Classic British Detective

When Detective Inspector Bridget Hart returns to her old Oxford college for a reunion dinner, she's hoping for a fun weekend catching up with old friends. But the reunion takes a macabre turn when body parts are served up at the college feast, and one of her friends is found murdered. With Bridget's arch rival Inspector Baxter leading the murder inquiry, and herself a potential suspect, Bridget is forbidden from taking part in the investigation. But that doesn't stop her from carrying out her own private inquiries. Bridget soon realizes that the murderer is someone known to her.

When reclusive artist Gabriel Quinn is gunned down outside a gallery on Oxford High Street, Detective Inspector Bridget Hart investigates the world of contemporary art, where paintings can change hands for millions in the auction room. Bridget is convinced that the last words spoken by the artist - a mysterious code of eight digits and a letter - are key to unraveling the mystery of his death.

When the luxurious overnight passenger train from Calais to the Riviera, known as the Blue Train, arrives in Nice, a guard goes into the compartment of American heiress, Ruth Kettering and attempts to wake her. Unfortunately, she will never wake up, as she is dead, having been killed by a heavy blow to her head, disfiguring her almost beyond recognition. What is more, her precious ruby, known as the 'Heart of Fire', is missing. The prime suspect is Ruth’s estranged husband, but detective Hercule Poirot, who also just happens to be a passenger on the train, is not convinced.

Reporting Murder is a gripping English murder mystery set in the bustling streets of 1920s London. Dive into the world of intrigue, deception, and high-stakes journalism. Every Saturday morning, the blue and gold cover of The Owl graced the bookstalls across London. Jamaal Spillner, the sharp-minded editor of this influential weekly, thrived on the chaos of press nights. But his routine is shattered when his right-hand woman, Margaret Stanley, bursts into his office with shocking news: Trey Ford, the Minister of Imperial Finance, has been murdered at his country house. Spillner, sensing an ...

The Barrister Murder is a gripping murder mystery set in the tranquil yet deceptive English countryside during the 1920s. This tale of suspense will captivate fans of classic whodunits and psychological thrillers. Simon Bickel, a renowned barrister known for his relentless courtroom tactics, seeks respite at his brother William's idyllic estate in Carmenshire. The peaceful countryside promises a much-needed break from the high-stakes Munson case that has consumed Simon's life. However, tranquility quickly turns to terror when Simon and his guests, Vera Lewis and Howard Torrance, stumble ...

Suicide? Or Murder? is a gripping murder mystery set in the picturesque but deceptive tranquility of rural England during the early 20th century. Freddie Paxton, a man crafted for the serene niche of a golf club nestled within the decaying grandeur of a once-magnificent estate, is thrust into a whirlwind of intrigue and suspicion. When the mangled body of S. Brotherhood is discovered on the golf course, it initially seems like a tragic accident. However, former military intelligence officer Mordaunt Carroll and his astute friend Alexander Greene suspect foul play. As they dig deeper into ...

August 1911. Emily Hardcastle and her inimitable lady’s maid Florence Armstrong are enjoying a fine summer until Harry, Lady H’s brother, turns up out of the blue with a mystery for them to solve. A routine parachute test at a local aeroplane factory has gone horribly wrong - with pilot Dickie Dupree plummeting to his death. Harry is certain there is more to this ‘tragic accident’ than meets the eye, having discovered that someone at the airfield is leaking top secret intelligence to foreign rivals.

Death at South Hills is a gripping English murder mystery set in the picturesque coastal town of Lynden Sands during the 1920s. Immerse yourself in a tale of intrigue, deception, and family secrets that will keep you guessing until the very end. When Mark Northbridge and his sister Stephanie arrive at the newly opened hotel in Lynden Sands, they are unaware of the dark mysteries that lie ahead. Their family estate, South Hills, stands at the center of unresolved tensions and a haunting disappearance. Garrett, their nephew, has been missing since the war, leaving a void filled with ...

When Dr Raymond Ferens moves to a practice at Milham in the Moor in north Devon, he and his wife are enchanted with the beautiful hilltop village lying so close to moor and sky. At first they see only its charm, but soon they begin to uncover its secrets - envy, hatred and malice. Everyone says that Sister Monica, warden of a children's home, is a saint - but is she? A few months after the Ferens' arrival her body is found drowned in the mill-race. Chief Inspector Macdonald faces one of his most difficult cases in a village determined not to betray its dark secrets to a stranger.

At the Central Criminal Court, an eager crowd awaits the trial of Victoria Lamartine, an active participant in the Resistance during the war. She is now employed at the Family Hotel in Soho, where Major Eric Thoseby has been found murdered. Thoseby is believed to have fathered Lamartine's child, and the prosecution insist that his death is revenge for his abandonment of Lamartine and her arrest by the Gestapo. A last-minute change in Lamartine's defence counsel grants solicitor Nap Rumbold just eight days to prove her innocence.

Miller Street Murder is a riveting English murder mystery set in the heart of London during the 1920s. Dive into the dark alleys and hidden corners of Miller Street, where secrets are buried, and danger lurks in every shadow. Esteban Olson, a hardworking greengrocer, is living a simple life until one fateful Sunday evening when a mysterious phone call lures him out, only for him to be found murdered on his way back home. With a handleless knife piercing his heart, his death sends shockwaves through the tight-knit community. Who could have committed such a brutal act, and why? As the police ...

Two best-selling Agatha Christie novels in one great audiobook. The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Hercule Poirot solves his first case in the Agatha Christie novel that started it all. Who poisoned the wealthy Emily Inglethorp and how did the murderer penetrate and escape from her locked bedroom? The ABC Murders - Agatha Christie's beloved classic The ABC Murders sets Hercule Poirot on the trail of a serial killer, who is working his way through the alphabet and putting the whole country in a state of panic.

Mary Connon froze out her husband, Sam, long ago. She likes the attention of other men—like the fellow members of Sam's rugby club. Naturally, when she's found dead in her sitting room with a hole in her head, Sam is a suspect. If only he hadn't suffered a dizzying scrum injury that's left everything a blur. He isn't sure that he didn't kill her. But Det. Inspector Andrew Dalziel and his partner, Peter Pascoe, are looking outside the unhappy home. Because it seems everyone within spitting distance of the suburban femme fatale wanted Mary dead.

Ten years ago, Mary Morstan’s father, an officer in an Indian regiment, vanished. Four years later, elegant pearls began to arrive, six in total, and now she holds an invitation to meet her mysterious anonymous benefactor. As Miss Morstan shares this peculiar tale with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, she urges the detectives to accompany her. Her only clues to her father’s disappearance: a map of a fortress with the names of four strangers and an assertion that she’s been dreadfully wronged.

Hercule Poirot investigates a string of murders that appear to be disconnected on the surface, but Agatha Christie’s Belgian detective sees only tiny detail that link them all together. For some obscure reason that Poirot is determined to uncover, the number four keeps popping up with every killing. Poirot soon learns that there is in fact an international crime gang dubbed “The Big Four,” and he sets off after them. With Hastings once again at his side, Monsieur Poirot travels all over Europe to find them, but the pair always seem to be a step behind this shadowy syndicate.

Suspicious Death is a murder mystery set in the quaint village of Ricketts in Hampshire during the 1920s. Dive into the world of Michael Harlow, an internationally renowned novelist and amateur detective, as he navigates the intricate web of secrets, lies, and hidden motives behind a shocking death. When the popular and wealthy Mrs. Weathers is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, the initial verdict of an accidental fall is quickly cast into doubt. Michael Harlow, called away from his holiday to cover the story for the Daily Courier, teams up with his cousin James Walton to uncover the ...

Mordecai Tremaine and Chief Inspector Jonathan Boyce are never pleased to have a promising game of chess interrupted - though when murder is the disrupting force, they are persuaded to make an exception. A quick stop at Scotland Yard to collect any detective's most trusted piece of equipment - the murder bag - the pair are spirited away to Bridgton. No sooner have they arrived than it becomes clear that the city harbors more than its fair share of passions and motives.

If Alison Girling, former principal of England's Holm Coultram College, died in an avalanche in Austria, why has her skeleton been unearthed on campus? While no love is lost between conservative detective Andrew Dalziel and the entirety of Liberal Arts, his attention to the grim discovery must be paid. But when he and Peter Pascoe scour the ivory tower for answers, they discover that the shady faculty and creepy student body have more to bury than just one corpse. Try two-and counting.

Hercule Poirot comes out of retirement to solve one of the most vexing cases of his career. The quiet village of King’s Abbot is still reeling from the death of the widow Ferrars from an overdoes of Veronal, when not twenty-four hours later it is learned that the man she planned to marry, Roger Ackroyd, has been brutally murdered. Prior to his death, Ackroyd had been reading an article in the Evening Post to discover who had been blackmailing his wife over poisoning her first husband. But before he could learn who the blackmailer was, he was stabbed through the neck in his own study.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection The Edinburgh Mystery. Published in 1955, this is a domestic tale which sees a family member commit the ultimate crime when they’ve had enough of their miserly aunt’s frugal ways.