When a weekend party at Farthering Place is ruined by murder and the police seem flummoxed, Drew decides to look into the crime himself. With the help of his best friend, Nick Dennison, an avid mystery reader, and Madeline Parker, a beautiful and whip-smart American debutante staying as a guest, the three try to solve the mystery as a lark, using the methods from their favorite novels.Soon, financial irregularities at Drew’s stepfather’s company come to light and it’s clear that all who remain at Farthering Place could be in danger. Trying hard to remain one step ahead of the killer–and trying harder to impress Madeline–Drew must decide how far to take this game

    Vandam begins an investigation into the dead man, Albert Smith, which takes the case from the wilds of South Africa to mountains and glens of Scotland, where a near-identical crime has been perpetrated… ABOUT THE AUTHOR Freeman Wills Crofts, the ‘King of Detective Story Writers’, was one of the pre-eminent writers in the golden age of British crime fiction. Acclaimed by his contemporaries, Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler, he wrote more than 30 detective novels and was a founder member of the hugely influential DETECTIVE CLUB. Crofts’s most famous creation was Scotland Yard detective, Inspector French (‘As near the real thing as any sleuth in fiction’ THE SUNDAY TIMES). Born in Dublin, Crofts became an engineer and wrote his debut novel, THE CASK: A DETECTIVE STORY (‘An imaginatively ingenious mystery’ THE EVENING STANDARD) in 1919 during a long absence from work due to illness. He became a full-time writer in 1929 and moved to England with his wife Mary to live in Guildford. He died in 1957. PRAISE FOR FREEMAN WILLS CROFTS ‘One of the classics of modern crime fiction’ NEW YORK TIMES ‘Exactly what a detective novel should be – ingenious, lucid, reasonable, intricate and exciting’ THE DAILY TELEGRAPH ‘The author who goes from strength to strength with every book he writes. The construction is flawless’ THE DAILY MAIL ‘Yet another instance of his unfailing ingenuity’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT ‘If there is a better writer of detective stories alive, I would like to know his name’ GLASGOW CITIZEN ‘A detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts is always an event’ THE DAILY EXPRESS ‘Freeman Wills Crofts’ crimes are solved with dogged diligence and attention to detail… they seem to have improved with age.’ THE INDEPENDENT ‘Supremely good’ YORKSHIRE POST ‘Freeman Wills Crofts is the only author who gives us intricate crime in fiction as it might really be, and not as the irreflective would like it to be’ THE OBSERVER ‘Brilliant… will delight all lovers of detective fiction’ THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

    After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.But fate has other plans when Veronica thwarts her own attempted abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, who offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can reveal what he knows of the plot against her, he is found murdered—leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.

    But as sleuths in an England recovering from the Great War, they're the perfect match . . .1920: Flying in the face of convention, legendary American adventuress Beryl Helliwell never fails to surprise and shock. The last thing her adoring public would expect is that she craves some peace and quiet. The humdrum hamlet of Walmsley Parva in the English countryside seems just the ticket. And, honestly, until America comes to its senses and repeals Prohibition, Beryl has no intention of returning stateside and subjecting herself to bathtub gin.For over three decades, Edwina Davenport has lived comfortably in Walmsley Parva, but the post-World War I bust has left her in dire financial straits and forced her to advertise for a lodger. When her long-lost school chum Beryl arrives on her doorstep--actually crashes into it in her red motorcar--Edwina welcomes her old friend as her new roommate.But her idyllic hometown has a hidden sinister side, and when the two friends are drawn in, they decide to set up shop as private inquiry agents, helping Edwina to make ends meet and satisfying Beryl's thirst for adventure. Now this odd couple will need to put their heads together to catch a killer--before this sleepy English village becomes their final resting place . . .

    A spinster who lives on the sufferance of her relatives, she would certainly not presume to search the rooms of her host's son and his friend looking for evidence. Reared in the twin virtues of deference and docility, she would absolutely never think to question the imperious Duke of Kesgrave about anything, let alone how he chose to represent the incident to the local constable. And yet when she stumbles upon the bludgeoned corpse of poor Mr. Otley in the deserted library of the Skeffingtons' country house, that's exactly what she does. A Regency Cozy.

    Ursula Flowerbutton, a studious country girl, arrives for her first term anticipating nothing more sinister than days spent poring over history books in gilded libraries—and, if she’s lucky, an invitation to a ball.But when she discovers a glamorous classmate on a chaise longue with her throat cut, Ursula is catapulted into a murder investigation.Determined to bag her first scoop for the famous student newspaper Cherwell, Ursula enlists the help of trend-setting American exchange student Nancy Feingold to unravel the case. While navigating a whirl of black-tie parties and secret dining societies, the girls discover a surfeit of suspects. From broken-hearted boyfriends to snobby Sloane Rangers, lovelorn librarians to dishy dons, none can be presumed innocent—and Ursula’s investigations mean that she may be next on the murderer’s list.