector Pardoe adds one faint indication to another to prove that the two crimes are closely connected. Probably most readers will soon guess the identity of the murderer, but the clues that provide the solution to the mystery are devised and followed up with an ingenuity certain to keep those readers always interested. Especially admirable is the way in which the murderer's name is given early in the story - for those, that is, who have the necessary insight and knowledge. -- E.R. Punshon * Crime & Mystery *Table of ContentsIntroduction I Riddle-Me-Ree II A Visit and a Visitor III Ding Dong Bell IV Quest V Rope's End VI Witches' Sabbath VII Curious Behaviour of a Young Man VIII A Word of Mr. Vick IX At the Sign of the Juniper X - Of Accidents XI - Of Incidents XII Salt is Doubtful XIII Pardoe is Unsuccessful XIV The Most Unlikely Person XV At Mulberry Fountain XVI The Most Likely Person XVII At the Cinema XVIII Gas XIX Vacant Possession XX Last Word of Mr. Vick XXI A Bump on the Head XXII Leaves from a Diary XXIII The Bird

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Book Synopsis“It was my own fault, of course. I realized that when it was too late. “ Crime writer Iain Carter has recently married and is struggling to make a decent living as an author. His brother-in-law is a likable but slightly indiscreet constable, and Iain decides to use this inside knowledge to write a satirical series featuring a pompous dictatorial police superintendent. To protect his identity, Iain creates an elaborately designed pseudonym, 'John Ky Lowell', that can’t be traced back to him. When the first book by Lowell, The Undetective, proves to be a huge success, Iain finds he must take increasingly convoluted steps to protect his secret from the press, the police and the taxman. But the real trouble begins when a local bookmaker is killed, and Iain finds his mysterious alter-ego is the prime suspect.

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Book Synopsis“Are you a detective, Mr. Terhune? If you will forgive my saying so, you do not look like one.” Theodore Terhune, bookseller in the tranquil Kent village of Bray-in-the-Marsh, interrupts the attempted robbery of Helena Armstrong, secretary-companion to Lady Kylstone. Someone was trying to steal the key to the Kylstone burial vault, which will shortly be open to the public for the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt. When the key goes missing, Terhune is certain there must be something in the barren vault the thieves are after, but why bother when it will shortly be accessible to all? A series of mysterious encounters leads the curious Terhune from one clue to another, involving a trip to New York City, a professional criminal for hire, attempted murder on board a passenger ship, an automobile accident, and a mysterious person nicknamed "Blondie"; eventually leading to the secret past of two families. A 1941 bibliomystery rthat mixes detective novel, adventure thriller, quest story and satire of English village life into one highly entertaining read.

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Book Synopsis“So you know House-on-the-Hill, Mr. Terhune?” Local bookseller and amateur detective Theodore Terhune is asked to investigate the history of an ancient Kentish manor house for its new owner, Dr. Vincente Salvaterra. Recently arrived from Panama, Salvaterra wants to know why the house was shunned by the locals and abandoned for nearly a century, despite commanding the best views in the county. Terhune digs deep into the mansion’s past and find more than one unsolved—and disturbing—mystery, dating back hundreds of years. When tragedy later strikes the eccentric Salvaterra family in their new home, Terhune must determine if the cause is the Gothic House-on-the Hill itself, or whether a sinister human plot is afoot.

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Book SynopsisFrank Hugh Smallwood was first murdered on the 15th of April, 1927. Bookseller Theodore Terhune investigates an old homicide case after he stumbles on the freshly murdered corpse of seaman Frank Smallwood, a man thought to have been killed nearly twenty years previously during a houseboat party on the Thames. Smallwood’s alleged killer, Charles Cockburn, was convicted and served a lengthy prison sentence before being killed in the war. So who wants Smallwood dead now? And what actually happened between Smallwood and Cockburn all those years ago? A book of poetry found lying near the body puts Terhune on the trail of an unlikely murderer, in this entertaining blend of detective story and courtroom drama. Bruce Graeme (1900–82) was a pseudonym of Graham Montague Jeffries, an author of more than 100 crime novels and a founding member of the Crime Writers’ Association. He created six series sleuths, including bookseller and accidental detective Theodore Terhune, whose adventures—Seven Clues in Search of a Crime (1941); House with Crooked Walls (1942); A Case for Solomon (1943); Work for the Hangman (1944); Ten Trails to Tyburn (1944); A Case of Books (1946) and And a Bottle of Rum (1949)—are republished by Moonstone Press.

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Book Synopsis“What I read in your hand is tragedy—a horrible tragedy that doesn’t come to one in a million people.” Bookseller Theodore Terhune buys the substantial library of recently deceased James Strudgewick, a wealthy Yorkshireman who drowned at a local beauty spot. Deemed anaccidental death by the coroner, the locals remain suspicious, and dislike Strudgewick’s nephew and heir. But Ronald Strudgewick has a cast-iron alibi – he was 30 miles away visiting with friend Robert Shilling in Thirsk at the time of his uncle’s death, and the police have already picked over his movements. But Terhune and his friend Julia have met Shilling before, and know there is a mysterious accidental death in his past too… Work for the Hangman is a classic blend of a traditional detective novel and inverted ‘how-to-catch-em” mystery. It showcases Bruce Graeme’s use of local geography and small details to build an intriguing puzzle.

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Book SynopsisBut Pierre could never know that in death Fame was his, for his was the second corpse. When well known local vagrant "Peter the Hermit" dies of seemingly natural causes, the police uncover an old Bulgarian newspaper and a beautiful bejeweled comb worth substantial money in his ramshackle hut in the woods. Before long, bookseller Theodore Terhune receives a series of five anaonymous short stories, each subtitled "Ten Trails to Tyburn" that clearly aim to help Terhune (and the police) solve the mystery behind Peter's death. A crime classic from 1944 back in print for the first time; the fifth book in the Theodore Terhune series.

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Book SynopsisCharles was in a vile temper and Anne was catching the full benefit of it. Charles Courtley is a difficult man. Prone to violent outbursts and a bully to his wife and daughters, he has uprooted the family from London to an old manor house in remote East Anglia. Spoilt by his growing wealth and increasingly intolerant of any dissent, Charles enjoys controlling everyone around him. His family, his employees and even the locals - banned from using the traditional footpaths on his forested estate - have multiple reasons to bear a grudge. When Charles is shot dead in a woodland clearing, evidence from an unreliable witness points to Courtley’s secretary, but he has a cast iron alibi and the resulting trial ends in an acquital. A year later, a seemingly innocent death and an odd cenotaph leads Chief Inspector Simon Sturt to reconsider the case. Dorothy Erskine Muir (1889–1977) was one of seventeen children of John Sheepshanks, Bishop of Norwich. She attended Oxford, worked as an academic tutor, and began writing professionally to supplement the family income after the unexpected death of her husband in 1932. Muir published historical biographies and local histories, as well as three accomplished detective novels: In Muffled Night (1933), Five to Five (1934) and In Memory of Charles (1941). Table of ContentsIntroduction by Curtis Evans I Charles Shows His Temper II Why They Married III Who Was in the Yard? IV Breakfast Party V Scene with a Secretary VI Last Appearance of Charles VII The Shot in the Wood VIII Police on the Scene IX The Pellets X The Handsome Agent XI Finding Traces XII Pamela and the Inspector XIII A Tough Customer XIV Fresh Discoveries at an Inn XV Anne's Strange Story XVI What Was in the Letter? XVII An Arrest XVIII Trial and Error XIX The Monument in the Wood XX The Second Death XXI Mrs. Gwyn's Revelations XXII Drugs XXIII The Accident XXIV At Bay XXV The Third Death XXVI The Last Struggle Epilogue

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Book Synopsis'Mr Gabb, your son did not commit suicide. He was murdered.' Simon Gabb has everything - or so it seems: a beautiful house, a big estate, a flourishing business and two sons, both endowed with evident capacity for carrying on the family firm. The moody Giles is brilliant and inventive; the married Basil is dependable and efficient. And yet something is manifestly wrong. A secret invention, on which his business was engaged for the government, becomes known to those who had no right to know it. But how and where did the leak occur? It is a conundrum which creates suspicion and dissension within the family and engulfs everyone who dine with them one Saturday night. Giles has become friendly with young Arden and Billy Laforte, who were the previous owners of Herons' Hall until their father's death left them penniless, and who now rent one of the lodges on the property. When Giles brings the Lafortes to the Hall for the first visit to their old home in three years, the Gabbs hardly know what to expect. Yet the Lafortes seem completely at ease, so when a fierce storm develops, Mrs Gabb insistes they stay the night. The next morning, Gabb's elder son, Giles, is found dead in a motorboat on the lake, his body propped up by a shotgun. But it is soon apparent that the gun was not the cause of death, nor did he die in the boat; a skilled marksman shot him from a distance. Superintendent Mallett is assigned the case and must deal with the smouldering emotions the flare up between everyone present that evening.

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Book Synopsis‘A man does not leave school at fourteen, make a fortune by forty and go on to become a skilful and powerful politician without ruthlessness.’ Hugh Mason was the kind of man it was very easy to hate, if you were not susceptible to his particular kind of charm. He had of necessity hurt a lot of people on his way up. Taciturn and enigmatic, his extended family did not really know him well. At a weekend gathering for his 60th birthday, it slowly becomes apparent that Hugh plans to give substantial funding and support to a new right-wing political group called the Freemen. The next morning Hugh is dead of poisoning and the evidence suggests a family member must be responsible. But who among them would risk such a move, given that Hugh provides for all?Trade ReviewPoisoning of a British industrialist with a politically minded family who range from Fabian Bevanites to ingenious neo-fascists. Told by the cunning little war-widow niece on who no fly settles for longer than it needs to change legs. Criminologically a little amateurish, but distinctly above average for intelligence. -- Maurice Richardson * The Observer *Old fashioned country house party poisoning of millionaire M.P. Good political background about neo-Fascist party. -- Daily News (London)"THE STAR" thriller of the Month. "Has much distinction....I hail Marjorie Bremner as a distinguished newcomer" -- Joseph Taggart * The Star *

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Book SynopsisSherlock Holmes is the eternally likeable detective figure and never fails to be wise to the machinations of the criminal mind. Accompanied by his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson, the pair will delight a listener with their inimitable sleuthing style and ever-charismatic idiosyncrasies. This first volume contains six complete and unabridged stories as follows:The Adventure of the Empty House, The Adventure of the Devil's Foot, The Adventure of the Abbey Grange, The Adventure of the Cardboard Box, The Man With the Twisted Lip, The Adventure of the the Bruce-Partington Plans.The reader is Edward Hardwicke who played Dr. Watson to Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes in the enduringly popular television series. Trade ReviewFirst Rate * * The Times Educational Supplement * *It is especially appropriate that the man who played Sherlock Holmes' chronicler in the popular series narrates these tales on audio. Hardwicke's reading is subdued, but clear and precise. * * The Strand Magazine * *You should listen to these wonderfully atmospheric pieces...Edward Hardwicke has the perfect voice for this: resonant, old-fashioned, precise - everyone's idea of a Victorian gent. * * The Guardian * *

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Book SynopsisAll legends begin somewhere, and the two novels here are where one of the world's best-loved legends began. In A Study in Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson first meet and investigate a seemingly impossible mystery that begins with a corpse in a deserted house. In The Sign of the Four the detective faces an even greater challenge: solving both the disappearance of Captain Arthur Morstan and the theft of the Agra treasure in India.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. In this edition, Sherlock scholar David Stuart Davies provides an illuminating afterword.

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Book SynopsisIf you hide your past, it will surely come back to haunt you. Living a respectable life in Cheltenham as a magistrate and property landlord, former agent and terrorist Tariq Al Hashmi falls into such a trap. With Libya's Colonel Gadaffi no longer a moving part of the Axis of Evil and the Irish Troubles on the back boiler, what could go wrong? His days as an embedded sleeper agent with a hidden fuse ready to be lit are surely over. But complacency proves an unreliable companion. Those in the secret world that he once occupied have long memories and other ideas. Unexpectedly his world starts to fall apart and Al Hashmi's former spymasters try to manipulate him in ways he could not have imagined and for purposes he can only guess at. Author Alex Gardiner's remarkable debut thriller is written with inside knowledge. The plot's twists and turns are spiced with intrigue and complexity that will keep the reader guessing until the very end.Trade Review"Alex knows what he is writing about. He's been there and done it. I'm proud to have soldiered with him." Andy McNab CBE DCM MM DArts

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Book SynopsisThe classic British cosy mystery series – Meet Miss Emily Seeton, an art teacher with an unexpected talent… When Miss Seeton walks out after a performance of Carmen and witnesses a real-life stabbing, all she can recall is a shadowy figure. But how could she have guessed that her latest artistic endeavour is a picture-perfect portrait of the killer? Her sketch puts her in a perilous position, for back at her recently inherited cottage in Plummergen village, she’s fated to be a sitting duck . . . for murder most foul! Meet Miss Emily D. Seeton: this retired art teacher steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles. Armed with only her sketch pad and umbrella, she is every inch an eccentric English spinster and the most lovable and unlikely master of detection.Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR MISS SEETON: 'Miss Seeton is a star!' Detroit News'Not since Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple has there been a more lovable female dabbler in crime and suspense' Amarillo News'She’s a joy!' Cleveland Plain Dealer'For those who like a bit of fun in their mystery stories a new Miss Seeton yarn is always welcome. Heron Carvic once more provides his readers with a host of chuckles while at the same time assuring plenty of action' Lewiston Journal'Light, zany, this novel is peopled by several genuine human beings you hate to see go' Houston Post'I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever' London Mystery Selection'Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers... and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton' Kirkus Reviews'Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life' Publishers Weekly'This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy... You can't stop reading. Or laughing' The Sun'Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce... This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting' San Francisco Chronicle'A most beguiling protagonist!' New York Times'Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple' Ogden Nash

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Book SynopsisMiss Seeton is most embarrassed . . . Her every attempt at a portrait of little Effie Goffer has become a chilling picture of a corpse. Is Miss Seeton actually drawing a clue to a series of child murders in rural England? Scotland Yard thinks so, and wants Miss Seeton to turn from sketching . . . to catching a killer skilled in a very deadly art. Retired art teacher Miss Seeton steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles. Armed with only her sketch pad and umbrella, she is every inch an eccentric English spinster and at every turn the most lovable and unlikely master of detection.Trade Review'A most beguiling protagonist!' New York Times'Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce... This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting' San Francisco Chronicle'This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy... You can't stop reading. Or laughing' The Sun'Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life' Publishers Weekly'Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers... and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton' Kirkus Reviews'I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever' London Mystery Selection'Light, zany, this novel is peopled by several genuine human beings you hate to see go' Houston Post'For those who like a bit of fun in their mystery stories a new Miss Seeton yarn is always welcome. Heron Carvic once more provides his readers with a host of chuckles while at the same time assuring plenty of action' Lewiston Journal'She’s a joy!' Cleveland Plain Dealer'Miss Seeton is a star!' Detroit News'Not since Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple has there been a more lovable female dabbler in crime and suspense' Amarillo NewsPRAISE FOR MISS SEETON: 'Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple' Ogden Nash

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Book SynopsisAt the roulette table an elderly, ludicrously made-up woman in dazzling diamonds is making a killing. Who would guess the bejewelled high roller is actually retired art teacher Miss Emily Seeton, in disguise to help capture a mysterious crime boss? Miss S. must get a good look at the crook’s face to produce a sketch for the police, a simple task surely. It’s not her fault things escalate, and after half-blinding one baddie with the tail of her mink stole and whacking another with her handbag, she’s soon gambling for the very highest stakes – her own life. Serene amidst every kind of skulduggery, this eccentric English spinster steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles, armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella! Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR MISS SEETON: 'This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy... You can't stop reading. Or laughing' The Sun'A most beguiling protagonist!' New York Times'Light, zany, this novel is peopled by several genuine human beings you hate to see go' Houston Post'Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life' Publishers Weekly'Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce... This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting' San Francisco Chronicle'For those who like a bit of fun in their mystery stories a new Miss Seeton yarn is always welcome. Heron Carvic once more provides his readers with a host of chuckles while at the same time assuring plenty of action' Lewiston Journal'She’s a joy!' Cleveland Plain Dealer'Miss Seeton is a star!' Detroit News'Not since Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple has there been a more lovable female dabbler in crime and suspense' Amarillo News'Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple' Ogden Nash

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Book SynopsisMiss Seeton returns! – a new original (the first in almost 20 years) for this classic series of humorous cosy mysteries created by Heron Carvic. It’s practically a Royal Marriage! The highly eligible son of Miss Seeton’s old friends Sir George and Lady Colveden has wed the daughter of a French count. Miss Seeton lends her talents to the village scheme to create a quilted ‘Bayeux Tapestry’ of local history, inspired by the wedding. But her intuitive sketches reveal a startlingly different perspective – involving buried Nazi secrets, and links to the mysterious death of a diplomat and to a South American dictator . . . Serene amidst every kind of skulduggery, this eccentric English spinster steps in where Scotland Yard stumbles, armed with nothing more than her sketchpad and umbrella! Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR MISS SEETON: 'Miss Seeton gets into wild drama with fine touches of farce… This is a lovely mixture of the funny and the exciting' San Francisco Chronicle 'This is not so much black comedy as black-currant comedy... You can’t stop reading. Or laughing' The Sun'Depth of description and lively characters bring this English village to life' Publishers Weekly'Fun to be had with a full cast of endearingly zany villagers... and the ever gently intuitive Miss Seeton' Kirkus Reviews'Miss Seeton is the most delightfully satisfactory character since Miss Marple' Ogden Nash'I think, on the whole, Miss Seeton is the most loveable and entertaining of any of today’s fiction detectives. May she live forever' London Mystery Selection'Light, zany, this novel is peopled by several genuine human beings you hate to see go' Houston Post'For those who like a bit of fun in their mystery stories a new Miss Seeton yarn is always welcome. Heron Carvic once more provides his readers with a host of chuckles while at the same time assuring plenty of action' Lewiston Journal'She’s a joy!' Cleveland Plain Journal'Miss Seeton is a star!' Detroit News'Not since Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple has there been a more lovable female dabbler in crime and suspense' Amarillo News

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Book SynopsisThe definitive edition of Minette Walters' thrilling tale of courage and defiance during the time of the Black Death, featuring The Last Hours and The Turn of Midnight.England, 1348: A deadly plague is spreading across the land, and people are dying by the thousands. In Dorset, young Lady Anne takes control of her lands with her trusted steward, Thaddeus Thurkell, at her side. Compassionate and resourceful, she decides to quarantine the estate, bringing some two hundred serfs inside the moated walls. But in such a confined space, conflicts soon arise...As time passes, the people of Develish have no way of knowing who, if anyone, has survived. And with dwindling stores, they soon have no choice but to leave their relative safety. But what awaits Lady Anne and her people in the desolate wasteland beyond the walls?'Wonderful and sweeping' Kate Mosse'Enthralling' Julian Fellowes'Vividly wrought and powerful' Elizabeth FremantleTrade ReviewWonderful and sweeping, with a fabulous sense of place and history. * Kate Mosse on The Last Hours *An enthralling account of a calamitous time, and above all a wonderful testimony to the strength of the human spirit. I was caught from the first page. * Julian Fellowes on The Last Hours *Atmosphere, imagination and narrative power of which few other writers are capable. * The Times on The Turn of Midnight *A vividly-wrought and powerful story... Minette Walters has brought her impressive skill as a writer of psychological crime to create a dark and gripping depiction of Medieval England in the jaws of the Black Death. * Elizabeth Fremantle on The Last Hours *Stunning * Daily Express on The Turn of Midnight *A must-read... eloquent, absorbing, absolutely fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable. * LoveReading on The Turn of Midnight *

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Book SynopsisThe Baker Street Classics Sherlock Holmes collection is a retro-inspired full set of Conan Doyle’s wonderful tales of the inimitable “consulting detective” at work. Featuring original illustrations from editions of the 1920s, this collection will adorn any booklover’s shelf and transport the reader back in time to Holmes’s bustling Victorian London; the misty moors of Dartmoor; the dizzying heights of Reichenbach; and the cozy living room of 221b Baker Street.Trade ReviewThere are few characters from the Victorian era that can possibly have the same resonance today than a certain Sherlock Holmes who, along with his able assistant Dr Watson, and an assorted cast of inept policemen and nefarious villains still regularly seeps into modern life and parlance. The concept of any amateur detective these days being ‘Sherlockian’, the famous deerstalker, violin, pipe and casual drug use, and oft-misquoted lines and ‘catchphrases’ are among the many legacies that show how much Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous creation will forever be ingrained in the psyche of the nation. And so it was with huge interest that I heard about a new collection of the complete works, released by Baker Street Press. No matter how many times I’ve read the canon, it still fascinates me to this day and demonstrates what a truly remarkable character Conan Doyle created, despite his somewhat hit and miss results outside of the Holmes stories. This collection of nine hardback books is just utterly beautiful to behold. There’s something special, perhaps even more so in this day and age, about holding a quality version of one of your favourite books and simply immersing yourself in it. And this new release delivers more than any that I’ve ever had my hands on. Each of the nine books features the original cover illustrations from the 1920s, which more than makes up for the fact that there are no illustrations inside. Each of the four standalone novels and five collections of short stories are here, acting as the perfect retro antidote to the most recent recreation of the stories, the really quite awful series starring Benedict Cumberbatch, for which I appreciate I’m in a large minority for taking a serious dislike to. The collection begins with A Study in Scarlet, which I have to say isn’t a favourite of mine, neither is The Sign of Four that followed, and for me it’s when the short stories kick in that I find Holmes at his mercurial best, and his frustrating worst, as Conan Doyle struggled to satisfy the insatiable demand at the time for the monster that he had created. Despite ‘killing off’ a character who had become the bane of his life, Conan Doyle thankfully brought Holmes back to life after his seeming demise at the Reichenbach Falls, and the stories have seldom been far from the public’s mind, especially through the films of Basil Rathbone and the peerless depiction by Jeremy Brett in the 1980s and 1990s. I really cannot recommend this new set highly enough to those with even a passing interest in the original stories, through to those who already have several copies of the Sherlock Holmes stories on their bookshelves. If you think you have the definitive version of the books, then think again, as Baker Street Press have outdone themselves with this release. -- https://www.on-magazine.co.uk/arts/book-review/crime/sherlock-holmes-deluxe-classic-series/

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Book SynopsisThe Baker Street Classics Sherlock Holmes collection is a retro-inspired full set of Conan Doyle’s wonderful tales of the inimitable “consulting detective” at work. Featuring original illustrations from editions of the 1920s, this collection will adorn any booklover’s shelf and transport the reader back in time to Holmes’s bustling Victorian London; the misty moors of Dartmoor; the dizzying heights of Reichenbach; and the cozy living room of 221b Baker Street.Trade ReviewThere are few characters from the Victorian era that can possibly have the same resonance today than a certain Sherlock Holmes who, along with his able assistant Dr Watson, and an assorted cast of inept policemen and nefarious villains still regularly seeps into modern life and parlance. The concept of any amateur detective these days being ‘Sherlockian’, the famous deerstalker, violin, pipe and casual drug use, and oft-misquoted lines and ‘catchphrases’ are among the many legacies that show how much Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous creation will forever be ingrained in the psyche of the nation. And so it was with huge interest that I heard about a new collection of the complete works, released by Baker Street Press. No matter how many times I’ve read the canon, it still fascinates me to this day and demonstrates what a truly remarkable character Conan Doyle created, despite his somewhat hit and miss results outside of the Holmes stories. This collection of nine hardback books is just utterly beautiful to behold. There’s something special, perhaps even more so in this day and age, about holding a quality version of one of your favourite books and simply immersing yourself in it. And this new release delivers more than any that I’ve ever had my hands on. Each of the nine books features the original cover illustrations from the 1920s, which more than makes up for the fact that there are no illustrations inside. Each of the four standalone novels and five collections of short stories are here, acting as the perfect retro antidote to the most recent recreation of the stories, the really quite awful series starring Benedict Cumberbatch, for which I appreciate I’m in a large minority for taking a serious dislike to. The collection begins with A Study in Scarlet, which I have to say isn’t a favourite of mine, neither is The Sign of Four that followed, and for me it’s when the short stories kick in that I find Holmes at his mercurial best, and his frustrating worst, as Conan Doyle struggled to satisfy the insatiable demand at the time for the monster that he had created. Despite ‘killing off’ a character who had become the bane of his life, Conan Doyle thankfully brought Holmes back to life after his seeming demise at the Reichenbach Falls, and the stories have seldom been far from the public’s mind, especially through the films of Basil Rathbone and the peerless depiction by Jeremy Brett in the 1980s and 1990s. I really cannot recommend this new set highly enough to those with even a passing interest in the original stories, through to those who already have several copies of the Sherlock Holmes stories on their bookshelves. If you think you have the definitive version of the books, then think again, as Baker Street Press have outdone themselves with this release. -- https://www.on-magazine.co.uk/arts/book-review/crime/sherlock-holmes-deluxe-classic-series/

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Book SynopsisSet before the events of the Reichenbach Falls, the formidable Sherlock Holmes is back. Tested to the extreme by cyphers, cryptic clues, and Professor James Moriarty - his greatest adversary. This is the last of the four Sherlock Holmes novels.Trade ReviewThere are few characters from the Victorian era that can possibly have the same resonance today than a certain Sherlock Holmes who, along with his able assistant Dr Watson, and an assorted cast of inept policemen and nefarious villains still regularly seeps into modern life and parlance. The concept of any amateur detective these days being ‘Sherlockian’, the famous deerstalker, violin, pipe and casual drug use, and oft-misquoted lines and ‘catchphrases’ are among the many legacies that show how much Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous creation will forever be ingrained in the psyche of the nation. And so it was with huge interest that I heard about a new collection of the complete works, released by Baker Street Press. No matter how many times I’ve read the canon, it still fascinates me to this day and demonstrates what a truly remarkable character Conan Doyle created, despite his somewhat hit and miss results outside of the Holmes stories. This collection of nine hardback books is just utterly beautiful to behold. There’s something special, perhaps even more so in this day and age, about holding a quality version of one of your favourite books and simply immersing yourself in it. And this new release delivers more than any that I’ve ever had my hands on. Each of the nine books features the original cover illustrations from the 1920s, which more than makes up for the fact that there are no illustrations inside. Each of the four standalone novels and five collections of short stories are here, acting as the perfect retro antidote to the most recent recreation of the stories, the really quite awful series starring Benedict Cumberbatch, for which I appreciate I’m in a large minority for taking a serious dislike to. The collection begins with A Study in Scarlet, which I have to say isn’t a favourite of mine, neither is The Sign of Four that followed, and for me it’s when the short stories kick in that I find Holmes at his mercurial best, and his frustrating worst, as Conan Doyle struggled to satisfy the insatiable demand at the time for the monster that he had created. Despite ‘killing off’ a character who had become the bane of his life, Conan Doyle thankfully brought Holmes back to life after his seeming demise at the Reichenbach Falls, and the stories have seldom been far from the public’s mind, especially through the films of Basil Rathbone and the peerless depiction by Jeremy Brett in the 1980s and 1990s. I really cannot recommend this new set highly enough to those with even a passing interest in the original stories, through to those who already have several copies of the Sherlock Holmes stories on their bookshelves. If you think you have the definitive version of the books, then think again, as Baker Street Press have outdone themselves with this release. -- https://www.on-magazine.co.uk/arts/book-review/crime/sherlock-holmes-deluxe-classic-series/

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Book SynopsisThe Baker Street Classics Sherlock Holmes collection is a retro-inspired full set of Conan Doyle’s wonderful tales of the inimitable “consulting detective” at work. Featuring original illustrations from editions of the 1920s, this collection will adorn any booklover’s shelf and transport the reader back in time to Holmes’s bustling Victorian London; the misty moors of Dartmoor; the dizzying heights of Reichenbach; and the cozy living room of 221b Baker Street.Trade ReviewThere are few characters from the Victorian era that can possibly have the same resonance today than a certain Sherlock Holmes who, along with his able assistant Dr Watson, and an assorted cast of inept policemen and nefarious villains still regularly seeps into modern life and parlance. The concept of any amateur detective these days being ‘Sherlockian’, the famous deerstalker, violin, pipe and casual drug use, and oft-misquoted lines and ‘catchphrases’ are among the many legacies that show how much Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous creation will forever be ingrained in the psyche of the nation. And so it was with huge interest that I heard about a new collection of the complete works, released by Baker Street Press. No matter how many times I’ve read the canon, it still fascinates me to this day and demonstrates what a truly remarkable character Conan Doyle created, despite his somewhat hit and miss results outside of the Holmes stories. This collection of nine hardback books is just utterly beautiful to behold. There’s something special, perhaps even more so in this day and age, about holding a quality version of one of your favourite books and simply immersing yourself in it. And this new release delivers more than any that I’ve ever had my hands on. Each of the nine books features the original cover illustrations from the 1920s, which more than makes up for the fact that there are no illustrations inside. Each of the four standalone novels and five collections of short stories are here, acting as the perfect retro antidote to the most recent recreation of the stories, the really quite awful series starring Benedict Cumberbatch, for which I appreciate I’m in a large minority for taking a serious dislike to. The collection begins with A Study in Scarlet, which I have to say isn’t a favourite of mine, neither is The Sign of Four that followed, and for me it’s when the short stories kick in that I find Holmes at his mercurial best, and his frustrating worst, as Conan Doyle struggled to satisfy the insatiable demand at the time for the monster that he had created. Despite ‘killing off’ a character who had become the bane of his life, Conan Doyle thankfully brought Holmes back to life after his seeming demise at the Reichenbach Falls, and the stories have seldom been far from the public’s mind, especially through the films of Basil Rathbone and the peerless depiction by Jeremy Brett in the 1980s and 1990s. I really cannot recommend this new set highly enough to those with even a passing interest in the original stories, through to those who already have several copies of the Sherlock Holmes stories on their bookshelves. If you think you have the definitive version of the books, then think again, as Baker Street Press have outdone themselves with this release. -- https://www.on-magazine.co.uk/arts/book-review/crime/sherlock-holmes-deluxe-classic-series/

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Book SynopsisKabul 2005: the body of Waheed, a UN agency driver, is found in a vehicle riddled with bullet holes. Gil Moncrief, an agency advisor already struggling over his wife's mysterious disappearance, searches for Waheed's killer in a city of intrigue and insecurity where police have no modern methods of detection or interest in solving the case. Through his search, Gil comes up against the ruthless men involved in schemes of bootlegging, corruption, kidnapping and heroin production. In the centre of it all is a small plastic figure of Elvis that dangles from the windscreen; the key to unmasking the killer. DS Macdonald weaves an intricate mystery influenced by his own experiences while travelling and working in Afghanistan.

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Book SynopsisDiscover the first adventures of the most iconic detective of all time.This quintessential collection includes many of the famous cases that made the legendary Sherlock Holmes one of fiction's most popular creations. Set against the foggy backdrop of London and the English countryside, each story unravels an exciting new mystery, from mistaken identity and ominous omens to counterfeit currency and daring robberies. First published in the Strand magazine in the early 1890s, these stories cemented Holmes and Watson as behemoths of detective fiction – and this is where it all began.Part of a boldly designed series of classics, with wider margins for notes, this book is perfect for design-lovers and students alike. With bold, eye-catching graphic covers by Evi O Studio, this collection aims to introduce a selection of the most celebrated works of the last thousand years to a new audience. Featuring tales of adventure, fiction from the 19th and 20th centuries, feminist writings, and reflections on art, politics, philosophy and the origins of man, this is a small, wide-reaching and essential collection.'Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent.'

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