The British Library has been publishing a seriefs of classic crime novels since 2012 which have proven surprisingly popular. Paul Gallagher highlighted the series in an article in The Independent back in December 2014, describing J. Jefferson Farjeon's Mystery In White: A Christmas Crime Story as a "Festive sleeper hit" that was selling in "astonishing numbers". According to Waterstones, it had outsold Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and Amazon had temporarily run out of stock the previous week due to surging demand.
The book had sold some 60,000 copies, accounting for 40 percent of sales for the whole series which, at that time, had reached 155,000. "Publishing Mystery In White was a game-changer for us," said Robert Davies of British Library Publishing "It gave everyone at the Library the confidence to increase our print runs from 2,000 to 15,000 – a real luxury in these days of constant nervousness among publishers about what the future might hold. The sales figures (and the press coverage we received) also made us more noticeable to the book trade in general, and increased the flow of submissions from literary agents, enquiries from readers and tips about the books to read next – all of which are vitally important in making new discoveries and engaging with the remarkably devoted and vocal community of golden-age crime fans."
The books continued to fly off the shelves of bookshops: in 2015, three John Bude titles (Cornish Coast Murder, Lake District Murder and Sussex Downs Murder) collectively sold 101,000 copies and earned Bude's estate £45,000 and interest was shown in developing adaptations for television.
According to Joseph Knobbs of Waterstones, sales might reflect readers' yearning for genuine mysteries rather than darker, modern thrillers. "The Crime Classics stand out against the darker crop of contemporary crime fiction and offer something a bit different. A lot of modern stuff skews closer to thriller than mystery."
Responsible for the series is Martin Edwards, who put together a list of what he thought were unfairly forgotten crime novels after being contacted by Rob Davies, the British Library's managing editor. Edwards told The Times (26 December 2015): "They're often described as cosy and bloodless, but we have to rememberthat the people who wrote them had often lived through the First World War. They didn't need to write about graphic violence because they'd lived through it. This was escapism."
The series is now over a decade old, with no end in sight as the British Library surged past 100 titles in November 2021 and is now well into its second century. The selection remains delightfully old-fashioned with its railway poster covers, and with no new Poirot or Marple on the TV at the moment, readers who enjoy a cosy murder mystery are looking elsewhere for their devilishly clever locked-room killings and drawing room revelations. The current popularity of writers like Richard Osman and Rev. Richard Coles and the astonishing sales "cosy crime" has achieved in recent years (Osman's books have global sales of over 10 million in 2020-23), has led the Crime Writers' Association to add a 'Whodunnit Dagger' to their awards for best cosy crime novel.
I hope the series continues for a long time to come.
Confidence in the books is clearly still high, as there have now been three spin-off series. The series British Library Classic Thrillers has published only the occasional title, but recently added new lines, the British Library Science Fiction Classics and Tales of the Weird, have a busy schedule ahead of them.
British Library 978-0712-25859-0, February 2012, 312pp, £8.99.
British Library 978-0712-35626-8, May 2015, 256pp, £8.99.
was first published as an eight part serial between 1862 and 1863 in the magazine
,
written under the pseudonym Charles Felix. It has been widely described
as the first detective fiction novel, pre-dating as it does other
novels such as Wilkie Collins’s
(1868) and Emile Gaboriau’s first Monsieur Lecoq novel (1869) that have previously claimed that accolade.
The
story is told by insurance investigator Ralph Henderson, who is
building a case against the sinister Baron ‘R___’, suspected of
murdering his wife in order to obtain significant life insurance
payments. Henderson descends into a maze of intrigue including a
diabolical mesmerist, kidnapping by gypsies, slow-poisoners, a rich
uncle’s will and three murders. Presented in the form of diary entries,
family letters, chemical analysis reports, interviews with witnesses and
a crime scene map, the novel displays innovative techniques that would
not become common features of detective fiction until the 1920s.
Now
made available again, with George du Maurier’s original illustrations
included for the first time since the original serial publication, this
new edition of
British Library, 978-0712-35878-1, October 2012, 328pp, £8.99.
The Female Detective is the first novel in
British fiction to feature a professional female detective. Written by
Andrew Forrester, it was originally published in 1864. The protagonist
is Miss Gladden, or 'G' as she is also known - the precursor to Miss
Marple, Mma Ramotswe and Lisbeth Salander.
Miss Gladden's deductive methods and energetic approach anticipate those
of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, and she can be seen as
beginning a powerful tradition of female detectives in these 7 short
stories. 'G' uses similar methods to her male counterparts – she enters
scenes of crime incognito, tracking down killers while trying to conceal
her own tracks and her identity from others
'G', the first female detective, does much physical detective work,
examining crime scenes, looking for clues and employing all manner of
skill, subterfuge, observation and charm solve crimes. Like Holmes, 'G'
regards the regular constabulary with disdain. For all the intrigue and
interest of the stories, little is ever revealed about 'G' herself, and
her personal circumstances remain a mystery throughout. But it is her
ability to apply her considerable energy and intelligence to solve
crimes that is her greatest appeal, and the reappearance of the original
lady detective will be welcomed by fans of crime fiction.
Mrs Paschal is only the second ever professional female detective to
feature in a work of fiction, pipped to the post by just 6 months by
Andrew Forrester’s
(republished by The British
Library in 2012). Both were published in 1864 and are of historical
significance because for over 20 years they remained the only books to
feature a female detective as the protagonist.
Mrs Paschal, the heroine of Revelations of a Lady Detective, is
regularly consulted by the police and serves as an undercover agent as
well as investigating her own cases. She throws herself into cases with
verve and gusto and has no hesitation in infiltrating a deadly society
or casting off her crinolines in order to plummet into a sewer on the
trail of a criminal.
British Library 978-0712- 9, September 2013, 144pp, £6.99.
‘Here is a business where breeding must be a recommendation .... Here is a work where beauty is a passport’
When Miriam Lea falls on hard times, an advertisement for private agents
catches her eye, and within weeks she finds herself in Mr Bazalgette’s
employ as a private detective, travelling on a train to Hamburg in
pursuit of an audacious fraudster. What follows is a journey through
some of the great cities of Europe – and eventually to South Africa - as
Miss Lea attempts to find her man.
Miriam Lea is only the third ever professional female detective to
appear in a work of crime fiction. Originally published in 1888, Mr
Bazalgette’s Agent presents a determined and resourceful heroine in the
figure of Miss Lea, who grapples with some very modern dilemmas of
female virtue and vice.
Leonard Merrick said of the book, his
first: ‘It’s a terrible book. It’s the worst thing I ever wrote. I
bought them all up and destroyed them. You can’t find any.’ It seems
Merrick was true to his word since copies of the book can now only be
found in private collections and in a handful of university and national
libraries throughout the world. This new edition offers the modern
crime fiction fan an opportunity to rediscover an enticing and rare
detective story.
British Library 978-0712-35712-8, November 2013, 288pp, £8.99.
British Library 978-0712-35630-5, October 2015, 288pp, £8.99. Cover by Seymour Snyder (
Aunt Mildred declared that no good could come of the Melbury family
Christmas gatherings at their country residence Flaxmere. So when Sir
Osmond Melbury, the family patriarch, is discovered – by a guest dressed
as Santa Klaus - with a bullet in his head on Christmas Day, the
festivities are plunged into chaos. Nearly every member of the party
stands to reap some sort of benefit from Sir Osmond’s death, but Santa
Klaus, the one person who seems to have every opportunity to fire the
shot, has no apparent motive.
Various members of the family have
their private suspicions about the identity of the murderer, and the
Chief Constable of Haulmshire, who begins his investigations by saying
that he knows the family too well and that is his difficulty, wishes
before long that he understood them better. In the midst of mistrust,
suspicion and hatred, it emerges that there was not one Santa Klaus, but
two.
British Library 978-0712-35716-6, March 2014, 288pp, £8.99. Cover extract from L.N.E.R. poster (Ullswater) by John Littlejohns
When a body is found at an isolated garage, Inspector Meredith is drawn
into a complex investigation where every clue leads to another puzzle:
was this a suicide, or something more sinister? Why was the dead man
planning to flee the country? And how is this connected to the shady
business dealings of the garage?
This classic mystery novel is set amidst the stunning scenery of a small
village in the Lake District. It is now republished for the first time
since the 1930s.
British Library 978-0712-35715-9, March 2014, 288pp, £8.99. Cover extract from G.W..R. poster (Cornwall) by Leonard Cusden
The Reverend Dodd, vicar of the quiet Cornish village of Boscawen,
spends his evenings reading detective stories by the fireside – but
heaven forbid that the shadow of any real crime should ever fall across
his seaside parish. But the vicar’s peace is shattered one stormy night
when Julius Tregarthan, a secretive and ill-tempered magistrate, is
found at his house in Boscawen with a bullet through his head.
The local police inspector is baffled by the complete absence of clues.
Suspicion seems to fall on Tregarthan’s niece, Ruth – but surely that
young woman lacks the motive to shoot her uncle dead in cold blood?
Luckily for Inspector Bigswell, the Reverend Dodd is on hand, and ready
to put his keen understanding of the criminal mind to the test.
This classic mystery novel of the golden age of British crime fiction is
set against the vividly described backdrop of a fishing village on
Cornwall’s Atlantic coast. It is now republished for the first time
since the 1930s, with a new introduction by Martin Edwards.
British Library 978-0712-35726-5, March 2014, 288pp, £8.99. Cover by (Mary Evans Pict. Lib.)
For Miss Cordell, principal of Persephone
College, there are two great evils to be feared: unladylike behaviour
among her students, and bad publicity for the college. So her prim and
cosy world is turned upside down when a secret society of undergraduates
meets by the river on a gloomy January afternoon, only to find the
drowned body of the college bursar floating in her canoe.
The police assume that a student prank got out of hand, but the
resourceful Persephone girls suspect foul play, and take the
investigation into their own hands. Soon they uncover the tangled
secrets that led to the bursar’s death – and the clues that point to a
fellow student.
British Library 978-0712-35725-8, March 2014, 288pp, £8.99. Adapted from an illustration from
Dorothy L. Sayers, Sunday Times, 1934.
When Miss Pongleton is found murdered on the stairs of Belsize Park
station, her fellow-boarders in the Frampton Hotel are not overwhelmed
with grief at the death of a tiresome old woman. But they all have their
theories about the identity of the murderer, and help to unravel the
mystery of who killed the wealthy ‘Pongle’. Several of her fellow
residents – even Tuppy the terrier – have a part to play in the events
that lead to a dramatic arrest.
by John G. Brndon
British Library 978-0712-35745-6, September 2014, 256pp, £8.99. Cover by (Mary Evans Pict. Lib.)
Soho during the blackouts of the Second World War. When a piercing
scream rends the air and a bloodied knife is found, Detective Inspector
MacCarthy is soon on the scene. He must move through the dark, seedy
Soho underworld – peopled by Italian gangsters, cross-dressing German
spies and glamorous Austrian aristocrats – as he attempts to unravel the
connection between the mysterious Madame Rohner and the theft of secret
anti-aircraft defence plans.
British Library 978-0712-35796-8, October 2014, 288pp, £8.99. Cover extract from Southern Railway poster (Seaford) by Leslie Carr
Two brothers, John and William Rother,
live together at Chalklands Farm in the beautiful Sussex Downs. Their
peaceful rural life is shattered when John Rother disappears and his
abandoned car is found. Has he been kidnapped? Or is his disappearance
more sinister - connected, perhaps, to his growing rather too friendly
with his brother's wife?
Superintendent Meredith is called to
investigate - and begins to suspect the worst when human bones are
discovered on Chalklands farmland. His patient, careful detective method
begins slowly to untangle the clues as suspicion shifts from one
character to the next.
by J. Jefferson Farjeon
British Library 978-0712-35770-8, November 2014, 256pp, £8.99. Cover from
On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt near the
village of Hemmersby. Several passengers take shelter in a deserted
country house, where the fire has been lit and the table laid for tea –
but no one is at home.
Trapped together for Christmas, the passengers are seeking to unravel
the secrets of the empty house when a murderer strikes in their midst.
British Library 978-0712-35795-1, January 2015, 320pp, £8.99. Cover extract from L.N.E.R. poster (London) by Fred Taylor
When Bobbie Cheldon falls in love with a pretty
young dancer at the Frozen Fang night club in Soho, he has every hope of
an idyllic marriage. But Nancy has more worldly ideas about her future:
she is attracted not so much to Bobbie as to the fortune he expects to
inherit.
Bobbie’s miserly uncle Massy stands between him and
happiness: he will not relinquish the ten thousand a year on which
Nancy’s hopes rest. When Bobbie falls under the sway of the roguish
Nosey Ruslin, the stage is set for murder in the heart of Piccadilly –
and for Nancy’s dreams to be realised.
When Chief Inspector Wake
of Scotland Yard enters the scene, he uncovers a tangled web of love
affairs, a cynical Soho underworld, and a motive for murder.
ed. by Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0712-35749-4, March 2015, 320pp, £8.99.
With its fascinating mix of people – rich and poor, British and foreign,
worthy and suspicious – London is a city where anything can happen. The
possibilities for criminals and for the crime writer are endless.
London has been home to many of fiction's finest detectives, and the
setting for mystery novels and short stories of the highest quality.
is an eclectic collection of London-based crime stories, blending the
familiar with the unexpected in a way that reflects the personality of
the city. Alongside classics by Margery Allingham, Anthony Berkeley and
Thomas Burke are excellent and unusual stories by authors who are far
less well known. The stories give a flavour of how writers have tackled
crime in London over the span of more than half a century. Their
contributions range from an early serial-killer thriller set on the
London Underground and horrific vignettes to cerebral whodunits. What
they have in common is an atmospheric London setting, and enduring value
as entertainment.
George Surridge, director of the Birmington Zoo, is a man with many
worries: his marriage is collapsing; his finances are insecure; and an
outbreak of disease threatens the animals in his care.
As Surridge's debts mount and the pressure on him increases, he begins
to dream of miracle solutions. But is he cunning enough to turn his
dreams into reality – and could he commit the most devious murder in
pursuit of his goals?
Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson Farjeon
British Library 978- 0712-35601-5, September 2015, 256pp, £8.99. Cover extract from L.N.E.R. poster (Cruden Bay Hotel Aberdeenshire) by Gordon Nicoll
‘No observer, ignorant of the situation, would have guessed that death lurked nearby, and that only a little distance from the glitter of silver and glass and the hum of voices two victims lay silent on a studio floor.’
On a fine autumn weekend Lord Aveling hosts a hunting party at his country house, Bragley Court. Among the guests are an actress, a journalist, an artist and a mystery novelist. The unlucky thirteenth is John Foss, injured at the local train station and brought to the house to recuperate – but John is nursing a secret of his own.
Soon events take a sinister turn when a painting is mutilated, a dog stabbed, and a man strangled. Death strikes more than one of the house guests, and the police are called. Detective Inspector Kendall’s skills are tested to the utmost as he tries to uncover the hidden past of everyone at Bragley Court.
This country-house mystery is a forgotten classic of 1930s crime fiction by one of the most undeservedly neglected of golden age detective novelists.
The Z Murders by J. Jefferson Farjeon
British Library 978-0712-35621-3, September 2015, 256pp, £8.99. Cover extract from British Railways poster (Service by Night) by David Shepherd
‘Jefferson Farjeon is quite unsurpassed for creepy skill in mysterious adventures.’ Dorothy L. Sayers
Richard Temperley arrives at Euston station early on a fogbound London morning. He takes refuge in a nearby hotel, along with a disagreeable fellow passenger, who had snored his way through the train journey. But within minutes the other man has snored for the last time – he has been shot dead while sleeping in an armchair. Temperley has a brief encounter with a beautiful young woman, but she flees the scene. When the police arrive, Detective Inspector James discovers a token at the crime scene: ‘a small piece of enamelled metal. Its colour was crimson, and it was in the shape of the letter Z.’
Temperley sets off in pursuit of the mysterious woman from the hotel, and finds himself embroiled in a cross-country chase – by train and taxi – on the tail of a sinister serial killer. This classic novel by the author of the best-selling Mystery in White is a gripping thriller by a neglected master of the genre.
Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries edited and introduced by Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0712-35610-7, October 2015, 256pp, £8.99. Cover by Chris Andrews
Christmas is a mysterious, as well as magical, time of year. Strange things can happen, and this helps to explain the hallowed tradition of telling ghost stories around the fireside as the year draws to a close. Christmas tales of crime and detection have a similar appeal. When television becomes tiresome, and party games pall, the prospect of curling up in the warm with a good mystery is enticing – and much better for the digestion than yet another helping of plum pudding.
Crime writers are just as susceptible as readers to the countless attractions of Christmas. Over the years, many distinguished practitioners of the genre have given one or more of their stories a Yuletide setting. The most memorable Christmas mysteries blend a lively storyline with an atmospheric evocation of the season. Getting the mixture right is much harder than it looks.
This book introduces readers to some of the finest Christmas detective stories of the past. Martin Edwards’ selection blends festive pieces from much-loved authors with one or two stories which are likely to be unfamiliar even to diehard mystery fans. The result is a collection of crime fiction to savour, whatever the season.
Murder of a Lady by Anthony Wynne
British Library 978-0712-35623-7, January 2016 [2015], 269pp, £8.99. Cover extract from Caledonian Railway poster (The Tarbet Hotel) by D.N.A.
A Scottish Mystery
Duchlan
Castle is a gloomy, forbidding place in the Scottish Highlands. Late
one night the body of Mary Gregor, sister of the laird of Duchlan, is
found in the castle. She has been stabbed to death in her bedroom – but
the room is locked from within and the windows are barred. The only tiny
clue to the culprit is a silver fish’s scale, left on the floor next to
Mary’s body.
Inspector Dundas is dispatched to Duchlan to
investigate the case. The Gregor family and their servants are quick –
perhaps too quick – to explain that Mary was a kind and charitable
woman. Dundas uncovers a more complex truth, and the cruel character of
the dead woman continues to pervade the house after her death. Soon
further deaths, equally impossible, occur, and the atmosphere grows ever
darker. Superstitious locals believe that fish creatures from the
nearby waters are responsible; but luckily for Inspector Dundas, the
gifted amateur sleuth Eustace Hailey is on the scene, and unravels a
more logical solution to this most fiendish of plots.
Anthony
Wynne wrote some of the best locked-room mysteries from the golden age
of British crime fiction. This cunningly plotted novel – one of Wynne’s
finest – has never been reprinted since 1931, and is long overdue for
rediscovery.
Murder at the Manor ed. by Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0712-30993-6, February 2016, 384pp, £8.99. Cover extract from L.N.E.R. poster (Ipswich) by Fred Taylor
The English country house is an iconic setting for some of the greatest British crime fiction. Short stories are an important part of this tradition, and writers from Agatha Christie to Margery allingham became famous for the intricate cases which their detetives unravelled in rambling country houses. These stories continue to enjoy wide appeal, driven partly by nostalgia for a vanished way of life, and partly by the pleasure of trying to solve a fiendish puzzle.
This new collection gathers together stories written over a span of about 65 years, during which British society, and life in country houses, was transformed out of all recognition. It includes fascinating and unfamiliar twists on the classic 'closed circle' plot, in which the assorted guests at a country house party become suspects when a crime is committed. In the more sinister tales featured here, a gloomy mansion set in lonely grounds offers an eerie backdrop for dark deeds, as in Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Copper Beeches' and W. W. Jacob's 'The Well'.
Many distinguished writers are represented in this collection, including such great names of the genre as Anthony Berkeley, Nicholas Blake and G. K. Chesterton.
Serpents in Eden: Countryside Crimes ed. by Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0712-35794-4, March 2016, 302pp, £8.99. Cover from British Railways poster (Worcestershire) by Frank Sherwin
'The lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside... Think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser.' Sherlock Holmes
Many of the greatest British crime writers have explored the possibilities of crime in the countryside in lively and ingenious short stories.
Serpents in Eden celebrates the rural British mystery by bringing together an eclectic mix of crime stories written over half a century. From a tale of poison-pen letters tearing apart a village community to a macabre mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle, the stories collected here reveal the dark truths hidden in an assortment of rural paradises.
Among the writers included here are such major figures as G. K. Chesterton and Margery Allingham, along with a host of lesser-known discoveries whose best stories are among the unsung riches of the golden age of British crime fiction between the two world wars.
Death on the Riviera by John Bude
British Library 978-0712-35637-4, March 2016, 223pp, £8.99. Cover extract from Southern Railway poster (The Summer-Time French Riviera) by F. Whatley
When a counterfeit currency racket comes to light on the French Riviera,
Detective Inspector Meredith is sent speeding southwards - out of the
London murk to the warmth and glitter of the Mediterranean. Along with
Inspector Blampignon - an amiable policeman from Nice - Meredith must
trace the whereabouts of Chalky Cobbett, crook and forger.
Soon their
interest centres on the Villa Paloma, the residence of Nesta Hedderwick,
an eccentric Englishwoman, and her bohemian house guests - among them
her niece, an artist, and a playboy. Before long, it becomes evident
that more than one of the occupants of the Villa Paloma has something to
hide, and the stage is set for murder.
This classic crime novel from
1952 evokes all the sunlit glamour of life on the Riviera, and combines
deft plotting with a dash of humour. This is the first edition to have
been published in more than sixty years and follows the rediscovery of
Bude's long-neglected detective writing by the British Library.
Calamity in Kent by John Rowland
British Library 978-0712-35783-8, April 2016, 256pp, £8.99.
In the peaceful seaside town of Broadgate, an impossible crime occurs.
The operator of the cliff railway locks the empty carriage one evening;
when he returns to work next morning, a dead body is locked inside - a
man who has been stabbed in the back.
Jimmy London, a newspaper reporter,
is first on the scene. He is quick on the trail for clues - and agrees
to pool his knowledge with Inspector Shelley of Scotland Yard, who is
holidaying in the area. Mistrustful of the plodding local policeman,
Inspector Beech, the two men launch their own investigation into the
most baffling locked-room mystery – a case that could reignite Jimmy's
flagging career, but one that exposes him to great danger.
Murder in the Museum by John Rowland
British Library 978-0712-35784-5, April 2016, 272pp, £8.99. Cover by Chris Andrews
When Professor Julius Arnell breathes his last in the hushed atmosphere
of the British Museum Reading Room, it looks like death from natural
causes. Who, after all, would have cause to murder a retired academic
whose life was devoted to Elizabethan literature? Inspector Shelley's
suspicions are aroused when he finds a packet of poisoned sugared
almonds in the dead man's pocket; and a motive becomes clearer when he
discovers Arnell's connection to a Texan oil millionaire.
Soon another
man plunges hundreds of feet into a reservoir on a Yorkshire moor. What
can be the connection between two deaths so different, and so widely
separated? The mild-mannered museum visitor Henry Fairhurst adds his
detective talents to Inspector Shelley's own, and together they set
about solving one of the most baffling cases Shelley has ever
encountered.
Death in the Tunnel by Miles Burton
British Library 978-0712-35641-1, May 2016, 256pp, £8.99. Cover by Chris Andrews
On a dark November evening, Sir Wilfred Saxonby is travelling alone in the 5 o'clock train from Cannon Street, in a locked compartment. The train slows and stops inside a tunnel; and by the time it emerges again minutes later, Sir Wilfred has been shot dead, his heart pierced by a single bullet.
Suicide seems to be the answer, even though no motive can be found. Inspector Arnold of Scotland Yard thinks again when he learns that a mysterious red light in the tunnel caused the train to slow down.
Finding himself stumped by the puzzle, Arnold consults his friend Desmond Merrion, a wealthy amateur expert in criminology. Merrion quickly comes up with an 'essential brainwave' and helps to establish how Sir Wilfred met his end, but although it seems that the dead man fell victim to a complex conspiracy, the investigators are puzzled about the conspirators' motives, as well as their identities. Can there be a connection with Sir Wilfred's seemingly untroubled family life, his highly successful business, or his high-handed and unforgiving personality? And what is the significance of the wallet found on the corpse, and the bank notes that it contained?
The Secret of High Eldersham by Miles Burton
British Library 978-0712-35609-1, May 2016, 256pp, £8.99.
'They're terrible mistrustful of strangers in these parts.'
Samuel Whitehead, the new landlord of the Rose and Crown, is a stranger in the lonely East Anglian village of High Eldersham. When the newcomer is stabbed to death in his pub, and Scotland Yard are called to the scene, it seems that the veil dividing High Eldersham from the outside world is about to be lifted.
Detective-Inspector Young forms a theory about the case so utterly impossible that merely entertaining the suspicion makes him doubt his own sanity. Surrounding by sinister forces beyond his understanding, and feeling the need of rational assistance, he calls on a brilliant amateur and 'living encyclopedia', Desmond Merrion. Soon Merrion falls for the charms of a young woman in the village, Mavis Owerton. But does Mavis know more about the secrets of the village than she is willing to admit?
Inspector Cluff Stands Firm by Gil North
British Library 978-0712-35646-6, July 2016, 176pp, £7.99. Cover extract from British Railway poster (Ribblesdale North West Yorkshire) by Greene
'He could feel it in the blackness, a difference in atmosphere, a sense
of evil, of things hidden.'Amy Snowden, in middle age, has long since
settled into a lonely life in the Yorkshire town of Gunnarshaw, until -
to her neighbours' surprise - she suddenly marries a much younger man.
Months later, Amy is found dead - apparently by her own hand - and her
husband, Wright, has disappeared.Sergeant Caleb Cluff - silent,
watchful, a man at home in the bleak moorland landscape of Gunnarshaw -
must find the truth about the couple's unlikely marriage, and solve the
riddle of Amy's death.This novel, originally published in 1960, is the
first in the series of Sergeant Cluff detective stories that were
televised in the 1960s but have long been neglected. This new edition is
published in the centenary year of the author's birth.
The 12:30 From Croydon by Freeman Wills Crofts
British Library 978-0712-35649-7, July 2016, 256pp, £8.99. Cover from Southern Railways poster (London & Isle of Wight) by Charles Pears
'Crofts constructs his alibi with immense elaboration...The story is
highly successful, and Mr Crofts is to be congratulated upon his
experiment' - Dorothy L. Sayers. We begin with a body. Andrew Crowther, a
wealthy retired manufacturer, is found dead in his seat on the 12.30
flight from Croydon to Paris. Rather less orthodox is the ensuing
flashback in which we live with the killer at every stage, from the
first thoughts of murder to the strains and stresses of living with its
execution. Seen from the criminal's perspective, a mild-mannered
Inspector by the name of French is simply another character who needs to
be dealt with. This is an unconventional yet gripping story of
intrigue, betrayal, obsession, justification and self-delusion.
The Cheltenham Square Murder by John Bude
British Library 978-0712-35648-0, August 2016, 285pp, £8.99. Cover extract from GWR/LMS poster (Cheltenham Spa) by C. H. Birtwhistle
In the seeming tranquility of Regency Square in Cheltenham live the
diverse inhabitants of its ten houses. One summer's evening, the
square's rivalries and allegiances are disrupted by a sudden and unusual
death - an arrow to the head, shot through an open window at no. 6.
Unfortunately for the murderer, an invitation to visit had just been
sent by the crime writer Aldous Barnet, staying with his sister at no.
8, to his friend Superintendent Meredith. Three days after his arrival,
Meredith finds himself investigating the shocking murder two doors down.
Six of the square's inhabitants are keen members of the Wellington
Archery Club, but if Meredith and Long thought that the case was going
to be easy to solve, they were wrong...
The Cheltenham Square Murder is a
classic example of how John Bude builds a drama within a very specific
location. Here the Regency splendour of Cheltenham provides the perfect
setting for a story in which appearances are certainly deceiving.
The Methods of Sergeant Cluff by Gil North
British Library 978-0712-35647-3, September 2016, 169pp, £7.99. Cover extract from British Railway poster (Yorkshire Dales A National Park Area) by Ronald Lampitt
After battling for justice, at great personal risk, in his first
recorded case, Sergeant Caleb Cluff made a swift return to duty in this
book. The story opens one wet and windy night, with the discovery of a
young woman's corpse, lying face down on the cobblestones of a
passageway in the Yorkshire town of Gunnarshaw. The deceased is Jane
Trundle, an attractive girl who worked as an assistant in a chemist's
shop. She yearned for the good life, and Cluff finds more money in her
handbag than she would have earned in wages.There are echoes of Sherlock
Holmes ('You know my methods, Watson') in the title, and in an exchange
in the first chapter between Cluff and Superintendent Patterson, but
Cluff is very much his own man. Little that goes on in and around the
mean streets of Gunnarshaw escapes him. He is scornful of detectives who
rely solely on supposed facts: 'More than facts were in question here,
the intangible, invisible passions of human beings.' Understanding those
passions leads him gradually towards the truth about Jane's murder.
Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts
British Library 978-0712-35651-0, September 2016, 256pp, £8.99. Cover extract from Southern Railway poster (T.S. "Invicta" leaving Dover in the "Golden Hour" Short Sea Route) by Norman Wilkinson
Mystery in the Channel is a classic crime novel with a strikingly modern
sub-text. The story begins with a shocking discovery. The captain of
the Newhaven to Dieppe steamer spots a small pleasure yacht lying
motionless in the water, and on closer inspection, sees a body lying on
the deck. When members of his crew go aboard the yacht, they find not
one male corpse but two. Both men have been shot, but there is no sign
of either the murderer or the pistol. The dead men, it quickly emerges,
were called Moxon and Deeping, and they were chairman and vice-chairman
respectively of the firm of Moxon General Securities, one of the largest
financial houses in the country. Inspector Joseph French of Scotland
Yard is called in, reporting directly to the Assistant Commissioner, Sir
Mortimer Ellison. French soon discovers that Moxon's is on the brink of
collapse. One and a half million pounds have gone missing, and so has
one of the partners in the business. Moxon and Deeping seem to have been
fleeing the country with their ill-gotten gains, but who killed them,
and how? French faces one of the toughest challenges of his career, and
in a dramatic climax, risks his life in a desperate attempt to ensure
that justice is done.
The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley
British Library 978-0712-35653-4, October 2016, 267pp, £8.99.
'All his stories are amusing, intriguing, and he is a master of the
final twist' - Agatha Christie
'One of the most stunning trick stories in
the history of detective fiction' - Julian Symons
Graham and Joan Bendix
have apparently succeeded in making that eighth wonder of the modern
world, a happy marriage. And into the middle of it there drops, like a
clap of thunder, a box of chocolates.Joan Bendix is killed by a poisoned
box of liqueur chocolates that cannot have been intended for her to
eat. The police investigation rapidly reaches a dead end. Chief
Inspector Moresby calls on Roger Sheringham and his Crimes Circle - six
amateur but intrepid detectives - to consider the case. The evidence is
laid before the Circle and the members take it in turn to offer a
solution. Each is more convincing than the last, slowly filling in the
pieces of the puzzle, until the dazzling conclusion.
Death of a Busybody by George Bellairs
British Library 978-0712-35644-2, October 2016, 244pp, £8.99. Cover extract from poster (Suffolk - See England By Rail - Coddenham, Railway Executive (Eastern Region, 1956) by Leonard Squirrel
The eponymous nosy parker in Death of a Busybody is Miss Ethel Tither.
She has made herself deeply unpopular in the quintessentially English
village of Hilary Magna, since she goes out of her way to snoop on
people, and interfere with their lives. On being introduced to her, the
seasoned reader of detective stories will spot a murder victim in the
making. Sure enough, by the end of chapter one, this unpleasant lady has
met an extremely unpleasant fate. She is found floating in a cesspool,
having been bludgeoned prior to drowning in the drainage water.This is,
in every way, a murky business; realising that they are out of their
depth, the local police quickly call in the Yard. Inspector Thomas
Littlejohn, George Bellairs' series detective, arrives on the train, and
in casting around for suspects, he finds that he is spoiled for choice.
The amiable vicar supplies him with a map showing the scene of the
crime; maps were a popular feature of traditional whodunnits for many
years, and Bellairs occasionally included them in his books, as he does
here.
Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0712-35665-7, November 2016, 288pp, £8.99. Cover extract from poster (St. Moritz: The World's White City, Lips & Co., Bern, Switzerland) by Plinio Colombi
Crimson Snow brings together a dozen vintage crime stories set in
winter. Welcome to a world of Father Christmases behaving oddly, a
famous fictional detective in a Yuletide drama, mysterious tracks in the
snow----, and some very unpleasant carol singers. The mysterious events
chronicled by a distinguished array of contributors in this volume
frequently take place at Christmas. There's no denying that the supposed
season of goodwill is a time of year that lends itself to detective
fiction. On a cold night, it's tempting to curl up by the fireside with a
good mystery. And more than that, claustrophobic house parties, when
people may be cooped up with long-estranged relatives, can provide
plenty of motives for murder.Including forgotten stories by great
writers such as Margery Allingham, as well as classic tales by less
familiar crime novelists, each story in this selection is introduced by
the great expert on classic crime, Martin Edwards. The resulting volume
is an entertaining and atmospheric compendium of wintry delights.
The Dead Shall Be Raised and Murder of a Quack by George Bellairs
British Library 978-0712-35652-7, December 2016, 224pp, £8.99. Cover extract from poster (Kendel from Oxenholme) by Norman Wilkinson
Two classic cases featuring Detective-Inspector Littlejohn.
In the winter
of 1940, the Home Guard unearths a skeleton on the moor above the busy
town of Hatterworth. Twenty-three years earlier, the body of a young
textile worker was found in the same spot, and the prime suspect was
never found - but the second body is now identified as his. Inspector
Littlejohn is in the area for Christmas and takes on the investigation
of the newly reopened case. Soon it becomes clear that the murderer is
still at large...
Nathaniel Wall, the local quack doctor, is found
hanging in his consulting room in the Norfolk village of Stalden - but
this was not a suicide. Wall may not have been a qualified doctor, but
his skill as a bonesetter and his commitment to village life were highly
valued. Scotland Yard is drafted in to assist. Quickly settling into
his accommodation at the village pub, Littlejohn begins to examine the
evidence...Against the backdrop of a close-knit village, an intriguing
story of ambition, blackmail, fraud, false alibis and botanical trickery
unravels.
Verdict of Twelve by Raymond Postgate
British Library 978-0712-35674-9, January 2017, 256pp, £8.99.
'The characterisation of the people in the story, as well as the teasing mystery, and the dark cynicism about human behaviour and the nature of justice, make this a crime novel to cherish'—Martin Edwards
A woman is on trial for her life, accused of murder. The twelve members
of the jury each carry their own secret burden of guilt and prejudice
which could affect the outcome. In this extraordinary crime novel, we
follow the trial through the eyes of the jurors as they hear the
evidence and try to reach a unanimous verdict. Will they find the
defendant guilty, or not guilty? And will the jurors' decision be the
correct one? Since its first publication in 1940, Verdict of Twelve has
been widely hailed as a classic of British crime writing. This edition
offers a new generation of readers the chance to find out why so many
leading commentators have admired the novel for so long.
Scarweather by Anthony Rolls
British Library 978-0712-35664-0, February 2017, 272pp, £8.99. Cover extract from LNER poster (East Coast) by Frank Henry Mason
"My friend Ellingham has persuaded me to reveal to the public the astounding features of the Reisby case. As a study in criminal aberration it is, he tells me, of particular interest, while in singularity of horror and in perversity of ingenious method it is probably unique"
1913. John Farringdale, with his cousin Eric Foster, visits the famous
archaeologist Tolgen Reisby. At Scarweather - Reisby's lonely house on
the windswept northern coast of England - Eric is quickly attracted to
Reisby's much younger wife, and matters soon take a dangerous turn.
Fifteen years later, the final scene of the drama is enacted.
This unorthodox novel from 1934 is by a gifted writer who, wrote Dorothy L. Sayers, "handles his characters like a 'real' novelist and the English language like a 'real' writer – merits which are still, unhappily, rarer than they should be in the ranks of the murder specialists."
Family Matters by Anthony Rolls
British Library 978-0712-35669-5, March 2017, 256pp, £8.99. Cover extract from L.N.E.R. poster (The Dales) by Duff Tollemache
Robert Arthur Kewdingham is an eccentric failure of a man. In middle age
he retreats into a private world, hunting for Roman artefacts and
devoting himself to bizarre mystical beliefs. Robert's wife, Bertha,
feels that there are few things more dreadful than a husband who will
persist in making a fool of himself in public. Their marriage consists
of horrible quarrels, futile arguments, incessant bickering. Scarcely
any friends will visit the Kewdinghams in their peaceful hometown
Shufflecester.
Everything is wrong - and with the entrance of John
Harrigall, a bohemian bachelor from London who catches Bertha's eye,
they take a turn for the worse. Soon deep passions and resentments
shatter the calm facade of the Kewdinghams' lives.
This richly
characterised and elegantly written crime novel from 1933.
Miraculous Mysteries. Locked-Room Murders and Impossible Crimes ed. Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0712-35673-2, April 2017, 352pp, £8.99.
Locked-room mysteries and other impossible crime stories have been
relished by puzzle-lovers ever since the invention of detective fiction.
Fiendishly intricate cases were particularly well suited to the
cerebral type of detective story that became so popular during the
golden age of murder between the two world wars. But the tradition goes
back to the days of Wilkie Collins, and impossible crime stories have
been written by such luminaries as Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton,
Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham. This anthology celebrates their
work, alongside long-hidden gems by less familiar writers. Together
these stories demonstrate the range and high accomplishment of the
classic British impossible crime story over more than half a century.
The Incredible Crime. A Cambridge mystery by Lois Austen-Leigh
British Library 978-0172-35602-2, May 2017, 288pp, £8.99. Cover extract from L.N.E.R. poster (Cambridge, St John's) by Fred Taylor
Prince s College, Cambridge, is a peaceful and scholarly community,
enlivened by Prudence Pinsent, the Master s daughter. Spirited,
beautiful, and thoroughly unconventional, Prudence is a remarkable young
woman.
One fine morning she sets out for Suffolk to join her cousin
Lord Wellende for a few days hunting. On the way Prudence encounters
Captain Studde of the coastguard who is pursuing a quarry of his own.
Studde is on the trail of a drug smuggling ring that connects Wellende
Hall with the cloistered world of Cambridge. It falls to Prudence to
unravel the identity of the smugglers who may be forced to kill, to
protect their secret.
Continental Crimes ed. Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0172-35679-7, June 2017, 352pp, £8.99.
A man is forbidden to uncover the secret of the tower in a fairy-tale
castle by the Rhine. A headless corpse is found in a secret garden in
Paris - belonging to the city's chief of police. And a drowned man is
fished from the sea off the Italian Riviera, leaving the carabinieri to
wonder why his socialite friends at the Villa Almirante are so
unconcerned by his death. These are three of the scenarios in this new
collection of vintage crime stories compiled by Martin Edwards.
Detective stories from the golden age and beyond have used European
settings - cosmopolitan cities, rural idylls and crumbling chateaux - to
explore timeless themes of revenge, deception and haunting. Including
lesser-known stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, and J.
Jefferson Farjeon - and over a dozen other classic writers - this
collection reveals many hidden gems of British crime.
Death Makes a Prophet by John Bude
British Library 978-0712-35 691-6, 6 July 2017, 285pp, £8.99. Cover by Thomas Friedensen (Frontispiece to
The Garden City by C. B. Purdom, 1913)
'Small hostilities were growing; vague jealousies were gaining strength;
and far off, wasn't there a nebulous hint of approaching tragedy in the
air?' Welworth Garden City in the 1940s is a forward-thinking town
where free spirits find a home - vegetarians, socialists, and an array
of exotic religious groups. Chief among these are the Children of
Osiris, led by the eccentric High Prophet, Eustace K. Mildmann. The cult
is a seething hotbed of petty resentment, jealousy and dark secrets -
which eventually lead to murder. The stage is set for one of Inspector
Meredith's most bizarre and exacting cases. This witty crime novel by a
writer on top form is a neglected classic of British crime fiction.
The Long Arm of the Law ed. Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0712-35687-9, 10 August 2017, 288pp, £8.99. Cover extract from advert ('Perfect Control' advertising Dunlop Tyres, 1935)
In classic British crime fiction, dazzling detective work is often the
province of a brilliant amateur - whereas the humble police detective
cuts a hapless figure. The twelve stories collected here strike a blow
for the professionals, with teasing mysteries to challenge hard-working
police officers' persistence and scrupulous attention to detail. As in
his previous anthologies for the British Library Crime Classics series,
Martin Edwards introduces readers to fascinating neglected gems of
British crime writing as well as uncovering lesser-known stories by the
great novelists of the golden age. Each of these stories combines
realism with entertainment, skillfully blending the conduct of a
criminal investigation with a compelling [ ].
Seven Dead by J. Jefferson Farjeon
British Library 978-0712-35688-6, 7 September 2017, 288pp, £8.99. Cover extract from G.W.R. poster (Cornwall, 1946) by Frank Sherwin
Ted Lyte, amateur thief, has chosen an isolated house by the coast for
his first robbery. But Haven House is no ordinary country home. While
hunting for silverware to steal, Ted stumbles upon a locked room
containing seven dead bodies. Detective Inspector Kendall takes on the
case with the help of passing yachtsman Thomas Hazeldean. The search for
the house's absent owners brings Hazeldean across the Channel to
Boulogne, where he finds more than one motive to stay and investigate.
Seven Dead is an atmospheric crime novel first published in 1939.
Somebody at the Door by Raymond Postgate
British Library 978-0712-35235-2, 14 September 2017, 288pp, £8.99. Cover extract from LMS poster (The Coronation Scot Ascending Shap Fell, 1937) by Norman Wilkinson
'The death was an odd one, it was true; but there was after all no very
clear reason to assume it was anything but natural.' In the winter of
1942, England lies cold and dark in the wartime blackout. One bleak
evening, Councillor Grayling steps off the 6.12 from Euston, carrying
GBP120 in cash, and oblivious to the fate that awaits him in the
snow-covered suburbs. Inspector Holly draws up a list of Grayling's
fellow passengers: his distrusted employee Charles Evetts, the charming
Hugh Rolandson, and an unknown refugee from Nazi Germany, among others.
Inspector Holly will soon discover that each passenger harbours their
own dark secrets, and that the councillor had more than one enemy among
them. First published in 1943, Raymond Postgate's wartime murder mystery
combines thrilling detection with rich characters and a fascinating depiction of life on the home front.
Foreign Bodies ed. Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0172-35699-2, 5 October 2017, 288pp, £8.99.
Today, translated crime fiction is in vogue - but this was not always
the case. A century before Scandi noir, writers across Europe and beyond
were publishing detective stories of high quality. Often these did not
appear in English and they have been known only by a small number of
experts. This is the first ever collection of classic crime in
translation from the golden age of the genre in the 20th century. Many
of these stories are exceptionally rare, and several have been
translated for the first time to appear in this volume. Martin Edwards
has selected gems of classic crime from Denmark to Japan and many points
in between. Fascinating stories give an insight into the cosmopolitan
cultures (and crime-writing traditions) of diverse places including
Mexico, France, Russia, Germany and the Netherlands.
Portrait of a Murderer by Anne Meredith
British Library 978-0172-35686-X, 12 October 2017, 288pp, £8.99. Cover by (Mary Evans Library/Bruce Castle Museum)
Adrian Gray was born in May 1862 and met his death through violence, at
the hands of one of his own children, at Christmas, 1931. Thus begins a
classic crime novel published in 1933, a riveting portrait of the
psychology of a murderer. Each December, Adrian Gray invites his
extended family to stay at his lonely house, Kings Poplars. None of
Gray's six surviving children is fond of him; several have cause to wish
him dead. The family gathers on Christmas Eve - and by the following
morning, their wish has been granted. This fascinating and unusual novel
tells the story of what happened that dark Christmas night; and what
the murderer did next.
Bats in the Belfry. A London Mystery by E. C. R. Lorac
British Library
978-0712-35255-0, 10 January 2018, 240pp, £8.99. Cover extract from G.W.R. poster (London, 1938) by Frank Henry Mason
Bruce Attleton dazzled London's literary scene with his first two novels
- but his early promise did not bear fruit. His wife Sybilla is a
glittering actress, unforgiving of Bruce's failure, and the couple lead
separate lives in their house at Regent's Park. When Bruce is called
away on a sudden trip to Paris, he vanishes completely - until his
suitcase and passport are found in a sinister artist's studio, the
Belfry, in a crumbling house in Notting Hill. Inspector Macdonald must
uncover Bruce's secrets, and find out the identity of his mysterious
blackmailer. This intricate mystery from a classic writer is set in a
superbly evoked London of the 1930s.
Fire in the Thatch. A Devon Mystery by E. C. R. Lorac
British Library
978-0712-35260-4, 10 February 2018, 240pp, £8.99.
The Second World War is drawing to a close. Nicholas Vaughan, released
from the army after an accident, takes refuge in Devon - renting a
thatched cottage in the beautiful countryside at Mallory Fitzjohn.
Vaughan sets to work farming the land, rearing geese and renovating the
cottage. Hard work and rural peace seem to make this a happy bachelor
life. On a nearby farm lives the bored, flirtatious June St Cyres, an
exile from London while her husband is a Japanese POW. June's presence
attracts fashionable visitors of dubious character, and threatens to
spoil Vaughan's Prized seclusion. When Little Thatch is destroyed in a
blaze, all Vaughan's work goes up in smoke - and Inspector Macdonald is
drafted in to uncover a motive for murder.
Blood on the Tracks. Railway Mysteries ed. Martin Edwards
British Library
978-0712-35270-3, 10 March 2018, 288pp, £8.99. Cover extract from London & North Eastern Railway poster (Express Ease The "Harrogate" Pullman) by George Harrison
'Never had I been given a tougher problem to solve, and never had I been
so utterly at my wits' end for a solution.' A signalman is found
dead by a railway tunnel. A man identifies his wife as a victim of
murder on the underground. Two passengers mysteriously disappear between
stations, leaving behind a dead body. Trains have been a favourite
setting of many crime writers, providing the mobile equivalent of the
'locked-room' scenario. Their enclosed carriages with a limited number
of suspects lend themselves to seemingly impossible crimes. In an era of
cancellations and delays, alibis reliant upon a timely train service no
longer ring true, yet the railway detective has enjoyed a resurgence of
popularity in the twenty-first century. Both 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.
The Murder of My Aunt by Richard Hull
British Library
978-0712-35280-2, 10 April 2018, 240pp, £8.99. Cover extract from G.W.R. LMS poster (Wales) by Leonard Richmond
'I should be very much happier if she were dead.' Edward Powell lives
with his Aunt Mildred in the Welsh town of Lywll. His aunt thinks Lywll
an idyllic place to live, but Edward loathes the countryside - and
thinks the company even worse. In face, Edward has decided to murder his
aunt. A darkly humorous depiction of fraught family ties, The Murder
of My Aunt was first published in 1934.
Excellent Intentions by Richard Hull
British Library 978-0712-35201-7, 10 May 2018, 240pp, £8.99.
Great Barwick s least popular man is murdered on a train. Twelve jurors
sit in court. Four suspects are identified but which of them is on
trial? This novel has all the makings of a classic murder mystery, but
with a twist: as Attorney-General Anstruther Blayton leads the court
through prosecution and defence, Inspector Fenby carries out his
investigation. All this occurs while the identity of figure in the dock
is kept tantalisingly out of reach. Excellent Intentions is a classic
crime novel laced with irreverent wit, first published in 1939.
Weekend at Thrackley by Alan Melville
British Library 978-0712-35211-6, 10 June 2018, 240pp, £8.99.
Jim Henderson is one of six guests summoned by the mysterious Edwin Carson, a collector of precious stones, to a weekend party at his country house, Thrackley. The house is gloomy and forbidding but the party is warm and hospitable except for the presence of Jacobson, the sinister butler. The other guests are wealthy people draped in jewels; Jim cannot imagine why he belongs in such company. After a weekend of adventure with attempted robbery and a vanishing guest secrets come to light and Jim unravels a mystery from his past.
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery by Leonard Gribble
British Library 978-0712-35226-0, 10 July 2018, 256pp, £8.99. Adapts an illustration of England v. Italy match by A Brivio (
Illustrazione del Popolo, 18 November 1934)
The 1939 Arsenal side is firing on all cylinders and celebrating a string of victories. They appear unstoppable, but the Trojans - a side of amateurs who are on a winning streak of their own - may be about to silence the Gunners. Moments into the second half the whistle blows, but not for a goal or penalty. One of the Trojans has collapsed on the pitch. By the end of the day, he is dead. Gribble's unique mystery, featuring the actual Arsenal squad of 1939, sends Inspector Anthony Slade into the world of professional football to investigate a case of deadly foul play on and off the pitch.
The Division Bell Mystery by Ellen Wilkinson
British Library 978-0712-35241-3, 10 August 2018, 256pp, £8.99. Cover extract from Southern Railway poster (Paris-St Lazare a Londres, 1924).
Through the double clamour of Big Ben and the shrill sound of the bell rang a revolver shot.
A financier is found shot in the House of Commons. Suspecting foul play, Robert West, a parliamentary private secretary, takes on the role of amateur sleuth. Used to turning a blind eye to covert dealings, West must now uncover the shocking secret behind the mans demise, amid distractions from the press and the dead man's enigmatic daughter.
Originally published in 1932, this was the only mystery novel to be written by Ellen Wilkinson, one of the first women to be elected to Parliament. Wilkinson offers a unique insiders perspective of political scandal, replete with sharp satire.
With an introduction by Martin Edwards and preface by Rachel Reeves MP
The Colour of Murder by Julian Symons
British Library 978-0712-35227-7, 10 September 2018, 256pp, £8.99. Cover extract from Southern Railways poster (Brighton, 1920s) by Henry George Gawthorn
John Wilkins meets a beautiful, irresistible girl, and his world is turned upside down. Looking at his wife, and thinking of the girl, everything turns red before his eyes - the colour of murder.
This award-winning crime novel from 1957 is a gripping examination of the psychology of murder and the nature of justice, unravelling the mystery by showing the events leading up to a murder, and the psychiatric evaluation which follows.
The Belting Inheritance by Julian Symons
British Library 978-0712-35232-1, 10 September 2018, 240pp, £8.99.
Lady Wainwright presides over the gothic gloom at Belting, in mourning for her two sons lost in the Second World War. Long afterwards a stranger arrives at Belting, claiming to be the missing David Wainwright who was not killed after all, but held captive for years in a Russian prison camp.
With Lady Wainwright's health fading, her inheritance is at stake, and the family is torn apart by doubts over its mysterious long-lost son. Belting is shadowed by suspicion and intrigue and then the first body is found.
This atmospheric novel of family secrets, first published in 1964.
The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories, ed. Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0712-35247-5, 10 October 2018, 288pp, £8.99. Cover from travel poster (Les Sports D'Hiver au Mont-Revard, c.1927) by Roger Broders.
A Christmas party is punctuated by a gunshot under a policeman's watchful eye. A jewel heist is planned amidst the glitz and glamour of Oxford Street's Christmas shopping. Lost in a snowstorm, a man finds a motive for murder. This collection of mysteries explores the darker side of the festive season from unexplained disturbances in the fresh snow, to the darkness that lurks beneath the sparkling decorations. With neglected stories by John Bude and E. C. R. Lorac, as well as tales by little-known writers of crime fiction, Martin Edwards blends the cosy atmosphere of the fireside story with a chill to match the temperature outside. This is a gripping seasonal collection sure to delight mystery fans.
Murder by Matchlight by E. C. R. Lorac
British Library 978-0712-35222-2, 10 November 2018, 256pp, £8.99. Cover: uncredited.
London. 1945. The capital is shrouded in the darkness of the blackout, and mystery abounds in the parks after dusk.
During a stroll through Regent's Park, Bruce Mallaig witnesses two men acting suspiciously around a footbridge. In a matter of moments, one of them has been murdered; Mallaig's view of the assailant but a brief glimpse of a ghastly face in the glow of a struck match.
The murderer's noiseless approach and escape seems to defy all logic, and even the victim's identity is quickly thrown into uncertainty. Lorac's shrewd yet personable C.I.D. man MacDonald must set to work once again to unravel this near-impossible mystery.
Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert
British Library 978-0712-35297-0, 10 January 2019, 272pp, £8.99.
Horniman, Birley and Craine is a highly respected legal firm with
clients reaching to the highest in the land. When a deed box in the
office is opened to reveal a corpse, the threat of scandal promises to
wreak havoc on the firm's reputation - especially as the murder looks
like an inside job. The partners and staff of the firm keep a watchful
and suspicious eye on their colleagues, as Inspector Hazlerigg sets out
to solve the mystery of who Mr Smallbone was - and why he had to die.
Written
with style, pace and wit, this is a masterpiece by one of the finest
writers of traditional British crime novels since the Second World War.
Death in Captivity by Michael Gilbert
British Library 978-0712-35213-0, 10 February 2019, 288pp, £8.99.
A man is found dead in an escape tunnel in an Italian prisoner-of-war
camp. Did he die in an accidental collapse - or was this murder? Captain
Henry `Cuckoo' Goyles, master tunneller and amateur detective, takes up
the case.
This classic locked-room mystery with a closed circle
of suspects is woven together with a thrilling story of escape from the
camp, as the Second World War nears its endgame and the British
prisoners prepare to flee into the Italian countryside.
Death Has Deep Roots by Michael Gilbert
British Library 978-0712-35228-4, 10 March 2019, 256pp, £8.99
At the Central Criminal Court, an eager crowd awaits the trial of
Victoria Lamartine, an active participant in the Resistance during the
war. She is now employed at the Family Hotel in Soho, where Major Eric
Thoseby has been found murdered.
The cause of death? A stabbing
reminiscent of techniques developed by the Maquisards. While the crime
is committed in England, its roots are buried in a vividly depicted
wartime France. Thoseby is believed to have fathered Lamartine's child,
and the prosecution insist that his death is revenge for his abandonment
of Lamartine and her arrest by the Gestapo.
A last-minute
change in Lamartine's defence counsel grants solicitor Nap Rumbold just
eight days to prove her innocence, with the highest of stakes should he
fail.
The proceedings of the courtroom are interspersed with
Rumbold's perilous quest for evidence, which is aided by his old wartime
comrades.
Surfeit of Suspects by George Bellairs
British Library 978-0712-35238-3, 10 April 2019, 288pp, £8.99.
Following a mysterious explosion, the offices of Excelsior Joinery
Company are no more; the 3 directors are killed and the peace of a quiet
town in Surrey lies in ruins.
When the supposed cause of
ignited gas leak is dismissed and the presence of dynamite revealed,
Superintendent Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is summoned to the scene. But
beneath the sleepy veneer of Evingden lies a hotbed of deep-seated
grievances. Confounding Littlejohn's investigation is an impressive cast
of suspicious persons, each concealing their own axe to grind.
Bellairs'
novel of small-town grudges with calamitous consequences revels in the
abundant possible solutions to the central crime as a masterpiece of
misdirection.
Murder in the Mill-Race by E. C. R. Lorac
British Library 978-0712-35268-0, 10 May 2019, 288pp, £8.99. Cover extract from GWR poster (Somerset, 1930s) by Frank Neubold.
When Dr Raymond Ferens moves to a practice at Milham in the Moor in
North Devon, he and his wife are enchanted with the beautiful hilltop
village lying so close to moor and sky. At first they see only its
charm, but soon they begin to uncover its secrets - envy, hatred and
malice.
Everyone says that Sister Monica, warden of a children's
home, is a saint - but is she? A few months after the Ferens' arrival
her body is found drowned in the mill race. Chief Inspector Macdonald
faces one of his most difficult cases in a village determined not to
betray its dark secrets to a stranger.
Deep Waters. Murder on the Waves, ed. Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0712-35288-8, 10 June 2019, 288pp, £8.99.
From picturesque canals to the swirling currents of the ocean, a world
of secrets lies buried beneath the surface of the water. Dubious vessels
crawl along riverbeds, while the murky depths conceal more than one
gruesome murder.
The stories in this collection will dredge up
delight in crime fiction fans, as watery graves claim unintended
dwellers and disembodied whispers penetrate the sleeping quarters of a
ship's captain. How might a thief plot their escape from a floating
crime scene? And what is to follow when murder victims, lost to the
ocean floor, inevitably resurface?
This British Library
anthology uncovers the best mysteries set below the surface, including
stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, William Hope Hodgson and R. Austin
Freeman.
Fell Murder by E. C. R. Lorac
British Library 978-0712352048, 10 July 2019, 237pp, £8.99. Cover from LMS railway poster (Shap Fell, the Route of the Royal Scot, 1925) by Donald Maxwell.
First published in 1944
Fell Murder sees E.C.R. Lorac at the
height of her considerable powers as a purveyor of well-made,
traditional and emphatic detective fiction. The book presents a
fascinating 'return of the prodigal' mystery set in the later stages of
the Second World War amidst the close-knit farmerfolk community of
Lancashire s lovely Lune valley.
The Garths had farmed their
fertile acres for generations and fine land it was with the towering
hills of the Lake Country on the far horizon. Garthmere Hall itself was
old before Flodden Field, and here hot-tempered Robert Garth, still hale
and hearty at eighty-two, ruled his household with a rod of iron. The
peaceful dales and fells of the north country provide the setting for
this grim story of a murder, a setting in fact which is one of the
attractive features of an unusual and distinctive tale of evil passions
and murderous hate in a small rural community.
Includes additional short story 'The Live Wire' (1939).
The Body in the Dumb River by George Bellairs
British Library 978-0712-35214-7, 10 August 2019, 288pp, £8.99.
For the most part, the dead man received public sympathy. A decent,
hardworking chap, with not an enemy anywhere. People were surprised that
anybody should want to kill Jim.
But Jim has been drowned
in the Dumb River, near Ely, miles from his Yorkshire home. His body,
clearly dumped in the usually silent ('dumb') waterway, has been
discovered before the killer intended - disturbed by a torrential flood.
With critical urgency it's up to Superintendent Littlejohn of
Scotland Yard to trace the mystery of the unassuming victim's murder to
its source, leaving waves of scandal and...
It Walks By Night by John Dickson Carr
British Library 978-0712-35264-2, 10 September 2019, 272pp, £8.99.
We are thrilled to welcome John Dickson Carr into the Crime Classics
series with his first novel, a brooding locked room mystery in the
gathering dusk of the French capital.
In the smoke-wreathed
gloom of a Parisian salon, Inspector Bencolin has summoned his allies to
discuss a peculiar case. A would-be murderer, imprisoned for his
attempt to kill his wife, has escaped and is known to have visited a
plastic surgeon. His whereabouts remain a mystery, though with his
former wife poised to marry another, Bencolin predicts his return.
Sure
enough, the Inspector's worst suspicions are realized when the beheaded
body of the new suitor is discovered in a locked room of the salon,
with no apparent exit. Bencolin sets off into the Parisian night to
unravel the dumbfounding mystery and track down the sadistic killer.
Featuring the Dickson Carr short story 'The Shadow of the Goat'.
The Measure of Malice, ed. Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0712-35289-5, 10 September 2019, 320pp, £8.99.
The detective's role is simple: to catch the culprit. Yet behind each
casual observation lies a learned mind, trained on finding the key to
the mystery. Crimes, whatever their form, are often best solved through
deliberations of logic - preferably amid complicated gadgetry and a pile
of hefty scientific volumes.
The detectives in this collection
are masters of scientific deduction, whether they are identifying the
perpetrator from a single scrap of fabric, or picking out the poison
from a sinister line-up. Containing stories by R. Austin Freeman, J. J.
Connington and the master of logical reasoning, Arthur Conan Doyle,
The Measure of Malice collects tales of rational thinking to prove the power of the human brain over villainous deeds.
The Christmas Egg by Mary Kelly
British Library 978-0712-35310-6, 10 October 2019, 272pp, £8.99.
In a gloomy flat off Islington High Street, Chief Inspector Brett
Nightingale and Sergeant Beddoes find an old woman dead. The Princess
Olga Karukhin, who fled from Russia at the time of the Revolution, has
lived in terror of being discovered ever since.
Olga's grandson,
Ivan, appears to have run from the scene, but is later seen returning to
the flat as though oblivious to the terrible crime. Taking place
between 22nd and 24th December, Nightingale's enquiry takes him across
London, culminating in the wrapping of the mystery on Christmas Eve.
This
never-before-republished novel from 1958 has a noticeably different
feel to the neat puzzles and country house mysteries of crime fiction's
golden age, revealing the darker side of police detection in an
evocative urban setting.
Death in Fancy Dress by Anthony Gilbert
British Library 978-0712-35340-3, 10 November 2019, 256pp, £8.99.
The British Secret Service, working to uncover a large-scale blackmail
ring and catch its mysterious mastermind 'The Spider', find themselves
at the country residence Feltham Abbey where a fancy-dress ball is in
full swing.
In the tumult of revelry, Sir Ralph Feltham is found
dead. Not the atmosphere bewildered guest Tony was expecting, he sets
out make sense of the night's activities and the motives of the other
guests. Among them is Hilary, an independently minded socialite still in
her costume of vivid silk pyjamas and accompanying teddy bear…
This
classic country house mystery, first published in 1933, contrasts the
splendours and frivolities of the English upper classes with the sombre
over-hang of the First World War and the irresistible complications of
deadly familial relationships.
Castle Skull: A Rhineland mystery by John Dickson Carr
British Library 978-0712-35326-7, 10 January 2020, 240pp, £8.99.
That is the case. Alison has been murdered. His blazing body was seen running about the battlements of Castle Skull.
And
so a dark shadow looms over the Rhineland where Inspector Henri
Bencolin and his accomplice Jeff Marle have arrived from Paris.
Entreated by the Belgian financier DAunay to investigate the gruesome
and grimly theatrical death of actor Myron Alison, the pair find
themselves at the imposing hilltop fortress Schloss Schädel, in which a
small group of suspects are still assembled.
As thunder rolls in
the distance, Bencolin and Marle enter a world steeped in macabre
legends of murder and magic to catch the killer still walking the
maze-like passages and towers of the keep.
This new edition of
John Dickson Carrs spirited and deeply atmospheric early novel also
features the rare Inspector Bencolin short story 'The Fourth Suspect'.
Death in White Pyjamas, with Death Knows No Calendar by John Bude
British Library 978-0712-35316-8, 10 February 2020, 272pp, £8.99.Two mysteries of the kind John Bude does best, with well-drawn and
authentic period settings and a satisfying whodunit structure, following
the traditional rules and style of the Golden Age of the genre.
Death in White Pyjamas:
At the country home of Sam Richardson, a group of actors have gathered
along with their somewhat sinister producer Basil Barnes, and a
playwright whose star is rising in the drama scene. With competitive
tension in the air between the three actresses, Clara, Angela and
Deirdre, the spell is broken when Deirdre is found murdered in the
grounds wearing, for some unknown reason, white pyjamas
Death Knows no Calendar:
A shooting in a locked artist's studio. Four suspects; at least two of
whom are engaged in an affair. An exuberant and energetic case for Major
Boddy
Settling Scores: Sporting Mysteries, ed. Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0712-35321-2, 10 March 2020, 352pp, £8.99.
Talented sportsmen inexplicably go absent without leave, crafty gamblers
conspire in the hope of making a killing, and personal rivalries and
jealousies come to a head on fields of play The classic stories in this
new British Library anthology show that crime is a game for all seasons.
Crossed Skis: An Alpine mystery by Carol Carnac
British Library 978-0712-35331-1, 10 April 2020, 240pp, £8.99.
In London's Bloomsbury, Inspector Julian Rivers of Scotland Yard looks
down at a dismal scene. Here is the victim, burnt to a crisp. Here are
the clues - clues which point to a good climber and expert skier, and
which lead Rivers to the piercing sunshine and sparkling snow of the
Austrian Alps.
The Spoilt Kill: A Stafforshire mystery by Mary Kelly
British Library 978-0712-35336-6. 10 May 2020, 224pp, £8.99.
Staffordshire in the 1950s. Within the clay tanks at the pottery company
Shentall's, a body has been found. Amid cries of industrial espionage
and sabotage of this leader of the pottery industry, there is a case of
bitter murder to solve for Inspector Hedley Nicholson.
Kelly's
mystery won the CWA Gold Dagger Award in 1961 for its impeccable sense
of place and detail, and for the emotional weight of its central crime.
The novel is part of a shift from the cosiness of crime novels before to
mysteries characterised by their psychological interest and affecting
realism. An influential classic.
The Woman in the Wardrobe by Peter Shaffer
British Library 978-0712-35346-5, 10 June 2020, 224pp, £8.99.
The little Sussex town of Amnestie had not known a death so bloody since
the fifteenth century. And certainly none more baffling - to all except
Mr Verity. From the moment he appears this bearded giant - ruthless
inquirer, devastating wit and enthusiastic collector of the best
sculpture - has matters firmly (if fantastically) under control. Things
are certainly complicated, but this is hardly enough to deter Mr Verity.
As he himself observes: 'when the number of suspects is continually
increasing, and the number of corpses remains constant, you get a sort
of inflation. The value of your individual suspect becomes hopelessly
depreciated. That, for the real detective, is a state of paradise.'
The Man Who Didn't Fly by Margot Bennett
British Library 978-0712-35341-0, 10 July 2020, 256pp, £8.99. Cover by ? (original)
A new author joins the Crime Classics series with Margot Bennett's 1955 masterpiece
Four
men had arranged to fly to Dublin. When their aeroplane descended as a
fireball into the Irish Sea, only three of them were on board. With the
identities of the passengers lost beneath the waves, a tense and
perplexing investigation begins to determine the living from the dead,
with scarce evidence to follow beyond a few snippets of overheard
conversation and one family's patchy account of the three days prior to
the flight.
Who was the man who didn't fly? What did he have to
gain? And would he commit such an explosive murder to get it? Bennett's
ingenious mystery remains an innovative and thoroughly entertaining
inversion of the classic whodunit.
This edition also includes the rare short story 'No Bath for the Browns'.
Checkmate to Murder by E. C. R. Lorac
British Library 978-0712-35352-6, 10 August 2020, 240pp, £8.99
A rare mystery from the mind of E.C.R. Lorac returns to print!Mackellon
laid down the wallet which held the miniature pieces. 'You know, I've
the oddest feeling that yesterday evening s proceedings formed a sort of
pattern a game of chess with living players.' On a dismally
foggy night in Hampstead, London, a curious party has gathered in an
artist's studio to weather the wartime blackout. A civil servant and a
government scientist match wits in a game of chess, while Bruce Manaton
paints the portrait of his characterful sitter, bedecked in Cardinal's
robes at the other end of the room. In the kitchen, Rosanne Manaton
prepares tea for the charlady of Mr. Folliner, the secretive miser next
door.
When the brutal murder of 'Old Mr. F' is discovered by his
Canadian infantryman nephew, it's not long before Inspector Macdonald
of Scotland Yard is called to the scene to take the young soldier away.
But even at first glance the case looks far from black-and-white. Faced
with a bevy of perplexing alibis and suspicious circumstances, Macdonald
and the C.I.D. set to work separating the players from the pawns to
shed light on this toppling of a lonely king in the dead of night.
The Progress of a Crime by Julian Symons
British Library 978-0712-35372-4, 10 September 2020, £8.99.
Another story from Crime Classics author Julian Symons, venturing into
the 1960s with a more modern feel, blending classic crime with
psychological thriller. Symons was a hugely influential writer, whose
book on the history of the Crime genre,
Bloody Murder, is known and
still hotly debated by fans worldwide. The Progress of a Crime story
boasts an excellent seasonal atmosphere, with the murder taking place by
the bonfire on fireworks night.
‘…has the cool, accurate vision of the best documentary.’ –
Evening Standard
The murder, a brutal stabbing, definitely took place on Guy Fawkes night.
It was definitely by the bonfire on the village green. There were
definitely a number of witnesses to a row between a group of Teddy Boys.
And yet, was it definitely clear to anybody exactly what they had seen?
In the writhing, violent shadows, it seems as if the truth may have
gone up in smoke.
Based on a real case and exhibiting characteristically thorough
research and skilful plotting, Julian Symons’ phenomenal 1960 novel is a
searing drama of wrongful accusation, gripping policework and a sharp
portrait of small-town tensions. This edition also includes the short
story ‘The Tigers of Subtopia’.
The Port of London Murders by Josephine Bell
British Library 978-0712-35361-8, 10 October 2020, 256pp, £8.99.
A moody and atmospheric mystery set around London’s historic docks in
the 1930's. Josephine Bell is a brand-new series author for the British
Library Crime Classics, who was an immensely prolific writer and
instrumental in founding the Crime Writers Association, serving as its
Chair between 1959-1960.
When the San Angelo drifts into port in the Thames Estuary,
telephones begin to ring across the capital and an intricate series of
events is set in motion. Beset by dreadful storms in the Bay of Biscay,
the ship, along with the ‘mixed cargo’ it carries, is late.
Unaware of the machinations of avaricious importers, wayward
captains and unscrupulous traders, Harry Reed and June Harvey are thrust
together by a riverside accident, before being swept into the current
of a dark plot developing on the dockside.
Published in 1938, Josephine Bell’s unique and atmospheric writing
shines in a mystery weaving together blackmail, bootleg lingerie and, of
course, murder.
A Surprise For Christmas and Other Seasonal Mysteries, ed. Martin Edwards
British Library 978-0712-35337-3, 10 October 2020, 320pp, £9.99.
Another selection of Christmas Crime mysteries from the likes of Golden
Age authors Anthony Gilbert, Julian Symons and John Dickson Carr, this
title has been edited by British Library Crime Classics series
consultant, Martin Edwards, whose previous Christmas anthologies (Silent
Nights, The Christmas Card Crime, etc.) have been incredibly popular.
‘“After all,” said our host, “it’s Christmas. Why not let the cat out of the bag?”’
A Postman murdered while delivering cards on Christmas morning. A
Christmas pine growing over a forgotten homicide. A Yuletide heist gone
horribly wrong. When there’s as much murder as magic in the air and the
facts seem to point to the impossible, it’s up to the detective’s
trained eye to unwrap the clues and neatly tie together an explanation
(preferably with a bow on top).
Martin Edwards has once again gathered the best of these seasonal
stories into a stellar anthology brimming with rare tales, fresh as
fallen snow, and classics from the likes of Julian Symons, Margery
Allingham, Anthony Gilbert and Cyril Hare. A most welcome surprise
indeed, and perfect to be shared between super-sleuths by the fire on a
cold winter’s night.
The Lost Gallows by John Dickson Carr
British Library 978-0712-35363-2, 10 November 2020, 256pp, £8.99.
A third title from John Dickson Carr’s incredibly popular ‘Inspector
Bencolin’ series, this story takes place between previous British
Library Crime Classic titles It Walks By Night and Castle Skull.
John Dickson Carr remains one of the most influential and popular
authors in Classic Crime fiction, and this fantastic early novel has
been out of print for decades. This book also includes the extremely
rare Dickson Carr short story, ‘The Ends of Justice’.
As the thick, autumnal fog chokes the capital, within the fire-lit
lounge of London’s notorious Brimstone Club a bizarre tale is being spun
for Inspector Bencolin and his friend Jeff Marle. A member of the club
has been sent a model of a tiny gallows, and the word is that the
folkloric hangman Jack Ketch has been stalking the streets for victims
by night, his gibbet in tow.
The threat of this supposed bogeyman becomes thrillingly real when
that same night Bencolin and Marle are almost run down by a limousine
with a corpse behind the wheel. When an ominous message claims the car’s
passenger has been taken to the gallows at Ruination St for hanging,
the detective and his associate venture into the night to discover the
truth behind the terrifying Ketch and a street which cannot be found on
any map.
First published in 1931 at the outset of Carr’s legendary career in
crime writing, this atmospheric mystery boasts all of the twists,
tension and unforgettable scenes of a young master at work.
The Corpse in the Waxworks by John Dickson Carr
British Library 978-0712-35373-1, 20 January 2021, 256pp, £8.99.
An eerie and sinister evocation of Parisian backstreets and seedy
establishments, traversed by the familiar yet enigmatic Inspector
Bencolin. Another enthralling literary puzzle from the beloved author of
Castle Skull and It Walks By Night, both reissued as British Library
Crime Classics. This book also features the bonus short story ‘The
Murder in Number Four’, an ingenious ‘locked railway compartment’
mystery set on board a haunted train.
‘“The purpose, the illusion, the spirit of a waxworks. It is an
atmosphere of death. It is soundless and motionless... Do you see?”’
Last night Mademoiselle Duchêne was seen heading into the Gallery of
Horrors at the Musée Augustin waxworks, alive. Today she was found in
the Seine, murdered. The museum’s proprietor, long perturbed by the
unnatural vitality of his figures, claims that he saw one of them
following the victim into the dark – a lead that Henri Bencolin, head of
the Paris police and expert of ‘impossible’ crimes, cannot possibly
resist.
Surrounded by the eerie noises of the night, Bencolin prepares to
enter the ill-fated waxworks, his associate Jeff Marle and the victim’s
fiancé in tow. Waiting within, beneath the glass-eyed gaze of a leering
waxen satyr, is a gruesome discovery and the first clues of a twisted
and ingenious mystery.
First published in 1932 at the height of crime fiction’s Golden Age,
this macabre and atmospheric dive into the murky underground of
Parisian society presents an intelligent puzzle delivered at a stunning
pace. This new edition also includes ‘The Murder in Number Four’, a rare
Inspector Bencolin short story.
Murder's A Swine by Nap Lombard
British Library 978-071235378-6, 10 February 2021, 256pp, £8.99.
In the blackout conditions of a wintry London night, amateur sleuth Agnes Kinghof and a young air-raid warden have stumbled upon a corpse stowed in the walls of their street's bomb shelter. As the police begin their investigation, the night is interrupted once again when Agnes' upstairs neighbour, Mrs. Sibley is terrorised by the sight of a grisly pig's head at her fourth-floor window.
With the discovery of more sinister threats mysteriously signed Pig-sticker, Agnes and her husband, Andrew—unable to resist a good mystery—begin their investigation to deduce the identity of a villain living amongst them in their block of flats.
A witty and light-hearted mystery full of intriguing period detail, this rare gem of Golden Age crime returns to print for the first time since its publication in 1943. This edition includes an Introduction by award-winning author Martin Edwards.
Two-Way Murder by E. C. R. Lorac
British Library 978-071235383-0, 10 March 2021, 240pp, £8.99.
It is a dark and misty night—isn't it always?—and bachelors Nicholas and Ian are driving to the ball at Fordings, a beautiful concert hall in the countryside. There waits the charming Dilys Maine, and a party buzzing with rumours of one Rosemary Reeve who disappeared on the eve of this event the previous year, not found to this day. With thoughts of mysterious case ringing in their ears, Dilys and Nicholas strike a stranger on the drive back home, launching a new investigation and unwittingly reviving the search for what really became of Rosemary Reeve.
Written in the last years of the author's life, this previously unpublished novel is a tribute to Lorac's enduring skill for constructing an ingenious puzzle, replete with memorable characters and gripping detective work.
Crime fiction lovers can't miss the classic golden age mysteries published in the acclaimed British Crime Classics series!
Due to a Death by Mary Kelly
British Library 978-071235314-4, 19 April 2021, 240pp, £8.99.
Gripping, intelligent and affecting,
Due to a Death was nominated for the Gold Dagger Award and showcases the author's versatility and willingness to push the boundaries of the mystery genre. This edition includes an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger Award-winning author Martin Edwards.
A car speeds down a road between miles of marshes and estuary flats, its passenger a young woman named Agnes—hands bloodied, number with fear, her world turned upside down.
Meanwhile, the news of a girl found dead on the marsh is spreading round the local area, panic following in its wake. A masterpiece of suspense, Mary Kelly's 1962 novel follows Agnes as she casts her mind back through the past few days to find the links between her husband, his friends, a mysterious stranger new to the village, and a case of unexplained death.
The Chianti Flask by Marie Belloc Lowndes
British Library 978-071235329-1, 10 May 2021, 256pp, £8.99. Cover from Dunlop press advert (published in
The Bystander, 2 October 1935).
An
enigmatic young woman named Laura Dousland stands on trial for murder,
accused of poisoning her elderly husband, Fordish. It seems clear that
the poison was delivered in a flask of Chianti with supper, but
according to the couple's servant in the witness-box, the flask
disappeared the night Fordish died, and all attempts to trace it have
come to nothing. The jury delivers its verdict, but this is just the end
of the beginning of Marie Belloc Lowndes's gripping story.
First
published in 1934, this exquisitely crafted novel blends the tenets of a
traditional mystery with an exploration of the psychological impact of
death, accusation, guilt, and justice in the aftermath of murder.
Guilty Creatures: A Menagerie of Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards
British Library 978-071235344-1, 10 June 2021, 320pp, £9.99.
From the animal mysteries of Arthur Conan Doyle and F. Tennyson Jesse through to more modern masterpieces of the subgenre from Christianna Brand and Penelope Wallace, this anthology celebrates one of the liveliest and most imaginative species of classic crime fiction. The collection includes an introduction on animals in detective fiction by Martin Edwards.
Since the dawn of the crime fiction genre, animals of all kinds have played a memorable part in countless mysteries, and in a variety of roles: the perpetrator, the key witness, the sleuth's trusted companion. This collection of fourteen stories corrals plots centered around cats, dogs, and insects alongside more exotic incidents involving gorillas, parakeets, and serpents—complete with a customary shoal of red herrings.
The Widow of Bath by Margot Bennett
British Library 978-071235374-8, 10 July 2021, 256pp, £8.99.
There are a dozen clever deceptions in the book, twice as many as most writers would have given us.—Julian Symons in Bloody Murder.
First published in 1952,
The Widow of Bath offers intricate puzzles, international intrigue, and a richly evoked portrait of post-war Britain, all delivered with Bennett's signature brand of witty and elegant prose. This edition includes an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger Award-winning author Martin Edwards.
Hugh Everton was intent on nothing more than quietly drinking in the second-rate hotel he found himself in on England's south coast—and then in walked his old flame Lucy and her new husband and ex-judge, Gregory Bath. Entreated by Lucy to join her party for an evening back at the Bath residence, Hugh is powerless to resist, but when the night ends with the judge's inexplicable murder, he is pitched back into a world of chaos and crime--a world he had tried to escape for good.
Till Death Do Us Part by John Dickson Carr
British Library 978-071235379-8, 10 August 2021, 256pp, £8.99.
First published in 1944,
Till Death Do Us Part remains a pacey and deeply satisfying impossible crime story, championed by Carr connoisseurs as one of the very best examples of his mystery writing talents. This edition includes an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger Award-winning author Martin Edwards.
Crime author Dick Markham is in love again; his fiancée, the mysterious newcomer to the village, Lesley Grant. When Grant accidentally shoots the fortune teller through the side of his tent at the local fair--following a very strange reaction to his predictions--Markham is reluctantly brought into a scheme to expose his betrothed as a suspected serial husband-poisoner.
That night the enigmatic fortune teller--and chief accuser--is found dead in an impossible locked-room setup, casting suspicion onto Grant and striking doubt into the heart of her lover. Lured by the scent of the impossible case, Dr. Gideon Fell arrives from London to examine the perplexing evidence and match wits with a meticulous killer at large.
Murder By the Book: Mysteries for Bibliophiles, edited by Martin Edwards
British Library 978-071235369-0, 10 August 2021, 304pp, £9.99.
If much of the action is set in a bookshop or a library, it is a
bibliomystery, just as it is if a major character is a bookseller or a
librarian.—Otto PenzlerWith Martin Edwards as librarian and guide, delve into an irresistible stack of bibliomysteries, perfect for every booklover and armchair sleuth, featuring much-loved Golden Age detectives Nigel Strangeways, Philip Trent, Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn, and others. But readers should be warned that the most riveting tales often conceal the deadliest of secrets...
A bookish puzzle threatens an eagerly awaited inheritance; a submission to a publisher recounts a murder that seems increasingly to be a work of nonfiction; an irate novelist puts a grisly end to the source of his writer's block.
There is no better hiding place for clues--or red herrings--than inside the pages of a book. But in this world of resentful ghost writers, indiscreet playwrights, and unscrupulous book collectors, literary prowess is often a prologue to disaster.
These Names Make Clues by E. C. R. Lorac
British Library 978-071235384-4, 10 September 2021, 256pp, £8.99.
Amidst the confusion of too many fake names, clues, ciphers, and convoluted alibis, Chief Inspector Macdonald and his allies in the CID must unravel a truly tangled case in this metafictional masterpiece, which returns to print for the first time since its publication in 1937. This edition includes an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger Award-winning author Martin Edwards.
Should detectives go to parties? Was it consistent with the dignity of the Yard? The inspector tossed for it—and went.
Chief Inspector Macdonald has been invited to a treasure hunt party at the house of Graham Coombe, the celebrated publisher of Murder by Mesmerism. Despite a handful of misgivings, the inspector joins a guest list of novelists and thriller writers disguised on the night under literary pseudonyms. The fun comes to an abrupt end, however, when Samuel Pepys is found dead in the telephone room in bizarre circumstances.
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