Mr Crook Murder Mystery – serie

The most unlikely person is plunged into danger - but the police don't believe her. After all, she's not the kind of woman these things happen to... not murder, surely...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection 'No author is more skilled at making a good story seem brilliant' Sunday ExpressLaura Verity is an elderly lady with not much money and no past - not someone things happen to. But suddenly her life is plunged into danger, and without lawyer-sleuth Arthur Crook's timely interference, she might have lost it altogether.One thing she will never lose, though, is her head: the police don't believe her - she proves them wrong. The wine might be poisoned - she'll keep it for Crook to test. Does that car belong to the murderer? She'll just get in and see where he takes her. Together, brave Miss Verity and Arthur Crook uncover the truth about a murder.

How do you catch a killer when the murder goes unnoticed?Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubThe victim was certainly deserving of death, but not the hard, cruel death he found. No one deserved that . . .At first, the killer goes unsuspected. Someone else would pay the price for the crime - an innocent woman would pay and the murderer was willing to arrange other, more 'accidental' deaths to ensure it . . . until solicitor-detective Arthur Crook steps in. In one of his most baffling cases, Crook only has two guiding principles: his client is always innocent and, come hell or high water, he always gets his man.

Murder, politics and Nazi sympathisers - Arthur Crook has his detection skills pushed to the limit., with a most unlikely conspirator...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection Club'The lobby of the House of Commons was very full on the momentous afternoon that Miss Sarah Bennett, a composed and amused spinster, torn from her happy obscurity by an energetic and enterprising Minister of Labour, came from the Temporary Pass Office, up the stairs, through a corridor lined with effigies of the great . . .'Arthur Crook, and valiant conspirator Miss Sarah Bennett, secretary to Allen Wilkinson Stout MP, adventure through murders, Nazi incitement and parliamentary happenings to save a wing commander arrested for murder.

A young woman has a new position - but will she listen to the voice warning her not to cross the threshold of that sinister house...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubNora Deane, a young nurse, has been instructed to report to 12 Askew Avenue, Charlbury, to look after a new patient. As she steps from the station into an impenetrable blanket of fog, she is glad to accept the escort of a mysterious young man to the address. Once alone in the darkness, she presses the bell and waits. She shivers. She wants to be inside, out of the dangers of the dark. Yet some inner voice persistently warns her not to cross the threshold of that sinister house . . .

Some men are born to be murderedClassic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubLewis Bishop was born to be murdered - the perfect victim, a man whom many had every reason to hate and fear. When he is suddenly shot dead one night he leaves behind him only unpleasant memories, a flood of relief, and a pretty puzzle for the police - and a case for the irrepressible detective Arthur Crook . . .

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 . . .

The first time he saw her she stole his heart. The second time she was dead.Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubWhen Detective Arthur Crook first saw Stella Foster he knew she was marked for trouble. Stella was irresistible to men, a woman who loved laughter and pleasure - a woman, in fact, after Mr Crook's heart. The next time he saw her, Stella was dead. To find her killer, London's genial detective pursues his unorthodox way through a maze of tangled and conflicting clues to solve a clever and brutal crime of passion.'Unquestionably a most intelligent author. Gifts of ingenuity style and character drawing' Sunday Times

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

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 mission to help refugees - but someone has murder in mind...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubIt is at a local watering hole, the Duck and Daisy, that lawyer-detective Arthur Crook happens upon a party of men and women calling themselves the Peace Brigadiers. Their mission is to aid refugees from Europe.But it isn't long before Crook suspects one of them is using the premises for criminal ends. And when murder strikes Crook becomes entangled in a treacherous plot . . .

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 . . .

Solange Peters 'died' - and so did the scandal and suspicion that haunted her. So now she has the chance for a new life . . .Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubA bizarre accident gave Solange the chance to assume a new identity - and, as Julie Taylor, she set out to do just that, as companion to wealthy, neurotic Bianca Duncan. But soon she is plunged into a distorted and terrifying existence. A menace to Bianca's life is growing daily and a strange young man could expose Julie's masquerade. Suddenly the new identity seems far from safe, as Julie is forced to fight for her own life.

A blackmailer - murdered. And the suspect in fear for her life...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubMargaret Ross knew she had to pay off the blackmailer, Samson, or else her beloved son would go to jail for forgery. The next night she rang the bell at Samson's sinister house on Margate Street. There was no answer. Slowly she entered the house and went up the stairs. Samson was waiting at his desk - murdered. She found the incriminating letters and the cheque and escaped with them. But she had been seen. The dangers gather like wasps around Margaret and it takes all of Detective Arthur Crook's genius to get to her in time. 'Amusing and zestful, with an unexpected and exciting climax' Daily Telegraph

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

A missing child - and she might not be the last victim...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubAngela Toni, only nine years old, has been missing for several days, and it is Wilfrid Hersey's son Ben who is under suspicion. Hersey meets Detective Arthur Crook, whose blood boils at thought of a child killer. But as Crook digs deeper he discovers that the night Angela disappeared was also the night an unidentified man was found in Hangman's Alley, a shortcut the child would have taken on her way home. And another murder will take place before Crook finally uncovers the truth.'Grips steadily, like a conscientious ant's jaws' Observer'Arthur Crook in rumbustious form' Sunday Telegraph

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 . . .

When an accident begins to look like murder...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubOn a quiet country station, Detective Arthur Crook, waiting for the train to London, witnessed a near-fatal accident. Despite the arm of her companion, Miss Imogen Garland slipped and almost fell under the train. No harm was done, and Arthur Crook might not have thought anything more about it had not a newspaper item a few weeks later caught his eye. Miss Garland had once again been involved in an accident, this time fatal. Only it was not Miss Garland who had died . . .

Margaret Fielding was tried for the murder of her first husband ten years ago and, innocent, was acquitted for lack of evidence. Now someone is threatening to produce evidence that could convict her.Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubFortunately, Margaret meets Arthur Crook, the detective lawyer to whom the innocent turn, never in vain. When her blackmailer is found murdered, just after she is seen, distraught, leaving the premises, it is to Crook that she tells her tale. But someone knows Crook by reputation, and is anxious that he does not take on Margaret's case.