Geoffrey Howse delves into the his crime files covering 200 years of the area`s darkest past. Events covered include long forgotten cases that made the headlines in their day as well as others more famous: Britain`s first railway murder, the first criminal to be caught via wireless telegraphy & the anarchists who left a trail of murder & mayhem following a raid on a Tottenham factory. There are many other cases to appeal to anyone with an interest in the local & social history of North London. ...

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 & G.K. 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 J.J. Bell.

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A white Christmas Deepening snow has isolated the village of Byford from the outside world, but as the locals settle down for the festive period, the peace is suddenly destroyed with news of a violent crime at the vicarage. A domestic murder The victim is the vicar`s son-in-law, but few are saddened by his death. & although Chief Inspector Lloyd is expecting an open-&-shut case, he is soon confronted with more than he bargained for. A web of lies Struggling to keep control of his personal relationship with Sergeant Judy Hill, Lloyd must work his way through a tangle of suspects, each doing their part to disrupt the investigation in this perplexing mystery. Murder at the Old Vicarage is Jill Mc Gown`s classic homage to Agatha Christie, with a decidedly uncosy twist. ...

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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One of the Guardian`s `50 Biggest Books of Autumn 2018` Early in the morning of 6 May 1840, on an ultra-respectable Mayfair street, a footman answered the door to a panic-stricken maid from a nearby house. Her elderly master, Lord William Russell, was lying in bed with his throat cut so deeply that the head was almost severed. The whole of London, from monarch to street urchins, was gripped by the gory details of the Russell murder, but behind it was another story, a work of fiction, & a fierce debate about censorship & morality. Several of the key literary figures of the day, including Dickens & Thackeray, were drawn into the controversy, & when Lord William`s murderer claimed to having been inspired by the season`s most sensational novel, it seemed that a great deal more was on trial than anyone could have guessed. Bringing together much previously unpublished material from a wide range of sources, Claire Harman reveals the story of the notorious Russell murder case & its fascinating connections with the writers & literary culture of the day. Gripping & eye-opening, Murder by the Book is the untold true story of a surprisingly literary crime.` This beautifully produced & impressively researched historical account of a celebrated Victorian murder with a literary twist reads like a thriller. I devoured it in one sitting, & was at once enthralled & chilled. Highly recommended!` Alison Weir ...

An archaeologist`s wife is murdered on the shores of the River Tigris in Iraq... It was clear to Amy Leatheran that something sinister was going on at the Hassanieh dig in Iraq; something associated with the presence of ` Lovely Louise`, wife of celebrated archaeologist Dr Leidner. In a few days` time Hercule Poirot was due to drop in at the excavation site. But with Louise suffering from terrifying hallucinations, & tension within the group becoming almost unbearable, Poirot might just be too late... ...

An archaeologist`s wife is murdered on the shores of the River Tigris in Iraq... It was clear to Amy Leatheran that something sinister was going on at the Hassanieh dig in Iraq; something associated with the presence of ` Lovely Louise`, wife of celebrated archaeologist Dr Leidner. In a few days` time Hercule Poirot was due to drop in at the excavation site. But with Louise suffering from terrifying hallucinations, & tension within the group becoming almost unbearable, Poirot might just be too late... ...

Sat on the top of a bus days before Christmas, Maya sees a couple arguing violently in the middle of a crowded Regent Street. They see her watching, she looks away, & the woman disappears. Maya goes to the police, who shrug & send her away. Then a body turns up... Now convinced she is a vital witness to a crime, the police send Maya into hiding in rural Wales. She resolves to get to the bottom of the mystery. Then the snow comes & no one can get out. But what if someone can still get in? From the author of Dear Scarlet & Saving Sophia. ...

In Montego Bay, Jamaica, privileged Chinese-Jamaican brothers Lester & Carter Chin Ellis have enjoyed a sheltered life as the heirs to the iced desserts empire Chinchillerz. One fateful night, following a fiery encounter with local law enforcement the brothers are taken to Pelican Walk Police Station, where Lester is detained for drunk driving, while Carter is released without charge. Within minutes of leaving the station Carter is shot dead in a drive-by, while his brother Lester is brutally assaulted in his cell. Discredited Detective Raythan Preddy is put in charge of the case & is forced to accept the assistance of Detective Sean Harris, a Scottish lawman seconded to Jamaica. With his superiors watching his every move & the Chin Ellis family interfering with the investigation, Preddy is determined to catch the killer & save his career. ...

` Scores of men & women died daily in London, but on this day of days one of them had died in the very midst of a crowd & the cause of his death was a dagger piercing his heart. Death had become something very real.` When Bobbie Cheldon falls in love with a pretty young dancer at the Frozen Fang night club in Soho, he has every hope of an idyllic marriage. But Nancy has more worldly ideas about her future: she is attracted not so much to Bobbie as to the fortune he expects to inherit. Bobbie`s miserly uncle Massy stands between him & happiness: he will not relinquish the ten thousand a year on which Nancy`s hopes rest. When Bobbie falls under the sway of the roguish Nosey Ruslin, the stage is set for murder in the heart of Piccadilly
- & for Nancy`s dreams to be realised. When Chief Inspector Wake of Scotland Yard enters the scene, he uncovers a tangled web of love affairs, a cynical Soho underworld, & a motive for murder.
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