Mr Crook Murder Mystery – serie

In the 'ads - wanted' section, no one said anything about murder...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection Club'No author is more skilled at making a good story seem brilliant' Sunday ExpressMiddle-aged spinsters of independent means shouldn't answer matrimonial adverts. Agatha Forbes realised this when she saw what her brand new husband kept in his woodshed and screamed in mortal terror.By then her husband's tender caresses had slowly turned into a stranglehold. But, unbeknown to her, the moment that a doctor would scrawl his signature on her death certificate was creeping nearer with each passing day.

Blackmail leads to murder - but which of the blackmailer's victims is guilty of such a brutal crime?Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubJames Chigwell is a blackmailer, a human spider who fattens on the blood of other men - on their misfortunes and on their mistakes. But retribution comes to Chigwell when one of his victims at last rebels against his maliciousness and bludgeons him to death.But who among Chigwell's final victims has the courage of despair to slay his tormentor?The Scarlet Button is at once grim and entertaining and, of course, features the celebrated detective Arthur Crook.

A rich, curmudgeonly old husband, a beautiful young wife, a mysterious voice from the past - and murder...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubWhen murder hits the sleepy town of Hinton St Luke tongues start wagging. It's what you might call a cosy domestic murder: a beautiful young wife; her much-older husband dying at just the right moment; a jealous nurse; a mysterious voice from the past and a set of anonymous letters.But which one will lead directly to the killer's front door?

A chilling day of murder in the midst of post-World War II austerityClassic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubIn the spring of 1946, the redoubtable Lady Bate arrives at The Downs, built by the eccentric Colonel Anstruther years before. The aftermath of war has forced the colonel's daughter to take in paying guests, but only Lady Bate knows the secret of Mrs Anstruther's past life and the mystery behind her hermit-like existence. When Lady Bate is found dead, a chance remark puts detective Arthur Crook on the right track, which he follows - at risk to his life.

Forget The Girl on the Train - meet the woman who watches from her window, and finds herself caught up in murder...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection Club'Watching, fascinated and horrified, he saw thin fingers creep around the edge of the black curtain. Someone from inside was tugging to loosen it . . .'Miss Janet Martin, a 74-year-old spinster, enjoys her daily habit of watching passers-by from her window. When she strikes up a friendship with one of them - the golden-haired Pamela - she has no inkling that the innocence of her fading years is about to be turned upside down.The little old lady becomes inextricably involved in the child's fate, and when she calls in private eye Arthur Crook to help, a plot of abduction, fraud and murder unfolds . . .

After years of caring for her often impossible mother, Alice is finally free. But an unexpected legacy gives her more than she bargained for...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubWhen Alice Hunter's mother dies, after grimly clinging on for eighty-odd years, it is enough for genteel Alice just to be free. But she soon becomes lonely, having few points of contact with the people in the cheap boarding houses which are all she can afford. Then comes news of a legacy, and Alice's soul rises as she travels to the family's lawyers in Bath.Her new life is not what she expects, however, and she is lost in a fog of human misunderstanding, hatred and deceit. A nice cup of tea, stirred by detective Arthur Crook, is what she will need to put things right . . .

Henry's vocation is being a husband. First he woos. Then he weds. Then he kills... Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubWhen he falls in love with orphan Sarah, Henry takes her to a lonely cottage and her initial happiness at being with him soon gives way to some uncomfortable suspicions. But will anyone reach the isolated spot before Henry deems her a little too inquisitive for her own good?

If you ever need my help, I'll be there. But by the time he arrived, she had already disappeared...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubArthur Crook and Miss Pinnegar meet by accident and take to each other on sight, parting with mutual appreciation and an invitation by the detective to call on him professionally should she ever need help - unlikely as that may be.But when Miss Pinnegar receives a visit, it threatens to shake her life to the very foundations. She sends Crook an SOS and he comes at the double, but by then Miss Pinnegar has already disappeared . . .

She lost her memory - now her life is at risk.Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubWhen lawyer-detective Arthur Crook bumped into a woman called Barbara on the parade at Beachampton it became apparent she had no idea who she was. She had been closely involved in the sudden deaths of two rich old ladies but something had instinctively prevented her from going to the police.Now Barbara finds herself under grave suspicion and fighting for her life. But will Arthur Crook be able to untangle the mystery?'No author is more skilled at making a good story seem brilliant' Sunday Express

The victims were predictable - the murderer was not...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubSour, selfish and worth several millions, Mrs French was just the kind of woman you'd expect to be murdered. And so, in due course, she was.Mrs Hoggett was the next to die - another murder predicted by all who, unfortunately, knew her well. Since there was no shortage of suspects, it was small wonder the killer eluded the law. And then a lovely young woman came forth with a story of bigamy and blackmail so bizarre it had to be true. All that was needed for proof was yet another corpse...'Clever' New York Herald Tribune

Assisted suicide - or murder...?Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubEven Hatty Savage had to admit, at the inquest, that it had been foolish of her, when Richard Sheridan had threatened suicide, to hand him her sleeping tablets. So when a girl who had apparently been trying to blackmail her also came to an abrupt end, it was scarcely surprising that Hatty found herself in custody. Fortunately, she'd had the sense to marry local solicitor Philip Cobb, and, the moment Hatty is locked up he rushes to enlist the help of Detective Arthur Crook. When he becomes the prime suspect, it's a decision Cobb could live to regret ...'No author is more skilled at making a good story seem brilliant' Sunday Express

A missing wife, a husband suspected - and only the incorrigible private investigator can save them both.Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubOn the day that Emily Tate vanished, Inspector Marston met her husband, Stephen Tate, on the tow-path of the River Pyle. The unassuming Stephen was on the brink of a nightmare episode that was to make his unhappy marriage, his clandestine love affair and his disappointed hopes seem positively joyous by comparison. The determination of the girl he loved was the only thing that could save him from the web of circumstances in which he was enmeshed. She sent for Detective Arthur Crook.

A crime that isn't reported; a mother who's threatened...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubOut walking in the snow with her young son, Mike, Sara Drew is the only witness to a particularly unpleasant car accident in which an elderly lady and her dog are killed. Nervous of going to the scene of the accident with a child, she reluctantly goes home. There she meets one of the drivers, and is appalled that he has no intention of reporting the incident. And he also threatens to hurt her son if she goes to the police. But when Mike is kidnapped she contacts Detective Arthur Crook, who takes over the case and counters the wiles of desperate criminals . . .

An ordinary day - which turns to blackmail and murder.Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubWhat seemed like an ordinary phone call in the middle of the afternoon suddenly plunges its recipient, Simon Crete, into a plot of blackmail and murder.'Tell him it's no use. I haven't got it,' the mystery woman's voice cried desperately down the line. But who was she? And why was she ringing a man whom she had never seen?

An escaped convict, a mysterious deserted house, and murder in the Lake District..Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubThe shades of night were falling fast when Arthur Crook drove the old Superb over the Lakeland Fells and into the valley, to stop at a mysterious house where, though a light burned in an upper window, no one answered the bell. Here opens a double murder mystery in which Crook acts in the defence of a young prisoner on the run, whose guilt appears evident. 'The usual gusto, racy prose, good plotting and up-to-the-minute social observation' Sunday Times

May Forbes came four nights a week to feed the wild cats on Broomstick Common. That was how she happened to glimpse a masked man with a spade - and she's now in fear for her life.Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubMay leaves the common and ends up at the Mettlesome Horse, where irascible lawyer, Arthur Crook, is drinking at the bar. So when the body of eighteen-year-old Linda Myers is found buried on the Common, Crook discovers a number of people who might want the girl dead.Then May Forbes leaves for work one lunchtime and does not reappear . . .