Martin Edwards

The main aim of detective stories is to entertain, but the best cast a light on human behaviour, and display both literary ambition and accomplishment. Even unpretentious detective stories, written for unashamedly commercial reasons, can give us clues to the past, and give us insight into a long-vanished world that, for all its imperfections, continues to fascinate. This book, written by award-winning crime writer and president of the Detection Club,...

Seven years ago, Bethany Friend was found drowned in mere inches of water in the lonely Serpent Pool in England's Lake District. Was it suicide or murder? Now, determined to win justice for Bethany's dying mother, SCI Hannah Scarlett of the Cold Case Squad re-opens the case.-- Publisher's description.

Twenty years ago, teenager Callum Hinds went missing in England's Lake District. His uncle was suspected of having done the boy harm and was interviewed by the police. When he committed suicide close to his cottage in the Hanging Wood, everyone assumed it was a sign of guilt, though the body of the boy was never found. Now his sister, Orla Payne, who never believed in their uncle's guilt, has returned to the Lakes. She wants to find the truth about...

Harry Devlin receives a fake newspaper notice announcing his death on Midsummer's Eve. Subsequent threatening messages lead him to take the less-than-a-week deadline seriously.

"A sinister case of deadly poisoned chocolates from Sodbury Cross's high street shop haunts the group of friends and relatives assembled at Bellegarde, among the orchards of 'peach-fancier' Marcus Chesney. To prove a point about how the sweets could have been poisoned under the nose of the shopkeeper, Chesney stages an elaborate memory game to test whether any of his guests can see beyond their 'black spectacles'; that is, to see the truth without...

"Crossed Skis Means Danger Ahead... In Bloomsbury, London, Inspector Brook of Scotland Yard looks down at a dismal scene. The victim of a ruthless murder lies burnt beyond recognition, his possessions and papers destroyed by fire. But there is one strange, yet promising, lead-a lead which suggests the involvement of a skier. Meanwhile, piercing sunshine beams down on the sparkling snow of the Austrian Alps, where a merry group of holidaymakers are...

Jim Henderson is one of six guests summoned by the mysterious Edwin Carson, a collector of precious stones, to a weekend party at his country house, Thrackley. The house is gloomy and forbidding but the party is warm and hospitable - except for the presence of Jacobson, the sinister butler. The other guests are wealthy people draped in jewels; Jim cannot imagine why he belongs in such company. After a weekend of adventure - with attempted robbery...

""A war's on and a murder has been committed and we sit here talking nonsense about almond whirls and mince pies!" First published in 1944, Murder After Christmas is a lively riot of murder, mince pies and misdirection, cleverly twisting the tropes of Golden Age detective fiction to create a pacey, light-hearted package admirably suited for the holiday season. Featuring an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger Award-winning author and series editor Martin...