"Nobody would have murdered him," Miss Lavinia cried. "Everybody liked John "
"I'm afraid it is evident that someone did not."

The note left beside Dr. John Bastow's corpse simply read: "It was the man with the dark beard."

Dr. Bastow hadn't approved of his daughter Hilary's fiancE. So when Hilary's father is found shot dead inside his own office, the door-key turned from the inside, the fiancE Basil Wilton becomes a chief suspect for Scotland Yard. Yet how could the crime have been engineered?

Now an important lacquered box is missing;...

"Owing to the sudden death of Miss Charmian Karslake this theatre is closed until further notice. Money for tickets already booked will be refunded."

Who killed Charmian Karslake, the famous American actress, on the night of the ball at Hepton Abbey? Who was the mysterious Peter Hailsham who had been present at the ball and had since vanished into thin air? What was his connection, if any, with the respectable County family of Penn-Moreton at whose house the murder had taken place?

How Inspector Stoddart and his assistant Harbord solve these questions, and the...

"I cannot understand why Mr. Bechcombe apparently offered no resistance. His hand-bell, his speaking-tube, the telephone--all were close at hand. It looks as though he had recognized his assassin and had no fear of him."

The corner house of Crow's Inn Square was the most dignified set of solicitors' chambers imaginable. But this monument to law and order nonetheless becomes the scene of murder - when the distinguished lawyer Mr. Bechcombe, despite giving strict instructions not to be disturbed, is strangled in his own office.

Inspector Furnival of Scotland Yard has...

Protruding from the dead woman's breast was the gold and jewelled dagger she had shown them half an hour before. And, looking horribly incongruous among the laces of her fichu, a deep stain was spreading.

Elderly cantankerous widow Lady Anne Daventry summons a private detective, Bruce Cardyn, to her London home. He is tasked to find out one thing: just who is trying to kill her?

Any number of relations have a financial interest in her death. Then there is Lady Anne's recently dismissed private secretary, her lady's maid and the butler...

Despite Cardyn's...

The body lay face downwards in a foot of water at the bottom of the ditch. Up to the present it has not been identified. But a card was found in the pocket with the name of -

The grisly discovery was overshadowed in the public imagination by Derby Day, the most prestigious event in the English horse-racing calendar. But Peep o' Day, the popular favourite for the Derby and owned by the murdered man, won't run now. Under Derby rules, the death means automatic disqualification.

Did someone find an ingenious if ruthless way to stop the horse from competing? Or does the...

"Early this morning a gruesome discovery was made by a gardener employed at Holford Hall in Loamshire..."

Robert Saunderson's murdered body is found in the summer house at Lord Medchester's country mansion. Some crystal beads, broken off a neckace and found on the scene, form the primary clue. But where is the necklace, and whose could it be?

Detective Inspector Stoddart and his assistant Harbord have to unravel a mystery that cost two men their lives and destroyed the reputation of others.

The Crystal Beads Murder, first published in 1930, was the...

"Who knows if he didn't make away with her here? Those things found in the Home Coppice show that she was made away with plain enough, I say."

Jim Gregory, under-gardener at Hargreave Manor, finds something unexpected when climbing Lover's Oak but won't say what. Instead he's all ears regarding the legendary 'Luck of the Hargreaves' diamonds, destined for the future bride of Sir Arthur, the new squire.

Sir Arthur himself then discovers a beautiful stranger, lost in the woods near the manor. She cannot recall a thing--not even her name. She is given...

"Who knows if he didn't make away with her here? Those things found in the Home Coppice show that she was made away with plain enough, I say."

Jim Gregory, under-gardener at Hargreave Manor, finds something unexpected when climbing Lover's Oak but won't say what. Instead he's all ears regarding the legendary 'Luck of the Hargreaves' diamonds, destined for the future bride of Sir Arthur, the new squire.

Sir Arthur himself then discovers a beautiful stranger, lost in the woods near the manor. She cannot recall a thing--not even her name. She is given...

"He had his tea as usual; when I knocked at the door with the tray (he always had afternoon tea), I found him--like this."

Dr Roger Lavington is dreading his debut performance with the village amateur dramatic society. But real-world drama takes over when Lavington's neighbour, a reclusive artist, is found murdered in his own sitting room. Also found on the scene are a lady's glove, a diamond ring, and a mysterious young woman who begs Lavington for his protection. Her safety will depend on her ability to take a role in the forthcoming village play--but is Lavington...

"There's no dirty trick he wouldn't play--it's my belief that he wouldn't even stop at murder "

Her husband unmasked as a scoundrel, Lady Cynthia Letchingham seeks refuge at her cousin Hannah's north-country home Greylands. But on Cynthia's arrival, she finds Hannah an invalid, having recently suffered a mysterious paralysis; the house is devoid of servants, and Hannah's husband, charming and sinister by turns, keeps watch over everything and everyone. Only the presence of charming Sybil Hammond and a darkly handsome neighbour relieve the atmosphere for Cynthia - but...