A young girl is found dead in a house on Stanley Street... but it's just the start of a complex puzzle which Wycliffe must unravel.
A dubious cul-de-sac just off the busy main road in a sprawling West Country port, Stanley Street is definitely not a salubrious place. And the victim, found naked and strangled in her bed is, appropriately enough, a prostitute.
The local inspector believes it is just another sex crime, but Chief Superintendent Wycliffe is not convinced. For the victim, Lily Painter, is the kind of girl who likes Beethoven and has lots of 'O' and 'A' levels to her...

An ancient legend, an all-too modern murder, and Chief Superintendent Wycliffe must find the link between them ...
Every year, at Halloween, high on the Cornish cliffs, a life-sized effigy of a man is strapped to a blazing wheel and run into the sea - a re-enactment of a hideous old legend where the figure had been a living sacrifice.
And now Jonathan Riddle, well-known and respected local builder and undertaker, has disappeared - and it seems all too likely that his corpse has gone the way of the historic 'scapegoat'.
As Chief Superintendent Wycliffe begins to investigate,...

A mysterious death ... an eccentric family living on the edge of Dartmoor ... And Chief Superintendent Wycliffe has one of his most complex cases to date.
The Beales are an odd, reclusive family living in Ashill House, on the edge of Dartmoor: old Simon has withdrawn from active life; Nicholas and Gertrude confine themselves respectively to war games and the bottle; young Edward takes long painting expeditions on the moor. Only Frank Vicary, Gertrude's husband, is able to run the family business with enough drive to compensate for the failings of the others.
When there is a...

Classic crime featuring the ever-popular Chief Superintendent Wycliffe - 'Another must for collectors' Sunday Times.
On the peaceful and secluded estate of Lord and Lady Bottrell, the body of amateur flautist Tony Mills has been found, shot by his own gun. It appears to be suicide - but a closer inspection reveals some sinister inconsistencies, and Chief Superintendent Wycliffe is called in.
As Wycliffe begins to unravel the last days of the dead man, another mystery is revealed: the disappearance of Lizzie Biddick, a pretty young girl who worked as a maid for the Bottrell...

Chief Superintendent Wycliffe comes across evidence on his own doorstep - and it leads him into very deep water . . .
Wycliffe's home overlooks a peaceful, West Country estuary - but even here he can't get away from crime.
When he is taking a Sunday morning walk along the shore, he comes across a service revolver with one chamber recently fired. In recent years Wycliffe has often regretted the fact that his rank cuts him off from the early stages of an investigation, but here he is, in at the very start.
The case takes Wycliffe into the world of art robberies and crooked...

Bullying and persecution among a group of schoolgirls leads to violent retribution and a race against time for Wycliffe.

Two very different young women have been murdered within the same week. One was a singer in a nightclub, the other a nurse - but both were strangled in their own homes in very similar attacks. The press are quick to assume there is a psychopath on the loose, but Wycliffe suspects the truth may be somewhat more complex than that . . .

As Wycliffe searches for a link between the victims his investigations take him back in time; to a school trip, an isolated...

The discovery of a body in a quarry creates a baffling case for Detective Superintendent Wycliffe
Simon Meagor was a lonely middle-aged man. With a broken marriage behind him, his life was centred on his antiquarian bookshop. In his past was the memory of a murder trial where his evidence had resulted in the conviction of a man who had subsequently killed himself. Now, to his horror, the daughter of that man was applying for a job in his shop and, almost mesmerised by her, Simon found he was agreeing to her employment. Cleverly, over a period of time, Morwenna manipulated herself...

A murder at an artists' colony - but not everyone wants Chief Superintendent Wycliffe to investigate . . .
The artists' colony is at the site of a disused mine working on the moor west of St Ives, and it's run by Archer and his wife Lina, according to astrological principles. The newest member of the colony is Francine, a beautiful if fey young woman with a legacy to invest. Archer isn't keen - not least because she is a Scorpio - but Lina takes a more pragmatic view.
Then Francine is found dead, killed by a deliberately blocked gas-heater flue.
Wycliffe investigates - and...

A respectable bookseller is found bludgeoned and strangled and it's up to Chief Superintendent Wycliffe to find out why . . .
When Matthew Glynn is murdered, Wycliffe is mystified. Why would anyone want to kill him? But a look at Glynn's background reveals tension within the family. Alfred Glynn, an eccentric recluse, has born a grudge against his brother for years. The other brother, Maurice, argued bitterly with Matthew over the sale of family land. His sister Sara is caught out in several crucial lies to the police. Add to this a discontented son, the discovery of valuable...

A beautiful girl goes missing, and Wycliffe must untangle a mystery to solve a murder . . .
A beautiful schoolgirl goes missing from a Cornish village on the day she has told her boyfriend and sister she is pregnant. The possibility that she has been raped or murdered - or both - grows with every passing hour, and Chief Superintendent Wycliffe is brought in on the case.
The investigation reveals a complex network of family relationships and rivalries centred on the girl; and then Wycliffe finds a body - but not the one he expects. Have there been two murders? And if so, are...