Cyril Hare's short stories were mostly written for the London Evening Standard. Among them, The Story of Hermione, in which the eponymous character grows rich from the all too convenient deaths of several relatives, has been called one of the most chilling short stories ever written. Sister Bessie describes vividly the agonies of a blackmail victim and the desperate crimes he commits in the hope of freeing himself from his tormentor. Miss Burnside's Dilemma

Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark was born on the 4th September 1900 at Mickleham, Surrey, England.Born into a traditional legal family, Clark studied history at New College, Oxford, before being called to the bar in 1924. He enjoyed a highly successful legal career, practicing in civil and criminal courts and eventually serving as a Surrey County court judge from 1950 until his death.Clark began writing fiction at age 36, seamlessly integrating his impeccable, first-hand knowl...

Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark was born on the 4th September 1900 at Mickleham, Surrey, England.Born into a traditional legal family, Clark studied history at New College, Oxford, before being called to the bar in 1924. He enjoyed a highly successful legal career, practicing in civil and criminal courts and eventually serving as a Surrey County court judge from 1950 until his death.Clark began writing fiction at age 36, seamlessly integrating his impeccable, first-hand knowl...

Contents:Josephine Tey. The Daughter of TimeRaymond Chandler. The Big SleepRaymond Chandler. Farewell, My LovelyDorothy L. Sayers. Gaudy NightDashiell Hammett. The Maltese FalconJohn Buchan. The Thirty-nine StepsEdmund Clerihew Bentley. Trent's Last CaseCyril Hare. Tragedy At LawWilkie Collins. The MoonstoneErskine Childers. The Riddle of the Sands

Who killed solo violinist Lucy Carless during a concert by the Markshire Orchestra? Was it her first husband? Or her second? Womanizer Bill Ventry? Or perhaps the clarinetist and fellow Polish émigré, Zbartorowski, with whom she'd had a violent argument? "A plot compounded of musical knowledge, a Dickens allusion, and a subtle point in law is related with delightfully unobtrusive wit, warmth, and style." - The New York Times

England is in the grip of the Second World War and the Blitz has forced the evacuation of various government offices from London. Francis Pettigrew, an unsuccessful barrister and amateur detective, accompanies his ministry to the distant seaside resort of Marsett Bay where the civil servants must make the best of their temporary home. In this strange atmosphere, Pettigrew begins to fall in love with his secretary, Miss Brown, who is also being courted by a widowed man who is much older tha...

Suicide Excepted shows a man committing an almost perfect murder, only to find that a quirk of the insurance laws may deprive him of the reward.

The picturesque village of Yew Hill, Markshire becomes an idyllic retreat for Francis Pettigrew and his wife until Francis is suddenly summoned to sit in as the County Court Judge and an elderly neighbor is brutally murdered.

An Inspector Mallett mystery - Daylesford Gardens, South Kensington, is an unlikely address for the discovery of death by strangulation. Even more unusual is that the house does not belong to the deceased financier. In the meantime, the mysterious tenant, Colin James, has disappeared. Inspector Mallett of Scotland Yard is brought in to unravel a complicated trail.

At a quiet country hotel, an elderly man with unusual habits—including keeping a scrapbook of morbid quotations—is found dead from an overdose of sleeping medication. While such deaths are often ruled accident or suicide, this case takes an unexpected turn: the deceased's family actively seeks to prove murder. Their motivation? A substantial insurance payout that would be void if the death is ruled a suicide.As the heirs hunt for evidence of foul play, Inspector Mallett of Scotland...