Red badge detective

Her name was Evelyn, and she was all that was beautiful and evil. Though Evelyn was gone now, her neck broken by a maddened young man, the horror of that murder haunted lovely young Paula Savage, newly come to the isolated town where the dead Evelyn had so viciously lived and so brutally ...

Recovering from amnesia, Dr. Arthur Calgary discovers that he alone could have provided an alibi in a scandalous murder trial. It ended in the conviction of Jacko Argyle. The victim was Jacko's own mother, and to make matters worse, he died in prison. But the young man's innocence means that someone else killed the Argyle matriarch, and would certainly kill again to remain in the shadows. Shaded in the moral ambiguity of murder, the provocative psychological puzzler of guilt, vengeance, and blood secrets is among Agatha Christie's personal favorites.

Lethal Legacy. When wealthy, imperious old Margaret Forrest died, her pretty secretary, Dexter Abbott, was startled to learn that she had inherited the Forrest millions. But Dexter had another legacy as well - the hatred of the young man whose place she had taken in Margaret Forrest's will. Dexter soon learned that he would do anything to incriminate her in his aunt's mysterious death. And the terror mounted when she realized that the detective on the case seemed almost eager to believe anything said against her. As Dexter desperately sought to prove her innocence, she found there was someone even more desperately trying to kill her.

Last in the long-running series featuring amateur detective Dr Launcelot Priestley. Freddie Hapton, a young testpilot, finds himself one winter's day making a forced landing by parachute amid the snow-covered hills of Benshire. Spending the night in a deserted shepherds' hut, he notices a green metal box secured by two padlocks. The significance of this box in the affairs of the nearby Greystoke family becomes the problem that Superintendent Jimmy Waghorn has to unravel when one of them is murdered mysteriously. How did it fit in with the theft of the silver bust of the Empress Eugenie that was an heirloom of the elder branch of the Greystoke family? Jimmy, in between visits to the North Country, is helped by a few hints from his friend Dr. Priestley.

>The people of Dovebury were proud of their ancient church and, when its tower was damaged in a gale and funds were needed for its restoration, they inevitably decided to hold a bazaar. And who should act as Treasurer? In many ways they would have preferred Mr. Tilworth, a retired accountant who had recently come to live there; but then Mr. Headcorn had discharged that function for so many years.... >The bazaar was a success, but Mr. Tilworth had some doubts about the accounts and mentioned this to Mr. Headcorn who invited him to come round that evening and discuss the matter over a drink. Mr. Headcorn drank his usual light ale but for his guest he opened a bottle of wine - and two glasses silenced Mr. Tidworth for ever.... >It seemed a very simple case to the local police; but for Sootland Yard's Jimmy Waghorn, aided by the Sage of Westbourne Terrace, the investigation produced some curious and starting results....

> In a ‘Saffronshire’ (read: Cornwall) seaside resort, a doctor is called to his patient’s house, and finds him dying in a bedroom full of gas. The housekeeper, Mrs. Brannel, has disappeared, taking with her £50 and the car. An open-and-shut case, apparently. But Jimmy Waghorn has his doubts – and the biggest mystery is why farmer Kynance’s pigs were poisoned.

When Father Bredder gets involved with murder—Heaven only knows what will happen next… Father Joseph Bredder was a professional boxer and decorated sergeant in the U.S. Marines before becoming a priest and amateur detective who both solves crimes and saves souls. In the first book in the series, Father Bredder tries to make peace with the rather cold, disapproving Reverend Mother of the convent by sending her a present of a melon. Unfortunately, she discovers that what the bag actually contains is a woman's head. Named “A Red Badge Novel of Suspense” alongside Agatha Christie, Michael Innes, and Hugh Pentecost, The Father Bredder Mysteries, written by Leonard Wibberley under the pen name Leonard Holton, inspired a television show starring George Kennedy. “Father Joseph Bredder is one of the most satisfactory of religious detectives, with commendably greater interest in saving a soul than in solving a case.”—The New York Times

Someone Wanted Her to Die But who would want to kill the lovely young heiress? The handsome, irresistibly charming man whom Nora desperately loved, yet hardly knew? The strangely secretive owners of the mountain inn that was rapidly becoming her prison? The uncle who openly despised her, or the woman companion whose affection was clearly a studied lie? Nora did not know. She only knew she was alone and afraid, with no one to trust and nowhere to hide from the danger coming closer...

Murder on Cue A personal tragedy had forced the brilliant, beautiful Crystal Young into temporary seclusion at Summit House, away from the theater she adored. But suddenly she was cast in a drama more bizarre, more terrifying than any she had enacted on stage-- a drama where the hapless guest became helpless pawns to their power-driven host... where one by one they fell victim to an unseen killer... where death waited in the wings for Crystal herself, ready to make its final, deadly entrance!

When Father Bredder gets involved with murder—Heaven only knows what will happen next… When Father Bredder leaves his California parish for a visit to the shrine of Fatima in Portugal, he gets asked by the local bishop to investigate a murder blamed on werewolves by the superstitious locals in a remote village, complete with medieval castle and an elegant countess with a passion for racing cars. Named "A Red Badge Novel of Suspense" alongside Agatha Christie, Michael Innes, and Hugh Pentecost, The Father Bredder Mysteries, written by Leonard Wibberley under the pen name Leonard Holton, inspired a television show starring George Kennedy. The Father Bredder Mystery Series by Leonard Holton The Complete Series Coming Soon To Kindle The Saint Maker Secret of the Doubting Saint Deliver Us from Wolves A Pact with Satan Flowers by Request Out of the Depths A Touch of Jonah A Problem in Angels The Mirror of Hell The Devil to Play A Corner of Paradise

Bad Blood Lovely young Meredith McGrath was returning to her famil home--the isolated mansion she had not seen since chilhood. At her side was the handsome cousin who had overcome her reluctance with his love. Waiting were the rest of the family, their hatred and distrust barely masked. -- Meredith was heiress to the McGrath estate---but her legacy did not stop there. Years ago her mother had fallen prey to the evil of the McGraths, and died as a convicted murderess. Now, in this house of horror, the echoes of her mother's protests of innocence seemed to mock Meredith's own, as violent death like a noose of guilt closed around her...

Three generations of the Leonides family live together in a large, if somewhat crooked looking, house. Then the wealthy patriarch, Aristide, is murdered. Suspicion falls on the whole household, including Aristide's two sons, his widow – fifty years his junior – and even his three grandchildren. Could any member of this seemingly devoted family have had a hand in his death? Can Charles Hayward, fiance of the late millionaire's granddaughter, help the police find the killer and clear his loved one's name?Christie always acknowledged this novel as one of her favourites. She said in an interview in The Sunday Times that she enjoyed best writing the Crooked House type novel, "which depends on a family and the interplay of their lives."

"Matthew Mercer and Harris Sandler are best friends who have plum jobs as senior staffers to well-respected congressmen. But after a decade in Washington, idealism has faded to disillusionment, and they're bored. Then one of them finds out about the clandestine Zero Game. It starts out as good fun--a simple wager between friends. But when someone close to them ends up dead, Harris and Matthew realize the game is far more sinister than they ever imagined--and that they're about to be the game's next victims. On the run, they turn to the only person they can trust: a 16-year-old Senate page who can move around the Capitol undetected. As a ruthless killer creeps closer, this idealistic page not only holds the key to saving their lives, but is also determined to redeem them in the process. Come play The Zero Game--you can bet your life on it."--Publisher's description.

A sane man's suicide has his wife on a search to solve the mystery.

Fifty-second in the long running series with Dr Priestley. > The first murder was discovered in a dingy office at the top of a rickety London tenement. The victim was unknown, probably a foreigner. The second happened in a first-class compartment of a train out of London. This time the victim was a popular M.P. Superintendent Jimmy Waghorn of the Criminal Investigation Department, with the help of Dr. Priestley, discovered the connection between the two crimes; but the mysterious Mr. Felthorpe, with his secret meetings, knew more than either of them. Here is John Rhode at his best in an up-to-the-minute story of sinister crime and intrigue in the heart of present-day London.

Home Sweet Homicide When lovely young Theresa Graham wed Clifford Hardin, she didn't realize she was marrying his family as well. But their honeymoon visit to the Hardin home proved otherwise, and Theresa felt family ties tightening into a stranglehold. There was mother Hardin, so sweet, so evil...brother Sam, his genius twisted by a secret torment...sister Judy, whose ravishing beauty could not conceal her terror.... Then suddenly, there was murder, and Theresa had no place to hide, no one to trust, and only a dangerous intruder offering help.

> Peter Clancy and his faithful retainer will long remember their drive through Wiggar's beloved England. It was perfect. No crime, not even a misdemeanor - unless the clandestine love affair they observed at the Goodhue-Lanford party might be so considered. Because the Sandford girl was appealing and the man obviously sophisticated, Peter could not shake off some sense of responsibility. This was heightened when, back in San Francisco, Wiggar discovered the same man lurking near the old Goodhue mansion. Because of their drive through the Shakespeare country, Peter's first thought was "and one cried Murder!' " >Here is a new mystery centering in those two perennial partners in crime detection, Peter and his man Wiggar, and presenting one of the most baffling problems in the author's long series of popular mystery novels.

When lovely, wealthy young Jennifer Clay flew from California to New York, she plunged into a world of danger she had never dreamed existed. Her former college roommate, Mary Bostwick, had mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind a multi-million dollar legacy. Jennifer vowed to find her friend. At Jennifer's side was a handsome lawyer she could not bring herself to trust. Blocking her path was a web of sinister deception. And shadowing her every step, moving ever closer, was a murderer who had killed twice and was poised to strike again...

> Inspector Waghorn and Dr. Priestley tackle a murder involving a bogus funeral announcement.

> In this vintage novel, first published in 1959, Michael Innes provided a new excitement for Sir John Appleby. A top level bacteriological scientist has disappeared and, it is thought, may be carrying round with him a culture of almost inconceivable virulence. Kidnapped? Quitted to the enemy? A nervous breakdown? Or, a more fearful possibility, is he quietly mad and planning the destruction of the whole of verminous humanity? These are the possibilities that face Appleby when he gets his instructions from the Prime Minister at the start of Hare Sitting Up.

> Richard Cranston's adventure starts on a lonely stretch of Scottish shoreline, where he first confronts the man from the sea. And his adventure reaches its dramatic conclusion on the coast, as Cranston is swept up in a wave of espionage, treason, and escape.

> Last Trump, first published in 1937 as part of the Red Badge Mystery Series, features private detective Peter Clancy, assisted by his servant Wiggars. The setting is a small cruise ship, and Clancy must determine who among the passengers is the perpetrator of a series of murders aboard the ship.

The activities of the medical profession have always interested writers of mystery novels, and this is not the first time that the ingenious mind of John Rhode has been attracted to this promising field, as will be remembered by readers of his masterly Death in Harley Street. The chief merit of the present book is, however, its intensely dramatic conclusion which comes as a complete surprise, although it is based on a mass of data patiently collected by the industrious Jimmy Waghorn. But it was left to the Sage of Westbourne Terrace, Dr. Priestley, to marshal these facts and draw the logical conclusion…

The witness for the prosecution -- The red signal -- The fourth man -- S.O.S. -- Where there's a will -- The mystery of the blue jar -- Sing a song of sixpence -- The mystery of the Spanish shawl -- Philomel Cottage -- Accident -- The second gong.

Stranded by a storm at a posh country inn, Elizabeth Boynton meets Gerald Finch and his sister. Gerald is handsome, charming and wealthy enough to devote himself to the study of seventeenth century witchcraft. Just returned from a trip to England, he is in need of a secretary. Elizabeth accepts the job. The ideal position loses some of its charm when she discovers that two previous secretaries accidentally drowned. Anthropologist Bob Gottschalk, also at the inn, is alternately suspicious and suspected … trusted and feared. The mounting mood of fear and danger is developed in step with the rising fury of a storm…

Silken Snares Freed suddenly from a cloistered existence by the death of a domineering mother, Hiram Potter embarked on a new life filled with excitement, fueled by wealth, and marked with hidden dangers. There was Deborah, his cousin who exerted a strange and powerful hold on him... Patricia, the socialite whose beauty was matched by her cruelty... Opal, the free spirit who introduced him into a forbidden world.. and Jennie, whose terror drew Hiram into a whirlpool of murder and that promised to drown him.

> Respected Fine Art experts are deceived in one of the most intriguing murder cases Inspector Appleby has ever faced, beginning with Gribble, a collector of forgeries whose latest acquisition is found to be a forged forgery! In the words of Appleby himself: 'Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. Just a little mad, for a start. Inclined, say, to unreasonable jokes in the course of business. But later - well, very mad indeed.'

She had been dead for thirteen years, ever since she had crashed through the ice on the lonely little pond. Now her foster-sister, Katherine Meredith, was receiving anonymous letters which red, "YOU PUSHED HER!" To quiet the voice that whispered of a child's brutal murder, Katy returned to the Connecticut town where it had happened. But death was there again. It lingered in the shadows of a steep, dark staircase, rode on the howl of a New England blizzard, and, ugliest of all, deather walked in the form of a friend!

Fred Wallach was not so much a missing person as a disappeared one. It held all the elements of an illusionist's trick. There he'd been, shut away in a bare shed with no way out by window or door and yet he had gone. To David Mallin it was not an ideal case for their first as a partnership. But George Coe was enthusiastic. A locked room mystery, he claimed. Well... not quite, perhaps, because there was no corpse. Impatient to get home, David quickly solved the mystery, revealing the missing corpse. Unfortunately he also uncovered another locked room problem, and this time it was one without such an easy solution. The reaching of the end was a harrowing experience for David, who had to face himself before he faced the murderer.

>At Elysian Hall, a grand exhibition space in post-War London, a cast has been assembled for a medieval-themed pageant show replete with knights in coloured armour, real horses, and a damsel in a rickety tower on high. With death threats discovered by members of the troupe before the show, the worst comes to pass when the leading lady is thrown from the tower before the eyes of the audience by an unknown assailant – with all doors backstage also under observation. Faced with a seemingly impossible case, the wizened Inspector Cockrill and the fresh-faced Inspector Charlesworth begrudgingly join forces to uncover the killer hiding in plain sight.

It started when a false step from a misty footpath sent a mysterious stranger plummeting to his death. How was Bobby Jones to know that witnessing the dying man's last words--"Why didn't they ask Evans?"--would send him on a death-defying chase? Bobby and his unlikely partner in detection, Lady Frances Derwent, end up in pursuit of a hauntingly beautiful woman--and a cunning killer who is out to do them in! This description comes from the 1984 Berkley edition.

>One cold morning in early January, Alfred Kinder, a truck driver, set out before daybreak to pick up his vehicle and start the day's work. But someone had been there before him. In the back of the truck was slumped the body of a dead man. >Superintendent "Jimmy" Waghorn of New Scotland Yard, sent down to investigate the case, found he had a murder on his hands. The investigation was a difficult one, because Walter Hanslope, as the murdered man proved to be, seemed to have led a quiet life in the little village of Derivale. A widower of independent means, his main interests were good wines and comfortable living; and if he had made few friends, there seemed to be no one who disliked him enough to go to the lengths of murder. >But by following up every clue, however slight, Jimmy Waghorn (with some helpful advice from Dr. Priestley) discovered one or two interesting facts about Hanslope, and these discoveries led, in their turn, to a picture of life far different from that of a country gentleman - and far more in tune with the act of murder.

Student David Henchman decides to spend a quiet day in the country to escape from his boisterous classmate tormentors but gets more than he bargains for when he comes across a man with a bullet hole in his head. So begins a tale of frenzied pursuit featuring a disappearing corpse, a mad race from a killer on the moors, a panicky girl, a flight by automobile, and an ivy-covered tower that contains the secret of death on a quiet day.

Inspector, now Superintendent, French and the mystery of a demobbed soldier, his best girl, and the suicide of a retired colonial governor.

The Finger of Suspicion Laura and Benton Field began marriage as the perfect couple. She was the beautiful and devoted wife of a handsome and gifted novelist. -- But Benton soon grew strange--given to bitter and violent moods. His love became a raging jealousy--a fierce possessiveness that threatened to engulf her and doom all chance of happiness. Then a brutal crime claimed the life of an innocent bystander--a crime whose intended victim was clearly Benton Field--and Laura was suddenly prime suspect in a mystery that had her fighting for her innocence, her sanity, her very life itself!

Elizabeth March was afraid; she didn't yet know of whom or of what, only that every day small, disquieting things, increasing in number, made her feel that she was either losing her grip or that someone was stealthily trying to destroy her. Why did her husband watch her when he thought she wasn't looking? Who had tampered with her sleeping pills, frightened her children, forged her name on checks? Was it Constance Ives, her cousin and housekeeper? Or was it Lucy Brent, playing the loyal friend? Were they in league with her husband? Or was she going mad?

Pretty young Blair Masters badly needed both a job and a fresh direction in life. She saw nothing to lose in accepting a chance to run a New England antique shop - and her blind gamble seemed to pay an early dividend when she met her new employer, Glen Forbes. At first sight there was no hint of the strange secrets seething below the surface of the local town, and buried in the past of a man who soon became far more than her boss. It was perilously late when Blair woke from enchantment to find herself a stranger in a place of terror... struggling in the grip of her passion for a man who well might have killed three women before her, and now would not let her go...

The political, moral and environmental aspects of the discovery of oil in rural England provide a surprisingly modern start to this story, set in the early 1950s. A violent death occurs, the rest of the family behave stupidly, suspicion flies in all directions and Inspector French painstakingly, and at length, untangles the problem.

Charlie Chaplin-caliber actor leaves $100,000 to one of seven 'friends.' Which one? According to the will, one of the seven (any one) has to die before the bequest is fulfilled. Someone is plotting a quick resolution to the membership quandry of the Obituary Club.

A 'madman' holds his friends hostage to find out which one has been blackmailing him for years. In walks Dr. Smith, lost in the woods. Now under pressure to solve the mystery before the DEADline, when everyone is machine-gunned in revenge.

Good and Evil wear strange disguises as they walk the paths of murder. A famous actor knew that his beautiful, self-seeking young wife had married him because he was one of the theatrical greats. The knowledge of her shallow greed did not soften the blow of her leaving him, or lessen his determination later to track down the person who had so brutally destroyed her. Years before, betrayal and violence had ended the one true romance of his life. Now the pattern is repeated, but this time there is an opportunity for revenge. The tension mounts as a sadistic young couple, enormously rich and powerful, are locked in a death struggle with the aging romantic who fights money with friendship and power with ridicule.