“The Hanging Woman” (1931) is a classic mystery novel by John Rhode (Miles Burton) featuring his recurring detective, Dr. Lancelot Priestley. It centers on an investigation into a suspicious death at a supposedly haunted house.

A night of revelry ends with a perplexing death in the first novel featuring one of the greatest detectives of the Golden Age of Mystery.In the early hours of a wintery morning, Harold Merefield returns home from a festive little party at The Naxos, a popular nightclub in Paddington. But just as he tries to get some much-needed sleep, he is startled by a gruesome discovery on his bed: a corpse.There is no way to identify the dead man or the cause of his death...

This captivating collection brings together twelve classic detective stories by John Rhode, featuring the ingenious Dr. Lancelot Priestley. Known for his analytical mind and unwavering commitment to justice, Dr. Priestley tackles complex cases, unravels baffling mysteries, and exposes hidden truths with his signature intellect. The anthology includes: • The Paddington Mystery: A curious case of a man who vanishes without a trace. • Dr. Priestley’s Quest: A trail of intrigue as Dr. Priestle...

John Rhode’s The Davidson Case is a classic detective novel of the Golden Age, featuring the brilliant and methodical Dr. Lancelot Priestley. First published in 1929, it is the third book in the long-running series that helped define Rhode as one of the foremost puzzle-plotters of his era. The story begins with the mysterious death of Sir Hector Davidson, a wealthy and influential industrialist. What appears at first to be a tragic accident soon reveals troubling inconsistencies: unexplain...

Nigel Ebbfleet, an author who after many years of effort has finally produced a successful book, settles down to live in a country cottage brought by the royalties of his hit work. However, his rural peace is shattered when he is killed in an explosion while chopping wood. Superintendent Jimmy Waghorn of Scotland Yard's investigation established that Ebbfleet was well-liked and no obvious motive is clear. But with a second murder and its accompanying alibis, and a rather gruesome and sensa...

Praed Street is not at any time one of London’s brighter thoroughfares. Certainly it ends upon a note of hope, terminating as it does on the fringe of the unquestioned respectability of Bayswater, but for the rest of its course it is frankly lamentable. Narrow, bordered by small and often furtive shops, above which the squalid looking upper parts are particularly uninviting, it can never have been designed as more than a humble annexe of its more prosperous parent, the Edgware Road. And th...

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.

The John Rhode Detective Library brings together sixteen of the most compelling and ingeniously plotted mysteries featuring Dr. Lancelot Priestley, one of the most distinctive sleuths of the Golden Age of detective fiction. Created by Cecil John Charles Street, writing as John Rhode, Dr. Priestley is a logician, a scientist, and an armchair detective whose calm reasoning and analytical mind unravel even the most baffling of crimes. This illustrated collection includes standout titles such ...

Death on the Boat Train, first published in 1940, is book no. 32 in the series of mysteries featuring private detective Dr. Priestley and Scotland Yard's Superintendent Hanslet and Inspector Jimmy Waghorn. Author John Rhode, a pen name of Cecil Street (1884-1964), was a prolific writer of mostly detective novels, publishing more than 140 books between 1924 and 1961. From the dustjacket: Fair blew the wind from France, and the Channel steamer Isle of Jethou rolled ...

There was motive enough for the murder of Fred Dunstable, but when Inspector ‘Jimmy’ Waghorn is sent down to the little village of Cradwell to investigate his death, he finds it difficult to be satisfied with any of the solutions offered by the local police. Whose was the half-smoked cigarette found near the body? Why did Kenneth Neasden want £100 so desperately? It is not until further violence has been done that the answers to these and many other questions are found. An ingeniously cont...

“Dead of the Night” (1942) is a mystery by John Rhode (Miles Burton) featuring his recurring investigator Dr. Priestley. Written during WWII, the plot reflects the atmosphere of the British Home Guard preparing for a potential invasion. The story involves a murder that occurs during a Home Guard training exercise (a "night exercise").

''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.