Brighton Mysteries – serie

Brighton, 1950. When a girl's body is found, cut into three, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is reminded of a magic trick, the Zig Zag Girl. The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old friend of Edgar's. They served together in the war as part of a shadowy unit called the Magic Men. Max is still on the circuit, touring seaside towns in the company of ventriloquists, sword-swallowers and dancing girls. Changing times mean that variety is not what it once was, yet Max is reluctant to leave this world to help Edgar investigate. But when the dead girl turns out to be known to him, Max changes his mind. Another death, another magic trick: Edgar and Max become convinced that the answer to the murders lies in their army days. When Edgar receives a letter warning of another 'trick', the Wolf Trap, he knows that they are all in the killer's sights...

On the eve of the Queen's coronation, DI Stephens and Max Mephisto uncover an anarchist plot and a ticking bomb at the same time as solving the murder of a man close to them - from the author of the bestselling Dr Ruth Galloway mysteries.'Mixes cosiness and sharpness in a way that recalls the best of Agatha Christie' Sunday Express (on Smoke and Mirrors)Elizabeth II's coronation is looming, but the murder of their wartime commander, Colonel Cartwright, spoils the happy mood for DI Edgar Stephens and magician Max Mephisto. A playbill featuring another deceased comrade is found in Colonel Cartwright's possession, and a playing card, the ace of hearts: the blood card. The wartime connection and the suggestion of magic are for Stephens and Mephisto to be summoned to the case.Edgar's ongoing investigation into the death of Brighton fortune-teller Madame Zabini is put on hold. Max is busy rehearsing for a spectacular Coronation Day variety show - and his television debut - so it's Edgar who is sent to New York, a land of plenty worlds away from still-rationed England. He's on the trail of a small-town mesmerist who may provide the key, but someone silences him first. It's Edgar's colleague, DS Emma Holmes, who finds the clue, buried in the files of the Zabini case, that leads them to an anarchist group intent on providing an explosive finale to Coronation Day.Now it's up to Edgar, Max and Emma to foil the plot, and find out who it is who's been dealing the cards . . .

Brighton, 1950s, mid-winter. Two missing children are found buried under snow in this chilling new case for DI Stephens and Max Mephisto. Max's star turn in Aladdin has been overshadowed by the murder ­­of two local children. With fairy tales in the air, it's not long before the press have found a nickname for the case: 'Hansel and Gretel'.'An excellent whodunnit, matched by the terrific down-at-heel atmosphere of postwar Brighton' - The TimesDI Edgar Stephens has plenty of leads to investigate. The missing girl, Annie, used to write plays and perform them with her friends. Does the clue lie in Annie's unfinished - and rather disturbing - last script? Or might it lie with the eccentric actor types who have assembled for the pantomime?Once again Edgar enlists Max's help in penetrating the shadowy theatrical world that seems to hold the key. But is this all just classic misdirection?

The fourth Stephens and Mephisto mystery from the author of the bestselling Dr Ruth Galloway series - a must-read for fans of Bryant and May. 'Mixes cosiness and sharpness in a way that recalls the best of Agatha Christie' Sunday Express (on Smoke and Mirrors)What do a murdered Brighton flower seller, the death of Cleopatra and a nude tableau show have in common? Read the most dangerous case yet for Stephens and Mephisto to find out. Christmas 1953. Max Mephisto and his daughter Ruby are headlining Brighton Hippodrome, an achievement only slightly marred by the less-than-savoury support act: a tableau show of naked 'living statues'. This might appear to have nothing in common with DI Edgar Stephens' current case of the death of a quiet flowerseller, but if there's one thing the old comrades have learned it's that, in Brighton, the line between art and life - and death - is all too easily blurred...

The Brighton police force is on the hunt for another killer, but this time they have some competition—a newly formed all-women’s private eye firm, led by none other than the police chief’s wife. Newly minted PI Emma Holmes and her partner Sam Collins are just settling into their business when they’re chosen for a high-profile case: retired music-hall star Verity Malone hires them to find out who poisoned her husband, a theater impresario. Verity herself has been accused of the crime. The only hitch—the Brighton police are already on the case, putting Emma in direct competition with her husband, police superintendent Edgar Stephens. Soon Emma realizes that Verity’s life intersects closely with her own—most notably in their mutual connection, Max Mephisto, who has returned to England from America with his children and famous wife, Hollywood star Lydia Lamont. Lydia, desperately bored in the countryside, catches wind of what Emma and Sam are up to and offers her services. What secret does Lydia know about Verity’s past? The team of female PIs circle closer to the killer, with the Brighton police hot on their tail. The clues suggest they’re looking for a criminal targeting the old music-hall crew. How long will it be before that trail leads straight back to Max?

The next gripping volume in The Brighton Mysteries series by bestselling author Elly Griffiths.It starts with a magician and a murder in a Brighton boarding house; throw in a show on Brighton pier, a sinister radio personality and a potential serial killer, and you've got the next gripping book in the Brighton Mysteries series. Magician Max Mephisto is hailed by a voice from the past, fellow performer Ted English, aka the Great Deceiver. Ted's assistant, Cherry, has been found dead in her Brighton boarding house and Ted is convinced that he'll be accused of her murder. Max agrees to talk to his friend, Superintendent Edgar Stephens, who is investigating the case. What Max doesn't know is that the girl's family have hired private detective duo Emma Holmes (Edgar's wife) and Sam Collins to do some digging of their own. When a second magician's assistant is killed, Edgar persuades Max to perform one last time - with a female assistant as decoy. But who will he choose for the role. ****************************Praise for The Great Deceiver*'Full of period charm and fiendish plotting' Mail on Sunday'Riveting' Sunday Post'Gripping . . . magical . . . we loved it' Woman's Weekly'An engaging cosy mystery - with added bite' Crime Monthly 'Intriguing, multi-layered and full of rich period detail' Lancashire Evening Press*Readers are loving The Great Deceiver*'Wonderful storytelling' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'The background, the plot, the characters - just brilliant!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'I was gripped from beginning to end' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Elly Griffiths at her best' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐The Last Remains, the final instalment of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries, was a Sunday Times bestseller in August 2023.

The next gripping volume in The Brighton Mysteries series by bestselling author Elly Griffiths.It starts with a magician and a murder in a Brighton boarding house; throw in a show on Brighton pier, a sinister radio personality and a potential serial killer, and you've got the next gripping book in the Brighton Mysteries series. Magician Max Mephisto is hailed by a voice from the past, fellow performer Ted English, aka the Great Deceiver. Ted's assistant, Cherry, has been found dead in her Brighton boarding house and Ted is convinced that he'll be accused of her murder. Max agrees to talk to his friend, Superintendent Edgar Stephens, who is investigating the case. What Max doesn't know is that the girl's family have hired private detective duo Emma Holmes (Edgar's wife) and Sam Collins to do some digging of their own. When a second magician's assistant is killed, Edgar persuades Max to perform one last time - with a female assistant as decoy. But who will he choose for the role. ****************************Praise for The Great Deceiver*'Full of period charm and fiendish plotting' Mail on Sunday'Riveting' Sunday Post'Gripping . . . magical . . . we loved it' Woman's Weekly'An engaging cosy mystery - with added bite' Crime Monthly 'Intriguing, multi-layered and full of rich period detail' Lancashire Evening Press*Readers are loving The Great Deceiver*'Wonderful storytelling' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'The background, the plot, the characters - just brilliant!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'I was gripped from beginning to end' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Elly Griffiths at her best' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐The Last Remains, the final instalment of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries, was a Sunday Times bestseller in August 2023.

Gripping historical mystery from the bestselling author of The Stranger Diaries.'Griffiths writes with a smart, sharp eye and great elegance' Peter JamesThree girls have left. None have come back.Brighton, 1963. Edgar Stephens has been promoted to Superintendent and is married to his former sergeant, Emma Holmes. Edgar's wartime partner in arms, magician Max Mephisto, is a movie star in Hollywood, while his daughter Ruby has her own TV show.The funeral of an old friend highlights just how much the gang's lives have changed in the last nine years. Edgar is struggling with fresh responsibilities and the new swinging Brighton of rioting mods and rockers; Emma is chafing against the restrictions of life as a housewife.Bob Willis, meanwhile, is tackling his biggest case since his promotion to DI: a schoolgirl missing from high-class boarding school Roedean. It looks like she's run away; but there are disturbing similarities to the disappearances of a young local nurse and a tearaway Modette, neither of whom have been seen or heard from since...A new world is dawning in Brighton, but the city's dark side is as dangerous as ever.'A piquant mixture of humour, period detail . . . and truly beguiling characterisation' Financial Times

A gripping Brighton-based mystery from the bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway series - a must-read for fans of Agatha Christie, cosy crime and TV series such as Grantchester and Midsomer Murders.Three young women have gone missing.A girl called Rhonda has vanished from her boarding school. Maybe she ran away, but there are disturbing similarities to the disappearance of two other young women - those too thought not to be suspicious.But where are they?Detective Edgar Stephens is under pressure to solve Rhonda's disappearance, but it is his wife Emma, herself a former detective now frustrated at being just a housewife, who concludes there might be a connection between the three cases.Then the danger comes nearer home.Edgar's friend, magician Max Mephisto, is reinventing himself as a movie star and trying not to envy his daughter Ruby's television fame. Little do either of them know how close they are to being drawn into the deadly web of abduction and murder about to trap them all.*************************Praise for The Brighton Mysteries'Original, lively and gripping' Independent'Full of period detail, smart plotting and likeable characters' Mail on Sunday'A piquant mixture of humour, period detail . . . and truly beguiling characterisation' Financial Times'Recalls the best of Agatha Christie' Sunday Express