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Peril at End House: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Poirot #8)
by Agatha ChristieAgatha Christie’s ingenious murder mystery, reissued with a striking cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.
Sexuality and Gender in Fictions of Espionage: Spying Undercover(s)
by Ann ReaAn exploration of how espionage narratives give access to cultural conceptions of gender and sexuality before and following the Second World War, this book moves away from masculinist assumptions of the genre to offer an integrative survey of the sexualities on display from important characters across spy fiction. Topics covered include how authors mocked the traditional spy genre; James Bond as a symbol of pervasive British Superiority still anxious about masculinity; how older female spies act as queer figures that disturb the masculine mythology of the secret agent; and how the clandestine lives of agents described ways to encode queer communities under threat from fascism. Covering texts such as the Bond novels, John Le Carré's oeuvre (and their notable adaptations) and works by Helen MacInnes, Christopher Isherwood and Mick Herron, Sexuality and Gender in Fictions of Espionage takes stock of spy fiction written by women, female protagonists written by men, and probes the representations of masculinity generated by male authors. Offering a counterpoint to a genre traditionally viewed as male-centric, Sexuality and Gender in Fictions of Espionage proposes a revision of masculinity, femininity, queer identities and gendered concepts such as domesticity, and relates them to notions of nationality and the defence work conducted at crucial moments in history.
The Case Against Andrew Fane
by Anthony GilbertA grotesque murder and a mysterious woman lead to the most difficult choice of his life.Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubAndrew Fane is faced with five years in prison for fraud, and a penniless future. When he appeals for help from his uncle his pleas go unanswered, but on visiting him Fane is welcomed by a mysterious and heavily veiled woman.When he finds his uncle's body, murdered in horrible and grotesque circumstances, she suddenly disappears leaving Fane faced with the dilemma of telling the police or covering his tracks . . .
The Dutch Shoe Mystery
by Ellery QueenA millionaire ... murdered as she was about to be saved...'A new Ellery Queen book has always been something to look forward to for many years now' Agatha Christie'Ellery Queen is the American detective story' New York TimesThe son of a police detective, Ellery Queen is no stranger to death, and has seen more than his fair share of dead bodies. Yet the thought of seeing a living person sliced open makes him ill. So when a doctor invites him to sit in on an operation, Queen braces himself. The patient is a millionaire in a diabetic coma. To prepare her for surgery, the hospital staff has stabilised her blood sugar level and wheeled her to the operating theatre - but just before the first incision, the doctors realise she is dead, strangled while lying unconscious.Now Ellery Queen moves from observer to detective in his most mysterious case yet.
The Grand Banks Café: Inspector Maigret #8 (Inspector Maigret #8)
by Georges Simenon David CowardA new translation of Georges Simenon's gripping novel set in an insular fishing community, book eight in the new Penguin Maigret series.It was indeed a photograph, a picture of a woman. But the face was completely hidden, scribbled all over in red ink. Someone had tried to obliterate the head, someone very angry. The pen had bitten into the paper. There were so many criss-crossed lines that not a single square millimetre had been left visible.On the other hand, below the head, the torso had not been touched. A pair of large breasts. A light-coloured silk dress, very tight and very low cut.Sailors don't talk much to other men, especially not to policemen. But after Captain Fallut's body is found floating near his trawler, they all mention the Evil Eye when they speak of the Ocean's voyage.Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as The Sailors' Rendezvous.'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories' Guardian 'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' Independent
The Murderer Invisible
by Philip WylieTwo lovers rush toward doom, as an unseen killer stalks the world. A novel of the fourth dimension's conquest of Earth.
No Friendly Drop (Inspector Poole Series)
by Henry WadeAt first it seems that Lord Henry Grayle has taken an overdose of sleeping medicine, but the autopsy reveals a tiny amount of scopolamine along with the draught - harmless in itself, but fatal when mixed . . .A poisoner with apparently expert knowledge is at work in the great house at Tassart. But from what motive, and how? Before he can find an answer to these questions, Detective Inspector John Poole is faced with a second, more horrible murder.And when there are shocking revelations both above and below stairs, Poole starts to see light breaking on the horizon.
Gladiator: The Enduring Classic That Inspired The Creators Of Superman! (Gateway Essentials #488)
by Philip WylieGladiator is the tale of Hugo Danner, a man endowed from birth with extraodinary strength and speed. But Danner is no altruist. He spends his life trying to cope with his abilities, becoming a sports hero in college, later a sideshow act, a war hero, never truly finding peace with himself.
Gone to Timbuctoo
by John PearsonFrom the author of All the Money in the World comes his thrilling debut novel.Not a tooth is knocked out, not a kidney bashed in… an outstanding thriller that rests on less obvious grounds. The characters are odd but rarely violent. Their aims are bizarre and their methods usually unorthodox. Their story is one of strange and constantly maintained suspense, based on a journey from Dakar to the River Niger and up through the remotest part of West Africa to Timbuctoo. The writing is witty and urbane, and the result is a thriller with all the vividness and authenticity of a sinister travel guide.Winner of the Author's Club First Novel Award."A first novel of exceptional brilliance - exciting, perceptive, wryly amusing." - Malcolm Muggeridge
Inspector French: Sir John Magill’s Last Journey (Inspector French Mystery #6)
by Freeman Wills CroftsFrom the Collins Crime Club archive, the sixth Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed ‘The King of Detective Story Writers’.
Death at Four Corners (Scott Egerton)
by Anthony GilbertA cliff-top house, a body on the beach, a man who suspects his best friend...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubWhen Doctor Terence Ambrose visits Gervase Blount at Four Corners he notices the body of a man low down on a cliff near the house. His enquiries into the man's death point suspicion at several people, particularly his old friend from Balliol Gervase Blount himself. As he delves into the past a complicated web of intrigue is slowly exposed...
The Harry Palmer Quartet
by Len DeightonThe first four ‘Secret Files’ from the master of fictional espionage, Len Deighton, containing the international exploits of Britain’s uber-cool sixties spy, Harry Palmer, together in one e-bundle for the first time.
All the Tea in China: A Charlie Mortdecai novel (Mortdecai)
by Kyril BonfiglioliAll the Tea in China - a Mortdecai novel by Kyril Bonfiglioli, soon to be a major film starring Johnny Depp'One of the funniest writers ever' UncutAfter committing a crime anyone but a close relative might forgive, Karli Mortdecai Van Cleef leaves Holland double-quick with his uncle's buckshot lodged firmly in the seat of his breeches. Discretion being the least-idiotic part of valour he decides to hide far away in London, among the tea shops and opium dens. On savouring these Eastern delicacies and knowing an opportunity when he sups upon one, young Karli throws in his lot with an opium clipper bound for China's high seas.Life on the ocean waves, however, is full of perils for an officer and his sensitive digestive tract: mountainous waves, an encounter with a malodorous slave ship, the captain's wife's pulse-racingly brief wardrobe, several hordes of pirates, mutiny, the ship's cook's fondness for curry - to name but a few.All the Tea in China is a swaggering, rip-snorting, buckler-swashing tale about one of the men who - for a reasonable fee - made Britain great.'For those who have learnt to relish his elegant, nasty thrillers, Bonfiglioli is a name hard to forget. This farrago represents a change from the thrillers - a good clean salt-water yarn for the decadent' Irish Press'Shows his customary inventive comedy and zest for language' Sunday Times'Bonfiglioli deserves better than cult status' IndependentKyril Bonfiglioli was born on the south coast of England in 1928 of an English mother and Italo-Slovene father. After studying at Oxford and five years in the army, he took up a career as an art dealer, like his eccentric creation Charlie Mortdecai. He lived in Oxford, Lancashire, Ireland and Jersey, where he died in 1985. He wrote four Charlie Mortdecai novels, and a fifth historical Mortdecai novel (about a distinguished ancestor).
Lord Peter Wimsey: The Complete Short Stories
by Dorothy L SayersDiscover Dorothy L. Sayers' inimitable Golden Age detective in this newly published collection of the complete Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Presented in chronological order, these short stories see Lord Peter Wimsey bringing his trademark wit and unique detection skills to all manner of mysteries. From poisoned port to murder in fancy dress, Wimsey draws on his many skills - including his expertise in fine wine and appreciation of fine art - to solve cases far and wide, some even taking him to foreign countries and unexpected hiding places in pursuit of miscreants and murderers.Containing 21 stories taken from Lord Peter Views the Body, Hangman's Holiday, In the Teeth of the Evidence and Striding Folly, now published together for the first time in one volume, this is the ultimate collection for fans of classic detective fiction and Dorothy L. Sayers.'She brought to the detective novel originality, intelligence, energy and wit.' P. D. James
The Wintringham Mystery: Cicely Disappears
by Anthony Berkeley A. Monmouth PlattsRepublished for the first time in nearly 95 years, a classic winter country house mystery by the founder of the Detection Club, with a twist that even Agatha Christie couldn’t solve!
The Abbey Court Murder: An Inspector Furnival Mystery (Inspector Furnival Mysteries Ser. #Vol. 1)
by Annie Haynes“A crime of a peculiarly mysterious nature was perpetrated some time last night in a block of flats called Abbey Court.”Lady Judith Carew acted furtively on the night of the Denboroughs’ party. Her secret assignation at 9:30pm was a meeting to which she took a loaded revolver. The Abbey Court apartment building would play host to violent death that very night, under cover of darkness. The killer’s identity remained a mystery, though Lady Carew had a most compelling motive - and her revolver was left in the dead man’s flat…Enter the tenacious Inspector Furnival in the first of his golden age mysteries, first published in 1923. Though there are many clues, there are just as many red herrings and the case takes numerous Christie-esque twists before the murderer can be revealed. This new edition, the first printed in over 80 years, features an introduction from crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.“Annie Haynes does, in The Abbey Court Murder, what all writers of mystery stories aspire to do, and so few carry off successfully… It is a first-rate story… the plot thickens with every page, leading us on to the final climax in a state of unfluctuating interest.” Bookman
The Crow's Inn Tragedy: An Inspector Furnival Mystery (Inspector Furnival Mysteries Ser. #Vol. 3)
by Annie Haynes“I cannot understand why Mr. Bechcombe apparently offered no resistance. His hand-bell, his speaking-tube, the telephone—all were close at hand. It looks as though he had recognized his assassin and had no fear of him.”The corner house of Crow’s Inn Square was the most dignified set of solicitors’ chambers imaginable. But this monument to law and order nonetheless becomes the scene of murder - when the distinguished lawyer Mr. Bechcombe, despite giving strict instructions not to be disturbed, is strangled in his own office.Inspector Furnival of Scotland Yard has to wrestle with fiendish clues, unearth priceless gems and tangle with a dangerous gang before he can solve this case, his third and final golden age mystery. Originally published in 1927, this new edition is the first printed in over 80 years, and features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.“What could be better to whet the appetite of the mystery-loving reader? A capital piece of work... exactly the sort of mystery story that everyone is asking for and will eagerly devour.” Sketch
The House in Charlton Crescent: An Inspector Furnival Mystery (Inspector Furnival Mystery #Vol. 2)
by Annie HaynesProtruding from the dead woman’s breast was the gold and jewelled dagger she had shown them half an hour before. And, looking horribly incongruous among the laces of her fichu, a deep stain was spreading.Elderly cantankerous widow Lady Anne Daventry summons a private detective, Bruce Cardyn, to her London home. He is tasked to find out one thing: just who is trying to kill her? Any number of relations have a financial interest in her death. Then there is Lady Anne’s recently dismissed private secretary, her lady’s maid and the butler…Despite Cardyn’s efforts, Lady Anne is murdered and Inspector Furnival, in his second golden age mystery, is on the case, with Cardyn playing Watson. Originally published in 1926, this new edition is the first printed in over eighty years. It features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.“Miss Haynes’ new book shows all the merits of its predecessors. Careful plot, a villain concealed, natural setting, observation of character—for all these it scores points.” Morning Post.
The Red Lamp
by Mary Roberts RinehartA haunted seaside mansion - a series of suspicious deaths...Perfect gothic crime fiction for fans of Shirley Jackson 'Showcases her extraordinary gift for sustaining high levels of tension ... reminiscent of Shirley Jackson ... and she excels at the tantalising tease' Publishers Weekly William Porter has just inherited a seaside manor. As an academic, he doesn't believe the rumours that it is haunted - nor is he suspicious of the circumstances behind the inheritance - after all, lots of people die suddenly from heart attacks, and his uncle Horace was just unlucky. His wife, however, refuses to live in the main house and will only move into the lodge elsewhere on the grounds. And she may be right: soon after they arrive, Porter sees a shadowy figure illuminated by the red glow of Horace's writing lamp, the very light that shone on the scene of his death. Even Porter's scepticism is tested to the limit when a rash of murders occurs across the countryside. And if Porter isn't very careful, he risks implicating himself in the crimes he hopes to solve.
The Butterfly Picnic
by Joan Aiken'For sheer enjoyability this tops almost anything' The TimesIntelligent and spirited Georgia March flies to the beautiful Greek island of Dendros to meet her cousin Sweden, but upon arrival finds her cousin Sweden’s body lying in a pool blood . . .Georgia has come to the paradise island of Dendros in search of a new life, a new job, and a way to forget about her lost lover. Instead, her adventure begins with tragedy and takes her to a mountain-top fortress – home to a powerful multi-millionaire, his jet set friends and a school for unusual children. In this stunning Greek hideaway Georgia is hired as a teacher, but as she gets to know the children and their unconventional parents she becomes ensnared in a deadly international mystery. Our not-so hapless heroine must survive a series of bizarre brushes with death, but also deal with the attentions of a strangely charming man – is he really the wickedest man on the island? Somebody certainly wants her gone as she inches closer and closer to uncovering the truth about Sweden’s death . . . Joan Aiken reveals a strong heroine, a breathtaking backdrop and shocking plot twists – The Butterfly Picnic has all the elements of a holiday romance with a dark underside of suspense.
The Embroidered Sunset
by Joan Aiken'Miss Aiken’s book is immensely enjoyable – her gift for gothic romantic charm is as effectively deployed as ever' TLSLucy Culpepper doesn’t take no for an answer. An aspiring pianist she dreams of being taught by the renowned Max Benovek and will defy all odds – life threatening illness, a missing great aunt, and a disgruntled uncle – to achieve it.After finding out her Uncle Wilbie has used up her college fund, Lucy discovers a selection of enchantingly beautiful paintings in the attic. Being the miserly man he is, Wilbie wants to keep any possible profits for these paintings and bargains on sending Lucy to England to find the artist – Great-aunt Fennel. Knowing Benovek lives in London she snaps up the opportunity and undertakes the adventure of a lifetime. But though Benovek proves easy to find and immediately takes Lucy to heart, she sets off to Yorkshire only to find that her old aunt Fennel has vanished. Lucy’s search entangles her in a mystery of murder and deceit . . . can they discover who is the real aunt Fennel?Awardwinning author Joan Aiken brings a shocking finale to a witty and entertaining plot full of unexpected twists and turns in modern suspense novel, The Embroidered Sunset.
The Five-Minute Marriage
by Joan AikenDelphie Carteret is forced into a dangerous marriage of convenience in Joan Aiken’s stunning regency drama, The Five Minute Marriage. Delphie has been disinherited from her family’s life of luxury and wealth, and as her mother's health and wits deteriorate she has no choice but to seek help from distant relatives. However when she arrives at the family’s grand house she discovers part of their fortune is rightfully hers, and the only way to obtain her inheritance is through a sham marriage to her cousin.Unknowingly Delphie has tangled herself in a web of family rivalry and deceit which goes back for generations. Other members of the family are not just in debt but in the Marshalsea - the debtors' prison described by Dickens. Forced to maintain the charade of her marriage, Delphie is finally drawn into a dramatic fight for her life, and a surprisingly romantic finale on the roof of the family mansion . . .Joan Aiken has woven together an enchanting plot of romance and rivalry that will grip readers till the very end. Fans of Georgette Heyer should definitely make this novel their next read.
Hercule Poirot 3-Book Collection 1: Two Bestselling Mysteries
by Agatha ChristieThe first three Hercule Poirot books see the former Belgian policeman tempted out of retirement to solve a series of outlandish murders in Britain and France, assisted by the redoubtable Captain Hastings, setting him on the path to becoming the World's Greatest Detective!
Last Movement
by Joan Aiken'Joan Aiken has produced a beauty . . . enjoyment rises up from every one of its 250 pages. Here is a pleasure of a book' The TimesHelikon is a unique spa on the Greek island of Drendos, run by the enigmatic Dr. Adnan from Aiken’s earlier novel, The Embroidered Sunset. In this tranquil setting outstanding musical performances combine with soothing medical treatments offer to treat a myriad of ailments, but can they heal the past?Stage manager ‘Mike’ Meiklejohn accompanied by her ailing mother and playwright Lady Julia Saint with her amnesic partner arrive at the luxury spa centre in the hope that their troubles will be healed – but their stay in this Greek idyll is soon shattered by two horrifying murders. As the women’s paths intertwine they plan to stage an opera performance of Hamlet, but the longer they spend at Helikon the more they learn about the secrets their loved ones are hiding from them . . . Full of suspense and surprise Last Movement is a holiday romance with a dark edge from awardwinning author Joan Aiken.
Voices in an Empty House
by Joan Aiken“Gabriel!” But calling was pointless, and he stopped at once, embarrassed by the sound of his voice . . . Nobody was here in the small apartment, nobody but himself.Lonely sixteen-year-old Gabriel, son of a Nobel Prize winner, has gone missing, and with a life-threatening heart condition his family are desperate to find him before it’s too late. Amnesia-stricken stepdad Thomas, spiteful mother Bella, and her sardonic twin brother Bo, all have their own selfish reasons to pursue him to Greenwich Village, New York where he was last seen.But Gabriel doesn’t want to be found . . . Jumping between each character’s perspective over the course of seven years, awardwinning author Joan Aiken expertly pieces together a complex and dynamic family history that leads to every parent’s nightmare in her modern suspense novel, Voices in an Empty House.