Search results for ""Author Cecily Gayford""

It's the height of summer. As the heat shimmers on the streets and ice cream melts onto sticky fingers, tempers begin to rise and old grudges surface. From Cornish beaches to the French Riviera, it's not just a holiday that's on people's minds ... it's murder. In these ten classic stories from writers such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Cyril Hare and Gladys Mitchell, you'll find mayhem and mysteries aplenty. So grab the suncream and head down to the beach - if you dare.

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In the bleak midwinter ... murder awaits. The halls might be decked, and the mistletoe hung, but in these ten classic crime stories you're more likely to come across a corpse under the Christmas tree than a present. From a Santa Claus with a secret to a violent theft that snowballs into something quite unexpected, pull up a chair, throw another log on the fire ... and let history's greatest crime writers surprise, delight and chill you to the bone.

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ONE OF THE TIMES BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 'Perfect for a quick fix of golden-age crime.. well worth reading by candlelight before turning in on Christmas Eve...' - JANICE HALLETT, THE SUNDAY TIMES It's only the afternoon, but dusk is already falling and a log fire burning in the grate. Outside, frost coats the tree branches and snow sparkles on the ground. And somewhere in the darkness, a murderer is making plans ... Here are ten classic crime stories for the winter months, from the greatest minds of the mystery genre. So bundle up, grab a glass of mulled wine, and get ready to be puzzled, astonished and entertained by these festive stories of murder and mayhem.

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With contributions by Kay Adshead, Horton Foote, Julian Garner, Andy Hamilton, Jackie Kay, Bryony Lavery, Christian Martin, Timothy Mason, Tamsin Oglesby, Fausto Paravidino, Judy Upton.International Connections features ten new plays and a musical drawn from some of the best writers around. The plays make up a rich and varied new repertoire of challenging and entertaining work for young people. With a wide range of cast sizes, a variety of settings, styles and subject matter, and a choice of comedy, tragedy, coming-of-age stories, fables and a musical, schools and youth theatre groups will be spoilt for choice with this dazzling collection.The plays were specially commissioned by the Royal National Theatre for the International Connections programme for young people in 2002.

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Midwinter. As snow falls softly outside and frost sparkles on tree branches, it's time to curl up before a roaring fire, wrap your hands around a steaming mug of mulled wine, and forget your worries for now. Everything is as it should be. Or is it? As the temperature drops outside, old grudges and new motives rise to the surface - and a murder's tracks can easily be covered by freshly fallen snow. From a poisoned box of glittering chocolates to an inexplicably invisible murder weapon, let ten of the greatest crime writers in history surprise and delight you with twists and turns as shocking as an icicle in the heart.

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The summer holidays are a chance to escape from it all, to shrug off the troubles and cares of everyday life, and lounge on warm sands or sip a cool drink in the shade of a city square. But, as the characters in this murderously good collection of classic crime stories discover to their cost ... sometimes it's not that easy to escape your fate. An impossible murder on a Cornish beach. A honeymoon in the Italian lakes that becomes a desperate search for the truth. An African safari that ends with the tables being turned. Even in a heatwave, these tales of murder and malice will chill you like a shadow sliding across the sun.

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From a beautiful antique that gives its owner a show he'd rather forget, to 'ghost detective' whose exorcism goes horribly wrong and a sinister masked ball which seems to have one too many guests, these ghost stories of supernatural terror are guaranteed to make you shiver, thrill and look under the bed tonight. From rural England to colonial India, in murky haunted mansions and under modern electric lighting, these master storytellers - some of the best writers in the English language - unfold spinetinglers which pull back the veil of everyday life to reveal the nightmares which lurk just out of sight. They are lessons in ingenuity and surprise, sometimes building slowly to a chilling climax, sometimes springing horror on you from the utterly banal. And as you'd expect from these writers, the stories are more than simply frightening - they're also disquieting exposures of mortality, loneliness and the human capacity for both evil and remorse. We wish you pleasant dreams. Contains ghost stories by: Ruth Rendell, M. R. James, Rudyard Kipling, Edith Wharton, E. F. Benson, E. Nesbit, Saki, W. W. Jacobs, W. F. Harvey, Hugh Walpole, Chico Kidd and LP Hartley.

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Not everything that goes bump in the night brings gifts ... As the nights draw in, the veil between worlds thins, and all sorts of ghosts and ghouls come tumbling in. In the shadows, under the bed, in wind-whipped snowy landscapes and in rooms lit by guttering candles, the dead of winter are waiting for us ... and their hearts are cold as ice. From the mysterious occupant of an ancient tomb to the Christmas visitor who is troubled by violent dreams, these are ten ghost stories from the masters of the genre that will chill your blood and haunt your dreams through the darkest months of the year. With stories from Lennox Robinson, M. Burrage, Ruth Rendell, E.F. Benson, Arthur Conan Doyle, H. Russell Wakefield, M.R. James, Margaret Irwin, Algernon Blackwood and W.W. Jacobs

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Christmas is a season of overindulgence. For most of us, that means an extra mince pie, a second helping of turkey, or perhaps a third glass of mulled wine. But for some, the festive season is a time to settle old scores, dispatch new enemies and indulge ... in murder. Here, ten masters of the genre serve up mystery and mayhem aplenty. From a dowager's missing jewels to a festive dinner gone horribly wrong, these classic crime stories will delight, puzzle and satisfy long after the last strands of tinsel have been cleared away.

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As the days get longer, escape your troubles and take a trip to the desperately hot towns where nightfall lingers and a sun-drenched picnic can end in panic. No matter how murderously high the temperatures rise, these stories will chill you to the bone. So grab a cool drink and step into the shade ... if you dare. Featuring terrifying tales of summertime murder and mayhem from Dorothy L. Sayers, Arthur Conan Doyle, Carter Dickson, Michael Innes, Baroness Orczy, Margery Allingham, Ian Rankin, Julian Symons, Ethel Lina White and Rex Stout.

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Christmas is a time of goodwill to all men ... or is it? As the nights draw in, throw another log on the fire and settle back into your armchair to enjoy this collection of ten classic Christmas mysteries, in which crime's best known sleuths, from Rebus to Holmes and Cadfael to Father Brown, uncover murder and mayhem galore. Whether it's a Christmas goose with a surprising secret cargo, a murdered pantomime dame, or a killer who departs the scene of the crime without leaving a single footprint, these stories will puzzle and delight in equal measure. And along the way, there'll be enough carols and Christmas pudding, mistletoe and mulled wine, to warm the heart of a stone-cold killer ... perhaps.

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A 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

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The Christmas season is one of comfort and joy, sparkling lights and steam rising from cups of mulled wine at frosty carol services. A season of goodwill, as families and friends come together to forget their differences and celebrate. Unless, of course, you happen to be harbouring a grudge. Or hiding a guilty secret. Or you want something so much you just have to have it - whatever the cost. In A Very Murderous Christmas, ten of the best classic crime writers come together to unleash festive havoc, with murder, mayhem and twists aplenty. From a murder aboard a snow-bound train to a pantomime costume that takes on a life of its own, these are mysteries as rich and satisfying as a Christmas dinner.

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Christmas Eve. While the world sleeps, snow falls gently from the sky, presents lie under the tree ... and murder is afoot. In this collection of ten classic murder mysteries by the best crime writers from the 1920s to today, death and mayhem take many festive forms, from the inventive to the unexpected. From a Santa Claus with a grudge to a cat who knows who killed its owner on Christmas Eve, these are stories to enjoy - and be mystified by - in front of a roaring fire, mince pie in hand.

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