Bob Rollett

Lord Peter Wimsey first encountered the Attenbury emeralds in 1921, launching his career as a detective. Now it is 1951 and the new young Lord Attenbury - grandson of Lord Peter's first client - seeks his help again, this time to prove who owns the gigantic emerald that Wimsey last saw thirty years ago.

This is the first of a series of novels set in Flaxborough and featuring the intellectual Inspector Purbright. Six months after the funeral of Councillor Carobelat one of the mourners dies in unusual circumstances. Whilst local gossips incline towards suicide or an accident, Purbright is yet to be convinced!

Peter Wimsey and Harriet set off to spend some time in Oxford, when some of the fellows appeal to him to resolve a dispute. But then several of the fellows unexpectedly die and the causes of death bear an uncanny resemblance to the murder methods in Peter's past cases - methods that Harriet has used in her published novels .

The appreciation of antique objects is not perhaps Detective Sergeant Sidney Love's forte, yet the sale of Lot Thirty-Four at the handsome price of £400 at an antiques auction, together with further curious developments, leads Inspector Purbright to the heart of a chilling but decidedly genteel murder mystery…

Howard Jacobson’s version of The Merchant of Venice bends time to its own advantage as it asks what it means to be a father, a Jew and a merciful human being in the modern world.

Martin Edwards introduces us to some of the finest Christmas detective stories of the past. His selection blends festive pieces from much-loved authors with one or two stories which are likely to be unfamiliar even to diehard mystery fans. The result is a collection of crime fiction to savour, whatever the season.

Martin Edwards introduces us to some of the finest Christmas detective stories of the past. His selection blends festive pieces from much-loved authors with one or two stories which are likely to be unfamiliar even to diehard mystery fans. The result is a collection of crime fiction to savour, whatever the season.

Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh had been looking forward to a quiet holiday at his aunt's cottage on the remote Suffolk coast. However, all hope of peace is soon shattered by murder. The mutilated body of a local crime writer, Maurice Seaton, floats ashore to drag Adam Dalgliesh into a macabre investigation.  Book 3 of series.

Violinist Lucy Carless is making a guest appearance with the Markshire Orchestra, only to be found strangled with a silk stocking part-way through the concert. Everyone in the orchestra had access to the scene of the crime, and the police officer in charge, Inspector Trimble, has no idea where to start. Luckily retired barrister and amateur detective Francis Pettigrew has been acting as an honorary treasurer to the Markshire Orchestral Society, and he is soon on his way to finding the murderer.