Bøger i British Library Crime Classics serien

"Originally published in 1943 by The MacMillan Company"--Title page verso.

KEY SELLING POINTS 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. AUDIENCE Fans of the British Library Crime Classics Fans of historical mysteries Fans of international mysteries

Discover the captivating treasures buried in the British Library's archives. Largely inaccessible to the public until now, these enduring crime classics were written in the golden age of detective fiction."Never make trouble in the village" is an unspoken law, but it's a binding law. You may know about your neighbor's sins and shortcomings, but you must never name them aloud. It'd make trouble, and small societies want to avoid trouble.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.Also in the British Library Crime Classics: Smallbone Deceased The Body in the Dumb River Blood on the Tracks Surfeit of Suspects Death Has Deep Roots Checkmate to Murder

"Post after post-mortem was originally published in 1936 by Collins, London"--Title page verso.

"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. But did he really commit the heinous crime he was accused of? Told innovatively in two parts: the psychiatric assessment of Wilkins and the trial for suspected murder on the Brighton seafront, Symons' award-winning mystery tantalizes the reader with glimpses of the elusive truth and makes a daring exploration of the nature of justice itself."-- Page [4] of cover.

"Originally published in 1934 by Skeffington"--Copyright page.

Originally published: London: G. G. Harrap & Co., Ltd., 1932.

Originally published in London in 1934 by Skeffington & Son.

"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"--

"Originally published in 1933 by Hodder & Stoughton, London"--Title page verso

"A lost novel from the golden age of crime, published for the very first time. It happened on a dark and misty night; the night of the ball at The Prince's Hall, Fordings. Abuzz with rumours surrounding the disappearance of Rosemary Reeve on the eve of last year's ball, the date proves ill-fated again when two homebound partygoers, Nick and Dilys, come to a swerving halt before a corpse on the road. Arriving at the scene to the news that Nick has been attacked after telephoning for the police, Inspector Turner suspects there may be more to the case than a deadly accident. It's not long before Waring of the local C.I.D. is drawn into the investigation, faced with the task of unravelling an increasingly tangled knot of misleading alibis and deep-rooted local grievances. 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. This edition also includes an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger Award-winning author Martin Edwards. E.C.R. LORAC was a penname of Edith Caroline Rivett (1894-1958), a prolific author of Golden Age mysteries who also wrote as Carol Carnac. For many years, Lorac's novels were familiar only to rare book collectors; now many of her greatest mysteries are widely available again as British Library Crime Classics, including Fire in the Thatch, Crossed Skis and Checkmate to Murder"--

Originally published in London in 1936 by Skeffington & Son.

"Death in White Pajamas: 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 theater scene. The drama isn't staying in the production, as competitive tension in the air begins to rise between the three actresses Clara, Angela and Deirdre. But nobody expects to find Deirdre's murdered body on the grounds wearing, for some unknown reason, white pyjamas... An inspector Meredith mystery of the kind John Bude does best; a well-drawn and authentic period setting, and a satisfying mystery following the traditional rules and style of the golden age of the genre. Death Knows No Calendar: The "locked-room" element of the mystery is simple: Lydia Arundel, a fairly wealthy painter, is found shot dead in her locked studio, with suicide seemingly impossible due to the position of the weapon. Many figures in the local village, Beckwood, have a motive for her murder: the Reverend, who seems to have had an affair with her; her husband, who inherits all her money; Hawkinge, who used to be in love with her but now wants to marry Honororia, and Honororia herself, who saw Hawkinge with Lydia. All suspects were in the area the night she was killed, and local bobby Major Boddy is left to untangle the curious web. Once again, Bude is on form playing with the pettiness and pocket intrigue of village politics, and the reader is treated to heaps of misunderstanding, double-crossing and subterfuge even on this small-scale case"--

"An honest policeman, Sergeant Wigan, escorts a drunk man home one night to keep him out of trouble and, seeing his fine book collection, slowly falls in to the gentle art of book collecting. Just as the friendship is blossoming, the policeman's book-collecting friend is murdered. To solve the mystery of why the victim was killed, and which of his rare books was taken, Wigan dives into the world of 'runners' and book collectors, where avid agents will gladly cut you for a first edition and then offer you a lift home afterwards."--Publisher marketing.

Originally published in London in 1937 by Wright & Brown.

"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?"--

"The Port of London Murders was originally published in 1938 by Longmans, Green and Co., London, New York, and Toronto"--Copyright page.

"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 Streets Christmas shopping. Lost in a snowstorm, a man finds a motive for murder. Featuring stories by John Bude and E.C.R. Lorac, as well as tales by little-known writers of crime fiction, 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"--

"Originally published in 1943 by Hutchinson and Co. Ltd, New York, Melbourne and London"--Copyright page.

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder"Tired of newspaper headlines that accuse cops of malfeasance or worse? Veteran editor Edwards has the perfect antidote: 15 reprints of stories from 1908 to 1966 showing English police officers at (generally) their most sterling." --Kirkus ReviewsIn 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 a hard-working police officer's 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, skilfully blending the conduct of a criminal investigation with a compelling murder-mystery plot.

"Originally published in 1952 by Holder & Stoughton, London."

"Jim Teasdale 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 sensation in his wake as the hidden, salacious dealings of Jim Teasdale begin to surface"--

Set in a military hospital during the blitz, this novel is one of Brand's most intricately plotted detection puzzles, executed with her characteristic cleverness and gusto. When a patient dies under the anesthetic and later the presiding nurse is murdered, Inspector Cockrill finds himself with six suspects--three doctors and three nurses--and not a discernible motive among them.

"Originally published as Crossed Skis in 1952 in England by Collins Crime Club, London"--Title page verso.

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. This good-natured vintage mystery novel is now republished for the first time since the 1930s.

Capital Crimes 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.

Originally published: London: Collins, 1936.

Originally published: London: Skeffington & Son, 1936.

A collection of rural British mysteries explores the possibilities of crime in the countryside and features contributions from such authors as Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, and Anthony Berkeley.