Catherine Aird – författare

This companion is a one-volume, alphabetically arranged encyclopedia exploring the full range of literature suggested by the title. The 672 articles range from brief factual pieces to longer synthetic treatments of topics of central thematic interest.

"I think that it is desirable to discuss the affair - here, in the room in which the Bishop's body was found."A pernicious parson outwits the thieves of a priceless chalice from the parish treasury. A beloved vicar contemplates a perfect crime when a blackmailer comes knocking. Poisoned pen letters lead to a fall from grace for a rector's wife, and a suspicious fall from the second storey for the rector.Gathered here in this new collection are some of the greatest mystery tales in which the tendrils of crime steal into the churchyard, featuring clergymen and nuns as victims, amateur sleuths and villainous perpetrators of the devil's work. Replete with a fascinating introduction and notes from one of the guiding lights of crime fiction, Martin Edwards, this anthology delivers cosy brainteasers and fiendishly-fashioned stories with a sting in the tail, from a congregation of writers including Joyce Porter, H. C. Bailey, Cyril Hare and Edmund Crispin.

Five strangers are summoned to hear the last will and testament of a man they've never met: the late Algernon Mayton, a distant relative and inventor of Mayton's Marvellous Mixture. However, one of them never arrives. Unable to receive their share of the fortune until the missing man has been located, they begin a search. Two months later, Detective Sloan is called in to help after one of the group dies of poisoning. Is this a simple case of accidental ingestion of a noxious substance, or is this the start of the legatees being picked off one by one? Sloan and Crosby quickly discover where matters of money, family rivalry and a missing person are involved, there is almost certainly foul play afoot.

When Mike Wakefield's business partner absconded with their printing firm's money, Mike and his wife Stephanie feared bankruptcy. Detective Inspector Sloan is at first tasked with what appears to be a cut-and-dry case of embezzlement, but that is before unsettling events - tyres slashed, bricks through windows - make it clear that someone is really gunning for him.However, Mike Wakefield was determined to finish a print job that had been in hand for a while in time for a launch party at the grand setting of Ornum House. All goes according to plan until one of Mike's employees was found dead . And he wasn't the only casualty.DI Sloan and DC Crosby have a tangled set of motives and some devious chicanery to unpick to discover a killer.

When Mike Wakefield's business partner absconds with their printing firm's money, Detective Inspector Sloan is tasked with what appears to be a cut-and-dry case of embezzlement. However, unsettling events - tyres slashed, bricks through windows - make it clear that someone is really gunning for Mike.There is just one print job to put to bed in time for a lavish launch party at Ornum House. All goes according to plan until one of Mike's employees is found dead . And he wasn't the only casualty. DI Sloan and DC Crosby have a tangled set of motives and some devious chicanery to unpick to discover a killer.