Book picks similar to
The DI Skelgill Series Books 11-13: compelling British crime mysteries by Bruce Beckham
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The Floating Admiral
The Detection ClubAnthony Berkeley - 1931
But when an old sailor lands a rowing boat containing a fresh corpse with a stab wound to the chest, the Inspector's investigation immediately comes up against several obstacles. The vicar, whose boat the body was found in, is clearly withholding information, and the victim's niece has disappeared. There is clearly more to this case than meets the eye - even the identity of the victim is called into doubt. Inspector Rudge begins to wonder just how many people have contributed to this extraordinary crime and whether he will ever unravel it. . .In 1931 Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and 10 other crime writers from the newly formed Detection Club collaborated in publishing a unique crime novel. In a literary game of consequences, each author would write one chapter, leaving G.K. Chesterton to write a typically paradoxical prologue and Anthony Berkeley to tie up all the loose ends. In addition, all of the authors provided their own solutions in sealed envelopes, all of which appeared at the end of the book, with Agatha Christie's ingenious conclusion acknowledged at the time to be 'enough to make the book worth buying on its own'. The authors of this novel are G.K. Chesterton, Canon Victor Whitechurch, G.D.H. Cole and Margaret Cole, Henry Wade, Agatha Christie, John Rhode, Milward Kennedy, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Edgar Jepson, Clemence Dane and Anthony Berkeley.©1931, 2011 The Detection Club (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers
Murder in Amaravati
Sharath Komarraju - 2012
Men wanted her; women hated her; while some men wanted to keep their liaisons hidden.But who had the motive, the means and opportunity to kill her?Padmavati charged by the hour - her laughs, her understanding, her empathy, her advice - everything was available only in return for payment, which made her,in the Sarpanch's eyes, a little more than a trader. 'Look,' the priest Krishna Shastri said, pointing to the letters around him . 'Satyam, Shekhar, Seetaramaiah - how many men did she have in her grasp? How many? 'The onus of solving the case puts head constable Venkat reddy in a quandary. He has never even solved petty crimes and here he is faced with murder!If this were a novel, the constable thought vacantly, would the reader think of him as a worthy detective? Would anyone bother reading about a bungling, confused constable pretending to be a detective? The equation before him is simple; seven suspects,seven motives, one murder.
London Large - Bound by Blood (Detective Hawkins #2)
Roy Robson - 2016
Inspector Harry ‘H’ Hawkins, only just back at work after a mental and physical breakdown, investigates the crime in the only way he knows how; he embarks on a full-blooded search for the truth. But the truth can be brutal As the murder investigation gathers pace H discovers his own son has been sucked into the dark world of organised crime. A traumatized young man; and a traumatized father H's hard-boiled instinct is to fight, to protect the things he loves. But when his son becomes his enemy his world view is shattered. How can son be turned against father? H’s gripping mission is no longer a search for a killer; but a quest to save his boy, and exact a terrible vengeance against the man who has corrupted him. And his search is a search for a deeper truth, a truth that will stretch family loyalty - and the love of a father for his son - to its very limits.
Blood Is Thicker than Water…Or Is It?
Richardson's First Case
Basil Thomson - 1933
recognized him and smiled. “That was a great case you brought us. You’ll be interested to hear that it is a case of mur-r-der!”For eight years Basil Thomson headed the famous C.I.D., New Scotland Yard. He knew the Yard inside out. Now in this tale of mystery and detection we are taken behind the scenes. We are shown the greatest detection machine in the world in motion, and see how the Yard tracked down its man.Stand, then, with young P.C. Richardson on the misty corner of Baker Street, while the traffic of the city swings by, and fate lays at his feet the beginning of his career. Out of the fog brakes shriek, a big car jolts to a stop, and from beneath the wheels the crowd disentangles a bundle of old clothes, within which is a man quite dead; a man who had said to someone, “Very well, then; I’ll call a policeman”—and was killed. Work with him to the ingenious solution, when he takes from his pocket the clue holding the fate of a human life.Richardson’s First Case was originally published in 1933. This new edition, the first in over seventy years, features an introduction by crime novelist Martin Edwards, author of acclaimed genre history The Golden Age of Murder.
The Sovereign Order of Monte Cristo: Newly Discovered Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Special Edition) (The Count of Monte Cristo)
Holy Ghost Writer - 2013
It includes exhilarating new adventures, characters, and ideas, carrying the reader through books I and II and into book III of an ever-expanding new series based on the classic. The author consulted the original French as well as the oldest English translations of The Count of Monte Cristo, but the style of the retelling, in the distinctive voice of Sherlock Holmes, constitutes a new work. Books II and III, incorporated herein, are wholly original sequels although they include characters from the original classic. The author of The Sovereign Order of Monte Cristo also consulted a more current 2003 translation by Robin Buss of the The Count of Monte Cristo, which helped to inspire both this work and the first sequel in this series, The Sultan of Monte Cristo. The most recent (2003) unabridged translation by Buss is indispensable to fully appreciate the original story. Those who have already had the pleasure of reading The Sultan of Monte Cristo will certainly appreciate the unique way in which the Holy Ghost Writer has expanded the original story without the help of anyone (except perhaps from the ghost of Dumas himself). While The Sultan of Monte Cristo has been enjoyed by thousands as a stand-alone work, this work is an even easier read of the original classic, as it has a condensed version of the original story retold in the voice of Sherlock Holmes.
Death Is Not the End
Ian Rankin - 1998
His pursuit takes him through an Edinburgh beyond the tartan tearooms and cobbled streets of the tourist brochures, a modern city boasting a variety of criminals and their victims. As Rebus contemplates the lurking immortality of his own city, Rankin offers readers page-turning suspense and astonishing literary grace.
Retribution / Calypso / Without Remorse
Blair Howard - 2017
Books 7, 8 and 9. Now you can continue the ride: almost 900 pages of murder, mystery, sex, corruption and revenge, all the ingredients for three mind blowing whodunits. From murder and revenge in RETRIBUTION, to murder and corruption in the Caribbean in CALYPSO, to the ultimate whodunit: the 15-year-old cold case of the murder of Peter Nicholson in WITHOUT REMORSE, they will keep you turning the pages late into the night - you won't be able to put them down! Anyone who is a fan of Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, or Tami Hoag will love Harry Starke.
Who is Harry Starke? Dark, Dangerous, Driven. Scroll Up. Grab a Copy, and Find Out.
Fallen Into the Pit
Ellis Peters - 1951
But none of his students believes he is guilty, including Dominic Felse, who discovered the body. Dominic resolves to discover the true murderer.
Say It with Poison
Ann Granger - 1991
But she hardly expected it to include murder, blackmail and unrequited love. Or to involve a certain Chief Inspector Markby, a middle-aged divorcee with an emotional history as unfortunate as her own.A material witness to the only case of murder the Cotswold village of Westerfield has ever seen, Meredith also finds herself acting as mother-confessor to the bride-to-be, who is clearly not telling the whole truth about her involvement with the dead man. Steering a path between her duty to the police and loyalty to her cousin's family is not easy; even for someone with Meredith's considerable diplomatic skills. And especially as her personal enquiries into events in Westerfield start to disinter past affections Meredith would far rather leave buried - and to provoke new ones she's not at all sure she can cope with ...
The Case of the Gilded Fly
Edmund Crispin - 1944
Center-stage is the beautiful, malicious Yseut, a mediocre actress with a stellar talent for destroying men. Rounding out the cast are more than a few of her past and present conquests, and the women who love them. And watching from the wings is Professor Gervase Fen-scholar, wit, and fop extraordinaire-who would rather solve crimes than expound on English literature. When Yseut is murdered, Fen finally gets his wish. Gilded Fly, originally published in 1944, was both Fen's first outing and the debut of the pseudonymous Crispin (in reality, composer Bruce Montgomery).
Lord Peter Views the Body
Dorothy L. Sayers - 1928
Sayers reveals a gruesome, grotesque but absolutely bewitching side rarely shown in Lord Peter's full-length adventures.Lord Peter views the body in 12 tantalizing and bizarre ways in this outstanding collection. He deals with such marvels as the man with copper fingers, Uncle Meleager's missing will, the cat in the bag, the footsteps that ran, the stolen stomach, the man without a face...and with such clues as cyanide, jewels, a roast chicken and a classic crossword puzzle.
Murderous Greed
Arun K. Nair - 2017
The very same morning, Karthik, an up and coming young businessman is found shot dead in his car in the middle of the road — the only witness to the incident being his employee Drishti who was in the car with him at the time. The responsibility of getting behind the root of both incidents falls on Inspector Satyajit, an intrepid and honest police officer, and his team who get cracking on both cases immediately. But as the investigation proceeds further, the incidents and the stories of those involved get increasingly confused and murkier. What illegal deals was Karthik involved in? Did these deals cause his untimely death? How is all this connected to the housewife who was killed the same morning? What is the part played by the mysterious Gun Club in all these events? Follow Satyajit as he attempts to uncover these dubious questions.
Samuel Pepys and the Stolen Diary
M.J. Lee - 2016
Samuel Pepys has been keeping a diary for many years; a diary that tells of all the political shenanigans he is witness to at the court of King Charles Stuart. And of all his own marital indiscretions as well. And now it has been stolen, along with his wife’s favourite locket. Samuel must get it back, or he might lose his head in the Tower. He will certainly lose his wife, who thinks he’s given her locket to his latest mistress. Enlisting the help of his friend Will Hewer, they track the locket to a fence in London, who tells them who stole it for a fee. Necklace in his pocket, Will and Samuel make their way to the young thief’s home, only to find him dead in a chair, with a curious button clasped in his hand. Will spies a man fleeing the home and gives chase, only to run into a one-armed man who steals the locket. Things are looking pretty grim, when Samuel is summoned to see the King. It seems some skulduggery is a foot in the Chatham dockyards, and King Charles sends Samuel to investigate. Leaving Will behind to find the diary, he sets off with his brother in law, Balthazar ‘Balty’ St Michel, hoping he will learn the gossip from the locals, if he stays sober long enough. No such luck… Balty soon disappears and Samuel is curious as to why so many armed guards follow him wherever he goes. Then they both end up locked in a cellar, and the only way out is to start a fire. Samuel Pepys and the Stolen Diary is a laugh out loud romp through the filthy streets of London, where hackney drivers boast of having the best seats for a hangin’ and the poet laureate Dryden rewrites his plays for the highest bidder. Filled with historical colour and clever plot turns, you’ll be cheering for Samuel and Will well after the last page is turned. Martin Lee has spent most of his adult life writing in one form or another. As a University researcher in history, he wrote pages of notes on reams of obscure topics. As a social worker with Vietnamese refugees, he wrote memoranda. And, as the creative director of an advertising agency, he has written print and press ads, TV commercials, short films and innumerable backs of cornflake packets and hotel websites. He first encountered Samuel Pepys when an auntie gave him an edited version of the diaries when he was fifteen years old. The man and his world have remained an obsession ever since. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.
The Brutal Telling / Bury Your Dead
Louise Penny - 2017
Everybody goes to Olivier's Bistro―including a stranger whose murdered body is found on the floor. When Chief Inspector Gamache is called to investigate, he is dismayed to discover that Olivier's story is full of holes. Why are his fingerprints all over the cabin that's uncovered deep in the wilderness, with priceless antiques and the dead man's blood? And what other secrets and layers of lies are buried in the seemingly idyllic village?Gamache follows a trail of clues and treasures―from first editions of Charlotte's Web and Jane Eyre to a spiderweb with a word mysteriously woven in it―into the woods and across the continent, before returning to Three Pines to confront the truth and the final, brutal telling.It is Winter Carnival in Quebec City, bitterly cold and surpassingly beautiful. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has come not to join the revels but to recover from an investigation gone hauntingly wrong. But violent death is inescapable, even in the apparent sanctuary of the Literary and Historical Society--where an obsessive historian's quest for the remains of the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, ends in murder. Could a secret buried with Champlain for nearly four hundred years be so dreadful that someone would kill to protect it?Meanwhile, Gamache is receiving disquieting letters from the village of Three Pines, where beloved Bistro owner Olivier was recently convicted of murder. "It doesn't make sense," Olivier's partner writes every day. "He didn't do it, you know."As past and present collide in this astonishing novel, Gamache must relive a terrible event from his own past before he can begin to bury his dead.
None the Wiser
Rachel Amphlett - 2020
In doing so, Mark finds out that the truth is more twisted than he could ever have imagined…None the Wiser is the first book in a new murder mystery series from USA Today bestselling author Rachel Amphlett.Praise for None the Wiser:'Fast paced with vivid characterization and clever twists, this is another winner from Rachel Amphlett” – Adrian McKinty, bestselling author of The Chain and the Sean Duffy series‘A terrific start to a new series’ – Jo Spain, bestselling author of With Our Blessing and The Confession