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 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...

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...

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...

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...

A Scotland Yard detective probes a high-society house party for someone rotten when a government official is murdered in this classic British mystery.Preparations are underway for a grand party at Scamnum Court, the sweeping English country estate of the fabulously wealthy Duke of Horton. Some of the nation's elite are invited for dinner, and some are even set to star in a semi-amateur production of Hamlet on an authentic Elizabethan stage in the banqueting...

Scotland Yard's director and a school headmaster team up to find a missing biological warfare expert in this classic, Cold War–era mystery thriller.At the height of the Cold War, one of Britain's top-secret scientists is missing. Prof. Howard Juniper was last seen leaving his lab where he conducted research on biological warfare. What's even more troubling is he may have a virulent, deadly sample with him. He must be found as quickly—and with as little publicity—as ...

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...

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 ...

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...

In this chilling classic British mystery thriller, a Scotland Yard inspector and his sister search for her missing fiancé in a city of vanishing people.Petty con man Alfred Routh thinks a place like Milton Manor outside Oxford will have something nice to steal. When he learns what is inside, however, he is desperate to steal away with his life . . .Meanwhile, Sir John Appleby from Scotland Yard is headed to Oxford to help his sister Jane. Her fiancé, a war he...