Dead Man's Shoes
A Carolus Deene Mystery
Part 4 of the Carolus Deene series
Everyone knew there had been a murder, everyone knew who the murderer was, and when this murderer committed suicide by jumping overboard from the cargo boat Saragossa, everyone thought "Good riddance." Everyone, that is, except Carolus Deene.
Furious Old Women
A Carolus Deene Mystery
Part 7 of the Carolus Deene series
Another Carolus Deene novel, this mystery in particular is considered one of Bruce's cleverest and best plotted.
Jack on the Gallows Tree
Part 8 of the Carolus Deene series
The dead bodies of two elderly ladies are discovered; both had been strangled. Each is found lying full-length, clasping in her hand the stem of a Madonna lily.
Die All, Die Merrily
A Carolus Deene Mystery
Part 9 of the Carolus Deene series
Richard Hoysden's body is discovered in his country flat, apparently a suicide. Missing from the room is a tape of Hoysden's last moments in which he confesses to the murder of a young woman. Lady Drombone, a Member of Parliament and the young man's aunt, hires Carolus to find the tape and help suppress it. He himself insists on reconstructing the confusing circumstances in order to solve the baffling crime.
A Bone and a Hank of Hair
Part 10 of the Carolus Deene series
Carolus Deene, history master at Queen's School, Newminster, manages on the side to dabble in the art of gentlemanly detective work. In Leo Bruce's beloved A Bone and a Hank of Hair, Deene is approached by Mrs. Chalk, who is convinced her heiress cousin has been murdered. The suspect is, of course, Mr. Rathbone, the lady's wily widower. On the way to the truth, Deene encounters a host of friendly characters and oafish constabulary, leading readers in a delightful romp through the English landscape.
Nothing Like Blood
A Carolus Deene Mystery
Part 11 of the Carolus Deene series
His old friend Helena Gort calls on Carolus Deene to come to Cat's Cradle, a seaside guesthouse and find out about two deaths judged respectively "natural causes" and "suicide." There is no doubt in Helena's mind that something sinister has happened and something very unpleasant is brewing. She is right.
Such Is Death
Part 12 of the Carolus Deene series
The place: a remote shelter on the promenade at Selby-on-Sea; the occasion: a stormy evening in late November; the victim: somebody ready-made for a crack-of-doom from a coal hammer.
Death in Albert Park
A Carolus Deene Mystery
Part 13 of the Carolus Deene series
In a gloomy London suburb, a modern Jack the Ripper stalks at night, killing at random with brutal knife thrusts from behind. Three women fall victim, and the terrorized residents wait to see who will be next.
Death at Hallows End
A Carolus Deene Mystery
Part 14 of the Carolus Deene series
In this "rousing mystery" (Booklist), Gentleman Detective Carolus Deene, the schoolmaster created by Bruce and featured in so many of his other books, has his work cut out for him . A respectable solicitor has vanished into thin air in the remote village of Hallows End. Deene senses foul play, and when he goes on the hunt for the missing lawyer, the wealthy client himself suffers a heart attack in what proves to be too much of a coincidence for Deene. Deene ferrets out the culprits in his own inimitable style. Julian Symons of the Sunday Times has said of this series, "Mr. Leo Bruce is one of the few criminal practitioners who keep the tattered old flag of pure detection flying high."
Death of a Commuter
A Carolus Deene Mystery
Part 16 of the Carolus Deene series
"Five men occupied their usual places in a first-class carriage, but the sixth place was empty..." It is most unusual for the sixth man, Mr. Parador, to be late. The five commuters are wondering what happened to him, when a strange-looking man enters the compartment, dressed in black and wearing dark glasses. When he is told that the sixth seat is taken, he replies, in a deep sepulchral voice, "He won't be coming." He was right. Parador does not come, and his companions never see him alive again. In addition, if Carolus Deena had not taken an interest in the case, the coroner's verdict of suicide would not have been questioned.
Death at St. Asprey's School
A Carolus Deene Mystery
Part 17 of the Carolus Deene series
There are strange goings-on at St. Asprey's, an expensive boys' preparatory school: footsteps in passages at night . . . strange lights . . . rabbits with battered skulls. Carolus Deene has some spine-tingling experiences before he solves the mystery.
Death With Blue Ribbon
A Carolus Deene Mystery
Part 19 of the Carolus Deene series
Carolus Deene becomes involved in his latest adventure when a famous restaurateur is threatened by a protection racketeer and a well-known writer of cookbooks is murdered under extraordinary circumstances.
Death on Allhallowe'en
A Carolus Deene Mystery
Part 20 of the Carolus Deene series
Carolus Deene is summoned to a small Kentish village where the presence of a possible coven of witches lends an eerie aura to the presumed "accidental" death of a young local boy a year ago on Hallowe'en. Before his work is completed, Carolus Deene has the answers to this and two other deaths.
Death in the Middle Watch
A Carolus Deene Mystery
Part 22 of the Carolus Deene series
Carolus Deene is enjoying himself on a holiday cruise. On the first night aboard the Summer Queen, he hears a shout of "Man Overboard!" From that point on to the moment of Deene's unexpected revelations, the reader will find that unique mixture of artless fun and grim terror Leo Bruce devotees savor.