A businessman dies in an elevator in such a way that it seems as though no one could have committed the murder. A seemingly impossible murder in a private elevator draws two sleuths to the case. Inspector Hornbeam and Dr. Horatio Glass are at odds from the beginning, each dismissive of the other's theories, thus creating an atmosphere as much of competition as cooperation.

One of the greatest locked-room murder mysteries of all time, hailing from 1938, returns to baffle a new bevy of armchair detectives. James Answell, visiting his father-in-law Avery Hume in his locked study, has the misfortune to wake up from a drugged-Whisky swoon to find his host dead, skewered with an arrow. He is, of course, prime suspect. After setting up this devilish scenario, unravels an ingenious courtroom thriller, in which the razor-sharp amateur detective (and barrister) Sir He...

'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...

James Bennett, nephew of Sir Henry Merrivale (the cantankerous yet genius sleuth), has been invited to stay at White Priory for Christmas, among the retinue of the glamorous Hollywood actress Marcia Tait. Her producer, her lover, her playwright and her agent are all here along with the haughty master of the estate, Canifes and his daughter. So many suspects they become when Marcia Tait is found dead on Christmas morning in the lakeside pavilion, having been left there alone the night befor...

At the London service flat where she lives with her husband, dies after eating a meal which later analysis shows was infused with digitalis. Scotland Yard at first suspect her husband, who had been called away by a telephone call of murdering her. However, with the assistance of Priestley, the investigating officer is able to prove this is a long-premeditated crime by someone else.

The true motive for the murder is introduced very late on, so as to conceal the identity of the killer. Gangland elements in the plot. The method of murder is very clever and there are a few genuine suspects.

In the market town of Patham, Doctor Greenwood takes his annual August holiday with his wife and hires a locum to take over the practice while he is away. But his replacement Stephen Thornhill goes missing after just a few days, and when a body is discovered Scotland Yard are called in to investigate with the assistance of Priestley.

The Murders in Praed Street by John Rhode is a classic Dr. Priestley mystery that follows the analytical detective through the eerie streets of London as he tackles a perplexing case of murder and deception. When a series of suspicious deaths disturb the normally quiet Praed Street, Dr. Priestley applies his unique, scientific approach to uncover hidden connections and motives. The story brims with atmospheric detail and clever twists, capturing the tension of British crime fiction. This i...

The House on Tollard Ridge is one of the early and most atmospheric mysteries featuring Dr. Lancelot Priestley, the brilliant and imperturbable armchair detective created by John Rhode (pseudonym of Cecil John Charles Street). A master of rational deduction, Priestley returns in this intricately plotted tale of murder, deception, and hidden motives beneath a veneer of rural peace. The story begins with the death of a man in a remote house on Tollard Ridge, under circumstances that seem acc...

''Twice Dead'' by John Rhode is a classic Golden Age mystery where the eccentric Sir Francis Yordale fakes his own death to test his heirs' affection, only to be found genuinely dead soon after, leading Superintendent Jimmy Waghorn and Dr. Priestley to investigate his real murder by carbon monoxide poisoning, revealing hidden family secrets and ingenious criminal methods.

After a man is found gassed to death in a Cornish coastal resort, Superintendent Jimmy Waghorn takes up the case with the long-distance assistance of his mentor Doctor Priestley in London. Priestley is able to cast doubt on the police's view that the dead man's young housekeeper, now missing, is responsible for the crime.

A distinctive smell of smoke presages a series of murders in the village of Lamsford, and it proves a puzzling case for Inspector Arnold and Desmond Merrion.