A remote castle in Wales inhabited by three older men is the last place on earth that a young, lively girl of 18 would want to spend time. And yet, when forced by circumstances to take up residence there for six weeks prior to coming of age, Jessie surprises them all by finding immense enjoyment in the experience and by capturing each of her adopted uncles' hearts. As the time grows near for her to return to England, the three brothers find it necessary...

A superbly crafted collection of thirteen tightly plotted tales that treats readers to murder, mystery, and mayhem in the world of horseracing.
“Few things are more convincing than Dick Francis at a full gallop.”—Chicago Tribune
With his remarkable blend of unrelenting suspense, finely tuned narrative, and lean, stylish prose, New York Times bestselling author Dick Francis proves that he is as much...

In appearance Hercule Poirot hardly resembled an ancient Greek hero. Yet-reasoned the detective-like Hercules he had been responsible for ridding society of some of its most unpleasant monsters. So, in the period leading up to his retirement, Poirot makes up his mind to accept just twelve more cases: his self-imposed "Labors." Each would go down in the annals of crime as a heroic feat of deduction.

P. D. James--one of the most widely admired writers of detective fiction at work today--gives us a personal, lively exploration of the human appetite for mystery and mayhem, and of those writers who have satisfied it. She examines the genre from top to bottom, beginning with the mysteries at the hearts of such novels as Charles Dickens's Bleak House, and bringing us into the present with such writers as Colin Dexter and Sara Paretsky. She compares...

When Mr. Julius Slinkton walks into Mr. Sampson's insurance office to fetch some forms for his friend, Sampson has a strange suspicion that something isn't quite right. And when Slinkton continues to pop up in his life at random it's starts to dawn on Sampson that a gruesome crime is about to be committed. Before long, Sampson's entangled in a mess that might cost him his life. Told in the first person, Hunted Down is similar to the writing of Dickens'...

This is "Peter Lovesey's Short List" of his best ever short stories, including the Crime Writers' Association's best short story of 2007, "Needle Match", and featuring some of his most popular detectives - Bertie, Prince of Wales, Sergeant Cribb and Rosemary and Thyme. Surprises are guaranteed, as elephants appear in a London side street; a gang of geriatrics goes on a hearing aid heist and an underworld boss searches for a harp. Join the author

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"Brilliant, irascible and frequently frustrating to both his friends and his long-suffering bosses, John Rebus has made the dark places of Edinburgh his home for over two decades. THE BEAT GOES ON collects all of Ian Rankin's Rebus short stories for the first time, including two never-before published tales written specifically for this collection. From his beginnings as a young Detective Constable in "Dead and Buried," right up to his dramatic, but...

"She wondered how Lady Masters got her old parlour maid to carry the coffee right across the lawn. But, of course, Lady Masters got things simply by always having had them and by taking it for granted that she always would have them. In Bramton Wick, the setting of Elizabeth Fair's cheerful debut novel, tensions and resentments--not to mention romance--roil beneath the polite interactions of its charming and eccentric residents. There's upper crust...