Bøger i British Library Crime Classics serien

This adventurous mystery, which combines exuberant characters with a wonderfully realised depiction of the second-hand book market, is sure to delight bibliophiles and classic crime enthusiasts alike.

Originally published in 1931 by Herbert Jenkins.

With Martin Edwards as librarian and guide, delve into an irresistible stack of tales perfect for every book-lover and armchair sleuth, featuring much-loved Golden Age detectives such as Nigel Strangeways, Philip Trent and Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn.

Jim Teasdale has been drowned in the Dumb River, near Ely, miles from his Yorkshire home. His body has been discovered before the killer intended and it's up to Superintendent Littlejohn to trace the mystery of the unassuming victim's murder to its source, leaving scandal in his wake as the hidden dealings of Jim Teasdale begin to surface.

Excellent Intentions is a classic crime novel laced with irreverent wit, first published in 1939.

The body of 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 seen from the criminal's perspective. An unconventional yet gripping story of intrigue, betrayal, obsession, justification and self-delusion.

Also known by its US title The Problem of the Green Capsule, this classic novel is widely regarded as one of John Dickson Carr's masterpieces and remains among the greatest impossible crime mysteries of all time.A sinister case of deadly poisoned chocolates from Sodbury Cross's high street shop haunts the group of friends and relatives assembled at Bellegarde, among the orchards of 'peach-fancier' Marcus Chesney. To prove a point about how the sweets could have been poisoned under the nose of the shopkeeper, Chesney stages an elaborate memory game to test whether any of his guests can see beyond their 'black spectacles'; that is, to see the truth without assumptions as witnesses.During the test - which is also being filmed - Chesney is murdered by his accomplice, dressed head to toe in an 'invisible man' disguise. The keen wits of Dr, Gideon Fell are called for to crack this brazen and bizarre murder committed in full view of an audience.

This atmospheric and ingenious fair-play bibliomystery was first published in 1937. This edition includes an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger and Edgar(R) Award-winning author Martin Edwards."A bookshop is a first-rate place for unobtrusive observation... One can remain in it an indefinite time, dipping into one book after another, all over the place."Mr. Richard Dodsley, owner of a fine secondhand bookshop on Charing Cross Road, has been found murdered in the cold hours of the morning. He'd been shot in his own office, where few clues remain besides three cigarette ends, two spent matches, and a few books on the shelves which have been rearranged.In an investigation spanning the secondhand bookshops of London and the Houses of Parliament (since an MP's new crime novel Death at the Desk appears to have some bearing on the case), Ferguson's series sleuth MacNab is at hand to assist Scotland Yard.

E. C. R. Lorac spins a twisting tale full of wry humor and red herrings, poking some fun at her contemporary reviewers, who long suspected the Lorac pseudonym to belong to a male author.Vivian Lestrange--celebrated author of the popular mystery novel The Charterhouse Case and total recluse--has apparently dropped off the face of the Earth. After he was reported missing by his secretary Eleanor, whom Inspector Bond suspects to be the author herself, crime and murder are afoot when Lestrange's housekeeper is also found to have disappeared.Bond and Warner of Scotland Yard set to work to investigate a murder with no body and a potentially fictional victim.With copies of the first and only edition incredibly rare today, Death of an Author returns to print for the first time since 1935. This edition includes an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger and Edgar(R) Award-winning author Martin Edwards.

"First published in a limited run in 1934, this exceedingly rare bibliomystery will delight fans of bookish mysteries as well as devotees of the classic crime genre. While on holiday visiting his nephew, Athelstan Digby agrees to look after the old bookshop in town so that his hosts can attend their cousin's funeral. On the first day of his tenure, three suspicious characters enquire after a copy of The Life and Times of Mr Badman by John Bunyan. When a copy mysteriously arrives in a bundle of books brought in by a young scamp, and is stolen that same night, Digby moves to investigate the significance of the book with his nephew. The two are soon embroiled in a case in which the stakes have risen from antiquarian book-pinching to ruthless murder"--

"James Bennett has been invited to stay at White Priory for Christmas among the retinue of the glamorous Hollywood actress Marcia Tait. Her producer, her lover, the playwright for her next hit and her agent are all here, soon to become so many suspects when Tait is found murdered on a cold December morning in the lakeside pavilion. Only the footprints of her discoverer disturb the snow which fell overnight - and which stopped just shortly after Marcia was last seen alive. How did the murderer get in and out of the pavilion without leaving a trace? When Bennett's uncle, the cantankerous amateur sleuth Sir Henry Merrivale arrives from London to make sense of this impossible crime, the reader is treated to a feast of the author's trademark twists, beguiling false answers and one of the most ingenious solutions in the history of the mystery genre"--

"... and what a motive! Murder to save one's artistic soul... who'd believe that?"Behind the stage lights and word-perfect soliloquies, sinister secrets are lurking in the wings. The mysteries in this collection reveal the dark side to theatre and performing arts: a world of backstage dealings, where unscrupulous actors risk everything to land a starring role, costumed figures lead to mistaken identities, and on-stage deaths begin to look a little too convincing. . .This expertly curated thespian anthology features fourteen stories from giants of the classic crime genre such as Dorothy L. Sayers, Julian Symons and Ngaio Marsh, as well as firm favourites from the British Library Crime Classics series: Anthony Wynne, Christianna Brand, Bernard J. Farmer and many more.Mysteries abound when a player's fate hangs on a single performance, and opening night may very well be their last.

"First published in 1941 but out-of-print since, this is by a lost writer of the genre, Sebastian Farr (a pseudonym for Eric Walter Blom), a prolific Swiss-born and British-naturalised music lexicographer, music critic and writer. The headline from The Maningpool Telegraph read: TRAGIC DEATH OF SIR NOEL GRAMPIAN - shot during performance - Symphony Concert Calamity As a rousing Strauss piece is reaching its crescendo in Maningpool Civic Hall, the talented yet obnoxious conductor Sir Noel Grampian is shot dead in full view of the Municipal Orchestra and the audience. It was no secret that he had many enemies - musicians and music critics among them - but to be killed in mid flow suggests an act of the coldest calculation. Told through the letters and documents sent by D.I. Alan Hope to his wife as he puzzles through the dauntingly vast pool of suspects and scant physical evidence in the case, this is an innovative and playful mystery underscored by the author's extensive experience of the highly-strung world of music professionals.--

Presenting fourteen stories from ranging from the 1909 through to the 1980s, this new anthology celebrates a selection of beloved Welsh authors such as Cardiff's Roald Dahl and Abergavenny's Ethel Lina White, as well as lesser-known yet highly skilled writers such as Cledwyn Hughes and Jack Griffith.

Rewinding twelve hours, the events of the afternoon and evening unfold, revealing a multitude of clues and motives from a closed cast of suspects until the narrative reaches 4am again - then races on to its riveting conclusion at 4pm as the reader is led twice round the clock.

Also known by its American title The Crooked Wreath, this classic mystery novel from 1947 is loaded with sharply drawn characters and devilish misdirection, all capped by one of the genre's most thrilling denouements.

Mr. Richard Dodsley, owner of a fine second-hand bookshop on Charing Cross Road, has been found murdered in the cold hours of the morning. Shot in his own office, few clues remain besides three cigarette ends, two spent matches and a few books on the shelves which have been rearranged.

Also known by its US title The Problem of the Green Capsule, this classic novel is widely regarded as one of John Dickson Carr's masterpieces and remains among the greatest impossible crime mysteries of all time.

"First published in Britain in 1949, Brand's exuberant novel is still regarded as one of the great masterpieces of the classic mystery genre for its fiendishly constructed puzzle, memorable setting, dumbfounding acts of misdirection and thrilling denouement. This edition includes an introduction by award-winning author Martin Edwards. "A very neat version of the 'sealed room' mystery... provides [Miss Brand] with excellent opportunities to indulge her sense of character and her pleasantly malicious wit, as well as her gift for posing an ingenious problem." -Times Literary Supplement, 1949 At Elysian Hall, a grand exhibition space in post-War London, a cast has been assembled for a medieval-themed pageant show replete with knights in colored armour, real horses, and a damsel in a rickety tower on high. With death threats discovered by members of the troupe before the show, the worst comes to pass when the leading lady is thrown from the tower before the eyes of the audience by an unknown assailant-with all doors backstage also under observation. Faced with a seemingly impossible case, the wizened Inspector Cockrill and the fresh-faced Inspector Charlesworth begrudgingly join forces to uncover the killer hiding in plain sight"--

"First published in 1942, this reissue of one of Carr's most highly rated mysteries featuring series detective Gideon Fell offers readers a tense and enjoyable game of cat and mouse between the detective and the chief suspect. 'The supreme conjuror; the king of the art of misdirection ... once you begin a book of his, you simply cannot put it down.' -- Agatha Christie on John Dickson Carr When the police arrive at the holiday bungalow of the haughty Justice Ireton to find a man killed by gunshot and the high court judge brandishing a pistol, the case seems as straightforward as it is scandalous. Yet, with the incongruous assemblage of physical evidence, the judge's denial of any participation in the crime and the recent events of his daughter's love life combined, the deceptively simple case is soon steeped in complexity. At a loss in the bizarre circumstances, the local force calls in the larger-than-life sleuth Dr Gideon Fell, who just the previous day had been contending with Ireton's intellect over a game of chess. With Fell and the judge now facing off as detective and suspect, a new battle of wits begins in this fiendishly plotted masterclass of the mystery genre"--