. . It's the perfect time to curl up in front of a crackling fire with these wintry whodunits from the legendary Agatha Christie. But beware of deadly snowdrifts and dangerous gifts, poisoned meals and mysterious guests. This chilling compendium of short stories—some featuring beloved detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple—is an essential omnibus for Christie fans and the perfect holiday gift for mystery lovers.INCLUDES THE STORIES:- Three Blind Mice- The Chocolate Box- A Christmas Tragedy- The Coming of Mr Quin- The Clergyman's Daughter/Red House- The Plymouth Express- Problem at Pollensa Bay- Sanctuary- The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge- The World's End- The Manhood of Edward Robinson- Christmas Adventure

    Left empty for years, and even their deceased uncle chose to live in a different house, far away from this particular property. But the ramshackle old house, with its rambling charm is the perfect setting for a much-needed holiday for siblings Peter, Celia and Margaret, who have inherited it from their uncle. It wasn't the lack of modern conveniences that made a summer spent at the ancient priory mansion such an unsettling experience. It was the supposed ghost... or whatever was groaning in the cellars and roaming the countryside around Framley Village after dark.But when a murder victim is discovered in the drafty Priory halls, the once unconcerned trio begins to fear that the ghostly rumors are true and they are not alone after all! But traditionally ghosts don't commit murder. And in this case, the things which go bump in the night are deadly. With a killer on the loose, will they find themselves the next victims or will they uncover the true in time? Does the key to the crime lie in the realm of the supernaturalr? Or is the explanation much more down to earth with a more corporeal culpritl of flesh and blood?

    Inexplicably, Holmes agrees to help, even though the Prime Minister of England and his cabinet need Holmes to solve a murder case that could threaten a high-stakes meeting with John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan. The clock is ticking. Holmes will need all his physical and deductive powers to preserve innocent lives and prevent political and economic chaos on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet even Holmes cannot foresee how much the ultimate outcome will depend on a mother's sacrifice, a daughter's hopes, and on the true identity of the last Moriarty.

    He also becomes attentive to one woman's (and suspect's) charms. But charm gives way to terror when Holmes goes up against an arsonist called the Red Demon.

    LovecraftNew Tales of Terror!What would happen if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's peerless detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his allies were to find themselves faced with Lovecraftian mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but beyond sanity itself. In this collection of original tales, twenty of today's cutting-edge writers provide answers to that burning question.Contributors include Neil Gaiman, Brian Stableford, Poppy Z. Bright, Barbara Hambly, Steve Perry, and Caitlin R. Kierman. These and other masters of horror, mystery, fantasy and science fiction spin dark tales within a terrifyingly surreal universe.Includes the Hugo Award-winning story A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman.Cover design: David StevensonCover Illustration: John Jude Palencar

    When a student bearing a striking resemblance to artists' renderings of Jesus Christ is found murdered -- by crucifixion -- in London's Jewish ghetto, 19th-century private detective Barker must hire an assistant to help him solve the sinister case. Out of all who answer an ad for a position with "some danger involved," the eccentric and enigmatic Barker chooses downtrodden Llewelyn, a gutsy young man whose murky past includes recent stints at both an Oxford college and an Oxford prison. As Llewelyn learns the ropes of his position, he is drawn deeper and deeper into Barker's peculiar world of vigilante detective work, as well as the dark heart of London's teeming underworld. Together they pass through chophouses, stables, and clandestine tea rooms, tangling with the early Italian mafia, a mad professor of eugenics, and other shadowy figures, inching ever closer to the shocking truth behind the murder.

    Watson, M.D., Late Indian Army, painted upon the lid." Tantalizing information, this - mentioned in passing by the good doctor, perhaps literature's most celebrated chronicler, at the start of one of the adventures he shared with the immortal Holmes. Yet, until now, the contents of this alluring repository have been completely lost to literary history. Out of the blue - in 1939, in rooms at All Saints College, Oxford - a certain Miss Adelina McWhirter paid a visit to another Dr. John Watson, leaving behind, after an exchange of money, a beat-up metal box full of old papers. But the volatile political circumstances of the day (the bombing of Britain, etc.) kept this second Watson, himself a Sherlockian scholar, from then publishing what he had fortuitously acquired. There are no such obstacles in the present day. And thanks to Aubrey B. Watson, heir to the precious cache, seven heretofore untold cases investigated by Sherlock Holmes with the assistance of the always estimable Watson can be laid before the expectant public: The Case of the Vanishing Head-Waiter, The Case of the Amateur Mendicants, The Case of the Remarkable Worm, The Case of the Exalted Client, The Case of the Notorious Canary-Trainer, The Case of the Itinerant Yeggman, and The Case of the Abandoned Lighthouse. It would be impossible to exaggerate the thrill that each reader will experience when encountering these extraordinary rediscoveries. Most important, each reader will also come to realize why the original Watson decided that these utterly engrossing files needed, at the time of their occurrence, to remain...secret. Until now.

     She is terrified – but begs Poirot not to find and punish her killer. Once she is dead, she insists, justice will have been done.Later that night, Poirot learns that three guests at a fashionable London Hotel have been murdered, and a cufflink has been placed in each one’s mouth. Could there be a connection with the frightened woman? While Poirot struggles to put together the bizarre pieces of the puzzle, the murderer prepares another hotel bedroom for a fourth victim...

    Blackmail on Christmas Eve.A missing jewel discovered in a very festive hiding place.A body slumped in a chair on Christmas morning, still listening to carols.The midnight theft of a gift intended for a saint. Crime doesn't take a holiday, so these - and many more - are the puzzles that make up Murder under the Christmas Tree, a collection of festive mysteries featuring fictional sleuths from Lord Peter Wimsey to Sherlock Holmes, Cadfael to Father Brown. This is the very best of Christmas murder and mayhem - so settle into your armchair, put another log on the fire and take a bite of your mince pie. Just make sure it's not poisoned...

    2012 sees The Crime of The Empty House where the former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Undershaw, lies in disrepair and the threat of being destroyed forever. Commissioned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, Undershaw was witness to the creation of many of his most famous works, including The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Return of Sherlock Holmes. It is a building deserving preservation for the British nation, and indeed the world, for all time. Sadly, the building is currently under threat from the property developers who wish to divide the house into 3 separate units and build a further 5 alongside. Planning permission for development has already been approved by Waverley Borough Council. The Undershaw Preservation Trust (UPT), with Mark Gatiss [BBC Sherlock] as Patron, is dedicated to the preservation and protection of this important literary building and are campaigning to get this decision overturned, so the house can be restored to its original glory and enjoyed as the single dwelling Sir Arthur Conan Doyle intended it to be. This book is a collection of short Sherlock Holmes stories and poems written by fans from around the world in support of the Save Undershaw campaign - even the cover has been designed by fans. Royalties from the book go towards the UPT to preserve this wonderful house for future generations of Doyleans, Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts and literary fans of all kinds. More information on the Save Undershaw campaign can be found on their website: www.saveundershaw.com.

    Stories are told from the point of view of famous associates of the great detective, including Lestrade, Mrs Hudson, Sherlock himself, Irene Adler, Langdale Pike, and of course, Professor Moriarty...

    After learning from the pontiff that several priceless cameos that could prove compromising to the church, and perhaps determine the future of the newly unified Italy, have been stolen, Holmes is asked to recover them. In a parallel story, Michelangelo, the toast of Rome in 1501 after the unveiling of his Pieta, is commissioned by Pope Alexander VI, the last of the Borgia pontiffs, with creating the cameos that will bedevil Holmes and the papacy four centuries later. For fans of Conan Doyle's immortal detective, the game is always afoot. However, the great detective has never encountered an adversary quite like the one with whom he crosses swords in "The Vatican Cameos.."

    The first of an exciting new series of novels.London, September 1666. The Great Fire rages through the city, consuming everything in its path. Even the impregnable cathedral of St. Paul’s is engulfed in flames and reduced to ruins. Among the crowds watching its destruction is James Marwood, son of a disgraced printer, and reluctant government informer.In the aftermath of the fire, a semi-mummified body is discovered in the ashes of St. Paul’s, in a tomb that should have been empty. The man’s body has been mutilated and his thumbs have been tied behind his back.Under orders from the government, Marwood is tasked with hunting down the killer across the devastated city. But at a time of dangerous internal dissent and the threat of foreign invasion, Marwood finds his investigation leads him into treacherous waters – and across the path of a determined, beautiful and vengeful young woman.

    There is only one man who can solve the case, Sherlock Holmes. With his bionic side-kick Doctor Watson, and his brilliant and lethal sister, Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock unravels a mystery that will shake the foundation of the British Empire.Adapted by P.C. Martin from the short story, 'The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (c.1912), 'Steampunk Holmes' is a convergence of one of Doyle's favorite Sherlock Holmes stories with Jules Vern 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' (c.1870)

    For in vice-ridden Whitechapel, three female paupers of dubious morals have been murdered, their bodies hideously defiled. And in taunting letters their killer announces his intention to strike again—and signs his name "Jack the Ripper."As conceived by the award-winning mystery writer Michael Dibdin, The Last Sherlock Holmes Story is a brilliantly inventive updating of the Holmes legend. Pitting master detective against archfiend, steely rationalism against satanic depravity, Dibdin gives us a Holmes who is more complex, more human, and ultimately more fascinating than the one imagined by Arthur Conan Doyle. Here is a riveting combination of history and fiction that confirms Dibdin's reputation as one of the most imaginative and atmospheric crime writers now at work.(back cover)