Introducing country doctor Hugh Westlake in a Golden Age mystery of seduction and murder set among a small affluent town.As the town doctor for the village of Kenmore, Hugh Westlake spends most of his time making late-night house calls to overanxious patients and treating colds and the flu—until one bright winter morning. Riding with the hunt club, Hugh makes a grisly discovery: the headless, naked torso of a woman. The murder shocks the town and its upper crust so...

Dr. Hugh Westlake investigates murder in a powerful family, by the Edgar Award–winning author who wrote the Peter Duluth Mysteries as Patrick Quentin.Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: "Quentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace which ...

The country doctor takes his sleuthing into the spiritual realm when otherworldly goings-on strike close to home in this classic Golden Age mystery.Summer finds Dr. Hugh Westlake taking over another doctor's patients and living in his house. His next-door neighbors are a wealthy and influential family in the community, including leading investment banker Bruce Bannister. And soon, Hugh is drawn into quite the family drama . . .A nurse has joined the Bannist...

A song holds the key to murder in this Dr. Hugh Westlake mystery from the Edgar Award–winning author who wrote the Peter Duluth series as Patrick Quentin.Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: "Quentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace wh...

A Golden Age mystery featuring a sleuthing small-town doctor who's out of his depth as a killer haunts a waning New England summer.On vacation with his daughter on the New England coast, Dr. Hugh Westlake is enjoying the sun, the sea, and the fishing. Being September, the inn where they're staying is almost empty, except for a few other guests. But the peace is shattered when a woman's body is found strangled on the beach, with a red circle drawn around a mole on h...

Dr. Hugh Westlake and his daughter, Dawn, help a diva in danger, by the Edgar Award–winning author who wrote the Peter Duluth Mysteries as Patrick Quentin.Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: "Quentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace w...

A case of mistaken identity leads to death and deception in this classic "three-ringed thriller . . . [with] plenty of shocks and jolts" ( New York Herald Tribune).It's not the first time the local press has made a mistake, but this one has consequences for Dr. Hugh Westlake. An article about an advocate of euthanasia has switched the name of the old quack named Westbrook to "Westlake," which leads to Hugh getting summoned in the middle of an icy winter ni...

In 1947, returning to the UK with two young children to support, Margaret Durrell starts a boarding house in Bournemouth. But any hopes of respectability are dashed as the tenants reveal themselves to be a host of eccentrics: from a painter of nudes to a pair of glamorous young nurses whose late-night shifts combined with an ever-revolving roster of gentleman callers leading to a neighbourhood rumour that Margo is running a brothel. Margo's own two sons, Gerry and Nicholas, prove to be eve...

“[Rendell is] undoubtedly one of the best writers of English mysteries and chiller-killer plots.”—Los Angeles TimesIt was better than a hotel, this anonymous room on a secluded side street of a small country town. No register to sign, no questions asked, and for five bucks a man could have three hours of undisturbed, illicit lovemaking.Then one evening a man with a knife turned the love nest into a death chamber. The carpet was soaked with blood --...

An important, though neglected, figure in twentieth-century British horror fiction, Sir Charles Birkin (1907-1985) began his literary career as editor of the popular - and now highly collectible - Creepsseries of horror anthologies in the 1930s, which featured tales by well-known writers such as H.R. Wakefield, Lord Dunsany and Russell Thorndike, as well as contributions by Birkin himself.A master of the conte cruel, often with a Grand Guignol finish, Birkin found true horror not i...

Tying the knot can leave you in a tangle…James is everything Tish has ever wanted in a husband – he’s handsome, dependable, and will make an excellent father. Unlike Tish’s first love, the disreputable Fergal, who abandoned her for a music career and now lives a lavish celebrity lifestyle. Fergal broke her heart and James helped to mend it.Tish and James have just bought a cottage in the country. The next step? Kids and a lifetime of domestic bliss. Well, that’s the plan. A...

An English village scrambles to prepare for a big anniversary: "If you've ever enjoyed a visit to Mitford, you'll relish a visit to Fairacre." —Jan KaronVillage Centenary welcomes readers back to Miss Read's cozy English downland village just in time for the hundredth anniversary of Fairacre Shool. Miss Clare, who was a pupil and later a teacher there, points out that such a milestone should be celebrated, and all of Fairacre is quick to offer suggestions—f...