British Library Crime Classics

On a sultry afternoon in July, a man stumbles through thick foliage and rough ground, making for the coast. He wears prisoner's garb and the guards are hot on his heels. Happening upon a bather's clothes – the bather nowhere in sight – the escapee takes the risk, changes and leaves the scene looking the part of the average beachcomber. But it can be hard to stay hidden forever. When a blackmailer intrudes for the last time upon the promising life of the man who now calls himself Mr. Pottermack, a violent fate befalls him, and the stakes are set: Pottermack must avoid discovery at all costs to escape the hangman's noose for murder. When Pottermack's attempts to tamper with the evidence arouse the suspicions of the fiercely forensic Dr. Thorndyke, the cat and mouse game is afoot as we follow both detective and suspect in their battle to root out – or bury – the damning truth in this inverted-mystery classic first published in 1930.

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder From the squash court to the golf links, the football pitch to the swimming pool and the race course to the cricket square, no court, grounds, stadium or stand is safe from skullduggery. Entering the arena where sport clashes with crime, this spirited medley of short stories showcases the greatest deadly plays and criminal gambits of the mystery genre. With introductions by Editor Martin Edwards and stories by some of the finest writers in the field-including Celia Fremlin, Michael Gilbert, Gladys Mitchell, and Leo Bruce-this new anthology offers a ringside view of the darker side of sports and proves that crime, naturally, is a game for all seasons.

Sir Robert Boniface, the industrial and financial tycoon, and stalwart of the British Cabinet, has been found shot dead in his blue limousine on a warm Friday evening in the Vale of Health, Hampstead Heath. Nearby, a rejected portrait of Sir Robert is found riddled with bullets in the studio of the now-missing artist Matt Caldwell. Called to the scene, Inspector Beckett of Scotland Yard suspects murder. By the time Superintendent Mooney joins the case, the suspects have tripled and the mystery continues to spiral. Delving into the psychology of murder, Magarshack's novel explores the struggle between immense power and corruption, and what it means to be crooked.

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder Four men were due to fly to Dublin. When disaster strikes and the plane goes down over the Irish sea, only three of them were onboard. With the identities of the flyers scattered to the winds, the police turn to the Wade family, whose patchy account and memory of their past few days hold the key to this elusive and tense mystery. Who was the man who didn't fly? And what did he have to gain by not? Proof in one novel that Margot Bennett's tight and suspenseful writing is long overdue rediscovery. Also includes the rare short story "No Bath for the Browns."

Sarah has been receiving threatening anonymous letters seemingly from a former lover. Just one day after revealing this information to her co- worker Nancy, Sarah is shot and found in her bedroom by one of her past flames, Donald. Desperate to clear any evidence of Donald's presence at the scene for her own infatuations, Nancy finds herself as the key suspect when she is discovered in the apartment. As the real killer uses the situation to their advantage, Margot Bennett crafts a tense and nuanced story through flashbacks to Sarah's life and loves in this Gold- Dagger-award-winning story of deceit and murder.

This exceedingly rare mystery, first published in 1956, makes its triumphant return to print for the first time since its original appearance. On a bright autumn morning, Superintendent Macdonald boards the plane bound for Vienna to visit his old friend Dr. Natzler. His detective's eye notes some unusual passengers including Elizabeth Le Vendre, new secretary to the diplomat Sir Walter Vanbrugh-but this is supposed to be a holiday. After arriving with the Natzlers and crossing paths with Elizabeth again, Macdonald settles into the trip as best he can, determined to relax for once. But when Elizabeth is reported missing and a string of violence and murder encircles Vanbrugh and Natzler's social set, Macdonald's short-lived stint as a tourist comes to an end-and the race to stop a killer on the loose begins.

While the Blitz bombards London, the boisterous grandchildren of Sir Richard March have descended upon Swanswater Manor in Kent for a family gathering and the finalising of the patriarch's will. Disgruntled by the behaviour and life choices of his heirs, March seems poised to deny all of them their inheritance and heads out to his lodge to make arrangements - only to be discovered dead the next morning with strychnine in his blood. With evidence at the crime scene suggesting that nobody could possibly have entered the lodge to murder March, Inspector Cockrill- the "Terror of Kent"- has the challenge of finding any plausible solution for this impossible crime before death comes to darken the doors of Swanswater once more.

First published in 1936 and adapted for the screen as The Lady Vanishes by Alfred Hitchcock in 1938, Ethel Lina White's suspenseful mystery remains her best-known novel, worthy of acknowledgement as a classic of the genre in its own right. Then the rhythm of the train changed, and she seemed to be sliding backwards down a long slope. Click-click-click-click. The wheels rattled over the rails, with a sound of castanets. Iris Carr's holiday in the mountains of a remote corner of Europe has come to an end, and since her friends left two days before, she faces the journey home alone. Stricken by sunstroke at the station, Iris catches the express train to Trieste by the skin of her teeth and finds a companion in Miss Froy, an affable English governess. But when Iris passes out and reawakens, Miss Froy is nowhere to be found. The other passengers deny any knowledge of her existence and as the train speeds across Europe, Iris spirals deeper and deeper into a strange and dangerous conspiracy.

A suicide, a derelict barge, and floating pink chiffon nightdresses… When the San Angelo drifts into port in the Pool of London, 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, docklands residents 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 harborside. First published in 1938, this early novel from one of the great Golden Age mystery writers skillfully delivers a compelling tale of murder set against a gritty portrayal of life alongside the Thames. This edition also includes an Introduction by series editor CWA Diamond Dagger-Award winning author Martin Edwards.

"A one-of-a-kind treat from the golden age."- Kirkus Reviews From music conductor turned crime fiction novelist, Sebastian Farr, comes an epistolary tour de force that hits the perfect murderous crescendo for music and crime fiction aficionados alike. During a performance of Strauss' tone poem 'A Hero's Life', the obnoxious conductor, Sir Noel Grampian, is shot dead in full view of the Maningpool Municipal Orchestra. 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 of Detective Inspector Alan Hope to his wife, he puzzles over his findings, and other documents such as the letters of members of the orchestra and musical notation holding clues to the crime. This addition to the Crime Classics series is an immersive musical mystery, featuring diagrams of the orchestra arrangement and four pages of musical notation with relevance to the plot. 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.

In the writhing, violent shadows, it seems as if the truth about the murder may have gone up in smoke... 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 skillful 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" and an Introduction by award-winning author Martin Edwards.

This 1953 classic featuring Julian Rivers of Scotland Yard by Carol Carnac (a pen name of Edith Caroline Rivett, who also wrote under the name E. C. R. Lorac) was first published in Britain by Collins, London, for The Crime Club. This edition features includes an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger and Edgar Award–winning author Martin Edwards. A gigantic marble bust stood on a pedestal at the head of the staircase. "It's a work of art," said David unhappily. "One mustn't let personal prejudice intervene…" "I've often wondered if it would topple off with a little encouragement," said Pompfret. "It'd be a wonderful sight to see it bounce down the stairs. It must weigh several tons…" When a civil servant at the newly formed Ministry of Fine Arts is found crushed beneath a monstrous marble bust after dark, it appears to be the third instance in a string of fatal accidents at the department. Already disturbed by rumours of forgeries and irregularities in the Ministry's dealings, Minister Humphry David is soon faced with the possibility that among his colleagues is a murderer-though how the bust could have been made an instrument of death is a masterstroke of criminal devilment. Taking charge of the case, Inspector Julian Rivers of Scotland Yard enters a caustic world of fine art and civil service grievances to unveil a killer hiding in plain sight.

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder Forensic dentistry; precise examination of ballistics; an expertise in apiology to identify the exact bee which killed the victim? The detective's role may be simple; solve the case and catch the culprit, but when the crime is fiendishly well-executed the application of the scientific method may be the only answer. The detectives in this collection are masters of scientific deduction employing principles of chemistry, the latest technological innovations and an irresistable logical brilliance in their pursuit of justice. Containing stories by early masters in the field such as Arthur Conan Doyle and L. T. Meade alongside fine-tuned mysteries from the likes of Edmund Crispin and Dorothy L. Sayers, The Measure of Malice collects tales of rational thinking to prove the power of the brain over villainous deeds.

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder. 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.

It was a model English village, filled with flowers, Tudor cottages, and cobbled streets. Joan Brook loved working there as a companion to Lady d'Arcy, living in the huge mansion with its surrounding park. And small though the village was, it was not too small for Joan to have found a man there whom she could love. Suddenly the peaceful surface of life there is shattered as a poisonous letter is received by the town's most saintly citizen. It is followed by others; no one is safe from the anonymous letter writer. And the letters bring death. In the anguished days that follow, Joan realizes her own danger. For to receive on of these letters could mean the end of her love - and her life!

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder. With an introduction by Martin Edwards and featuring the short stories 'Horseshoes for Luck' and 'The Cockroach and the Tortoise.' 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.

First published in 1937, this classic mystery shines on today as one of the great masterpieces of the impossible crime genre. "There will be ten teacups at number 4, Berwick Terrace, W.8, on Wednesday, July 31st, at 5 p.m. Precisely. The presence of the Metropolitan Police is respectfully requested." The note was delivered to New Scotland Yard, its words evoking a cold murder case and its unsolved mystery of the ten teacups found beside the body. Scrambling to prevent a second killing, the police set up a watertight cordon at Berwick Terrace. But gunfire rings out from the top floor at 5 p.m. on the 31st, and the corpse of one of the celebrity tenants is found in a locked room, shot twice from behind, a smoking gun by their side and on the table – ten teacups. The killer has vanished into thin air, an impossibility which calls for the masterful sleuth Sir Henry Merrivale to enter the fray.