Showing titles in Traditional Detectives

When DCI Lesley Clarke is called upon to investigate a death on the banks of the River Frome in Wareham, she initially suspects a straightforward drowning. But when she discovers that the victim went missing years ago and that his family have a dark past, the mystery deepens. Can Lesley and her team uncover the secrets in this family's past and identify the killer?

After Q (aka Major Boothroyd) is unexpectedly ousted from his role with British Intelligence developing technologies for MI6's OO agents, he finds himself back in his sleepy hometown of Wickstone-on-Water. His childhood friend, renowned quantum computer scientist Peter Napier, has died in mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a cryptic note. The police seem disinterested, but Q feels compelled to investigate and soon discovers that Napier's ground-breaking work may have attracted sinister forces . . .

Round the Fire was the title of a series of 12 mystery and suspense short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, published monthly in The Strand Magazine between June 1898 and May 1899. The series was popular with contemporary readers, and while some of the individual stories, such as "The Brown Hand", have been regularly anthologised for many years and are well-known, there are some overlooked gems here, too.

Beautiful young Elinor Carlisle stands serenely in the dock, accused of the murder of Mary Gerrard, her rival in love. The evidence is damning: only Elinor had the motive, the opportunity, and the means to administer the fatal poison. Yet, inside the hostile courtroom, one man still presumes Elinor is innocent until proven guilty: Hercule Poirot, who is all that stands between Elinor and the gallows.

Gregor Jack, MP, well-liked, young, married to the fiery Elizabeth - to the outside world a very public success story. But Jack's carefully nurtured career plans take a tumble after a 'mistake' during a police raid on a notorious Edinburgh brothel. Then Elizabeth disappears, a couple of bodies...

First-year detective Kathleen Doyle is a plucky Irish redhead of humble origins and modest means. Chief Inspector Michael Acton is her antithesis: a British lord turned cop. He's tall, handsome, and enigmatic - to a fault. He also has a knack for solving London's most high-profile crimes. Acton selects Doyle out of the newbie squad to partner with him on a series of investigations because she always knows when someone is lying - a trait that comes in handy when interviewing suspects and witnesses.

*From the creator of SLOW HORSES and soon to be a major TV series starring Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson* 'If you haven't read Zoë Boehm yet, welcome to your next fiction addiction' Val McDermid, author of Past Lying 'Unexpected and satisfying . . . The engaging heroine never loses her cool...

A body is found in a newly dug grave in a rural Somerset churchyard. The murder matches a series of brutal attacks blamed on a serial killer in Devon, and a DNA profile neatly points to the same suspect. Fresh from another bruising encounter with the Professional Standards Department, Acting Detective Superintendent Nick Dixon knows the scene is wrong and the evidence staged—someone else has engineered this killing to silence the victim.

Another title in the ever popular Agatha Christie series. The suave and debonair Colonel Race must solve a question, not of ‘accidental death or suicide’, but ‘murder or double murder’. Pretty, young Anne came to London looking for adventure. In fact, adventure comes looking for her –...

The annual gathering of the book club at the start of December is supposed to be a time for relaxation and catching up. But this year, the convivial evening takes a sinister turn. Detective Barton is called to investigate, and he soon discovers the seemingly peaceful club harbours dark secrets and hidden resentments that go back years.

In utter disbelief Miss Marple read the letter addressed to her from the recently deceased Mr Rafiel—an acquaintance she had met briefly on her travels. Recognising in Miss Marple a natural flair for justice, Mr Rafiel had left instructions for her to investigate a crime after his death. The only problem was, he had failed to tell her who was involved or where and when the crime had been committed. It was most intriguing.

Brought to you by Penguin. THE DEVIOUS NEW MYSTERY FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE ERNEST CUNNINGHAM SERIES TEN HEISTS. TEN SUSPECTS. A PUZZLE ONLY ERNEST CUNNINGHAM CAN SOLVE... My name is Ernest Cunningham. I’ve spent the last few years solving murders. But a bank heist is...

Jazz-loving Policeman Charlie Resnick is one of the most popular characters in contemporary crime fiction. This thrilling collection brings together three dramatisations and two original radio stories starring the Nottingham-based detective, all scripted by his creator, award-winning author John Harvey.

In the peace and tranquility of the woods at Pinehills on a Saturday afternoon, a mobile phone begins to ring. The phone belongs to DC Smith, and it isn't unusual that the call is from Kings Lake Central police station; what is unusual is the fact that he seems to be the subject of an investigation rather than taking part in one. What can the links be between a prisoner's violent death in another county, the disappearance of two teenagers, and the highest profile case in Kings Lake for many years?

The world’s most beloved detective, Hercule Poirot – the legendary star of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and currently The Haunting in Venice – returns in a stylish, diabolically clever mystery set in 1930’s London. ‘Murder! Me? How dare you!’ Hercule Poirot’s...

The Argyle family is far from pleased to discover one of its number has been post-humously pardoned for murder – if Jacko Argyle didn’t kill his mother, who did? The front door of the family home was locked… According to the courts, Jacko Argyle bludgeoned his mother to death with a poker...

And in Edinburgh of all places. I mean, you never think of that sort of thing happening in Edinburgh, do you... ' 'That sort of thing' is the brutal abduction and murder of two young girls. And now a third is missing, presumably gone to the same sad end. Detective Sergeant John Rebus, smoking...

Ariadne Oliver, Queen of Crime Fiction, has been asked to devise a Murder Hunt for a fate at Nasse House, the home of Sir George Stubbs. But she begins to suspect that someone is manipulating the scenario of her game and fears that something very sinister is being planned. She sends for her...

A flawless collection of short stories that Christie herself referred to as ‘light-hearted thrillers’. Twelve ingenious, witty mysteries showing the author at her best, including: the curious disappearance of Lord Listerdale, the strange meeting on a train of a feckless man and a beautiful...

The best of the golden age crime writers, praised by all the top modern writers in the field including P. D. James and Ruth Rendell, Dorothy L. Sayers created the immortal Lord Peter Wimsey. In his eighth appearance (and the second book featuring Harriet Vane), he solves a murder on a deserted English beach. With an introduction by Elizabeth George. A young woman falls asleep on a deserted beach and wakes to discover the body of a man whose throat has been slashed from ear to ear...