The English country house is an iconic setting for some of the greatest British crime fiction Short stories are an important part of this tradition & writers from Agatha Christie to Margery Allingham became famous for the intricate cases which their detectives unravelled in rambling country houses These stories continue to enjoy wide appeal driven partly by nostalgia for a vanished way of life & partly by the pleasure of trying to solve a fiendishly clued puzzle This new collection gathers together stories written over a span of about 65 years during which British society & life in country houses was transformed out of all recognition It

Includes:: fascinating & unfamiliar twists on the classic 'closed circle' plot in which the assorted guests at a country house party become suspects when a crime is committed In the more sinister tales featured here a gloomy mansion set in lonely grounds offers an eerie backdrop for dark deeds as in Arthur Conan Doyle's ' The Copper Beeches' & W W Jacobs' ' The Well' Many distinguished writers are represented in this collection including such great names of the genre as Anthony Berkeley Nicholas Blake & GK Chesterton As with his previous anthologies in the Crime Classics series Martin Edwards has also unearthed hidden gems & forgotten masterpieces among them are a fine send-up of the country house murder ' The Murder at the Towers'; a suspenseful tale by the unaccountably neglected Ethel Lina White; & a story by the little-known Scottish writer JJ Bell

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With the dreaded Family Reunion looming over her head
- & a broken heart to boot
- Augusta Josephine Burnette takes matters

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The sixth book in the classic Martin Beck detective series from the 1960s
- the novels that shaped the future of Scandinavian crime
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Collins brings the Queen of Crime Agatha Christie to English language learners Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time & in any language Now Collins has adapted her famous detective novels for English language learners These readers have been carefully adapted using the Collins COBUILD grading scheme to ensure that the language is at the correct level for an intermediate learner This book is Level 5 in the Collins ELT Readers series Level 5 is equivalent to CEF level B2 with a word count of 22000
- 30000 words Each book

Includes:: Full reading of the adapted version available for free online Helpful notes on characters Cultural & historical notes relevant to the plot A glossary of the more difficult words Free online resources for students & teachers atwwwcollinseltcomreaders The plot When Colonel Protheroe is found murdered in the vicar's study it seems that almost everyone in the village of St Mary Mead had a motive to kill him This is the first case for Agatha Christie's legendary female detective Miss Marple She needs to use all her powers of observation & deduction to solve the mystery About Collins ELT Readers Collins ELT Readers are divided into 7 levels Level 1
- elementary (A2) Level 2
- pre-intermediate (A2-B1) Level 3
- intermediate (B1) Level 4
- upper- intermediate (B2) Level 5
- upper-intermediate (B2) Level 6
- advanced (C1) Level 7
- advanced (C2) Each level is carefully graded to ensure that the learner both enjoys & benefits from their reading experience









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When Viv has a fight with Noah she doesn't think it'll be the last time she sees him But when she gets back from school he's nowhere to be found & there are police cars everywhere lights flashing & sirens blaring Viv is sure Noah's run away to get attention 256 pages Hitchcock Fleur ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 or region free DVD player in order to play Spoof whodunnit featuring a host of stars playing variations on well-known fictional detectives Reclusive millionaire Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) invites a selection of famous sleuths to his mansion & subjects them all to a number of perilous & puzzling scenarios The guests include Chinese crimefighter Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers) hardboiled detective Sam Diamond (Peter Falk) high society sleuths Dick & Dora Charleston (David Niven & Maggie Smith) & for Agatha Christie fans the Marple & Poirot clones Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester) & Milo Perrier (James Coco) Written by Neil Simon ...

Christopher Plummer & James Mason take on the roles of Sherlock Holmes & Dr Watson in this entertaining mystery-thriller The famous sleuth & his loyal sidekick try to figure out the identity of Jack the Ripper & stop the madman's killing spree once & for all In the process they uncover a conspiracy involving the Freemasons & members of the royal family ...

What is the connection between the number 13 & Jack the Ripper? Why was the number 18 crucial in catching Acid Bath murderer John George Haigh? & what is so puzzling about the number 340 in the chilling case of the Zodiac killer? The answers to all these questions & many more are revealed in a unique number-crunching history of the ultimate crime James Moore's Murder by Numbers tells the story of murder through the centuries in an entirely new way through the key digits involved Each entry starts with a number & leads into a different aspect of murder be it a fascinating angle to a case or revealing insights into murder methods punishments & of course the chilling figures behind the most notorious killers from our past From the grizzly death toll of the world's worst serial killer to your own odds of being murdered this guide will appeal to the connoisseur of true crime & the casual reader alike ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play When the dead body of a woman is found in the woods near the river feisty homicide detective Cassie Mayweather (Sandra Bullock) & her new partner Sam Kennedy (Ben Chaplin) are assigned to the case That&s the premise for MURDER BY NUMBERS a psychological thriller directed by Barbet Schroeder (REVERSAL OF FORTUNE SINGLE WHITE FEMALE) Determined to solve the crime Mayweather follows her hunches & microscopic bits of evidence focusing her investigation on two teens Justin Pendleton (Michael Pitt) a brilliant misunderstood nerd & Richard Haywood (Ryan Gosling) a smooth talking spoiled rich kid From the beginning the audience knows that this unlikely duo has formed a secret bond that pushes the boundaries of morality & the law in their attempt to commit the perfect murder & experience complete freedom It&s up to Mayweather who buries herself in her work in an attempt to forget her own tormented past & Kennedy a transfer from Vice who is working his first homicide case to ignore the stereotypical profiles & see past the obvious in order to solve the crime Slowly but surely the truth comes out as Mayweather works on instinct while battling her own demons & being drawn into the boys& game of cat-&-mouse ...

A classic mystery for the festive season mulled wine mince piesand murder Mordecai Tremaine former tobacconist & perennial lover of romance novels has been invited to spend Christmas in the sleepy village of Sherbroome at the country retreat of one Benedict Grame Arriving on Christmas Eve he finds that the revelries are in full flow
- but so too are tensions amongst the assortment of guests Midnight strikes & the party-goers discover that it's not just presents nestling under the treethere's a dead body too A dead body that bears a striking resemblance to Father Christmas With the snow falling & the suspicions flying it's up to Mordecai to sniff out the culprit
- & prevent someone else from getting murder for Christmas ' Kept guessing to the end I am left wondering why it has taken so long to discover Francis Duncan With some 20 crime novels to his credit a relaunch seems long overdue' Daily Mail' Who can resist a seasonal whodunnit? This is a bah-humbug's ideal read' Lady' The book nods towards Agatha Christie but retains a crackling atmosphere of dread & horror that will chill the heart however warm your fireside' Metro 'A wonderfully cosy read & a great way to while away a winter's evening' Nudge' This is a golden age murder mystery that'll certainly appeal to lovers of Agatha Christie
- or anyone who enjoys a good old-fashioned whodunit This is a book that could be read at any time of year but would certainly make perfect festive reading It has humour excellent characterisation & a gentle tone that would sit well following the after-Queen's Speech nap'crimefictionlover


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