William, the gardener at Layton Court, was a man of melancholy deliberation. It did not pay, William held, to rush things; especially the important things of life, such as the removal of greenfly from roses. Before action was taken, the matter should be studied, carefully and unhappily, from every possible point of view, particularly the worst. On this summer’s morning William had been gazing despondently at the roses for just over three quarters of an hour. Pretty soon now he would feel h...

“Top Storey Murder” by Anthony Berkeley is a classic mystery featuring gentleman sleuth Roger Sheringham, who investigates the strangulation of a reclusive woman, Miss Adelaide Barnett, in her top-floor flat, a seemingly simple burglary gone wrong that Scotland Yard initially pursues but Sheringham finds suspect, uncovering hidden motives and secrets, including the victim's miserly habits and her niece's strange behavior, leading to a complex solution with plenty of clues and red herrings....

A ROGER SHERINGHAM MYSTERY. Detective writer John Hillyard is entertaining a small house party at Minton Deeps Farm when a shocking accident takes place. Shortly after enacting a murder drama for their own amusement, the guests are returning to the house when Eric Scott Davies, the man who played victim, is found dead after two gunshots go off. The police suspect murder, but when Roger Sheringham is summoned from London it is not by Superintendent Hancock but by one of the guests. In a web...

Republished 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!Stephen Munro, a demobbed army officer, reconciles himself to taking a job as a footman to make ends meet. Employed at Wintringham Hall, the delightful but decaying Sussex country residence of the elderly Lady Susan Carey, his first task entails welcoming her eccentric guests to a weeke...

"Detection and crime at its wittiest—all Berkeley's stories are amusing, intriguing and he is a master of the final twist." —Agatha ChristieIn this classic Golden Age British mystery, Anthony Berkeley—the renowned author of the Roger Sheringham series—delivers a tense political thriller that starts with a shocking assassination . . .The House of Commons has been breached in the most unthinkable manner. In the middle of his speech introducing a controversial...

MYSTERY AT LOVERS CAVE, THE by ANTHONY BERKELEY offers a concentrated, compelling experience within fiction / mystery & detective. This concise work presents carefully drawn characters and purposeful plotting that together explore themes of choice, consequence, and human connection. The prose is precise and economical, balancing vivid scenes with clear pacing to maintain narrative momentum. Ideal for readers seeking a thoughtful, accessible read, the book is well-suited to book clubs and c...

''The Layton Court Mystery'' by Anthony Berkeley is a classic Golden Age locked-room mystery, introducing amateur sleuth Roger Sheringham, about the apparent suicide of wealthy Victor Stanworth at his country estate, Layton Court, which Sheringham investigates, uncovering hidden secrets among the party guests and proving it's a cleverly disguised murder, much to the police's confusion.

A classic Golden Age crime novel, and one of the first to feature a serial killer.Investigating the disappearance of a vicar’s daughter in London, the popular novelist and amateur detective Roger Sheringham is shocked to discover that the girl is already dead, found hanging from a screw by her own silk stocking. Reports of similar deaths across the capital strengthen his conviction that this is no suicide cult but the work of a homicidal maniac out for vengeance – ...

One of the earliest psychological crime novels.Mrs Bentley has been arrested for murder. The evidence is overwhelming: arsenic she extracted from fly papers was in her husband’s medicine, his food and his lemonade, and her crimes are being plastered across the newspapers. Even her lawyers believe she is guilty. But Roger Sheringham, the brilliant but outspoken young novelist, is convinced that there is ‘too much evidence’ against Mrs Bentley and sets out to prove h...

The noted amateur detective Roger Sheringham has formed his own private club of criminologists. As a challenge, he proposes that they individually attempt to solve a murder that has baffled Scotland Yard: the death of wealthy businessman Graham Bendix's wife after he presented her a box of poisoned chocolates.Rather than converging on a single criminal, each of the six members of the Crimes Circle arrives at a completely different solution to the same murder.Anthony Berkele...

Stephen Munro, giovane gentiluomo, versa in difficoltà economiche. È talmente squattrinato da essersi procurato un impiego come valletto nell'antica residenza dell'aristocratica lady Susan Carey. A Wintringham Hall lo attendono però non poche sorprese e qualche situazione imbarazzante. Prima le innumerevoli incombenze domestiche a cui di sicuro non è abituato; poi gli incontri indesiderati con persone che era solito frequentare da pari a pari e che ora è tenuto a servire da subordinato. Ma...

Il noto detective dilettante Roger Sheringham ha fondato un proprio club privato di “criminologi”. Come sfida per questo illustre gruppo, propone di tentare individualmente di risolvere un omicidio che ha lasciato perplessa anche Scotland Yard: la morte della moglie del ricco uomo d'affari Graham Bendix, avvenuta dopo che lui le aveva regalato una scatola di cioccolatini avvelenati. Il mistero risiede nel fatto che Bendix aveva ricevuto quei cioccolatini per puro caso nel suo club da Sir E...