Death Stops the Frolic


George Bellairs - 1944
    The infamous Alderman Harbuttle is behaving uncharacteristically playful – laughing with the assembly, singing rhymes, and leading people in a rousing game of Follow-My-Leader throughout the chapel’s winding halls.But his jubilee is cut short when the revellers find the Alderman’s murdered body in the dark recesses of the chapel, a bread knife buried to the hilt in his chest.Superintendent Nankivell of the local police force takes up the case, and his investigation quickly stirs up sinister secrets lurking within the walls of Zion Chapel. His suspect list soon proves massive, as he learns there are many people who would be happier without the sanctimonious Alderman Harbuttle around… Death Stops the Frolic was first published as Turmoil in Zion in 1943.

Dead Man's Walk: An Unofficial Inspector Morse Mystery


Antony James - 2018
     Set in 1971, Detective Sergeant Morse is confronted by two deaths along Dead Man’s Walk, which he’s sure are connected to the Oxford Martyrs of the 1550s. There are clues and red-herrings aplenty as Morse uses his detective skills to be metaphorically furlongs ahead of the field, albeit on the wrong racecourse. For Morse there is romance, an unpleasant academic with which to contend, beer in copious quantities, opera, a crossword-type clue, and even an appearance by a boy named Dexter, but above all there is a murder mystery puzzle, set against the backdrop of 1970s Oxford, which only he can solve. For those who love Oxford, the iconic Inspector Morse or even just a good old mystery, Dead Man’s Walk is a taut, entertaining tale of intrigue and delight. Antony James is a British author. A pseudonym for Antony Richards, he is the chairman of the Inspector Morse Society and was a close friend of the late Colin Dexter. He is also an actor with the Irregular Special Players, who regularly produce Sherlock Holmes-based plays.

The Loudwater Mystery


Edgar Jepson - 1920
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Murder in the Goblins Playground (DCI Arthur Ravyn Mystery, #1)


Ralph E. Vaughan - 2016
    Located deep in Red Cap Woods, it has long been the site of weird events, from pagan rites to human sacrifice by secret devil cults. When local rowdy Allan Cutter staggers into the snug bar of the Three Crowns pub and dies, old fears that have lain dormant for ages come to the fore. His death is quickly followed by the murder of a developer who planned to destroy Red Cap Woods. Villagers believe dark powers are awakening, that the murderous elves reputed to dwell in the woods will again dip their caps in human blood. Into this maelstrom of fear and emotion come DCI Arthur Ravyn and DS Leo Stark. As the bodies continue to mount, they discover it will take all their combined skills, intellect and courage to solve the mysterious deaths, keep the villagers from panicking, and not get sacked by powers even more inimical than those lurking in the eldritch depths of Red Cap Woods.

Long Man's Shadow


Anne Wilkinson - 2016
    This is useful as she has ‘downsized’ to a flat in Stoke Newington and needs to organise her ‘tat’. While sorting through her boxes, she comes across one containing photos, labelled the Brittan albums, which she had bought with her late husband at a car boot sale in Essex 10 years earlier. The photos were taken in the 1930s. On a foray to Sussex to stay with her sister, a body is discovered. It is in a well at Willmans House, Fairlingly, where renovation work is being carried out. Apparently the female body has been there some time. Our amateur detective realises that this is where the photographs in the albums were taken. Using her new-found skills from her evening classes on family history, she begins to research the families in the photos, the Brittans and, their close neighbours, the Jeavingtons. Gradually their profiles begin to emerge. However, in Sussex, despite the help of her sister and the local vicar in unravelling the mystery, there is unexpected local opposition to her enquiries. Why so many years after a murder had been committed should there be so much local interest? As Mrs Stonier digs deeper, the questions multiply… Anne Wilkinson is a retired marine lawyer with a PhD in the history of amateur gardening, on which she has written three books. She has had a life-long interest in crime fiction and true crime stories, and in her own fiction she combines her experience of genealogical research with rediscovered crimes in a unique way. Anne's other interests include gardening, cooking and vintage and retro antique collecting, all of which have appeared, or will soon appear, in her books.

Weekend with Death


Patricia Wentworth - 1941
    For the past five years, Emily Case has lived in Italy as companion to a wealthy aristocrat. She tells Sarah an incredible tale of being entrusted with a package by a stranger dying of a stab wound. Soon afterward, on the train to London, Sarah discovers the selfsame package in her own handbag. The next day, she learns Emily has been murdered.   The police are asking all potential witnesses to come forward, but Sarah is afraid to lose her position as secretary to the president of the New Psychical Society. Then she makes an alarming discovery. Forced to rely on a seductive stranger she isn’t sure she can trust, Sarah must outwit someone who will do anything to retrieve the contents of the mysterious package . . . someone who has killed before and won’t hesitate to strike again.   Beloved crime writer Patricia Wentworth layers romance, adventure, and gothic intrigue in this exciting thriller.

Something Wicked


Elizabeth Ferrars - 1983
    Nor did he expect to find himself cut off from all mains services as the result of a blizzard. And he certainly did not expect to discover in his cold, dark living-room the body of the village's second murder victim. "A psychological thriller you will want to finish!

The Spotted Cat and Other Mysteries from Inspector Cockrill's Casebook


Christianna Brand - 2002
    The wizened, bird-like Inspector Cockrill of the Kent police starred in Green for Danger, one of the greatest detective novels to emerge from World War II, but The Spotted Cat is the first collection of all of the short stories about him. Five of the stories have never previously appeared in a Brand volume, and one of them is published here for the first time. The book also includes a genuine find -- a previously unpublished three-act detective drama featuring Cockrill.

Sherlock Holmes and the Greyfriars School Mystery


Val Andrews - 1997
     Dr Watson asks for the help of his retired detective chum, Sherlock Holmes, to help his old school master and solve the mystery of a missing manuscript at the Greyfriars School. Tensions rise as Holmes and Watson are also needed by the local inspector, Grimes, to discover who is behind a local jewel theft and murder. However, things are not always what they seem and Holmes unlocks the key to more secrets than originally anticipated as the desperation to retrieve the manuscript grows. More mysteries unravel as what seemed like a simple case of schoolboy rebellion has turned into a story of mystery and excitement packed with plot twists and questions. Will Holmes be able to succeed against rebellious school boys and catch the culprit? Is there something more sinister walking the halls of Greyfriars School? And why is Dr Locke really so desperate to have his manuscript returned? What could it be hiding? Full of excitement, tension and school-boy antics, ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Greyfriars School Mystery’ shows that the great detective is still top of his game. 'A treat for any fan of the master detective.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of 'Cold Kill'. Val Andrews (15 February 1926 – 12 December 2006) was a music hall artist, ventriloquist and writer. Andrews was a prolific writer on magic, having published over 1000 books and booklets from 1952. He also authored Sherlock Holmes pastiches and Houdini's novels.

Cleek Of Scotland Yard: Detective Stories (1914)


Thomas W. Hanshew - 1914
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Number Seventeen


Louis Tracy - 1915
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Death in White Pyjamas / Death Knows No Calendar


John Bude - 2020
    With competitive tension in the air between the three actresses, Clara, Angela and Deirdre, the spell is broken when Deirdre is found murdered in the grounds wearing, for some unknown reason, white pyjamas.Death Knows no Calendar: A shooting in a locked artist's studio. Four suspects; at least two of whom are engaged in an affair. An exuberant and energetic case for Major Boddy.

Bean Counter


T.A. Clark - 2016
     When the head of Nick Rohmer’s Miami accounting firm is found dead after a suspicious accident, Nick finds his quiet, comfortable, boring life slipping out of his control. With most of the firm’s management either on vacation, sick, or dead, Nick is thrust into the unfamiliar position of actually having some responsibility. The weight does not sit easily on his shoulders. He’s relieved when the instructions from the Chicago head office are – don’t do anything until we get there. This he can do. He tries to stick to his ‘do nothing’ instructions even as the firm’s largest client threatens to jump ship. But Nick’s plan of inaction is short-lived when he is convinced to try to save the business. He secures an invitation to dinner on the private island of the mega-wealthy, and highly dysfunctional, Keene family. Things quickly go from bad to disastrous when another dead body shows up, and Nick finds he's the prime suspect. As he gets sucked into the mystery, Nick’s focus quickly changes from trying to save the business to trying to save his skin.

El Camino del Rio: A Mystery


Jim Sanderson - 1998
    Border Patrol agent Dolph Martinez to the corpse of a man executed in the desert…a murder that shatters the fragile calm in a dusty, Texas town. His investigation pits him against the Mexican Army, the DEA, big-money Houston real estate interests, a Catholic nun who practices voodoo, a charismatic revolutionary wanted on both sides of the border, and perhaps deadliest of all, the demons from his own, tortured past.

Coffin, Scarcely Used


Colin Watson - 1958
    Cause of death: pneumonia. But he is scarcely cold in his coffin before Detective Inspector Purbright, affable and annoyingly polite, must turn out again to examine the death of Carobleat’s neighbour, Marcus Gwill, former prop. of the local rag, the Citizen. This time it looks like foul play, unless a surfeit of marshmallows had led the late and rather unlamented Mr Gwill to commit suicide by electrocution. (‘Power without responsibility’, murmurs Purbright.) How were the dead men connected, both to each other and to a small but select band of other town worthies? Purbright becomes intrigued by a stream of advertisements Gwill was putting in the Citizen, for some very oddly named antique items… Witty and a little wicked, Colin Watson’s tales offer a mordantly entertaining cast of characters and laugh-out-loud wordplay. What people are saying about the Flaxborough series: “Colin Watson wrote the best English detective stories ever. They work beautifully as whodunnits but it's really the world he creates and populates ... and the quality of the writing which makes these stories utterly superior.”“The Flaxborough Chronicles are satires on the underbelly of English provincial life, very well observed, very funny and witty, written with an apt turn of phrase ... A complete delight.” “If you have never read Colin Watson - start now. And savour the whole series.” “Light-hearted, well written, wickedly observed and very funny - the Flaxborough books are a joy. Highly recommended.” “How English can you get? Watson's wry humour, dotty characters, baddies who are never too bad, plots that make a sort of sense. Should I end up on a desert island Colin Watson's books are the ones I'd want with me.” “A classic of English fiction... Yes, it is a crime novel, but it is so much more. Wonderful use of language, wry yet sharp humour and a delight from beginning to end.” “Colin Watson threads some serious commentary and not a little sadness and tragedy within his usual excellent satire on small town morality and eccentricities.” “Re-reading it now, I am struck by just how many laugh-out-loud moments it contains. A beautifully written book.” “As always, hypocricy and skulduggery are rife, and the good do not necessarily emerge triumphant. Set aside plenty of time to read this book - you won't want to put it down once you've started it!” “Colin Watson writes in such an understated, humorous way that I follow Inspector Purbright's investigation with a smile on my face from start to finish.” “If you enjoy classic mysteries with no graphic violence and marvellously well drawn characters then give the Flaxborough series a try - you will not be disappointed.” Editorial reviews: “Watson has an unforgivably sharp eye for the ridiculous.” New York Times“Flaxborough is Colin Watson's quiet English town whose outward respectability masks a seething pottage of greed, crime and vice ... Mr Watson wields a delightfully witty pen dripped in acid.Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1788420152