Classic crime and mystery fiction
Pushkin Press The Daughter of Time
Book SynopsisWho really killed the princes in the tower? Was Richard III truly the ogre of legend and Shakespeare's play. - a wicked uncle who murdered his nephews to steal the crown of England? Inspector Alan Grant is not so sure. Laid up in hospital with a broken leg, he becomes obsessed with unravelling this most enduring of historical mysteries. As he investigates with the help of an enthusiastic young American scholar, he unearths long-buried intrigues and comes to a startling conclusion.Trade Review'As interesting and enjoyable a book as you will meet in a month of Sundays' - Observer'One of the best mysteries of all time' - New York Times'First-rate mystery, ably plotted and beautifully written' - Los Angeles Times'A detective story with a very considerable difference. Ingenious, stimulating and very enjoyable' - Sunday Times'One of the permanent classics in the detective field' - Anthony Boucher
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers The Thirteen Problems
Book SynopsisThis new mini hardback edition completes the series of collectable Miss Marple hardbacks the first time all 14 Marple books have had their own uniform hardback series.A weekly dinner partyTen amateur sleuthsThe Tuesday Club murdersOn a quiet Tuesday in St Mary Mead, a group of friends gather for dinner.A policeman, a clergyman, a solicitor, an author, an artist, and an unassuming lady with a shrewd gaze Miss Jane Marple. Conversation naturally turns to crime.Each recounts a seemingly unsolvable mystery. Each thinks they know the answer.But it's the one they least expect who understands the true nature of each wicked actNever underestimate Miss MarpleBillions of readers can't be wrong.'Dreda Say MitchellThe plots are so good that one marvels . . . most of them would have made a full-length thriller.'Daily MirrorTrade Review‘Without a doubt, the greatest mystery writer of all time’ – Ragnar Jonasson ‘A hundred years after her first novel, and we are all still standing in her shadow’ – Andrew Taylor ‘She gives us an insight into human nature that few, if any, have surpassed’ – Susan Lewis ‘Dame Agatha has sold more books than all besides Shakespeare and the Bible’ – David Baldacci ‘All crime fiction writers around the globe owe Agatha Christie a massive debt’ – Peter James ‘Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.’ – Tana French
£11.69
Profile Books Ltd Murder Under the Sun
Book Synopsis'So great ... it's criminal' SAGA'With Cecily Gayford in charge, we are on safe ground' DAILY MAILFrom beneath the beach umbrella, all might seem idyllic - children playing, sunbathers relaxing, ice slowly melting in a cocktail glass. But look a little closer, and all is not as it seems ... In these classic crime stories of midsummer murder and madness, the mercury is climbing - and so is the body count. Prepare to spend this summer holiday with some shady characters (in sunny places) and immerse yourself in tales of mystery and depravity at home and abroad.Just remember - there might be nothing new under the sun ... but murder is the most ancient art of all.
£9.49
Pushkin Press The Man in the Queue
Book SynopsisA clever mystery classic from one of Britain's greatest and most original crime writers, the author of The Daughter of Time In 1920s London, the packed queue for the city's most popular musical comedy is growing impatient. When the theatre doors open at last and the crowd surges forward, a man falls to the ground, dead-silently stabbed with a stiletto. Who killed him before melting away unseen into the night? As Inspector Alan Grant investigates, the mystery turns into a breathless manhunt leading from London all the way to the Scottish highlands and back, before at last a truth is revealed that shocks even the canny detective himself. This is an unforgettable classic from crime writing's golden ageTrade Review'My favourite detective of all time' - Daily Express'Josephine Tey has always been absolutely reliable in producing original and mysterious plots with interesting characters and unguessable endings' - Spectator'All the Tey magic... Superb!' - San Francisco Chronicle
£8.54
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Sweeney Todd: The String of Pearls
Book SynopsisFully revised Second Edition. With a new Introduction and Bibliography by Dick Collins. The exploits of Sweeney Todd, ‘The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’, have been recounted many times in plays, films and musicals, but the origins of the character largely were forgotten for many years. The String of Pearls - the original tale of Sweeney Todd, a classic of British horror - was first published as a weekly serial in 1846-7 by Edward Lloyd, the King of the Penny Dreadfuls. One of the earliest detective stories, it became an important source for Bram Stoker's Dracula, but it was after over 150 years of obscurity that it appeared first in book form in the Wordsworth edition published in 2005. The one great mystery that has surrounded the book is who the author was - or was it possibly the work of more than one man? In his new introduction to this fully revised second edition, Dick Collins, by means of detailed research of contemporary records, has established finally the identity of the creator of this legendary figure. So here is the original story of the terrifying owner of that famous London barber-shop, and the secret recipe for Mrs Lovett's delicious pies…
£5.90
HarperCollins Publishers The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Book SynopsisAgatha Christie's first ever murder mystery, now presented as a sumptuous special edition hardback.Beware! Peril to the detective who says: It is so small it does not matter Everything matters.'After the Great War, life can never be the same again. Wounds need healing, and the horror of violent death banished into memory.Captain Arthur Hastings is invited to the rolling country estate of Styles to recuperate from injuries sustained at the Front. It is the last place he expects to encounter murder. Fortunately he knows a former detective, a Belgian refugee, who has grown bored of retirementThe first Hercule Poirot mystery, now published with a previously deleted chapter and introduced by Agatha Christie expert Dr John Curran.Trade Review‘Almost too ingenious … very clearly and brightly told.’Times Literary Supplement ‘Very well contrived.’Sunday Times ‘Altogether a skilful tale and a talented first book.’Daily News ‘The most ingenious and absorbingly interesting tale of sensations and mystery we have read for a long time.’Bookman ‘Well written, well proportioned, and full of surprises. Lovers of good stories will, without exception, rejoice in this book.’The British Weekly
£13.49
Profile Books Ltd Murder in Midsummer: Classic Mysteries for the
Book SynopsisA rock pool with a deadly secret. A bank holiday heatwave dominated by the murder of an unknown man. A sun-drenched picnic that ends in a sinister locked-room mystery. And an Adriatic holiday interrupted by a beautiful couple ... who aren't quite who they seem to be. All these, and many more, can be found in these classic stories of summertime murder and mayhem, featuring masters of the genre from Dorothy L. Sayers to Arthur Conan Doyle. From St Mark's Square in Venice to the English seaside, their tales will puzzle, entertain and prove that - no matter how far you travel - there's no rest for the wicked. Selected by Cecily Gayford
£8.54
Faber & Faber The Feast
Book SynopsisThis summer holiday vintage crime classic exploring the mystery of a buried Cornish hotel invites us to solve the puzzle as detectives: perfect for fans of Celia Fremlin''s Uncle Paul, Agatha Christie, or Richard Osman ...''I am loving it!'' Nigella Lawson''Hilarious and perceptive ... Perfect.'' Daily Mail''Entertaining, beautifully written, and profound.'' Tracy Chevalier''Tense, touching, human, dire, and funny ... A feast indeed.'' Elizabeth Bowen''Kennedy is not only a romantic but an anarchist.'' Anita Brookner''Oh boy, what a treat; wonderfully sharp and funny ... Page-turningly good!'' Lissa Evans''So full of pleasure that you could be forgiven for not seeing how clever it is.'' Cathy RentzenbrinkCornwall, Midsummer 1947. Pendizack Manor Hotel is buried in the rubble of a collapsed cliff. Seven guests have perished, but is it murder, and what brought this strange
£9.49
British Library Publishing Blood on the Tracks
Book SynopsisBoth train buffs and crime fans will delight in this selection of fifteen railway-themed mysteries, featuring some of the most popular authors of their day alongside less familiar names. This is a collection to beguile even the most wearisome commuter.Table of ContentsThe Man with the Watches - Arthur Conan Doyle The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel - L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace How He Cut His Stick - Matthias McDonnell Bodkin The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway - Baroness Orczy The Affair of the Corridor Express - Victor L. Whitechurch The Case of Oscar Brodski - R. Austin Freeman The Eighth Lamp - Roy Vickers The Knight's Cross Signal Problem - Ernest Bramah The Man with No Face - Dorothy L. Sayers The Railway Carriage - F. Tennyson Jesse Mystery of the Slip-Coach - Sapper The Level Crossing - Freeman Wills Crofts The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage - Ronald Knox Murder on the 7.16 - Michael Innes The Coulman Handicap - Michael Gilbert
£9.89
HarperCollins Publishers Black As Hes Painted Last Ditch Grave Mistake
Book SynopsisCommemorating 75 years since the Empress of Crime's first book, the tenth volume in a set of omnibus editions presenting the complete run of 32 Inspector Alleyn mysteries.BLACK AS HE''S PAINTEDCalled in to help with security arrangements for a presidential reception at a London embassy, Chief Superintendent Alleyn ensures the house and grounds are stiff with police. Nevertheless, an assassin strikes, and Alleyn finds no shortage of help, from Special Branch to a tribal court and a small black cat named Lucy LockettLAST DITCHYoung Rickie Alleyn has come to the Channel Islands to write, but village life seems tedious until he finds the stablehand in a ditch, dead from an unlucky jump. But Rickie notices something strange and his father, Chief Superintendent Roderick Alleyn, is discreetly summoned to the scene, when Rickie disappearsGRAVE MISTAKEWith two husbands dead, a daughter marrying the wrong man and a debilitating disease, it is no wonder that Sybil Foster took her own life. But
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers Inspector French and the Starvel Hollow Tragedy
Book SynopsisFrom the Collins Crime Club archive, the third Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed ‘The King of Detective Story Writers’.Trade Review“Freeman Wills Crofts is the only author who gives us intricate crime in fiction as it might really be, and not as the irreflective would like it to be.” OBSERVER “A detective novel by Mr. Wills Crofts is always an event to those who know … Mr. Crofts is among the few muscular writers of detective fiction. He has never let me down.”HAROLD NICOLSON, DAILY EXPRESS
£8.99
Pushkin Press The Honjin Murders
Book Synopsis 'The Japanese Agatha Christie' Sarah Cox, on BBC2's Between the Covers 'The master of ingenious plotting' Guardian 'Dazzling' New York Times ______FROM THE FATHER OF JAPANESE CRIME_____In the winter of 1937, the village of Okamura is abuzz with excitement over the forthcoming wedding of a son of the grand Ichiyanagi family. But amid the gossip over the approaching festivities, there is also a worrying rumour - it seems a sinister masked man has been asking questions about the Ichiyanagis around the village.Then, on the night of the wedding, the Ichiyanagi family are woken by a terrible scream, followed by the sound of eerie music - death has come to Okamura, leaving no trace but a bloody samurai sword, thrust into the pristine snow outside the house. The murder seems impossible, but amateur detective Kosuke Kindaichi is determined to get to the bottom of it.
£12.34
HarperCollins Publishers Moonstone The
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics.The horrid mystery hanging over us in this house gets into my head like liquor, and makes me wild.'Centred around a glorious yellow diamond that carries with it a menacing history, The Moonstone tells the story of Rachel Verinder, who inherits the stone on her eighteenth birthday. That very evening, the diamond is stolen and there begins an epic enquiry into hunting down the thief. At the same time, three Indian men, Brahmin guardians of the diamond are attempting to reclaim the stone in order to return it to their sacred Hindu Idol.Told from the perspective of 11different characters, Wilkie Collins' tale of mystery and suspicion was considered the first modern English detective novel at its time of publication.
£6.01
HarperCollins Publishers Opening Night Spinsters in Jeopardy Scales of
Book SynopsisCommemorating 75 years since the Empress of Crime's first book, the sixth volume in a set of omnibus editions presenting the complete run of 32 Inspector Alleyn mysteries.OPENING NIGHTDreams of stardom lured Martyn Tarne from faraway New Zealand to a soul-destroying round of West End agents and managers in search of work. Now, driven by sheer necessity, she accepts the humble job of dresser to the Vulcan Theatre''s leading lady. But the eagerly awaited opening night brings a strange turn of the wheel of fortune - and sudden unforeseen deathSPINSTERS IN JEOPARDYHigh in the mountains stands an historic Saracen fortress, home of the mysterious Mr Oberon, leader of a coven of witches. Roderick Alleyn, on holiday with his family, suspects that a huge drugs ring operates from within the castle. When someone else stumbles upon the secret, Mr Oberon decides his strange rituals require a human sacrificeSCALES OF JUSTICEThe inhabitants of Swevenings are stirred only by a fierce competition to ca
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers Off With His Head Singing in the Shrouds False
Book SynopsisCommemorating 75 years since the Empress of Crime's first book, the seventh volume in a set of omnibus editions presenting the complete run of 32 Inspector Alleyn mysteries.OFF WITH HIS HEADWhen the pesky Anna Bünz arrives at Mardian to investigate local folk-dancing, she quickly antagonizes the villagers. But Mrs Bünz is not the only source of friction. When the sword dancers'' traditional mock beheading of the Winter Solstice becomes horribly real, Superintendent Roderick Alleyn finds himself faced with a complex case of gruesome proportionsSINGING IN THE SHROUDSOn a cold February London night, the police find a corpse on the quayside, her body covered with flower petals and pearls. The killer, who walked away singing, is known to be one of nine passengers on the cargo ship, Cape Farewell. Superintendent Roderick Alleyn joins the ship on the most difficult assignment of his careerFALSE SCENT Mary Bellamy, darling of the London stage, holds a 50th birthday party, a gala for everyone who loves her and fears her power. Then someone uses a deadly insect spray on Mary instead of the azaleas. The suspects, all very theatrically, are playing the part of mourners. Superintendent Alleyn has to find out which one played the murderer
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers The Golden Age of Murder
Book SynopsisWinner of the 2016 EDGAR, AGATHA, MACAVITY and H.R.F.KEATING crime writing awards, this real-life detective story investigates how Agatha Christie and colleagues in a mysterious literary club transformed crime fiction.Detective stories of the Twenties and Thirties have long been stereotyped as cosily conventional. Nothing could be further from the truth.The Golden Age of Murder tells for the first time the extraordinary story of British detective fiction between the two World Wars. A gripping real-life detective story, it investigates how Dorothy L. Sayers, Anthony Berkeley, Agatha Christie and their colleagues in the mysterious Detection Club transformed crime fiction. Their work cast new light on unsolved murders whilst hiding clues to their authors' darkest secrets, and their complex and sometimes bizarre private lives.Crime novelist and current Detection Club President Martin Edwards rewrites the history of crime fiction with unique authority, transforming our understanding of deteTrade Review‘Few, if any, books about crime fiction have provided so much information and insight so enthusiastically and, for the reader, so enjoyably’ THE TIMES ‘Illuminating and entertaining – provides a new way of looking at old favourites. I admire the way that Martin Edwards weaves the sometimes violent, sometimes unlawful, and always gripping true stories of these writers with the equally wild tales they tell in their books.’ LEN DEIGHTON, author of SS-GB ‘Forensically sharp and exhaustively informed… Crime fiction is driven by death. In this superbly compendious and entertaining book, Edwards ensures that dozens of authorial corpses are gloriously reborn.’ MARK LAWSON, GUARDIAN ‘Edwards knows his business. He understands how to parcel out the clues and red herrings so as to feed the reader enough information to keep a variety of possibilities open, while making sure to prepare for a satisfying solution.’ SEATTLE POST ‘You can learn far more about the social mores of the age in which a mystery is written than you can from more pretentious literature. I mean, if you want to know what it was like to live in England in the 1920s, the so-called Golden Age, you can get a much better steer from mysteries than you can from prize-winning novels.’ P. D. JAMES
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers N OR M A Tommy Tuppence Mystery
Book SynopsisTommy & Tuppence are hired to track down wartime spies at a seaside resortIt is World War II, and while the RAF struggles to keep the Luftwaffe at bay, Britain faces an even more sinister threat from the enemy within' Nazis posing as ordinary citizens.With pressure mounting, the Intelligence service appoints two unlikely spies, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Their mission: to seek out a man and a woman from among the colourful guests at Sans Souci, a seaside hotel. But this assignment is no stroll along the promenade. After all, N and M have just murdered Britain's finest agentTrade Review‘As ingenious as ever.’Guardian ‘A nice surprise finish… all-round entertainment.’Observer
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Moving Finger
Book SynopsisA malicious letterA tragic deathA village filled with suspectsNothing ever happens in the sleepy village of Lymstock.Until letters accusing the villagers of unspeakable acts start to appear.They try to dismiss them as a cruel hoax, but then one of the recipients is found dead. The letter next to her body reads simply, I can't go on'.As fear spreads among the villagers, Jane Marple must uncover who is writing these letters before anyone else is hurt.Never underestimate Miss MarpleMiss Marple is one of the most subversive, the most original, most distinctive characters in fiction. Often underestimated and overlooked, she always triumphs in the end.'Kate MosseBeyond all doubt the puzzle in The Moving Finger is fit for experts.'The TimesTrade Review‘Without a doubt, the greatest mystery writer of all time’ – Ragnar Jonasson ‘A hundred years after her first novel, and we are all still standing in her shadow’ – Andrew Taylor ‘She gives us an insight into human nature that few, if any, have surpassed’ – Susan Lewis ‘Dame Agatha has sold more books than all besides Shakespeare and the Bible’ – David Baldacci ‘All crime fiction writers around the globe owe Agatha Christie a massive debt’ – Peter James ‘Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.’ – Tana French
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers A Murder is Announced
Book SynopsisAn ordinary villageA shocking announcementOne morning the villagers of Chipping Cleghorn wake to find a strange notice in their papers:A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30pm.'Suspecting this is just a joke, they gather for some evening entertainment.Then a gunshot is heard.In desperation, the police turn to an old lady whose hobbies are gardening, gossiping and solving murders.After all, old ladies know better than anyone exactly what goes on in quiet English villagesNever underestimate Miss MarpleThe queen of jaw-dropping, heart-stopping twists.'Karen M. McManusEstablishes firmly her claim to the throne of detection. The plot is as ingenious as ever the dialogue both wise and witty; while the suspense is maintained very skilfully until the final revelation.'A.A. MilneTrade Review‘Without a doubt, the greatest mystery writer of all time’ – Ragnar Jonasson ‘A hundred years after her first novel, and we are all still standing in her shadow’ – Andrew Taylor ‘She gives us an insight into human nature that few, if any, have surpassed’ – Susan Lewis ‘Dame Agatha has sold more books than all besides Shakespeare and the Bible’ – David Baldacci ‘All crime fiction writers around the globe owe Agatha Christie a massive debt’ – Peter James ‘Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.’ – Tana French
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers They Do It With Mirrors
Book SynopsisA shocking crimeA mansion filled with suspectsRuth Van Rydock can't shake the feeling that something terrible is going to happen to her sister at Stonygates house.Her old school friend Jane Marple decides it's time to pay a visit.But this grand Victorian mansion isn't just a family home it's also a correctional facility for wayward young men.And when something terrible does indeed happen, Miss Marple must face her most eccentric cast of suspects yet.Never underestimate Miss MarpleIf a genius is someone who leaves the field they work in totally different from how they found it, then we should certainly remember Agatha Christie as a genius.'Stephen FryNo one on either side of the Atlantic does it better.'New York TimesTrade Review‘Without a doubt, the greatest mystery writer of all time’ – Ragnar Jonasson ‘A hundred years after her first novel, and we are all still standing in her shadow’ – Andrew Taylor ‘She gives us an insight into human nature that few, if any, have surpassed’ – Susan Lewis ‘Dame Agatha has sold more books than all besides Shakespeare and the Bible’ – David Baldacci ‘All crime fiction writers around the globe owe Agatha Christie a massive debt’ – Peter James ‘Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.’ – Tana French
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Book SynopsisThink you know whodunnit?Think again.Poor Roger Ackroyd. He knew the woman he loved had been harbouring guilty secret. And then, yesterday, she killed herself.But guilty secrets rarely stay secret. Who had been blackmailing her? Had it really driven her to suicide? Sadly, Roger Ackroyd wasn't going to live long enough to find out . . .Trade Review‘A classic – the book has worthily earned its fame.’–Irish Independent ‘The truly startling denouement is uncommonly original.’–Books ‘One of the landmarks of detective literature.’ H.R.F. Keating, –Crime & Mystery: The 100 Best Books
£9.49
British Library Publishing Murder in Vienna
Book Synopsis
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Mirror Crackd From Side to Side Book 9 Marple
Book SynopsisA movie starA deadly cocktailA murderWhen glamorous Marina Gregg came to live in St Mary Mead, tongues were sure to wag.But, with a local gossip's sudden death, has one tongue wagged a bit too much?As the police chase false leads, and two more victims meet untimely ends, Miss Marple starts to ask her own questions.What secrets might link a peaceful English village and a star of the silver screen?Never underestimate Miss MarpleChristie's ingenious plots and fiendish twists set the bar for all of us who follow in her footsteps.'Ruth WareThe pieces finally drop into place with a satisfying click.'Times Literary SupplementTrade Review‘Without a doubt, the greatest mystery writer of all time’ – Ragnar Jonasson ‘A hundred years after her first novel, and we are all still standing in her shadow’ – Andrew Taylor ‘She gives us an insight into human nature that few, if any, have surpassed’ – Susan Lewis ‘Dame Agatha has sold more books than all besides Shakespeare and the Bible’ – David Baldacci ‘All crime fiction writers around the globe owe Agatha Christie a massive debt’ – Peter James ‘Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.’ – Tana French
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd In a Lonely Place
Book Synopsis''Puts Chandler to shame ... Hughes is the master we keep turning to'' Sara ParetskyAfter the war, cynical veteran Dix Steele has moved to L.A., a city terrified by a strangler preying on young women. Bumping into an old friend, now a detective working on the case, Dix is thrilled by closely following the progress of the police. And meeting his new neighbour, sultry and beautiful actress Laurel Gray, brings even more excitement into his life. But the strangler is still prowling the streets - and Laurel may be in more danger than she realises...In a Lonely Place was adapted for film in 1950, with Humphrey Bogart as Dix Steele.Trade ReviewMy favourite crime writer. Full stop -- Sara Weinman * Los Angeles Review of Books *Dorothy B. Hughes is the unsung godmother of every feisty female investigator who has hit the streets in the last twenty-five years -- Val McDermindDorothy B. Hughes was in a class of her own. To be a female author of hard-boiled fiction back in the 1940s was unusual enough, but to write a first-person narrative from the viewpoint of a male serial killer was breaking new ground by anybody's standards. She marked out this territory years before most other writers even knew it existed. -- Max Decharne, author of Hardboiled Hollywood: The Origins of Great Crime FilmsIf you wake up in the night screaming with terror, don't say we didn't warn you. * New York Times Book Review *Dorothy B. Hughes was in a class of her own. To be a female author of hard-boiled fiction back in the 1940s was unusual enough, but to write a first-person narrative from the viewpoint of a male serial killer was breaking new ground by anybody's standards. She marked out this territory years before most other writers even knew it existed. -- Max Decharne, author of Hardboiled Hollywood: The Origins of Great Crime FilmsAn excellent novel -- David Thomson * Have You Seen...? *A tour de force . . . The structure is flawless, and the scenes of postwar L.A. have an immediacy that puts Chandler to shame. No wonder Hughes is the master we keep turning to. -- Sara Paretsky
£9.49
Oxford University Press The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and
Book SynopsisStevenson's short novel, published in 1886, became an instant classic. It was a Gothic horror originating in a feverish nightmare, that has thrilled readers ever since. Also included in this edition are a number of short stories and essays of the 1880s and extracts from writings on personality disorder that set the works in their historical context.Trade ReviewThe best edition of Stevenson's supernatural fiction so far. The texts are very well edited, the notes are significant and unobtrusive for the average reader, and the appendices provide the perfect complementation for Stevenson's narratives of the uncanny. Roger Luckhurst's introduction is fascinating. A must. * Dr. Antonio Ballesteros-González, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha *Table of ContentsStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ; The Body Snatcher ; Markheim ; Olalla ; A Gossip on Romance ; A Chapter on Dreams ; Appendix A: Henry Maudsley, 'The Disintegrations of the "Ego"' ; Appendix B: Frederic Myers, 'The Multiplex Personality' ; Appendix C: W. T. Stead, 'Has Man Two Minds or One?'
£6.99
Penguin Books Ltd No Name
Book SynopsisA witty, intricately-plotted exploration of a sudden fall from grace, the Penguin Classics edition of Wilkie Collins''s No Name is edited with an introduction and notes by Mark Ford.Magdalen and her sister Norah, beloved daughters of Mr and Mrs Vanstone, find themselves the victims of a catastrophic oversight. Their father has neglected to change his will, and when the girls are suddenly orphaned, their inheritance goes to their uncle. Now penniless, the conventional Norah takes up a position as a governess, but the defiant and tempestuous Magdalen cannot accept the loss of what is rightfully hers and decides to do whatever she can to win it back. With the help of cunning Captain Wragge, she concocts a scheme that involves disguise, deceit and astonishing self-transformation. In this compelling, labyrinthine story Wilkie Collins brilliantly demonstrates the gap between justice and the law, and in the subversive Magdalen he portrays one of the most exhilarating heroine
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Ask a Policeman
Book SynopsisThis classic crime novel by six different authors is introduced by Martin Edwards, archivist of the Detection Club, and includes a never-before-published Preface by Agatha Christie, Detective Writers in England', in which she discusses her approach to writing and her fellow writers in the Detection Club.Lord Comstock is a barbarous newspaper tycoon with enemies in high places. His murder in the study of his country house poses a dilemma for the Home Secretary. In the hours before his death, Lord Comstock's visitors included the government Chief Whip, an Archbishop, and the Assistant Commissioner for Scotland Yard. Suspicion falls upon them all and threatens the impartiality of any police investigation. Abandoning protocol, the Home Secretary invites four famous detectives to solve the case: Mrs Adela Bradley, Sir John Saumarez, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Mr Roger Sheringham. All are different, all are plausible, all are on their own and none of them can ask a policemanThe contributors to Trade Review‘One of the most original – and entertaining – mysteries I have ever read… A brilliant tour de force that the most jaded fans will relish.’ R. A. J. Walters ‘A reminder of the genial heyday of the genre when the KGB other ingredients of the esurient modern thriller were barely a gleam in Stalin’s eye.’ Christopher Wordsworth, The Observer ‘A must for all connoisseurs of detective fiction.’ James Harris, Literary Review ‘This year’s most welcome reissue.’ Francis Goff, Sunday Telegraph ‘A book of irresistible charm for students of the detective story.’ Ruth Dudley Edwards, Times Literary Supplement
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Death at the Dolphin Hand in Glove Dead Water
Book SynopsisCommemorating 75 years since the Empress of Crime's first book, the eighth volume in a set of omnibus editions presenting the complete run of 32 Inspector Alleyn mysteries.HAND IN GLOVEThe April Fool''s Day was a roaring success for all, it seemed - except for poor Mr Cartell who ended up in the ditch - for ever. Then there was the case of Mr Percival Pyke Period''s letter of condolence, sent before the body was found - not to mention the family squabbles. It''s all a puzzling crime for Superintendent AlleynDEAD WATERTimes are good in the Cornish village of Portcarrow, as hundreds flock to taste the healing waters of Pixie Falls. When Miss Emily Pride inherits this celebrated land, she wants to put an end to the villagers'' exploitation of miracle cures, especially Miss Elspeth Costs''s gift shop. But someone puts an end to Miss Cost, and Roderick Alleyn finds himself literally on the spotDEATH AT THE DOLPHINThe bombed-out Dolphin Theatre is given to Peregrine Jay by a mysterious oil m
£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd The Moonstone
Book SynopsisThe Penguin English Library Edition of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins''Here was our quiet English house suddenly invaded by a devilish Indian Diamond - bringing after it a conspiracy of living rogues, set loose on us by the vengeance of a dead man''When Rachel Verinder''s birthday present - the Moonstone, a large Indian diamond - is stolen at her party, suspicion and the diamond''s mysterious curse seem set to ruin everyone and everything she loves. Only Sergeant Cuff''s famous detective skills offer any hope of peace and a future for them all. The intricate plot and modern technique of multiple narrators made Wilkie Collin''s 1868 work a huge success in the Victorian sensation genre. With a reconstruction of the crime, red herrings and a ''locked-room'' puzzle, The Moonstone was also a major precursor of the modern mystery novel.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century
£9.49
Everyman The L.A. Quartet
Book SynopsisThe Black Dahlia depicts the infrastructure of L.A.'s most sensational murder case. A young cop morphs into the obsessed lover and lust-crazed avenger. His rogue investigation is a one-way ticket to hell.The Big Nowhere blends the crime novel with the political novel. It is winter, 1950, and the L.A. authorities are targeting movieland Reds. The three cops assigned to the job are out to grab all the kudos they can. But a series of brutal sex killing intervenes ...L.A. Confidential plumbs the depths: political corruption, scandal-rag journalism, racism and gangland wars, savage slaughter in an all-night hash house. And the inglorious Los Angeles Police Department to disentangle the conspiracy that links it all together.White Jazz gives us the tortured confession of a cop who's gone to the bad - killer, slum landlord and parasitic exploiter. He's also a pawn in a police power struggle and beginning to realize it. But he's just met a woman and wants to claw his way out of the pit. Somehow.Trade ReviewAsk me to name the best living novelist who's fierce, brave, funny, scatalogical, beautiful, convoluted, and paranoid ... and it becomes simple: James Ellroy. -- Stephen King
£28.50
Penguin Books Ltd The Woman in White Wilkie Collins Penguin
Book SynopsisPart of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his 'charming' friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.Trade Review“Collins was a master craftsman, whom many modern mystery-mongers might imitate to their profit.” —Dorothy L. Sayers
£17.09
HarperCollins Publishers His Last Bow Some Reminiscences of Sherlock
Book Synopsis
£4.81
HarperCollins Publishers Endless Night
Book SynopsisAgatha Christie's disturbing 1960s mystery thriller, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.Gipsy's Acre was a truly beautiful upland site with views out to sea and in Michael Rogers it stirred a child-like fantasy.There, amongst the dark fir trees, he planned to build a house, find a girl and live happily ever after.Yet, as he left the village, a shadow of menace hung over the land. For this was the place where accidents happened. Perhaps Michael should have heeded the locals' warnings: There's no luck for them as meddles with Gipsy's Acre.'Michael Rogers is a man who is about to learn the true meaning of the old saying In my end is my beginning'Trade Review‘One of the best things Agatha Christie has ever done.’ Sunday Times
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers The Murder at the Vicarage
Book SynopsisA quiet English villageA shocking murderAn unlikely detectiveNobody liked Colonel Protheroe.So when he's found dead in the vicarage study, there's no absence of suspects in the seemingly peaceful village of St Mary Mead.In fact, Jane Marple can think of at least seven.As gossip abounds in the parlours and kitchens of the parish, everyone becomes an amateur detective.The police dismiss her as a prying busybody, but only the ingenious Miss Marple can uncover the truth Never underestimate Miss Marple.Agatha Christie is the gateway drug to crime fiction both for readers and for writers.'Val McDermidAlways keeps her reader enthralled and guessing to the end.'Times Literary SupplementTrade Review‘Without a doubt, the greatest mystery writer of all time’ – Ragnar Jonasson ‘A hundred years after her first novel, and we are all still standing in her shadow’ – Andrew Taylor ‘She gives us an insight into human nature that few, if any, have surpassed’ – Susan Lewis ‘Dame Agatha has sold more books than all besides Shakespeare and the Bible’ – David Baldacci ‘All crime fiction writers around the globe owe Agatha Christie a massive debt’ – Peter James ‘Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.’ – Tana French
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Thirteen Problems
Book SynopsisA weekly dinner partyTen amateur sleuthsThe Tuesday Night Club murdersOn a quiet Tuesday in St Mary Mead, a group of friends gather for dinner.A policeman, a clergyman, a solicitor, an author, an artist, and an unassuming lady with a shrewd gaze Miss Jane Marple. Conversation naturally turns to crime.Each recounts a seemingly unsolvable mystery. Each thinks they know the answer.But it's the one they least expect who understands the true nature of each wicked actNever underestimate Miss MarpleBillions of readers can't be wrong.'Dreda Say MitchellThe plots are so good that one marvels . . . most of them would have made a full-length thriller.'Daily MirrorTrade Review‘Without a doubt, the greatest mystery writer of all time’ – Ragnar Jonasson ‘A hundred years after her first novel, and we are all still standing in her shadow’ – Andrew Taylor ‘She gives us an insight into human nature that few, if any, have surpassed’ – Susan Lewis ‘Dame Agatha has sold more books than all besides Shakespeare and the Bible’ – David Baldacci ‘All crime fiction writers around the globe owe Agatha Christie a massive debt’ – Peter James ‘Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.’ – Tana French
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Clutch of Constables When in Rome Tied Up In
Book SynopsisCommemorating 75 years since the Empress of Crime's first book, the ninth volume in a set of omnibus editions presenting the complete run of 32 Inspector Alleyn mysteries.CLUTCH OF CONSTABLESAccording to Chief Superintendent Roderick Alleyn, ''the Jampot'' is an international crook who regards murder as ''tiresome and regrettable necessities''. But Alleyn''s wife Troy has shared close quarters with the Jampot on a pleasure cruise along the peaceful rivers of ''Constable country'' and knows something is badly wrong even before the two murders on boardWHEN IN ROMEWhen their guide disappears mysteriously in the depths of a Roman Basilica, the members of Sebastian Mailer''s tour group seem strangely unperturbed. But when a body is discovered in an Etruscan sarcophagus, Superintendent Alleyn, in Rome on the trail of an international drug racket, is very much concernedTIED UP IN TINSELWhen a much disliked visiting servant disappears without trace after playing Santa Claus, foul play is at onTrade Review‘The incomparable Ngaio Marsh.’Daily Express ‘Mrs Marsh’s work has the hallmark of the master. She is at the top of her form. Definitely first-class plus.’Queen ‘The finest writer in the English language of the pure, classical puzzle whodunit. Among the crime queens, Ngaio Marsh stands out as an Empress.’The Sun
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers PhotoFinish Light Thickens Black Beech and
Book SynopsisCommemorating 75 years since the Empress of Crime's first book, the final volume in a set of omnibus editions presenting the complete run of 32 Inspector Alleyn mysteries.PHOTO-FINISHThe luxury mansion on New Zealand''s Lake Waihoe is the ideal place for a world-famous soprano to rest after her triumphant tour. Among the other guests are Chief Superintendent Alleyn and his wife but theirs is not a social visit. When tragedy strikes, and isolated by one of the lake''s sudden storms, Alleyn faces one of his trickiest casesLIGHT THICKENSPeregrine Jay, owner of the Dolphin Theatre, is putting on a magnificent production of Macbeth, the play that, superstition says, always brings bad luck. But one night the claymore swings and the dummy''s head is more than real: murder behind the scene. Luckily, Chief Superintendent Roderick Alleyn is in the audienceBLACK BEECH AND HONEYDEWWith all the insight and style her readers came to expect of her, Ngaio Marsh''s autobiography captures all the joys,
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers Miss Marple and Mystery The Complete Short
Book SynopsisA brand new omnibus of 55 short stories, presented for the first time in chronological order.Described by her friend Dolly Bantry as the typical old maid of fiction', Miss Marple has lived almost her entire life in the sleepy hamlet of St Mary Mead. Yet, by observing village life she has gained an unparalleled insight into human nature and used it to devasting effect. As her friend Sir Henry Clithering, the ex-Commissioner of Scotland Yard has been heard to say: She's just the finest detective God ever made.' and many Agatha Christie fans would agree.Appearing for the first time in The Murder at The Vicarage (1930) her crime-fighting career spanned over forty years when she solved her final case in 1977 in Sleeping Murder. With every tale flawlessly plotted by the Queen of Crime herself, these short stories provide a feast for hardened Agatha Christie addicts as well as those who have grown to love the detective through her many film and television appearances.Here, for the first tiTrade Review‘The plots are so good that one marvels… most of them would have made a full length thriller.’ Daily Mirror
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd Maigrets First Case
Book SynopsisThe profession he had always yearned for did not actually exist... he imagined a cross between a doctor and a priest, a man capable of understanding another's destiny at first glance. The very first investigation by eager young police secretary Jules Maigret leads him to a wealthy Paris family's dark secrets.Trade ReviewPraise for Georges Simenon:“One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequaled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories.” —The Guardian “These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself.” —The Washington Post “Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals.” —People “I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov.” —William Faulkner “The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature.” —André Gide “A supreme writer . . . Unforgettable vividness.” —The Independent (London) “Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales.” —The Observer (London) “Compelling, remorseless, brilliant.” —John Gray “A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable—lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates.” —Muriel Spark “A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it.”lle —Peter Ackroyd “Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century.” —John Banville"Gem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend . . . he exposes secrets and crimes not by forensic wizardry, but by the melded powers of therapist, philosopher and confessor" ― Times (London)"Strangely comforting . . . so many lovely bistros from the Paris of mid-20th C. The corpses are incidental, it's the food that counts." ― Margaret Atwood"One of the greatest writers of the 20th century . . . no other writer can set up a scene as sharply and with such economy as Simenon does . . . the conjuring of a world, a place, a time, a set of characters - above all, an atmosphere." ― Financial Times"Gripping . . . richly rewarding . . . You'll quickly find yourself obsessing about his life as you tackle each mystery in turn."-- Stig Abell ― The Sunday Times (London)
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers BURIED FOR PLEASURE A Gervase Fen Mystery
Book SynopsisAs inventive as Agatha Christie, as hilarious as P.G. Wodehouse - discover the delightful detective stories of Edmund Crispin. Crime fiction at its quirkiest and best.In the sleepy English village of Sanford Angelorum, professor and amateur detective Gervase Fen is taking a break from his books to run for Parliament. At first glance, the village he''s come to canvass appears perfectly peaceful, but Fen soon discovers that appearances can be deceptive: someone in the village has discovered a dark secret and is using it for blackmail. Anyone who comes close to uncovering the blackmailer''s identity is swiftly dispatched.As the joys of politics wear off, Fen sets his mind to the mystery but finds himself caught up in a tangled tale of eccentric psychiatrists, escaped lunatics, beautiful women and lost heirs.Erudite, eccentric and entirely delightful Before Morse, Oxford's murders were solved by Gervase Fen, the most unpredictable detective in classic crime fiction.Trade Review‘Both the mature and the discerning young choose to pick up one of Crispin's beautifully turned crime novels’ The Times ‘Crispin isn't in it for the mystery, but for the enigmas’ Guardian ‘His books are full of high spirits and excellent jokes, with constant literary allusions and an atmosphere of bibulous good humour. But at times the mood turns darker, and Crispin is capable of passages of both genuine suspense and ingenius deduction’ Daily Telegraph ‘Crispin is noted for an ability to embellish clever story lines with Marx Brothers touches’ New York Times ‘Rightly elevated to classic status’ New York Sun
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Inspector Frenchs Greatest Case Inspector French
Book SynopsisFrom the Collins Crime Club archive, the first Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed The King of Detective Story Writers'.THE FIRST INSPECTOR FRENCH MYSTERYAt the offices of the Hatton Garden diamond merchant Duke and Peabody, the body of old Mr Gething is discovered beside a now-empty safe. With multiple suspects, the robbery and murder is clearly the work of a master criminal, and requires a master detective to solve it. Meticulous as ever, Inspector Joseph French of Scotland Yard embarks on an investigation that takes him from the streets of London to Holland, France and Spain, and finally to a ship bound for South America . . .Trade Review‘Because he is so austerely realistic, Freeman Wills Croft is deservedly a first favourite with all who want a real puzzle.’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT “If there is a better writer of detective stories alive, I would like to know his name.”GLASGOW CITIZEN
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co Magpie Murders
Book Synopsis''Want to read a great whodunnit? Anthony Horowitz has one for you: MAGPIE MURDERS. It''s as good as an Agatha Christie. Better, in some ways. Cleverer.'' Stephen King''The finest crime novel of the year'' Daily Mail***** Seven for a mystery that needs to be solved . . . Editor Susan Ryland has worked with bestselling crime writer Alan Conway for years. Readers love his detective, Atticus Pünd, a celebrated solver of crimes in the sleepy English villages of the 1950s.But Conway''s latest tale of murder at Pye Hall is not quite what it seems. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but hidden in the pages of the manuscript lies another story: a tale written between the very words on the page, telling of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition and murder.From the creator of Midsomer Murders comes a fiendish mystery perfect for fans of Agatha Christie''s MiTrade ReviewWant to read a great whodunnit? Anthony Horowitz has one for you: MAGPIE MURDERS. It's as good as an Agatha Christie. Better, in some ways. Cleverer. * Stephen King *An ingenious novel-within-a-novel whodunit about the death of a crime writer . . . Part crime novel, part pastiche, this magnificent piece of crime fiction plays with the genre while also taking it seriously * Sunday Times *A cunning re-invention of the thriller formula -- Thriller of the Week * Mail on Sunday *Superbly written, with great suspects, a perfect period feel and a cracking reveal at the end * Spectator *A stylish, multi-layered thriller - playful, ingenious and wonderfully entertaining * Sunday Mirror *Brilliant. Really, really brilliant. I loved it. * Sophie Hannah, author of The Monogram Murders *Putting two books in one with their plots running side by side makes Magpie Murders difficult to put down and Horowitz fans will thoroughly enjoy a cracking good read * Daily Express *Although at first glance Horowitz's latest offering appears to be a classic whodunit novel, it will almost certainly prove to be unlike anything you've ever read before, and will have you mulling over its various intrigues in between sittings. * Scotsman *Anthony Horowitz's new novel is at once a brilliant pastiche of the English village mystery and a hugely enjoyable tale of avarice and skulduggery in the world of publishing . . . a compendium of dark delights * Irish Times *We loved this Agatha Christie-esque crime novel. A fiendish mystery within a mystery that will have you hooked from page one * Good Housekeeping *A highly enjoyable twist on the classic whodunnit * Metro *Horowitz is a superb pasticheur. * Guardian *
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd Big Sky
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe main plot...is dark and disturbing, but Atkinson brings wry comic touches to the story as she both playfully inhabits and deftly subverts the crime genre. * Observer *Big Sky is laced with Atkinson’s sharp, dry humour, and one of the joys of the Brodie novels has always been that they are so funny. * Observer *Atkinson weaves a magically absorbing world full of crossed paths and coincidences. Her sublime turn of phrase, impeccable gallows humour, beautifully drawn characters and complex plotting make for a fabulously entertaining and moving book. It can be enjoyed as either a standalone mystery or a very welcome reunion with an old friend. * Sunday Mirror *A masterclass in what can be done with crime fiction, brilliantly using the form to expose what Atkinson bleakly describes as 'one more battle in the war against women'. * Sunday Times *Atkinson’s new mystery hits all the right notes * Sunday Times Style *Atkinson brings back her much-loved PI Jackson Brodie for a tightly plotted tale...the real mystery here is the human heart, with Atkinson serving up an acute and believable look at the state of Britain today. * i *I romped through it: as ever, the plotting is clever and complex, it’s full of the dry wit Atkinson is so good at and it’s an absorbing mystery. * Good Housekeeping *There's a lot going on here, all of it rendered with Atkinson's vastly enjoyable nonchalance...Atkinson tells a great story, toys with expectations, deceives by omission, blows smoke and also writes like she's your favourite friend. Thank goodness the long Jackson Brodie hiatus is over. * New York Times *Atkinson throws in many entertaining diversions, and a fair few juicy red herrings… an exuberant, entertaining read…Atkinson’s work is always playful, and there’s a brisk, jaunty tone to Big Sky and much dry observational comedy. * Independent *The brilliance of Big Sky lies in its broad range of memorable characters, each with their own intriguing backstory.....sharp humour,sparkling prose and acute psychological insight. * Daily Express *A stunning comeback... Told in Atkinson’s typically wry prose, it is Dickensian in sweep, utterly riveting and has a wonderful ending, quite magnificent. * Daily Mail *I can't get enough of Jackson Brodie...he may well be the great fictional detective of our age...her bunch of seemingly ordinary but deeply fascinating characters... seem so real that you come to care about them like your oldest friends. * Sunday Express *As usual, it's ingeniously structured and told with humour and compassion. * New Statesman *Her peerless ability to plot with audacity and with a sinuous beauty...it's the most marvellous book, so delightful you'll want to eke it out for as long as possible. * Radio Times *Jackson Brodie gets his fifth outing in the new novel by the reliably brilliant Atkinson. * Woman & Home *You can't go wrong with the majestic new Kate Atkinson book...wise, funny and sad. * Stylist *Jackson Brodie is back and how we’ve missed him….you’re in for a treat. * Red *How can anyone fail to love Kate Atkinson?...A gripping beach read for lovers of detective fiction. * ES magazine *Atkinson’s nimble and endearing skill across all her fiction…is to take the determinedly domestic, find the wry, sometimes waspish humour in it, and yet reveal something profoundly humane....And deft misdirection, cheeky literary references and Brodie's flailing attempts to offer sympathy by quoting country-and-western lyrics are constantly entertaining. You finish Big Sky feeling battered - but thoroughly cheered up. * The Times *With a many-tentacled storyline distilling some of the more disturbing headlines of recent years, this dark material proves supremely compulsive...Brodie brings out the best in Atkinson, partly because he’s a handy peg for what tends to come across as her regretful sense of bemusement about modern Britain. * Metro *
£9.49
Orenda Books Where Roses Never Die
Book SynopsisThe 25-year-old case of a missing girl sees Varg Veum dig deep into the past to find her kidnapper, as the secrets and lies of a tiny community threaten everything … Gunnar Staalesen’s award-winning, international bestselling Varg Veum series continues in this chilling Nordic Noir thriller. ***WINNER of the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year*** 'Mature and captivating’ Herald Scotland ‘One of the finest Nordic novelists – in the tradition of Henning Mankell’ Barry Forshaw, Independent ‘Masterful pacing’ Publishers Weekly _________________ September 1977. Mette Misvær, a three-year-old girl disappears without trace from the sandpit outside her home. Her tiny, close middle-class community in the tranquil suburb of Nordas is devastated, but their enquiries and the police produce nothing. Curtains twitch, suspicions are raised, but Mette is never found. Almost 25 years later, as the expiry date for the statute of limitations draws near, Mette’s mother approaches PI Varg Veum, in a last, desperate attempt to find out what happened to her daughter. As Veum starts to dig, he uncovers an intricate web of secrets, lies and shocking events that have been methodically concealed. When another brutal incident takes place, a pattern begins to emerge… Shocking, unsettling and full of extraordinary twists and turns, Where Roses Never Die reaffirms Gunnar Staalesen as one of the world’s foremost thriller writers. _________________ Praise for Gunnar Staalesen 'There is a world-weary existential sadness that hangs over his central detective. The prose is stripped back and simple … deep emotion bubbling under the surface – the real turmoil of the characters’ lives just under the surface for the reader to intuit, rather than have it spelled out for them’ Doug Johnstone, The Big Issue ‘Gunnar Staalesen is one of my very favourite Scandinavian authors. Operating out of Bergen in Norway, his private eye, Varg Veum, is a complex but engaging anti-hero. Varg means “wolf ” in Norwegian, and this is a series with very sharp teeth’ Ian Rankin ‘Staalesen continually reminds us he is one of the finest of Nordic novelists’ Financial Times ‘Staalesen does a masterful job of exposing the worst of Norwegian society in this highly disturbing entry’ Publishers Weekly 'The Varg Veum series is more concerned with character and motivation than spectacle, and it’s in the quieter scenes that the real drama lies’ Herald Scotland 'Every inch the equal of his Nordic confreres Henning Mankell and Jo Nesbo' Independent ‘With an expositional style that is all but invisible, Staalesen masterfully compels us from the first pages … If you’re a fan of Varg Veum, this is not to be missed, and if you’re new to the series, this is one of the best ones. You’re encouraged to jump right in, even if the Norwegian names can be a bit confusing to follow’ Crime Fiction Lover ‘With short, smart, darkly punchy chapters Wolves at the Door is a provocative and gripping read’ LoveReading ‘Haunting, dark and totally noir, a great read’ New Books Magazine ‘An upmarket Philip Marlowe’ Maxim Jakubowski, The Bookseller ‘Razor-edged Scandinavian crime fiction at its finest’ Quentin BatesTrade Review'Gunnar Staalesen is one of my very favourite Scandinavian authors. Operating out of Bergen in Norway, his private eye, Varg Veum, is a complex but engaging anti-hero. Varg means "wolf'" in Norwegian, and this is a series with very sharp teeth' Ian Rankin * 'Not many books hook you in the first chapter - this one did, and never let go!' Mari Hannah * 'One of Norway's most skilful storytellers' Johan Theorin * 'Razor-edged Scandinavian crime fiction at its finest' Quentin Bates
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Inspector French Golden Ashes Book 16
Book SynopsisA classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television.The new Sir Geoffrey Buller is earning his living in Chicago when he unexpectedly inherits his title, an English baronetcy, and Forde Manor in Surrey, complete with its vast collection of priceless works of art. His widowed housekeeper, who knows a thing or two, is surprised to discover that Sir Geoffrey is having his pictures cleaned. But then disaster strikes! A devastating fire, a missing artist and a lot of insurance money from a mosaic of detail, Inspector French must reconstruct the pattern of a most cunning and complex crimeTrade Review“Good, sound, absorbing … and Inspector French, comforting as ever.”Observer “A detective novel by Mr. Wills Crofts is always an event to those who know … Mr. Crofts is among the few muscular writers of detective fiction. He has never let me down.”HAROLD NICHOLSON, DAILY EXPRESS
£9.49
British Library Publishing Who Killed Father Christmas
Book SynopsisThe answer to any classic crime fiction fan's Christmas wish - and the only way for you to answer Who Killed Father Christmas? - this new anthology is set to muddle, befuddle, surprise and delight.
£10.44
British Library Publishing Not to Be Taken
Book Synopsis...now we have Not to Be Taken, a compact and fascinating essay in the art of home detection. Torquemada in The Observer, 1938The murder is by arsenic; and although the number of suspects is strictly limited the construction is so ingenious that to attain the correct solution of the problem requires all the reader's concentration; to skip is fatal. Times Literary Supplement, 1938John Waterhouse has died of some gastric complication. Exhumed at his brother's request, it transpires that he has been killed by arsenical poisoning, though nobody in the sleepy village of Anneypenny seems to have had a reason to do him ill. Rumours abound of Nazi intrigue and military skullduggery, but whatever the motive, the truth remains; this was murder. Originally serialised as a competition with a prize for the readers that could answer Berkeley's direct challenge of 'who was the poisoner?', Not to Be Taken remains one of the most fiendish exercises in subtle cluework and detection from the Golden A
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group A Murder Inside
Book Synopsis''Has a charm, and mystery, all of its own'' THE TIMES''Frances Brody has made it to the top rank of crime writers'' DAILY MAILThe first historical mystery in a new classic crime series from bestselling author Frances Brody. This is the perfect locked room page-turner for fans of Agatha Christie and Jacqueline Winspear.___________1969. A job in the Prison Service is not for everyone. The training is hard, the cells are bleak and a thick skin is needed. But for Nell Lewis, helping prisoners is something she cares about deeply, and when she''s promoted into a new post as governor of HMP Brackerley in Yorkshire, she''s tasked with transforming the renowned run-down facility into a modern, open prison for women.Just as Nell is settling into her new role, events take a dark turn when a man''s body is discovered in the prison grounds. The mystery deepens still when one of their female inmateTrade ReviewHas a charm, and mystery, all of its own * The Times *An intriguing and heart-warming story * Daily Mail *With a competent, dynamic and likeable heroine, and an environment packed with stories great and small, it's hard to see how this series would fail * Morning Star *Praise for Frances Brody:Frances Brody has made it to the top rank of crime writers * Daily Mail *Brody's writing is like her central character Kate Shackleton: witty, acerbic and very, very perceptive -- Ann CleevesKate Shackleton is a splendid heroine -- Ann GrangerDelightful * People's Friend *Frances Brody matches a heroine of free and independent spirit with a vivid evocation of time and place . . . a novel to cherish -- Barry Turner * Daily Mail *Kate Shackleton joins Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs in a subgroup of young, female amateur detectives who survived and were matured by their wartime experiences. As self-reliant women in a society that still regards them a second-class citizens, they make excellent heroines * Literary Review *I really adore this series and Kate is such a strong, level-headed character * Woman's Way *
£7.49
