Penguin reprint, published 1947.

At a costume party with the dubious theme of ‘famous murderers and their victims’, the know-it-all amateur criminologist Roger Sheringham is settled in for an evening of beer, small talk and analysing his companions. One guest in particular has caught his attention for her theatrics, and his theory that she might have several enemies among the partygoers proves true when she is found hanging from the ‘decorative’ gallows on the roof terrace.

Noticing a key detail which could implicate a friend in the crime, Sheringham decides to meddle with the scene and unwittingly casts himself into jeopardy as the uncommonly thorough police investigation circles closer and closer to the truth.

Condition grading: Fair. Foxing and wear to both covers. Damage and wear to spine. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin reprint, published Jan 1942.

Hillmaston School has chosen The Mikado for their next school performance and, in recognition of her generous offer to finance the production, their meek and self-effacing arithmetic mistress is offered a key role. But when she disappears mid-way through the opening night performance and is later found dead, unconventional psychoanalyst and sleuth Mrs Bradley is called in to investigate. To her surprise she soon discovers that the hapless teacher had quite a number of enemies - all with a motive for murder...

Condition grading: Good. Ink mark and light foxing to front cover. Light foxing to rear cover. Minor wear to spine ends. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1959.

Cecil Fox, a wealthy and eccentric old man living in an elegant villa in Venice, sends out letters to three former acquaintances under the pretense that he is on his deathbed. Lured by the strong implication that they might be named as his heirs, the three greedy "scavengers" rush to Venice to pay court to the dying man. What starts out as a cruel, ironical practical joke and dark comedy spirals out of control and turns into a real murder mystery after one of the guests is killed.

Condition grading: Good Minus. Small scuff to bottom left front cover. Wear to front cover right hand corners. Some staining to rear cover. Some wear to spine ends. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

A trio of historical mystery novels from the pen of John Dickson Carr, one of the greatest writers of the American Golden Age mystery.

The Emperor’s Snuff Box - reprinted, 1967
Beside the dead body of Sir Maurice Lawes are the shattered fragments of a snuff-box that once belonged to Napoleon. These fragments tell a tale, or rather two tales, one true and one false. Now, an English expert in criminology forces the evidence to tell the truth about what happened and to point out the real murderer.

Captain Cut-Throat - reprint
Napoleon's personal sentries are being methodically eliminated and a British spy must match wits with the murderer in a tale full of buckle swashing ,secret agents and derring do.

Fire, burn! - Penguin 1st, 1961
On a foggy night in 1960s London, Superintendent John Cheviot boards a taxi to Scotland Yard. But when he alights at his destination, the taxi is now a horse-drawn cab and the year is 1829... Pulled out of his own time, Cheviot finds himself investigating a seemingly inexplicable Regency murder – but can he avoid being framed?

All of these books are originals, published by Penguin Books. All books are in Fair overall condition. There may be corner folds, inscriptions, tears, signs of wear etc. inside some of these books not shown in photographs. The photographs do form part of the description and the condition is reflected in the price.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1937.

When Sir Charles Baskerville is found mysteriously dead in the grounds of Baskerville Hall, everyone remembers the legend of the monstrous creature that haunts the moor. The great detective Sherlock Holmes knows that there must be a more rational explanation, but the difficulty is to find it before the hellhound finds him.

Condition grading: Very Good. Bright covers. Very minor curling to cover corners. Some wear to spine ends. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1960.

Archaeologists expect to unearth bones, not bodies, and when Martin Cotterell finds the corpse of motor-car millionaire Lord Garnish in a ‘tump’ on the south coast of England, he involves himself in a sequence of events that proves itself dangerous, and at times very nearly fatal. At first, finding the murderer seems the same as finding the husband of Garnish’s glossy mistress, Mrs Vitrey. But the peer has been unloved by too many people for it to be as simple as that, and the story proves itself to be as exciting, subtle, and twisty as the chase at the end of the book.

Condition grading: Good Minus. Damage to top of spine. Light creases to right edge of front cover. Foxing to both covers. Wear to spine. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st edition, published 1960.

Could the dead body of a young student at a women’s agricultural college be connected to the appearance of a ghostly horseman patrolling the campus grounds? The witchlike Mrs Bradley, incomparable psychoanalyst and detective, is intrigued. Soon she uncovers secret love-affairs and petty thefts, and follows the trail to Scotland, Ireland and the south of Italy in order to root out the truth.

Condition grading: Fair. Edge wear to tanned spine. Light creases in places to foxed covers. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin reprint, published June 1946.

In the peaceful English village of Kynchester, rivalry between two local archaeologists is reaching breaking point. Colonel Cackett has formed a body of local young men into the 'Roman Guard' - an organisation which reflects the Colonel's belief that a return to Roman values will raise Britain from the degeneration of permissive twentieth-century society. Canon Burbery finds the Colonel's ideas preposterous and suspects that they are based on a false idea of British history.

So when the Canon gets permission to set up an archaeological excavation to test his theory that Kynchester is the seat of a pre-Roman Celtic kingdom, tempers are understandably frayed. But when the Canon's archaeological ambitions lead to tragedy, his friends suspect that a very ingenious murder has been committed - a murder that will be almost impossible to prove...

Condition grading: Good Minus. Some damage to top of lightly worn spine. Light creases down left edge of front cover. Light crease down right edge of rear cover. Some grubbiness to rear cover. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.