''Death in Harley Street'' (1946) is widely celebrated by genre historians and critics as the author's ultimate masterpiece of Golden Age detective fiction. Dr. Priestley is a retired, eccentric mathematics professor who operates as an armchair forensics specialist. He leaves the physical footwork to Scotland Yard's Inspector Jimmy Waghorn while he solves cases purely through logical deduction. The premise centers on the sudden, violent death of an eminent medical specialist, Dr. Richard E...

The Murders in Praed Street features Dr. Lancelot Priestley, an eccentric scientist and mathematician. The novel's first part introduces the neighborhood of Praed Street, its shopkeepers, and their families. Among these characters are the first victims of a series of shocking murders that terrorize London and baffle the police. In the second part, Scotland Yard seeks the help of Dr. Priestley, who is eager for "some enticing problem, mathematical or human." To confirm his theory o...

When Pauline Clobury is found murdered in the dark and the rain near the gate of Prior’s Farm, suspicion centers on her young husband whom she plans to divorce. But when a new development occurs at the greenhouse of the same estate, both Superintendent James Waghorn, of New Scotland Yard’s CID, and his friend, the veteran Dr. Priestley, decide to visit the scene. What they discover in the formal gardens leads the way to a strange theory of the events and an entirely new twist to the invest...

“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.

“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").

The discovery of a seemingly unidentifiable corpse in a shabby block of offices off the Gray's Inn Road in central London inexplicably proves to be linked to the assassination of a member of parliament with secret communist ties on an express train heading northwards.

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 novel takes place in rural Kent during the hop-picking season. A burglary takes place and the complex circumstances surrounding it led to Sergeant Wragge of the local force calling in Scotland Yard. It is only through the deductions of Priestley, however, that it is realised that his is a case of murder.

In a largely peaceful village in England during the early stages of the Second World War the body of the young man who owns Lilac Cottage is found dead. The only clue that the investigating officers of Scotland Yard can find is a five pound note, but it lures Priestley to the trail. A second murder takes place nearby soon afterwards, puzzling to most, but to Priestley it confirms the theory he is already developing.

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.

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...

The next time you visit Olympia, take a good look around and see if you think it would be possible to murder someone in the middle of the crowd there without being seen.The new Comet was fully expected to be the sensation of the annual Motor Show at Olympia. Suddenly, in the middle of the dense crowd of eager spectators, an elderly man lurched forward and collapsed in a dead faint. But Nahum Pershore had not fainted. He was dead, and it was his death that was to provide the real se...