Martin Edwards

"It is 1942, and at the new Kent military hospital Heron's Park, postman Joseph Higgins delivers seven letters of acceptance for infirmary roles. He has no idea that one of the recipients will later cause his demise. When Higgins returns to Heron's Park with injuries from a bombing raid in 1943, his inexplicable death in the operating theatre casts four nurses and three doctors under suspicion, and a second, sudden death brings Inspector Cockrill...

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...

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...

"Ramona Smith went missing, presumed murdered twenty-one years ago; her body was never recovered. Gerald Lace, accused, tried, and acquitted of the crime, took his own life shortly thereafter in the treacherous waters along the Crooked Shore. In his suicide note, he blamed the police for wrongfully arresting him and ruining his life. On the twentieth anniversary of his father's suicide, Darren Lace has drowned himself in the very same spot. His death...

The English country house is an iconic setting for some of the greatest British crime fiction. This new collection gathers together stories written over a span of about 65 years, during which British society, and life in country houses, was transformed out of all recognition. It includes fascinating and unfamiliar twists on the classic closed circle plot, in which the assorted guests at a country house party become suspects when a crime is committed....

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.

Crimson Snow brings together a dozen vintage crime stories set in winter. Welcome to a world of Father Christmases behaving oddly, a famous fictional detective in a Yuletide drama, mysterious tracks in the snow, and some very unpleasant carol singers. There's no denying that the supposed season of goodwill is a time of year that lends itself to detective fiction.On a cold night, it's tempting to curl up by the fireside with a good mystery. And more...

""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...