Penguin 1st Edition, published 1947.

The Gilt Kid details the exploits of the titular (anti)hero, a street-hardened young spiv who believes that ‘only saps work’, a philosophy that inevitably leads him into a life of crime. Newly released from prison, he variously meets with fellow criminals, gets drunk, consorts with prostitutes and, in the dramatic centrepiece of the novel, takes part in a daring robbery. Author James Curtis brilliantly captures the excitement of 1930s London as he delves into the sleazy glamour of the underworld web, a tangle of low-level criminals, prostitutes and chancers.

Condition grading: Very Good. Owner address sticker to inside front cover. Light foxing to both covers. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1943.

Eleven short stories with a Scottish setting. The first, The Coasts of Normandy by George Blake, is the story of a tragedy which befell the narrator’s childhood friend and its effect on the child’s mother as reflected through the prism of a chance encounter with a stranger many years later on the coast of Normandy.

Condition grading: Good Minus. Wear to bottom left section of front cover. Very light creases to top right section of front cover. Light foxing to both covers. Wear to spine. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1948.

Roger Ackroyd was a man who knew too much. He knew the woman he loved had poisoned her first husband. He knew someone was blackmailing her – and now he knew she had taken her own life with a drug overdose. Soon the evening post would let him know who the mystery blackmailer was. But Ackroyd was dead before he’d finished reading it – stabbed through the neck where he sat in the study.

Condition grading: Good Minus. Foxing to both covers. Some wear to edges of tanned spine. Light circular crease to top right corner of front cover. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1948.

Poirot had been present when Jane bragged of her plan to ‘get rid of’ her estranged husband. Now the monstrous man was dead. And yet the great Belgian detective couldn’t help feeling that he was being taken for a ride. After all, how could Jane have stabbed Lord Edgware to death in his library at exactly the same time she was seen dining with friends? And what could be her motive now that the aristocrat had finally granted her a divorce?

Condition grading: Good. Some wear to grubby spine. Small light stain to rear cover. Very light foxing in some places on front cover. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1953.

It’s seven in the morning. The Bantrys wake to find the body of a young woman in their library. She is wearing evening dress and heavy make-up, which is now smeared across her cheeks. But who is she? How did she get there? And what is the connection with another dead girl, whose charred remains are later discovered in an abandoned quarry? The respectable Bantrys invite Miss Marple to solve the mystery… before tongues start to wag.

Condition grading: Fair. Some foxing to both covers. Wear to spine ends and edges. Some wear to cover edges. Loss to top right corner of front cover. Pencil name to first inside page. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1953.

Before retirement, Poirot takes on the twelve labours of his namesake, each one a new mystery to be solved across Europe.

Condition grading: Fair. Annotations to inside front cover and first page (see photo). Taped tear to rear cover (see photo). Light creases to front cover. Some wear and creasing to spine. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1953.

Mrs Packington felt alone, helpless and utterly forlorn. But her life changed when she stumbled upon an advertisement in The Times which read: ‘Are you happy? If not, consult Mr Parker Pyne.' Parker Pyne is a most unconventional investigator. In a uniquely charming way, he solves matters of the heart, yearnings for adventure, and one or two crimes along the way. This collection comprises fourteen tantalising cases for this intriguing retired civil servant.

Condition grading: Good . Very light creases across front cover. Some areas of light foxing to both covers. Some bumping to top right corner of front cover. Minor loss to top of spine, some wear to bottom fo spine.. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1953.

One Tuesday evening a group gathers at Miss Marple’s house and the conversation turns to unsolved crimes. The case of the disappearing bloodstains; the thief who committed his crime twice over; the message on the death-bed of a poisoned man which read ‘heap of fish’; the strange case of the invisible will; a spiritualist who warned that ‘Blue Geranium’ meant death…

As each of her guests is mystified by the sinister tales they tell one another, the company is inclined to forget their elderly host. But there is a ruthless precision in Miss Marple’s pursuit of the killers in each tale… and a few surprises in store for The Tuesday Night Club.

Condition grading: Good Minus. Wear to top and bottom edges of front cover. Crease to top right corner of front cover. Wear damage to spines. Foxing to rear cover. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.