My favorite childhood summertime memory is being allowed to choose a stack of Agatha Christies to take with me to summer camp and on vacation. As I moved on to academia and the “serious” study of literature, I quickly discovered that mysteries are every bit as serious as James Joyce—and are a lot more fun to read. Now that I have turned to writing the stories myself, I enjoy diving into a world of afternoon tea, well-read detectives, and impeccably mixed cocktails, and I love to find readers who want to join me there.
The Three Coffinsis legendary among traditional mystery fans for its “locked room” lecture in Chapter Seventeen, in which the detective, Dr. Gideon Fell announces, “We're in a detective story, and we don't fool the reader by pretending we're not. Let's not invent elaborate excuses to drag in a discussion of detective stories. Let's candidly glory in the noblest pursuits possible to characters in a book." He then goes on to enumerate and classify the possible solutions to an impossible crime. What I love about this chapter is that Carr unapologetically defends escapist stories that depend upon style, wit, and an intelligent puzzle, rather than grimly realistic depictions of everyday life.
Professor Charles Grimaud was explaining to some friends the natural causes behind an ancient superstition about men leaving their coffins when a stranger entered and challenged Grimaud's skepticism. The stranger asserted that he had risen from his own coffin and that four walls meant nothing to him. He added, 'My brother can do more... he wants your life and will call on you!' The brother came during a snowstorm, walked through the locked front door, shot Grimaud and vanished. The tragedy brought Dr Gideon Fell into the bizarre mystery of a killer who left no footprints.
I admit it. This is my fantasy world: Oxford, complete with sherry, academic gowns, and dinner at the High Table. An English Lord—who falls in love with a mystery writer for her mind. Not only does everyone talks in complete sentences, they actually have something to say. I’m sure I’m not the only kid who grew up dreaming that a career in academia would be just like the one in Sayers’ book. Of course, I discovered quickly enough that the reality was very different, but I still love reading and writing about my childhood fantasy world.
The twelfth book in Dorothy L Sayers' classic Lord Peter Wimsey series, introduced by actress Dame Harriet Mary Walter, DBE - a must-read for fans of Agatha Christie's Poirot and Margery Allingham's Campion Mysteries.
'D. L. Sayers is one of the best detective story writers' Daily Telegraph
Harriet Vane has never dared to return to her old Oxford college. Now, despite her scandalous life, she has been summoned back . . .
At first she thinks her worst fears have been fulfilled, as she encounters obscene graffiti, poison pen letters and a disgusting effigy when she arrives at sedate Shrewsbury…
Two women, a century apart, seek to rebuild their lives after leaving their homelands. Arriving in tropical Singapore, they find romance, but also find they haven’t left behind the dangers that caused them to flee.
Haunted by the specter of terrorism after 9/11, Aislinn Givens leaves her New York career…
The Thursday Murder Clubis among the first of a new wave of books that concentrate on the Golden Age virtues of style, humor, and a fair puzzle. It is also a story for a mature audience. The story is set in a retirement community, and the characters face such trials as dementia, bad knees, and loneliness. But the story abounds with laugh-out-loud humor, and the senior sleuths outfox both the police and the crooks with a flair that never descends into preciousness.
A New York Times bestseller | Soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment
"Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining." -Wall Street Journal
"Don't trust anyone, including the four septuagenarian sleuths in Osman's own laugh-out-loud whodunit." -Parade
Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves A female cop with her first big case A brutal murder Welcome to... THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club.
Gigi Pandian is an open fan of John Dickson Carr, misdirection, and locked room puzzles, and her quirky characters have already earned her a devoted following. In this new series, Tempest Raj, a disgraced Las Vegas magician, returns to her family’s business of building secret staircases, only to discover her body double murdered in a sealed room. What follows is a classic locked-room puzzle, with a lot of tempting vegan recipes along the way.
"Wildly entertaining." —The New York Times Book Review
Known for her wonderfully addictive characters, multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian introduces her newest heroine in this heartfelt series debut. Under Lock & Skeleton Key layers stunning architecture with mouthwatering food in an ode to classic locked-room mysteries that will leave readers enchanted.
An impossible crime. A family legacy. The intrigue of hidden rooms and secret staircases.
After a disastrous accident derails Tempest Raj’s career, and life, she heads back to her childhood home in California to comfort herself with her grandfather’s Indian home-cooked meals. Though she resists, every day brings her…
Enter a captivating world where science fiction and thrilling suspense converge. After plummeting from the roof of Helix Unbound, Amanda awakens to a life devoid of memories. Desperately longing to fit in, yet sensing she harbors an extraordinary secret beneath her seemingly ordinary facade, she explores the unfamiliar world in…
The Stranger Diariesis closer to one of my other favorite genres, gothic romance, but it, too, is a witty, literate puzzle. English teacher Clare Cassidy is an expert on the Gothic writer R.M. Holland, so when one of her colleagues is found murdered with a line from Holland’s most famous story beside their body, Clare turns to her diary to make sense of their death. Her grief rapidly turns to fear when she finds the message, “Hallo, Clare, you don’t know me,” written in her diary by someone else. The message is, of course, frightening in The Stranger Diaries, but it is also the magical moment that I always hope for as both a reader and a writer, when I begin a book and the characters step out of their world and into my own.
THE TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR. THE RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK.
'Utterly bewitching ... a pitch-perfect modern Gothic' AJ FINN, author of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
A dark story has been brought to terrifying life. Can the ending be rewritten in time?
This is what the police know: English teacher Clare Cassidy's friend Ella has just been murdered. Clare and Ella had recently fallen out. Found beside the body was a line from The Stranger, a story by the Gothic writer Clare teaches, and the murder scene is identical to one of the deaths in the…
The Brooklyn North Murders is a tart take on gentrification in the Hudson Valley. The small-town traditions of Morgansburg, NY are rapidly being replaced by Brooklyn hipsters, who are determined to turn this sleepy college town into the next Silicon Valley. When a tech entrepreneur dives into a lake in full view of a triathlon crowd and never emerges, it is up to computer whiz Mary Watson and Doyle, the AI bot she has programmed to write mysteries, to solve the impossible crime.
Avery Mann, a retired pharmaceuticals executive, is in crisis.
His wife dies of cancer, his son’s marriage is on the rocks, his grandson is having a meltdown, and his good friend is a victim of the robocalls scandal that invades the Canadian federal election. Throw in a reckless fling with…
Edge of the Known World is a near-future love and adventure story about a brilliant young refugee caught in era when genetic screening tests like 23AndMe make it impossible to hide a secret identity. The novel is distributed by Simon & Schuster. It is a USA Today Bestseller and 2024…
