A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYThe annual Sports Day at respected public school Sudeley Hall ends in tragedy when the headmaster's obnoxious nephew is found strangled in a haystack. The boy was despised by staff and students alike, but English master Michael Evans, who was seen sharing a kiss with the headmaster's beautiful young wife earlier that day, soon becomes a prime suspect for the murder. Luckily, his friend Nigel Strangeways, nephew to the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard,...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYFergus O'Brien, a legendary World War One flying ace with several skeletons hidden in his closet, receives a series of mocking letters predicting that he will be murdered on Boxing Day.Undaunted, O'Brien throws a Christmas party, inviting everyone who could be suspected of making the threats, along with private detective Nigel Strangeways. But despite Nigel's presence, the former pilot is found dead, just as predicted, and Nigel is left to aid the lo...

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 16 tales by masters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a newly discovered Agatha Christie crime story that has not been seen since 1922.At a time when crime and thriller writing has once again overtaken the sales of general and literary fiction, Bodies from the Library unearths lost stories from the Golden Age, that period between the World Wars when detectiv...

When John Waterson and his young wife chose Netherplash Cantorum, Dorset, for their retirement years, they could not have predicted that this idyllic spot had one severe but unforeseeable drawback: among its inhabitants was a practical joker whose fertile mind ran to the most bizarre and grotesque designs.The Village was no place for a quite retirement, or for a gentle recuperation from the nervous breakdown that had afflicted Waterson's wife. In Netherplash, the peace is continual...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYThe government's security department have asked private detective Nigel Strangeways to keep a discreet eye on Professor Alfred Wagley, a research scientist who is spending the Christmas holidays in the South-West of England. But someone else is also very interested in the professor and his work, and when his young daughter is kidnapped, Nigel finds himself in a race to avert a tragedy.A Nigel Strangeways murder mystery - the perfect introduction ...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYPrivate detective and poet Nigel Strangeways is invited to address the Maiden Astbury literary society. The picturesque Dorset town is home to Bunnett's Brewery, run by the much disliked, and feared, Eustace Bunnett and shortly before Nigel's visit, Bunnett's dog Truffles, was found dead in one of the brewery's vats. The culprit was never caught - although there was no shortage of suspects - but when a body is then found in the same vat, boiled down to its b...

Hugo Chesterman is on trial for murdering a policeman. Why did he do it? Or could he be innocent?Daisy Bland is young, beautiful and naive, and her testimony threatens to send her husband to the gallows.For Daisy, it all started when she literally bumped into Hugo and fell madly in love. She gave up everything for him: her job, her friends, her independence. Blinded by love, she asks no questions about his vague profession as a 'commission agent', his suspicious associates ...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYPrivate detective Nigel Strangeways receives a call for help from Wonderland, a new holiday camp that has recently opened only to be plagued by a series of cruel practical jokes conducted by someone calling themselves 'The Mad Hatter'.The camp's owners are convinced a rival firm, desperate to put them out of business, are behind the events. Or could it be a disgruntled employee, or even one of the four hundred guests currently staying at the camp? As...

The Classic Collection of Nicholas Blake (4 Books). Illustrated: The Private Wound, A Tangled Web, A Penknife in My Heart, The Deadly Joker brings together four compelling mysteries by Nicholas Blake, the acclaimed crime writer and poet Cecil Day-Lewis, creator of the thoughtful and unconventional detective Nigel Strangeways. Blending psychological insight with the traditional elegance of Golden Age detective fiction, Blake’s novels go beyond simple puzzles to explore motive, character, an...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYRespected crime writer Frank Cairns plots the perfect murder - a murder that he himself will commit.Cairns intends to murder the hit-and-run driver who killed his young son, but when his intended victim is found dead and Cairns becomes the prime suspect, the author insists that he has been framed. An old friend of Cairns calls in private detective Nigel Strangeways, who must unravel a fiendishly plotted mystery if he is to discover what really happen...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYSomeone is sending poison pen letters in the small village of Prior's Umborne, and they have already driven one of the inhabitants to suicide.Private detective Nigel Strangeways is commissioned to find the source of the letters by arrogant financier Sir Archibald Blick, whose two sons live in the village, only for Sir Archibald to meet an untimely end at the bottom of the dreadful hollow...A Nigel Strangeways murder mystery - the perfect ...

A VINTAGE MURDER MYSTERYWhen private detective Nigel Strangeways books tickets for a holiday in the Greek islands with renowned sculptor Claire Massinger, he has no idea that the trip will end in tragedy.From the moment the boat sets sail it becomes clear that many of his fellow passengers - from a neurotic widow to the ship's lecturer - have guilty secrets to hide, but do any of them also have a motive for murder? It will take all of Nigel's insight and flair if he is to u...