Classic crime and mystery fiction Books

John Waterhouse has died of some gastric complication. Exhumed at his brother's request, it transpires that he has been killed by arsenical poisoning, though nobody in the sleepy village of Anneypenny seems to have had a reason to do him ill. Rumours...

For an ex-cop turned private investigator, I've carved out a pretty nice life for myself. Yeah, life is good, but that doesn't stop me from seeking closure and justice for victims of the darker side of Chattanooga. Some would call me reckless. But I'm...

"There will be ten teacups at number 4, Berwick Terrace, W. 8, on Wednesday, July 31, at 5 p.m. precisely. The presence of the Metropolitan Police is respectfully requested."Writing as Carter Dickson, the master of the locked room mystery John Dickson...

Classic crime fiction's 'Indiana Jones' Tony Medawar unearths more unpublished and uncollected stories from the Golden Age of suspense, including John Bude, John Dickson Carr, Dorothy L. Sayers and Julian Symons. ‘Five books in, and the selection here...

Agatha Christie’s masterpiece, and the best-selling murder mystery book of all time, celebrates its 80th birthday with this gorgeous hardback Special Edition. ‘We’re not going to leave the island. None of us will ever leave. It’s the end, you see – the...

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. ‘There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.’One spring day in the idyllic English countryside, Mole, Rat, Toad and...

At the end of a terrible war, a woman painted the door to her house red to welcome her husband home from the Front . . . but he never returned. Two years later, in the English summer of 1920, she lies lifeless behind that door, savagely bludgeoned to...

An elderly widow is murdered at a clifftop seaside house… What is the connection between a failed suicide attempt, a wrongful accusation of theft against a schoolgirl, and the romantic life of a famous tennis player?To the casual observer, apparently...

Tommy & Tuppence are hired to track down wartime spies at a seaside resort… It is World War II, and while the RAF struggles to keep the Luftwaffe at bay, Britain faces an even more sinister threat from ‘the enemy within’ – Nazis posing as ordinary...

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey work of the stars…First published in 1855, and edited, revised and expanded over thirty years, ‘Leaves of...

A grand old London hotelA series of alarming coincidencesDanger lurking down every corridor Impeccable service. Luxurious rooms. Eccentric guests. There are worse places for Canon Pennyfather to find himself stranded than Bertram’s Hotel.But when he...

Two trainsSide by side for a brief momentIn that moment, a murder Elspeth McGillicuddy is positive she witnessed a man strangling a woman to death.But it was only the merest glimpse through a carriage window as the trains drew parallel.She is the only...

A shocking crimeA mansion filled with suspects Ruth Van Rydock can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is going to happen to her sister at Stonygates house.Her old school friend Jane Marple decides it’s time to pay a visit.But this grand...

A typist uncovers a man’s body from behind the sofa… As instructed, stenographer Sheila Webb let herself into the house at 19 Wilbraham Crescent. It was then that she made a grisly discovery: the body of a dead man sprawled across the living room floor...

All 51 Hercule Poirot short stories presented in chonological order in a single volume – plus a bonus story not seen for more than 70 years. ‘My name is Hercule Poirot and I am probably the greatest detective in the world.’The dapper, moustache-twirling...

Agatha Christie’s sensational mystery thriller set in her Devonshire homeland. On holiday in Cornwall, Poirot meets a pretty young woman with an unusual name, ‘Nick’ Buckley.Upon discovering a bullet-hole in Nick’s sun hat, the great detective decides...

The stunningly written, atmospheric new debut crime thriller you won’t want to miss!Winner of the 2024 CrimeFest Debut Crime Novel of the Year! A detective ready for a new life Jake Jackson, high-flying ex-city detective, inherits a rural retreat from...

An all-new collection of autumn-themed mysteries from the master of the genre. Autumn is the season of misty mornings and cosy nights in, but as the leaves begin to fall the nights get longer and the shadows grow darker…Secluded cottages, eerie manors...

A beautifully written new crime thriller you won’t want to miss! In a quiet village, darkness is closing in… A rural paradise…Detective Jake Jackson moved to the countryside for a quieter life. And he finally seems to have his wish – spending his days...

The inspiration for A Haunting in Venice – now a major motion picture. When a Hallowe’en party turns deadly, it falls to Hercule Poirot to unmask a murderer… During a night of party games, Joyce Reynolds boasts that she once witnessed a murder. No one...

An all-new collection of winter-themed mysteries from the master of the genre, just in time for the festive period. There's a chill in the air and the days are growing shorter… It's the perfect time to curl up in front of a crackling fireplace with...

Agatha Christie’s seasonal mystery thriller in a sumptuous Christmas hardback Special Edition. ’There is, at Christmas, a spirit of goodwill. People who do not feel amiable are putting great pressure on themselves to appear amiable! If you dam the...

Agatha Christie’s classic Miss Marple railway mystery, reissued in a beautiful new classic hardcover edition designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers. ‘Oh, Jane! I’ve just seen a murder!’For an instant the two...

A strange houseA ghost from the past As soon as she moves into Hillside, Gwenda knows there’s something strange about this house.A sealed room. A hidden door. The apparition of a young woman being strangled.But strangest of all – this all seems quite...

Some of Agatha Christie’s earliest stories – including her very first – which show the Queen of Crime in the making… A macabre recurring dream … revenge against a blackmailer … jealousy, infidelity and a tortured conscience … a stolen gemstone … the...

A collection of short stories featuring some of Agatha Christie’s best-loved detectives – Hercule Poirot, Parker Pyne, Mr Satterthwaite and Harley Quin… All great crime writers have their favourite creations. Similarly, every great sleuth has his, or...

A beautiful heiress is fatally poisoned in a West End restaurant… Six people sit down to dinner at a table laid for seven. In front of the empty place is a sprig of rosemary – in solemn memory of Rosemary Barton who died at the same table exactly one...

A middle-aged diplomat is accosted in an airport lounge and his identity stolen… Sir Stafford Nye’s journey home from Malaya to London takes an unexpected twist in the passnger loungs at Frankfurt – a young woman confides in him that someone is trying...

A wealthy Greek businessman is found dead at his London home… The Leonides were one big happy family living in a sprawling, ramshackle mansion. That was until the head of the household, Aristide, was murdered with a fatal barbiturate injection.Suspicion...

Agatha Christie’s ingenious murder mystery thriller, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers. Luke Fitzwilliam could not believe Miss Pinkerton’s wild allegation that a...

When a man plunges down a cliff, two adventurous young friends decide to find his killer… While playing an erratic round of golf, Bobby Jones slices his ball over the edge of a cliff. His ball is lost, but on the rocks below he finds the crumpled body...

Hercule Poirot returns in another brilliant murder mystery that can only be solved by the eponymous Belgian detective and his ‘little grey cells’. ‘What I intend to say to you will come as a shock . . .’Lady Athelinda Playford has planned a house party...

Time to bury the hatchet… In a dead man’s sister There are certain things that are best left unsaid. Though tragedy had touched the life of the wealthy Richard Abernethie, his sudden death seemed pretty unremarkable for a man of his age. So why would...

A charity murder game at a Devon house turns into the real thing… Sir George and Lady Stubbs, the hosts of a village fête, hit upon the novel idea of staging a mock murder mystery. In good faith, Ariadne Oliver, the well known crime writer, agrees to...

A wheelchair-bound Poirot returns to Styles, the venue of his first investigation, where he knows another murder is going to take place… The house guests at Styles seemed perfectly pleasant to Captain Hastings; there was his own daughter Judith, an...

The perfect holiday… For a passionate crime It was not unusual to find the sun-loving Arlena Stuart stretched out on a beach, face down. Only, on this occasion, there was no sun…she had been strangled.Ever since her arrival, the air had been thick with...