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

    First in the Anthony Bathurst series.

    Arthur Calgary discovers that he alone could have provided an alibi in a scandalous murder trial. It ended in the conviction of Jacko Argyle. The victim was Jacko's own mother, and to make matters worse, he died in prison. But the young man's innocence means that someone else killed the Argyle matriarch, and would certainly kill again to remain in the shadows. Shaded in the moral ambiguity of murder, the provocative psychological puzzler of guilt, vengeance, and blood secrets is among Agatha Christie's personal favorites.

    Why had Sir Jervis wanted him to promise never to move the ancient megalithic stones and why did no one even know how many there were? Surely old Susan Bowyer knew--- she was nearly one hundred and she knew everything about the village. And perhaps her great-granddaughter, young Susan, knew something, at one moment a shy village maid, the next a sophisticated young woman. Then one night a wall in the queer old library moved and Anthony found himself on the trail of a mystery that exceeded his wildest imagining. Mystery, adventure, and romance combine in Miss Wentworth's most sparkling manner.

    But the following morning he had seemingly vanished into thin air. Now Scotland Yard are struggling to find evidence of foul play in the absence of tangible clues. A national newspaper is offering a reward for information about the Minister’s disappearance - whether Bygrave be dead or alive. Anthony “Algernon” Vereker, Lord Bygrave’s friend and executor, joins Scotland Yard in their investigation of the mystery. So begins the first of five ingenious and effervescent detective novels featuring Vereker, an amiable and eccentric artist with a razor-sharp mind. Missing or Murdered (1929), is republished here for the first time in over 70 years. It includes a new introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.‘This is not only a detective story of considerable ingenuity, but it is also a well-written tale with good characterisation."Times Literary Supplement

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

    In the manner typical of the Golden Age whodunnit, the solution is only presented in the final pages of the novel. Throughout the book, an amateur sleuth and a Scotland Yard detective vie with each other to solve the riddle, with only one of them successful in the end. It should be noted that Was It Murder? remained Hilton's only detective novel-a brief youthful foray into crime fiction he shares with writers such as C. S. Forester (Payment Deferred, 1926; Plain Murder, 1930) and C. P. Snow (Death Under Sail, 1932). Plot summary:Oakington is one of the lesser-known public schools in England, and Dr Roseveare, its headmaster, has been trying hard for seven years to improve its reputation. When, in the winter term of 1927-28, one of the pupils is killed in his sleep by an old gas fitting falling down from the ceiling he contacts Colin Revell, an Old Boy, to discreetly investigate the matter. Not entirely convinced that there was no foul play involved but unable to pin down a motive on anyone, Revell leaves again after a few weeks, and most of the evidence is destroyed by the installation of electricity in the whole building. A few months later Revell is shocked to learn that the deceased boy's brother has also died under mysterious circumstances-he seems to have jumped into the school's indoor swimming pool late at night after the water had been drained-and travels to Oakington of his own accord. Now it turns out that the closest relative of the two brothers, who have been orphans for years, is actually a teacher at Oakington, and that he stands to inherit a small fortune. At the same time Revell falls in love with that teacher's beautiful young wife. source: Wikipedia

    The Detection Club gets away with murder in this compendium of crime.

    Sayers's legions of fans, The Complete Stories is the ultimate collectible. This delightfully gruesome collection captures all of Sayers's short stories in one volume. The tantalizing puzzles and baffling cases will provide mystery lovers with a sumptuous feast of criminal doings and all those amusing and appalling things that happen on the way to the gallows.LORD PETER WIMSEY STORIES --The abominable history of the man with copper fingers --The entertaining espisode of the article in question --The fascinating problem of Uncle Meleager's will --The fantastic horror of the cat in the bag --The unprincipled affair of the practical joker --The undignified melodrama of the bone of contention --The vindictive story of the footsteps that ran --The bibulous business of a matter of taste --The learned adventure of the dragon's head --The piscatorial farce of the stolen stomach --The unsolved puzzle of the man with no face --The adventurous exploit of the cave of Ali Baba --The image in the mirror --The incredible elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey --The queen's square --The necklace of pearls --In the teeth of the evidence --Absolutely elsewhere --Striding folly --The haunted policeman --Talboys --MONTAGUE EGG STORIES --The poisoned dow '08 --Sleuths on the scent --Murder in the morning --One too many --Murder at Pentecost --Maher-shalal-hashbaz --A shot at goal --Dirt cheap --Bitter almonds --False weight --The professor's manuscript --OTHER STORIES --The man who knew how --The fountain plays --The milk-bottles --Dilemma --An arrow o'er the house --Scrawns --Nebuchadnezzar --The inspiration of Mr. Budd --Blood sacrifice --Suspicion --The leopard lady --The Cyprian cat

    But darkness brings death and Hercule Poirot has to untangle family strife, love and suspicious visitors tangle in order to clarify the murderer and prevent disaster.

    All the classic ingredients are there: Christmas decorations, tea and cake, a faithful butler, a foreigner, snow falling and an interesting cast of characters thrown together. The murders and detective work are far from conventional though ...

    Morris do when he thinks someone might rat him out? He gets rid of them. Actually, it's surprisingly easy, he discovers. A talent he never knew he had. A skill he decides to pursue…

    When his six guests find him at the tiller of his yacht with a smile on his face and a gunshot through his heart, all six fall under suspicion in this, C P Snow’s first novel.

    As head of a fine household and guardian of both the morals and finances of the man she chose to marry, she finds her husband was, and perhaps still is, a killer.

    He saw at once that Mr. Wynter was beyond mortal aid.Gregory Wynter is shot dead through the window of his dressing room. There is no apparent motive for the crime, and it seems impossible for the murderer to have escaped before the police arrive. The dead man's brother, Austin, enlists the help of Christopher and Vivienne Perrins, a brother-and-sister team of private investigators.In this classic puzzler, the Perrins piece together the complex relationships within the Wynter household and beyond. What they discover leads surprisingly to romance, not to mention the unravelling of an "impossible" murder which also involves a box of poisoned chocolates . . .Murder at Monk's Barn was originally published in 1931. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Tony Medawar.