This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 18 tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including uncollected stories by Ngaio Marsh and John Dickson Carr.The Golden Age of detective fiction had begun inauspiciously with the publication of E.C. Bentley’s schismatic Trent’s Last Case in 1913, but it hit its stride in 1920 when both Agatha Christie and Freeman Wills Crofts – latterly crowned que...

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 16 tales by masters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a newly discovered Agatha Christie crime story that has not been seen since 1922.At a time when crime and thriller writing has once again overtaken the sales of general and literary fiction, Bodies from the Library unearths lost stories from the Golden Age, that period between the World Wars when detectiv...

When John Waterson and his young wife chose Netherplash Cantorum, Dorset, for their retirement years, they could not have predicted that this idyllic spot had one severe but unforeseeable drawback: among its inhabitants was a practical joker whose fertile mind ran to the most bizarre and grotesque designs.The Village was no place for a quite retirement, or for a gentle recuperation from the nervous breakdown that had afflicted Waterson's wife. In Netherplash, the peace is continual...

Hugo Chesterman is on trial for murdering a policeman. Why did he do it? Or could he be innocent?Daisy Bland is young, beautiful and naive, and her testimony threatens to send her husband to the gallows.For Daisy, it all started when she literally bumped into Hugo and fell madly in love. She gave up everything for him: her job, her friends, her independence. Blinded by love, she asks no questions about his vague profession as a 'commission agent', his suspicious associates ...

The Detective Stories Library is a rich and engaging collection of classic mysteries by some of the greatest writers of the genre. This illustrated volume brings together brilliant tales of crime, deduction, and suspense, featuring works by masters of the Golden Age of detective fiction such as Dorothy L. Sayers, John Dickson Carr, Ngaio Marsh, John Rhode, and Christianna Brand. Among the highlights are intriguing stories such as The House of the Poplars, Grand Guignol, Boots, The Yellow S...

First published in 1958, A Penknife in My Heart tells the story of how two men - total strangers - establish the perfect alibis by arranging to switch victims. Ned Stowe will kill Stuart Hammer's wealthy uncle for which service Hammer is to eliminate Stowe's neurotic wife, Helena. The men plot and the plan - with its horrifyingly simple premise - is solidified...'More convincing, more detailedly thought-through than Highsmith's [Strangers on a Train].' - The N...

Mr Prendergast and the Orange by Nicholas Blake is a cleverly constructed detective story that blends psychological insight with the traditional puzzle of the Golden Age. Featuring the astute private investigator Mr. Prendergast, Blake delivers a story where observation, deduction, and careful reasoning uncover a murder hidden beneath the veneer of ordinary life. The mystery begins with a seemingly trivial clue — an orange — whose unusual presence sets off a chain of events that leads to m...

In the West of Ireland in 1939 a young novelist rents a lonely cottage to write his new book in peace.Almost at once, and without great resistance, he is seduced by the wife of the local squire. Harriet's husband is an older man - hot-tempered, impoverished, gone to seed - who once fought famously against the Black and Tans. Soon this eternal triangle becomes a local scandal, and the atmosphere of threat and violence, intensified by the approaching war in Europe, leads to a horrifi...

The Golden Age Mystery Collection: Classic Detective Stories (25 Books) is a rich and captivating anthology that brings together some of the finest works from the Golden Age of detective fiction — a period celebrated for its intricate puzzles, fair-play clues, and brilliantly crafted mysteries. This illustrated volume features twenty-five classic stories by many of the genre’s most distinguished authors. Among the highlights are Agatha Christie’s psychologically subtle The Wife of the Keni...

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 16 tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form.The Golden Age of detective fiction had begun inauspiciously with the publication of E.C. Bentley’s schismatic Trent’s Last Case in 1913, but it hit its stride in 1920 when both Agatha Christie and Freeman Wills Crofts – latterly crowned queen and king of the genre – had crime novels published for the first ...

"I am going to kill a man. I don't know his name, I don't know where he lives, I have no idea what he looks like. But I am going to find him and kill him ..." So commences this classic story of retribution. Felix Lane is bent upon revenge for the death of his young son in a hit-and-run accident, and uses all the knowledge he has gained as a well-known crime writer to track down the culprit. The plot features amateur sleuth Nigel Strangeways, a character modelled on W.H. Auden.A mode...