A duke's halfwit son and brainy daughter search for a kidnapped princess and a dangerous killer in this hilarious historical mystery series debut.It's that glorious period between the two World Wars, and the exiled king of Mitteleuropa is celebrating with a visit to Tawcester Towers, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Tawcester. When the ex-king's daughter is kidnapped, noblesse obliges Blotto, the Duke's brave and handsome son, to drive off to the rescue. ...

A pair of aristocratic siblings chase art thieves to the French Riviera only to find more trouble in this humorous historical mystery.In yet another installment of the Blotto, Twinks series, his very funny parody of the golden age of mystery, Simon Brett sends his heroes to the French Riviera of the 1920s. Someone has stolen valuable paintings from Tawcester Towers, ancestral home of Blotto (the future Duke of Tawcester) and his sister, Twinks. Blotto is content to ...

Introducing a new, but not-so-amateur, sleuth from another peaceful English village with an alarmingly high death rate! The first mystery in a new cosy series from one of the world's favourite crime writers - perfect for fans of Richard Osmand, Janice Hallett, Robert Thorogood and M. C. Beaton._______________________Meet Major Bricket, an infrequent resident of Highfield House in Stunston Peveril, Suffolk. In the past the M...

'Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted' Sunday Times'One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Crime writing just like in the good old days, and perfect entertainment' Guardian_______________________For Major Bricket, attending church in his village of Stunston Peveril in Suffolk is a good way to keep up with the village gossip. Having only recently retired from a career where he w...

Hard times send a pair of aristocratic English siblings to Prohibition era-Chicago where a bride, gangsters, and trouble await.It's almost too ghastly to say, darlings, but Blotto and la famille are facing . . . call it an embarrassment of no riches. No, I wouldn't have imagined it either, but this is the 1920s, famed for financial reversals. At any rate, things are so dire that the Dowager Duchess—oh she's a tiger, an absolute tiger!—is packing de...

Ten years since it was first published in hardback, and now for the first time as an eBook, this volume of short stories by the cream of British crime writing talent celebrates 75 years of the quintessential Detection Club.The Detection Club represents the cream of British crime writing talent. Founded on the cusp of the 1930s, the Club’s first President was G.K. Chesterton, and since then the mantle of Presidency has passed to some of the most significant names inthe history of cr...

A comprehensive, beautifully illustrated and practical wood engraving manual.Wood Engraving is an easily-followed, practical manual on wood engraving for beginners. Learn the processes of printing and engraving through clear explanations and use the lists of material requirements to help you get started. In this third, revised edition, discover up-to-date technique variations and all the tips and methods that the author has found helpful in 50 years as a p...

A pair of aristocrat siblings must find a killer to clear their chauffeur's name when a weekend house party goes awry in this historical mystery.Hurrah for the return of that intrepid duo: Blotto (handsome, honorable, not the sharpest knife in the drawer), and his sister Twinks (just a bit brainier than a girl should be)! As this is the 1920s, they are of course attending a weekend house party, where—how astonishing!—a murder is announced. One of the guests has the ...

The Floating Admiral was the first of the Detection Club’s collaborative novels, in which twelve of its members wrote a single novel. Eighty-five years later, fourteen members of the club have once again collaborated to produce The Sinking Admiral.‘The Admiral’ is a pub in the Suffolk seaside village of Crabwell, The Admiral Byng. ‘The Admiral’ is also the nickname of its landlord, Geoffrey Horatio Fitzsimmons, as well as the name of the landlord’s dinghy. None of them are as buoya...

A rare eighteenth-century encyclopedia reveals a murderous secret in this short story by the CWA Diamond Dagger–winning author of A Shock to the System.For Professor Derrick Rounsevell, antique books can bring the past into the present, through not only their content but also telling traces left by previous readers. In the case of his newly-inherited copy of Bibliotheca Classica—an obscure eighteenth-century encyclopedia—peculiar markings reveal a...

A rare eighteenth-century encyclopedia reveals a murderous secret in this short story by the CWA Diamond Dagger–winning author of A Shock to the System.For Professor Derrick Rounsevell, antique books can bring the past into the present, through not only their content but also telling traces left by previous readers. In the case of his newly-inherited copy of Bibliotheca Classica—an obscure eighteenth-century encyclopedia—peculiar markings reveal a...

Simon Brett worked as a producer in radio and television before taking up writing full-time. He is the author of more than 100 books, including the much-loved Fethering mysteries, the Mrs Pargeter novels and the Charles Paris detective series, as well as the Decluttering mysteries. In 2014, he was awarded the Crime Writers’ Association’s prestigious Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence and contribution to crime writing, and in the 2016 New Year’s Honours he was awarded ...