A Scotland Yard inspector holds the key when a college professor is shot behind a series of locked gates in this classic British mystery series opener.The usually quiet campus of St. Anthony's College is abuzz with talk of murder. Someone shot Prof. Josiah Umpleby, the college's president, in his room during the night. Word spreads all the way to London, and Insp. John Appleby of New Scotland Yard is dispatched to consult on the case.The local authorities are...

The head of Scotland Yard probes the suspicious death of a Shakespearean scholar with a collection of secrets in this classic British mystery.Lewis Packford, an Elizabethan scholar, is found shot in his library. It was rumored Packford recently acquired a book annotated by the Bard, but the book is nowhere to be seen. What is beside him, however, is a note that—as Packford was wont to do—quotes William Shakespeare: "Farewell, a long farewell."Police believe P...

From a British Golden Age author "in a class by himself among detective story writers," Scotland Yard Inspector Appleby helps a student solve a murder ( The Times Literary Supplement).On holiday in the English countryside with his fellow university students, young David Henchman sets out alone for a hike across the moor. But instead of finding tranquil solitude, he stumbles upon a dead body. At first, David suspects suicide—until he spots a stranger on the ...

From a British mystery author "in a class by himself among detective story writers," eighteen classic crime stories, perfect for astute armchair detectives ( The Times Literary Supplement).Scandal is at stake for London's fashionable society when Edwardian playwright Richard Dangerfield's sordid diary falls into the hands of a blackmailer. Though Dangerfield is long dead, those who consorted with him are all very much alive and at the respectable old age wh...

From a British Golden Age author "in a class by himself among detective story writers," Sir John Appleby solves an art world crime ( The Times Literary Supplement).When Sir John Appleby is persuaded by Lady Appleby to attend an art exhibit, he believes he is only appeasing his wife, a sculptress herself, and quite the art collector, too. But when Appleby learns the show is a memorial exhibition for recently murdered artist Gavin Limbert, his interest is piq...

A London detective investigates when a troubled Scottish laird takes a fall in this classic British mystery by the author of Hamlet, Revenge!.Strange things are happening around the remote Castle Erchany, located in the Scottish Highlands. The miserly and reclusive laird, Ranald Guthrie, roams the castle's freezing halls, reciting an old poem over and over: Timor mortis conturbat me. Fear of death disturbs me . . .Then on a wild winter nigh...

A Scotland Yard detective investigates a peculiar case of murder, poetry, kidnapping, and German spies in this classic British wartime thriller.Insp. John Appleby is puzzled by the death of Philip Ploss. Who would want to kill such a harmless, quiet man known for writing mid-level nature poetry? . . .Poetry is what Sheila Grant overhears two men discussing on a train outside Edinburgh. Their whole conversation seems absurd to her, especially after one of them...

Rachel Weeping is a contemporary drama that explores the theme of motherhood, loss and forgiveness through the experience of three victims of a horrible accident. This job was money. It was the roof over her head. It was what kept her parents alive and what allowed her to remain in South Africa legally. She knew how hard it was to find stable work, especially as a domestic worker when there were ten other women ready and willing to do your job for half the wages. She had seen the trucks at...

An erudite Scotland Yard detective investigates after a professor meets a hellish end with a heavenly body in this classic British mystery.When Professor Pluckrose is found dead in his deckchair on the campus of a provincial English university, it looks as though the eminent biochemist was struck by a falling meteorite. But this was no act of God—the stone was dropped from a nearby tower.With the local authorities baffled, Scotland Yard's Insp. John Appleby i...

A Scotland Yard detective is snowed in with a strange family and a killer with a lethal passion for literature in this classic British mystery.Something's afoot in the village of Snarl. Incidents include animals turned to stone and ominous tombstones inscribed with deaths yet to come. Det. Insp. John Appleby is travelling by train from London to consult on the case. However, impending his arrival to his connecting train is a terrible snowstorm. Fortunately, a fellow...

From a British crime author "in a class by himself among detective story writers," twenty-three short mysteries featuring the brilliant Inspector Appleby ( The Times Literary Supplement).It appears Inspector Appleby is ready to tell all in this must-read collection of twenty-three short stories from acclaimed Scottish mystery author Michael Innes. One of the most discerning detectives of Golden Age fiction, Appleby sits down with pipe in hand to spin tales ...

A London detective investigates after a fictional character seems to come to life to harass his creator in this classic British mystery.Richard Eliot began writing crime novels to fund his son's education. The protagonist, known as "the Spider," started off as a notorious criminal and later transformed into a private investigator. Now, after thirty-eight entries in the series, Eliot is considering putting the Spider to bed.Someone else, however, has a differe...