David Wainwright was killed in World War II - or was he? His mother welcomed him - his brothers called him an impostor. But was he a murderer?

Beatrice Baynes, an alumna (or "old girl") of the Meldon School for Girls, was irritating and opinionated. But surely there must have been a better reason than that for her murder.

The Convent's Reverend Mother teams up with Scotland Yard Deputy Commissioner Andrew Pearson to solve the mystery of the dead man who turned up on the Convent's compost heap.

Holidays give us time to read - and here are my suggestions for a dozen fine mysteries for your enjoyment!

The division bell rang, calling members to vote - and then the shot rang out. Who shot the financier?

Nothing like a good old fashioned Christmas house party - with a good olld fashioned bloody murder for Poirot to solve!

70 thousand spectators came out to watch the pros of Arsenal take on a team of gifted amateurs. N70 thousand spectators came out to watch the pros of Arsenal take on a team of gifted amateurs. None of them expected murder.one of them expected murder.

Just the kind of case for Bony - Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte - a disappearance without a single clue. And then there's the missing man's curious neighbor, Mr. Jelly, with his fascination with crime...

The anonymous letters amounted to moral blackmail - and it was too much for at least one victim. Could Gervase Fen act in time to prevent another murder?

A dead body, so disfigured after death as to be unrecognizable, is discovered near an old and gloomy inn. With World War Two battering Britain, Inspector Bobby Owen must track down a killer - once he can figure out whose body is lying there.

Asey Mayo, the handyman-turned-sleuth from Cape Cod, becomes involved in finding solutions to three complex murder plots.

Was the murder really nothing more than a senseless killing? Or is it really true that murder must have a motive? And can that motive be uncovered in time to prevent more deaths?

Chief Detective Inspector Maigret must try to find a killer operating among people of wealth and enormous influence.

Inspector Knollis knows a great deal about beekeeping - knowledge that will be vital to solving the murder of a most unpleasant man.

Nigel Strangeways was anticipating a quiet cruise. What he found was a lot of fellow cruisers with secret agendas of their own that would lead to murder.

When an editor of "Style" magazine is murdered, the night before a major issue is due at the printer, Inspector Henry Tibbett must explore the complicated relationships among the magazine's staff that might have led to murder.

Henry Cargate was dead, and virtually everyone was glad - except the police, for there is never a license to kill the truly objectionable.

A deadly and not-so-accidental fall down a flight of steps threatens the "niceness" of an exclusive residential hotel. And then Mrs. Pargeter decides to investigate a clear case of murder.

Edward Powell cannot abide his aunt, and the feeling is mutual. Edward thinks a nice convenient murder would solve the problem. It may be a touch more difficult than he imagines.

When a young woman disappears without a trace, her family asks Henry Gamadge to help find her. What he finds is a web of hidden passions that lead to murder.

The women who disappeared had all met a charming man quite recently...but nobody except the missing women could describe the man they knew as Lonelyheart 4122. Then Miss Teatime came along...

To catch a murderous hit-and-run driver, Archie Goodwin finds himself in a workplace with hundreds of young women - but will Nero Wolfe get the facts he needs to avert more deaths?

Everyone hated Major Stirrop, the camp commandant - but who actually killed him?

Jim Henderson wondered why he had been invited to spend a weekend at a country house, a place where the jewels vanished and so did some of the guests.

Mordecai Tremaine invstigates a murder that spoils a house party.

Jacko Argyle was convicted of murdering his mother. He died in prison. Now, years after the guilty verdict, there's proof of his innocence. That means somebody else in the family must be a murderer...

The supermodel Delora Deanne was a composite, really, of many actresses. Now it looked as if somebody was quite literally taking her apart.

Murder amid a performance by talented stage magicians leaves the police wondering if they can believe their eyes.

From Conan Doyle to Michael Gilbert, here's a collection of stories about crime in, on, and around trains, edited bu Martin Edwards.

Benson, the chef at the Whitehall Club, may have made a fatal mistake, using the poison instead of the vanilla extract. Wouldn't it be wonderful if that mistake could only be hushed up? It's not going to be as easy as it may sound...

Wherever they go, Pam and Jerry North do have an unfortunate tendency to turn up dead bodies., much to the dismay of their good friend, Lieutenant (now Acting Captain) Bill Weigand. This time, it's murder in a Broadway theater - and Pam North might end up in a featured role...

A dinner party on a remote island turns deadly, when the words of an ancient curse apparently cause the immediate death of one person - and the nearly immediate decomposition of the body.

When author Bruce Attleton disappeared - and so did his wife - friends were mystified. The secret appears to lie in a rundown artists' studio called "the Belfry" and a mysterious person who calls himself "Debrette"...

Not everyone liked Nicholas Vaughan, though most people in Mallory Fitzjohn had at least a grudging respect for him. He certainly appeared competent, a man of few words, handy with his hands. It was a shock when a fire destroyed the thatched cottage Vaughan was renting and renovating. Nick Vaughan was trapped in the blaze. The coroner's jury said it was accidental. Others weren't so sure, and it would take Inspector Macdonald of Scotland Yard to come up with a motive and method for murder.

Arnold Zeck was probably the only man Nero Wolfe feared - with good reason. Confrontation was inevitable - and only one could survive.

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin find themselves crossing swords with master criminal Arnold Zeck once again - and nearly lose their lives in the course of the battle, as Wolfe's brownstone home comes under attack.

Who would want to kill the village doctor in Abbot's Caldicott?? Quite a few people, it would seem. Inspector Littlejohn would find a good deal of snobbery mixed in with more than a little violence.

Pam and Jerry North came back to their hotel room to find the corpse of a strange woman in their bed. When the corpse is identified, it's going to make the Norths prime suspects.

A mystery writer points out the astonishing number of unsolved murders in London - happening only on Mondays. Could a single person be responsible for all the bloodshed?

Nick Latimer had a murderous plan to get rid of his business partners. It didn't work quite the way Nick had expected...

Half thriller and half screwball comedy, meet Leonidas Witherall, an absolute look-alike for William Shakespeare (in fact, everyone who meets him usually refers to him as "Bill"). Witherall gets involved with a young man whom police say is a murderer. Witherall says no - and proceeds to lead that young man, the police, and a whole group of characters on a merry chase to uncover the real villain.

Dr. Sam Hawthorne may be a very good doctor, but he's really expert at solving seemingly impossible crimes. Another Crippen & Landru collection by Edward D. Hoch.

It has been said that Ellery Queen IS the American Detective story. In this collection of short stories, parodies, and pastiches, dedicated to Frederick Dannay and Manfred B. Lee (the two men who were "Ellery Queen"), Josh Pachter and Dale Andrews have collected some fine examples of why EQ was (and remains) a figure of great importance to detective fiction.

Fifteen classic mystery stories translated from their original languages into English, some for the first time.

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin find themselves in the middle of two murder investigations, both concerning exotic and rare black orchids.

Gwenda knew the old house felt familiar. Had she once witnessed a murder there? And was it safe to know that secret?

Everyone had detested the old woman, but that was no excuse for murder. It took the best efforts of police and the nuns living at the convent to solve a most unusual case.

Cosmo Revere was killed when a tree fell on him while he was cutting it down. Only Ludovic Travers believed that the "accident" was really deliberate murder.

A burglar as hero? That's what readers in 1899 discovered in Raffles, a clever thief and safe-cracker and a most likeable criminal.

The small-time burglar thought his luck was in, when he found the apparently deserted house. And then he found the bodies...

Harriet Vane was on vacation when she discovered the body. The victim's throat had been cut - but the killer left no footprints in the sand.

Chief Inspector Henry Tibbett and his wife, Emmy, go for a sailing holiday - but, for the inspector, there's no holiday for murder.

It certainly seemed as if Anton the lion tamer had been mauled by the seven ferocious Bengal tigers who shared his circus act. Detective Inspector Minto isn't so sure. He sees a human hand behind the murder.

An anthology of 15 short stories spotlighting police detectives whose intelligence and understanding make them the nemesis of would-be criminals.