British Library Mysteries

Determined to make the First Edition Library a success, Hayley Burke wasn’t expecting to have to solve an old friend’s murder in this all-new mystery from USA Today best-selling author Marty Wingate.

When Dr Raymond Ferens moves to a practice at Milham in the Moor in north Devon, he and his wife are enchanted with the beautiful hilltop village lying so close to moor and sky. At first they see only its charm, but soon they begin to uncover its secrets - envy, hatred and malice. Everyone says that Sister Monica, warden of a children's home, is a saint - but is she? A few months after the Ferens' arrival her body is found drowned in the mill-race. Chief Inspector Macdonald faces one of his most difficult cases in a village determined not to betray its dark secrets to a stranger.

After Arthur Penfold’s wife reveals she is leaving him to care for her ailing aunt, he sets upon a path of murder and deceit to avoid the social embarrassment of a second marital breakdown. But the purchase of a poetry book triggers a sequence of events that begins to unravel both Arthur and a seemingly open-and-shut murder case.

A playwright is murdered, seemingly in connection with the suspected blackmail of his friend—a rising young MP who, without explanation, disappeared from public view before his untimely death. With a number of high-profile suspects to investigate, the key to solving the case rests on a written clue left behind by the killer....

At the Central Criminal Court, an eager crowd awaits the trial of Victoria Lamartine, an active participant in the Resistance during the war. She is now employed at the Family Hotel in Soho, where Major Eric Thoseby has been found murdered. Thoseby is believed to have fathered Lamartine's child, and the prosecution insist that his death is revenge for his abandonment of Lamartine and her arrest by the Gestapo. A last-minute change in Lamartine's defence counsel grants solicitor Nap Rumbold just eight days to prove her innocence.

London’s Commissioner of Metropolitan Police, Sir John Appleby, is invited on a break to the Scottish Highlands for a trout-fishing weekend but his detective skills are soon put to the test when he discovers the body of their host, and all the guests seem to have a motive for murder....

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection The Edinburgh Mystery. Published in 1955, this is a domestic tale which sees a family member commit the ultimate crime when they’ve had enough of their miserly aunt’s frugal ways.

A steam yacht is sailing the North Atlantic when they spot a mysterious light. Upon investigation, they discover a derelict cargo ship but when they board, superstitions soon turn to very real fears for the safety of the crew.

When Carstone visits his old friend, Brendan, one night, he is intrigued by the empty house next door, which is said to be haunted. Despite his host telling him many of the spooky tales that surround the old house, he accepts a dare to spend the night at The Gables, but his bravado soon falters....

Nella sala di lettura del British Museum il professor Julius Arnell esala l’ultimo respiro. Sembrerebbe la classica morte per cause naturali. Ma quando dei confetti avvelenati vengono ritrovati nelle sue tasche, all’ispettore Shelley e al suo improbabile compagno di indagini non resterà che usare tutto il loro fiuto per scoprire l’identità del pericoloso omicida.

There have been reports of a phantom ship attempting to run down other vessels on the waters. It is said to be a cutter that went missing, along with its crew. A ship eventually stumbles across the missing cutter, a final log from those on board shedding light on the fate of the cutter.

Nella lussureggiante campagna del Lake District, un giovane viene ritrovato morto nella sua autofficina. Tutto farebbe pensare a un suicidio. Ma non è della stessa opinione l’ispettore Meredith, che si troverà coinvolto in un’intrigante indagine sullo sfondo dei suggestivi paesaggi della Cumbria. Pubblicata per la prima volta negli anni Trenta, un’indagine travolgente e ricca di colpi di scena firmata da John Bude, nella quale immergersi pagina dopo pagina, seguendo le orme dell’ispettore Meredith nel mistero più oscuro del Lake District.

When a petrol yacht catches fire in the South Atlantic, its lone survivor, Patterson, swims to safety. He is relieved when he washes up on a tropical island inhabited by four other ship-wrecked characters. But when he discovers one of the men was cast adrift by the Titanic, he is forced to question where he really is and if he will be able to escape.

Phantom Death is an imaginative story about a painting that has perplexed crowds across Europe. The painting must be viewed in solitude and is presented in a dark room, draped in black silken rope. When the unnamed narrator views the painting for himself, though, he is interrupted by another, setting off an unexpected chain of events.

In un pacifico villaggio della costa della Cornovaglia, un magistrato viene ucciso con una pallottola in testa. Nessun indizio, una sola sospettata, la nipote del morto. Ma in aiuto della polizia giunge il più sorprendente degli investigatori... Il reverendo Dodd, vicario di Boscawen, tranquillo villaggio sulla costa della Cornovaglia, trascorre le sue serate leggendo storie poliziesche davanti al focolare – ma non sia mai che anche solo l’ombra di un vero crimine possa venire a turbare la serena routine della sua parrocchia sul mare!

When a collector acquires an old Spanish rapier cheap from an antiques dealer, he thinks he’s got himself a bargain. But he soon realises why the dealer wanted a quick sale.

In un antico castello delle Highlands scozzesi, la nobile Mary Gregor viene ritrovata barbaramente uccisa. La porta della stanza è chiusa dall’interno, le finestre sono sbarrate. Sul cadavere l’unico indizio: una lucente scaglia di pesce. Quello di Duchlan è il classico castello tetro e minaccioso delle Highlands scozzesi. Una notte vi viene ritrovata uccisa Mary Gregor, sorella del Laird di Duchlan, un membro della piccola nobiltà locale. La donna è stata pugnalata a morte nella sua camera da letto, ma la stanza è chiusa dall'interno e le finestre sono sbarrate.

Amateur violinist and collector Herman Yorke is overjoyed when he is chosen to play first violin in the Amateur Orchestral Society. In the audience, however, he is distracted by a beautiful woman that is watching him. After several concerts, he decides to approach the woman, but Herman soon discovers that he is the only person who can see her.

An adventure ideally suited to Indiana Jones, ‘The Treasure of the Tombs’ sees three WW1 veterans return to a remote cave to recover hidden gold, but the tomb is cursed.

Writer Cyril Glendinning is waiting for his big break. He is well reviewed by cultured newspapers, but he makes very little money. Then he is commissioned to write a novel for a big publisher, but before he is able to finish, disaster strikes. His wife, Gertrude, is left penniless and alone, until she is awoken one night by a mysterious clicking metallic sound....