A novella that introduces book detective Benny Morgan from the acclaimed, multiple award–winning author of the Lake District Mystery series. Book collecting seems a rather harmless hobby—unless it's someone like Felix de Lisle doing the collecting. He's rumored to have ties to the mob. What's been proven is that he has a penchant for the spy novels of Simon Verity. Some might call it an obsession . . . It's this passion—and a bag of cash—that draws book scout Benny Morgan into his circle. De Lisle has gotten wind of a dust jacket that was commissioned for his favorite Verity title. It was never used and supposedly destroyed, but if there is a copy that exists, de Lisle must have it. As Benny searches for this elusive art in his world of collectors and dealers, he discovers the missing jacket and a dreadful secret that will put his honor—and quite possibly his life—on the line . . . Praise for the...

The twenty brand new crime stories in this book have been specially commissioned to celebrate the tenth anniversary of CrimeFest, described by the Guardian as "one of the 50 best festivals in the world." Contributors come from around the world and include the legendary Maj Sjöwall who, together with partner Per Wahlöö, was the originator of Nordic noir. The editors are Martin Edwards and Adrian Muller. Martin Edwards is responsible for many award-winning anthologies and Adrian Muller is one of the co-founders of CrimeFest.Contributors to Ten Year Stretch are:Bill Beverly, Simon Brett, Lee Child, Ann Cleeves, Jeffery Deaver, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Peter Guttridge, Sophie Hannah, John Harvey, Mick Herron, Donna Moore, Caro Ramsay, Ian Rankin, James Sallis, Zoë Sharp, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Maj Sjöwall, Michael Stanley and Andrew Taylor.

New Authors and collections. Following the great success of 2015's Gothic Fantasy, deluxe edition short story compilations, Ghosts, Horror and Science Fiction, this latest in the series is packed with detectives, mystery and murder. Whodunnits and mysteries from classic authors are cast with previously unpublished stories by exciting budding contemporary crime writers. Classic authors include Ernest Bramah, G.K. Chesterton, Wilkie Collins, Richard Harding Davis, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, R. Austin Freeman, Jacques Futrelle, Anna Katharine Green, Arthur Griffiths, E.W. Hornung, Maurice Leblanc, Jack London, Arthur Morrison, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur B. Reeve, Mark Twain, Edgar Wallace, Victor L. Whitechurch, Israel Zangwill.

A Postman murdered while delivering cards on Christmas morning. A Christmas pine growing over a forgotten homicide. A Yuletide heist gone horribly wrong. When there's as much murder as magic in the air and the facts seem to point to the impossible, it's up to the detective's trained eye to unwrap the clues and neatly tie together an explanation (preferably with a bow on top).Martin Edwards has once again gathered the best of these seasonal stories into a stellar anthology brimming with rare tales, fresh as fallen snow, and classics from the likes of Julian Symons, Margery Allingham, Anthony Gilbert and Cyril Hare. A most welcome surprise indeed, and perfect to be shared between super-sleuths by the fire on a cold winter's night.

'Perhaps beneath the surface we're all capable of cruelty. Even if we don't intend it.' 'Perhaps.' 'All right, you win. Let me explain why Ramona Smith had to die.' DCI Hannah Scarlett is an acknowledged expert in solving cold cases, but she is struggling under the weight of bureaucracy when Ramona Smith's disappearance from Bowness more than twenty years ago crosses her desk. The prime suspect was charged but found not guilty. Now the casecomes back into the public eye as the result of a shocking tragedy on theCrooked Shore, the fount of dark legends in the south of the Lake District.Tensions mount in the summer heat as a ruthless killer who has already got away with one murder plans further appalling crimes. Hannah finds herself racing against the clock as she strives to solve the mysteries and save innocent lives.

WINNER OF THE CWA DIAMOND DAGGER 2020. ENGLAND, 1930. Grieving widows are a familiar sight on London's Necropolis Railway. So when an elegant young woman in a black veil boards the funeral train, nobody guesses her true purpose. But Rachel Savernake is not one of the mourners. She hopes to save a life – the life of a man who is supposed to be cold in the grave. But then a suspicious death on the railway track spurs her on to investigate a sequence of baffling mysteries: a death in a blazing car; a killing in a seaside bungalow; a tragic drowning in a frozen lake. Rachel believes that the cases are connected – but what possible link can there be? Rich, ruthless and obsessed with her own dark notions of justice, she will not rest until she has discovered the truth. To find the answers to her questions she joins a house party on the eerie and remote North Yorkshire coast at Mortmain Hall, an estate. Her inquiries are helped – and...

Rachel Savernake investigates a bizarre locked-room puzzle in this delicious Gothic mystery from the winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger.1930. Nell Fagan is a journalist on the trail of a intriguing and bizarre mystery: in 1606, a man vanished from a locked gatehouse in a remote Yorkshire village, and 300 years later, it happened again. Nell confides in the best sleuth she knows, judge's daughter Rachel Savernake. Thank goodness she did, because barely a week later Nell disappears, and Rachel is left to put together the pieces of the puzzle.Looking for answers, Rachel travels to lonely Blackstone Fell in Yorkshire, with its eerie moor and sinister tower. With help from her friend Jacob Flint – who's determined to expose a fraudulent clairvoyant – Rachel will risk her life to bring an end to the disappearances and bring the truth to light.A dazzling mystery peopled by clerics and medics; journalists and judges, Blackstone Fell explores the shadowy borderlands between spiritual and...

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder"Edwards combines the well-known (Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers) with the obscure (former actor Ernest Dudley) in this impressive anthology of 14 short stories featuring scientific and technical know-how...fans of TV's CSI will enjoy seeing the evolution of criminal forensics." —Publishers Weekly, STARRED reviewForensic dentistry; precise examination of ballistics; an expertise in apiology to identify the exact bee which killed the victim? The detective's role may be simple; solve the case and catch the culprit, but when the crime is fiendishly well-executed the application of the scientific method may be the only answer. The detectives in this collection are masters of scientific deduction employing principles of chemistry, the latest technological innovations and an irresistable logical brilliance in their pursuit of justice. Containing stories by early masters...

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Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of MurderFrom picturesque canals to the swirling currents of the ocean, a world of secrets lies buried beneath the surface of the water. Dubious vessels crawl along riverbeds, while the murky depths conceal more than one gruesome murder.The stories in this collection will dredge up delight in crime fiction fans, as watery graves claim unintended dwellers and disembodied whispers penetrate the sleeping quarters of a ship's captain. How might a thief plot their escape from a floating crime scene? And what is to follow when murder victims, lost to the ocean floor, inevitably resurface?This British Library anthology uncovers the best mysteries set below the surface, including stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, William Hope Hodgson, and R. Austin Freeman.

The Annual Crime Writers' Association anthology is always a thrilling read, and eagerly anticipated by readers and authors of crime and mystery fiction worldwide.Music of the Night is a new anthology of original short stories contributed by Crime Writers' Association (CWA) members and edited by Martin Edwards, with music as the connecting theme. The aim, as always, is to produce a book which is representative both of the genre and the membership of the world's premier crime writing association.The CWA has published anthologies of members' stories in most years since 1956, with Martin Edwards as editor for over 25 years, during which time the anthologies have yielded many award-winning and nominated stories by writers such as Ian Rankin, Reginald Hill, Lawrence Block, and Edward D. Hoch. Stories by long-standing authors and stellar names sit alongside contributions from relative newcomers, authors from overseas, and members whose work haven't appeared in a CWA...

New authors and collections. Daring tales of kidnap and rescue, assassination and revenge, the politics of death and espionage, these are the themes of this latest volatile concoction of classic and new writing. The days of empire and traditional war have been replaced by cyber warfare but the subtle, lethal methods of agents and spies remain the same, and so has the power of great writing, with stories here to chill and intrigue every reader. Classic authors include Arnold Bennett, Ernest Bramah, John Buchan, G.K. Chesterton, Joseph Conrad, Arthur Conan Doyle, R. Austin Freeman, Rudyard Kipling, Maurice Leblanc, Arthur B. Reeve, Sapper, Ellen Wood.

"A triple-decker banquet honoring the golden age of mysteries and bidding fair to continue it to the present."—KirkusThe Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge is a complexly layered mystery perfect for fans of impossible mysteries inspired by Agatha Christie. Martin Edwards pens the perfect locked-tower puzzle with a gothic edge set in 1930s Northern England. 1930: Nell Fagan is looking for a second chance at a career in investigative journalism and the call of Blackstone Fell's sanatorium is irresistible.In 1606, a man vanished from a locked gatehouse in a remote Yorkshire village, and 300 years later, it happened again. Nell confides in the best sleuth she knows, Rachel Savernake Looking for answers, Rachel travels to lonely Blackstone Fell in Yorkshire, with its eerie moor and sinister tower. With help from her friend Jacob Flint – who's determined to expose a fraudulent clairvoyant – Rachel will risk her life to bring an end to the...

In the first major history of crime fiction in fifty years, The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators traces the evolution of the genre from the eighteenth century to the present, offering brand-new perspective on the world's most popular form of fiction. Author Martin Edwards is a multi-award-winning crime novelist, the President of the Detection Club, archivist of the Crime Writers' Association and series consultant to the British Library's highly successful series of crime classics, and therefore uniquely qualified to write this book. He has been a widely respected genre commentator for more than thirty years, winning the CWA Diamond Dagger for making a significant contribution to crime writing in 2020, when he also compiled and published Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club and the novel Mortmain Hall. His critically acclaimed The Golden Age of Murder (Collins Crime Club, 2015) was a landmark study of...