Golden age crime

Braille

About this list

The titles in this booklist are just a selection of the titles available for loan from the RNIB National Library Service.

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Booklist

Aird, Catherine.Henrietta who?. 1968. 4v. UK Loan only.An Inspector C D Sloan book. Henrietta Jenkins is called home from university a few months before her twenty-first birthday when her mother is found dead in a lonely country road. The post mortem reveals that, apart from having been run over twice, Mrs Jenkins had never given birth to a child. So - who was Henrietta, where is her birth certificate and why does the murderer strike again?

Aird, Catherine.Some die eloquent. 1979. 3v. UK Loan only.An Inspector C D Sloan book. Miss Wansdyke, retired chemistry teacher, lived quietly and modestly. But her death was sudden, and she had recently acquired a great deal of money. All these things and the strange reactions of the beneficiaries under the will concern Inspector Sloan.

Allen, Michael.Spence in Petal Park. 1977. 2v.Superintendent Spencer investigates the murder of a playboy.

Allingham, Margery.Police at the funeral. 1931. 5v. UK Loan only. Albert Campion Series; Book 4. Sequel to Look to the Lady. Great Aunt Caroline rules the old Cambridge house, "Socrates Close", with a rod of Victorian iron. But now that Uncle Andrew has disappeared, his great niece, Joyce, seeks the help of Albert Campion. Before he can help, news comes of the death "by murder" of the lost uncle. Next for the mortuary is Aunt Julie and suspicion falls all around in this bizarre household of horror. It is a tortuous maze of intrigue for the bland, blue-eyed and deceptively vague detective.

Allingham, Margery.The beckoning lady. 1955. 5v. UK Loan only. Albert Campion Series; Book 18. It is high summer but the glorious season is tainted with death: the village of Pontisbright, Suffolk, is in mourning for its most eminent resident, author and librettist William Faraday. Albert Campion receives a cryptic message warning that murder is afoot and the same day an eight-day-old corpse is discovered. The villagers show a singular lack of concern and the plot thickens.

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Allingham, Margery.Dancers in mourning. 1937. 7v. UK Loan only.Everyone fell under the spell of Jimmy Sutane, the charming and talented song-and-dance man. Everyone that is, except the spiteful practical joker who put a pin in his stick of greasepaint and pasted "Last Week" over the "House Full" notices. As soon as Albert Campion is called in to investigate, people begin to die and there is no shortage of suspects when the first victim's death is so convenient for so many. And Detective Campion is in love - with Mrs Sutane.

Babson, Marian.Reel murder. 1986. 3v. UK Loan only.Evangeline Sinclair has been a star all her life. From silent films, through talkies, down to a retrospective showing at the recently opened Cinema in the sky, she has commanded the limelight. Never more so than when a horrendous moment from one of her old films is re-enacted in the garden of the London house where she is staying - only this time the corpse is real.

Babson, Marian.Encore murder. 1989. 4v. When Trixie Dolan's friend, the Eternal Star, Evangeline Sinclair, was having trouble with a rival, and Martha, Trixie's daughter, decided, amid floods of tears, that she wasn't going through with her wedding, Trixie began to worry about her powers of survival. Then death strikes and once again Evangeline and Trixie play detectives.

Bell, Josephine.A swan-song betrayed. 1978. 4v. UK Loan only.Returned to Cornwall after a twenty year absence, Martin discovers the secrets surrounding the gory bundle and blood-soaked sacking he had found on his earlier stay.

Bell, Josephine.The trouble in Hunter ward. 1976. 2v. UK Loan only.In the amenity ward at the top of the hospital building they were short of staff because of a strike. Even before the mysterious death of Sister Hallet, there was chaos.

Bentley, E Clerihew.Trent's last case. 1918. 3v. UK Loan only. Philip Trent Series; Book 1.A powerful and ruthless American capitalist is found dead in the garden of his English country house. But why is he not wearing his false teeth? Why is his young widow so relieved at his death? The artist and amateur detective Philip Trent arrives to find that there is more to the case than the solving of a puzzle: he must also accept his own fallibility, in detection and in romance.

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Berkley, Antony.Trial and error. 1937. 5v. UK Loan only.No review available.

Bingham, John.God's defector: the case of the missing priest. 1976. 2v. UK Loan only.There was potential dynamite in Father Lawrence Brown's head when he defected from the Roman Catholic Church for what was called 'love' by the national press. He had heard many confessions. Was he still bound by the secrecy of the confessional? Did he think so himself? More important, did certain other people think so, or did they fear that he might now regard himself as free of restraint, not only about the present but about the past? The perilous flashpoint approaches when, to make much-needed money from writing, he has to decide whether to put the first spark to the fatal gunpowder trail.

Blake, Nicholas.The widows cruise. 1959. 3v.Nigel Strangeways solves the mystery of two sudden deaths among the passengers on a holiday cruise to Greece.

Blake, Nicholas.Head of a traveller. 1949. 4v. UK Loan only.Nigel Strangeways makes an impressive appearance once more. The action takes place on the upper reaches of the Thames. The discovery of a headless corpse in the river is the starting point for a series of disclosures about the family of the poet whose home is a charming country house close by.

Brett, Simon.A nice class of corpse. 1986. 3v. UK Loan only.Few brochures were sent out by the hotel in Littlehampton. The clientele tended to arrive by personal recommendation: "nice" people. Miss Naismith, the unnervingly refined proprietress, had no need to advertise in "The Lady", now: there was always a waiting list of elderly people when an occupant "moved on". The trouble was that, in rapid succession, two residents moved on permanently very soon after the arrival of Mrs Pargeter.

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Brett, Simon.Mrs Pargeter's plot. 1996. 4v.Melita Pargeter's plans to build her dream house are scuppered when her builder is arrested for murder. Concrete Jack is no angel, but nor is he a killer. Unfortunately, though, the evidence is piling up and Concrete is refusing to talk. So Mrs Pargeter decides to do it for him. And with the assistance of her late husband's colourful band of ex-"colleagues", she sets out to unmask the real killer.

Brett, Simon.An amateur corpse. 1978. 2v.Charles Paris, professional actor and amateur investigator, is involved in the mysterious murder of an actress in an amateur company.

Cecil, Henry.Tell you what I'll do. 1969. 3v. UK Loan only.Harry, an amiable criminal, prefers a safe and lazy life, either with the unsuspecting colonel to whom he had once been batman, or in the security of one of the most modern of English prisons.

Chandler, Raymond.The big sleep. 1953. 5v.Justice of an unexpected sort is done after a series of murders while a case of blackmail is being investigated.

Christie, Agatha.The secret adversary. 1922. 2v. American Braille. UK Loan only. Tommy and Tuppence Series; Book 1.Two young adventurers get more than they bargained for when they hire themselves out to the sinister Mr Whittington.

Christie, Agatha.The mysterious affair at Styles. 1995. 3v. UK Loan only.When Mrs Inglethorp, wealthy mistress of Styles Court, is murdered the clues seem strangely unrelated - a mysteriously destroyed will, a shattered coffee cup, a splash of candle grease, an old envelope, a newly planted bed of begonias... Small matters to most, but intriguing enough to feed the curiosity of Hercule Poirot.

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Christie, Agatha.The murder on the links. 1923. 4v.Sequel to The Mysterious Affair at Styles. An urgent appeal for help brings Hercule Poirot to France with unaccustomed haste, but he is too late. His client, a mysterious millionaire, has been brutally stabbed to death and his body flung carelessly into an open grave. As the Belgian detective unravels the strange circumstances of this case, he finds a clue that is to take him back to another crime committed more than 20 years earlier.

Christie, Agatha.The murder at the vicarage. 1930. 5v.When the irascible church warden Colonel Protheroe is found shot through the head in the vicar's study, there seems to be no shortage of suspects. Miss Marple declares that at least seven people have a motive, and three people confess to having committed the crime. So who really did kill the bad- tempered old man?

Christie, Agatha.Thirteen problems. 1932. 4v.Sequel to The Murder at the Vicarage. Miss Marple appears in each of these thirteen stories, solving the most amazing mysteries quietly and unobtrusively from her chair by the fireside.

Christie, Agatha.Secret of chimneys. 1925. 5v. UK Loan only. Superintendent Battle Series; Book 1.Anthony Cade, master of intrigue and adventure, is caught up in a web of blackmail, assassination, and double-cross. Stolen love letters, a precious manuscript, a terrorist organization and a fabulous jewel make up the clues to a sinister international conspiracy.

Christie, Agatha.Sparkling cyanide. 1945. 5v.Six people sat down to dinner at a table laid for seven. In front of the empty place was a sprig of rosemary - in memory of Rosemary Barton who had died at that same table a year before. A toast was drunk to Rosemary, there was a pause, and one of the party slumped down in his chair, fighting for breath.

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Collins, Wilkie.The woman in white. 1994. 11v.Late one night, a drawing teacher has a midnight encounter on a lonely road with a mysterious and agitated woman dressed entirely in white, whom he helps to escape from pursuers. Who is she, and what is her connection to the teacher's new pupil, a beautiful heiress?

Creasey, John.The Toff and the deep blue sea. 1955. 3v.Richard Rollison, alias the Toff, is in Nice engaging girls for M.Rambeau's new cabaret at the Baccarat. But an attempt on his life suggests that someone knows that the real reason for his presence is to track down a poor-little-rich-girl who's gone missing. All lines of enquiry lead to the elusive Chicot, who, like his predecessor created by Alexander Dumas, may be a clown but is certainly no fool.

Creasey, John.The Toff on the farm. 1956. 3v.No review available.

Crispin, Edmund.The Moving toyshop. 1946. 3v. UK Loan only.No review available.

Crispin, Edmund.Fen country: twenty-six stories. 1979. 4v.Gervase Fen, Oxford don, vain and eccentric amateur detective, together with the self-effacing Detective Inspector Humbleby, solve some of the most bizarre cases in the annals of crime.

Crispin, Edmund.The glimpses of the moon: a novel. 1977. 4v.In and around a village, murder follows murder. Professor Gervase Fen is involved in the intricate puzzle, and the Rector and the Major take a hand at playing detective, until the story culminates in a chase to end all chases.

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Crofts, Freeman Wills. Inspector French's greatest case. 1925. 4v. UK Loan only.The diamonds have been securely locked away for the night, and all that glitters in London's Hatton Garden is the freshly fallen rain. But up in the offices of Duke & Peabody lays old Mr Gething, deceased - the safe is open and the diamonds gone: a case for Inspector Joseph French of the Yard, which will take him from Holland to Barcelona and the Alps.

Doyle, Arthur Conan.The hound of the Baskervilles. 1993. 3v.The Baskerville family is haunted by a phantom beast "with blazing eyes and dripping jaws" which roams the mist-enshrouded moors around the isolated Baskerville Hall on Dartmoor. Is this devilish spectre the manifestation of a family curse? Only Sherlock Holmes can solve this affair.

Doyle, Arthur Conan.The case-book of Sherlock Holmes. 1927. 8v.Restored to life by popular demand after his last struggle with Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls, the austere Victorian detective once more dons his cape and takes up his magnifying glass.

Doyle, Arthur Conan.The adventure of the Sussex vampire. 1951. 1v.Two letters have reached Mr. Holmes relating to the same curious case. After reading the first cryptic message, the great detective is inclined to dismiss the problem as being too fantastic to be worthy of his superior talents. The second letter however, rouses him to keen interest and instant action.

Ferrars, Elizabeth.Ninth life. 1965. 3v.Caroline, convalescing at her moody brother-in-law's country house, is involved in mystery and suspense which explodes in arson and murder.

Ferrars, Elizabeth.The pretty pink shroud. 1977. 4v.When Leila disappears and her dress turns up blood-stained and torn, it was Ruth's understanding that showed the solution to the puzzle was not as simple as it seemed.

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Ferrars, Elizabeth.Foot in the grave. 1973. 4v. UK Loan only.The sudden influx of visitors into the usually quiet household of Christine and Henry Findon brings more than confusion - it brings a most unexpected murder.

Fraser, Antonia.The wild island. 1978. 2v. UK Loan only.Sequel to Quiet as a Nun. Jemima, TV investigator, arrives on a Scottish island for a holiday, only to find herself involved in the mystery following the drowning of the heir of a Jacobite family, the aristocratic Beauregards.

Fraser, Antonia.Oxford blood. 1985. 5v.Jemima, a television reporter, is summoned by Mother Ancilla, headmistress of the convent she once briefly attended, to investigate a strange death.

Gardner, Erle Stanley.The case of the buried clock. 1958. 4v. UK Loan only.After catching his son-in-law embezzling, wealthy banker Vincent Blane is shocked when the younger man is murdered and Blane's daughter is accused, prompting him to call in Perry Mason for her defence.

Gilbert, Michael.Game without rules. 1968. 5v. UK Loan only.Mr Behrens lived with his aunt at the Old Rectory, Lamperdown, and Mr Calder had a cottage outside the village. They were quiet men, close friends and good neighbours Both of them had a habit of disappearing Both were professional agents, with nothing to learn about the curious, secretive, occasionally dangerous and always responsible way of life that is espionage and counter espionage, cross and double cross, the bomb, the dagger, and the firing party.

Gilbert, Michael.Death of a favourite girl. 1980. 5v. UK Loan only.The enquiries conducted by the new Chief Inspector when the body of a girl is found on a quiet riverside town lead not as had been expected to an easy open and shut case, but to unexpected events and much violence.

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Heyer, Georgette.Why shoot a butler. 1933. 6v.A lonely old man is murdered in a quiet country lane, apparently shot as he was driving home. The only witness to the crime is a pretty young woman with a loaded automatic gun in her pocket, soon to become the main suspect. But why, indeed, shoot a butler? Unless he had seen too much.

Heyer, Georgette.They found him dead. 1937. 6v.A murder story of sheer brilliance. All the characters are an entertainment in themselves, apart from the plot.

Holt, Victoria.The curse of the Kings. 1973. 7v.When Sir Edward Travers, a famous Egyptologist, dies on an expedition, young Judith Osmond investigates the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Iles, Frances.Malice aforethought: a commonplace crime. 1931. 5v.A country doctor plans to poison his domineering wife and a dramatic court scene is followed by an unsuspected climax.

Innes, Michael.The mysterious commission. 1974. 4v.Charles Honeybath, fashionable artist and amateur detective undertakes to paint the portrait of a mysterious sitter, and is drawn into a bizarre and dangerous adventure.

Innes, Michael.Appleby's End. 1945. 3v.Sequel to The Weight of the Evidence. Detective Inspector John Appleby arrives at Long Dream Manor to find that the Raven family, distinguished by their noses and their shabby plumage, had an uncle who wrote Gothic horrors - which now seem to be coming true.

Innes, Michael.Appleby and Honeybath. 1983. 4v.Sir John Appleby, retired Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and artist Charles Honeybath join forces to investigate a murder - and mysterious disappearance of the corpse from a locked room - at the home of Terence Grint.

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Keating, H. R. F.The iciest sin. 1991. 4v. A murder investigation in which Ghote finds himself both blackmailer and blackmail victim, as well as the police inspector tracking down the murderer of a blackmailer.

Keating, H. R. F.Inspector Ghote draws a line. 1979. 4v. UK Loan only.Inspector Ghote is sent to a vast old house deep in the Indian countryside to protect an aged and unpopular judge who has received threatening letters.

Keating, H. R. F.A remarkable case of burglary. 1975. 3v. UK Loan only.Janey, the kitchen maid in a large Victorian household, is to be the inside contact to help Val to a perfect case of burglary, but not all of the inhabitants react as he expects.

Keating, H. R. F.Under a monsoon cloud. 4v. UK Loan only.On the spur of the horrified moment, Inspector Ghote helps his superior officer and long-time hero, "Tiger" Kelkar, to conceal the death of a man he has killed in an instant of pre-monsoon anger. Ghote is torn: should he save his career or tell the truth?

Knox, Ronald.The footsteps at the lock. 1928. 3v. UK Loan only.No review available.

Lathen, Emma.Accounting for murder. 1965. 4v.John Putman Thatcher, senior Vice-president of the Sloan Guaranty Trust, is an elegant and youthful sixty. In the world of high finance, the accounts for a murder may not balance - John P. Thatcher turns detective once more.

Lathen, Emma.Something in the air. 1988. 5v.A pilot who has taken an outspoken position against the expansion plans of Sparrow Flyways is found in Boston Harbor with his head bashed in. It is up to John Putnam Thatcher, Wall Street banker and amateur detective, aided by a sparky TV newswoman, to weave his laconic but incisive way through a maze of embezzlement, blackmail, drug-running and financial shenanigans, and to flush out the murderer.

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Lovesey, Peter.Wobble to death. 1970. 3v. Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray series; Book 1'Wobbles' or 'six-day-go-as-you-please' walking contests were very popular in the 1880s, but this one at the agricultural hall was more than just a grim endurance test, and two murders were committed before the week was out.

Marsh, Ngaio.Enter a murderer. 1935. 4v. UK Loan only.The crime was committed on stage at the Unicorn Theatre, when an unloaded gun fired a very real bullet. The victim was Arthur Surbonadier, an actor clawing his way to stardom using blackmail instead of talent. The suspects included two unwilling girlfriends and several relieved blackmail victims. The stage was set for one of Chief Inspector Alleyn's most baffling cases.

Mortimer, John.Rumpole of the Bailey. 1978. 5v. UK Loan only.Horace Rumpole is 68 next birthday with an unsurpassed knowledge of blood and typewriters and a penchant for quoting poetry.

Peters, Ellis.A nice derangement of epitaphs. 1965. 5v. UK Loan only.Emotions engendered by adoption are woven into the excitement and suspense of an official tomb opening.

Poe, Edgar Allan.Tales of mystery and imagination. 1845. 9v.Ten of Poe's best mysteries, including 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' and 'The Pit Pendulum'.

Sayers, Dorothy L.The documents in the case. 1992. 5v. UK Loan only.The bed was broken and tilted grotesquely sideways. Harrison was sprawled over it in a huddle of soiled blankets, his mouth twisted unpleasantly, and only the whites of his eyes showing. But he was an expert on deadly fungi. How then could he have eaten a large quantity of death-dealing Muscarine? Suicide? Murder? The documents in the case seem to be a simple collection of love notes and letters home, but they conceal a clue to the brilliant murderer.

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Sayers, Dorothy L.Strong poison. 1930. 5v. Lord Peter Wimsey meets Harriet Vane, on trial for poisoning her lover with arsenic, and tracks down the real murderer.

Simenon, Georges.Maigret sets a trap. 1965. 2v. UK Loan only.In the oppressive heat of a Parisian August, Maigret baits a trap to lure the murderer of five women, brutally knifed in the streets of Montmartre.

Stout, Rex.Champagne for one. 1959. 3v. UK Loan only.No review available.

Symons, Julian.The Belting inheritance. 1965. 3v. UK Loan only.Greed leads to murder when another claimant confronts a family only held together by the expectation of a large inheritance. A Paris nightclub provides a vital clue.

Symons, Julian.The Blackheath poisonings: a Victorian murder mystery. 1978. 4v.In two villas built by the late Charles Mortimer at Blackheath live his surviving relatives. Within the space of a few months three of them are murdered.

Tey, Josephine.The singing sands. 1992. 4v.On sick leave from Scotland Yard, Inspector Alan Grant finds a dead man aboard the night train to Scotland. He is drawn into the mystery of the man's death by the lines the singing sands, that guard the way to paradise that are written on the dead man's newspaper.

Van Dyne, S. S.The canary murder case. 1927. 5v. UK Loan only.No review available.

Van Dyne, S. S.The Greene murder case. 1928. 4v. No review available.

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Underwood, Michael.Rosa's dilemma. 1990. 4v.Solicitor Rosa Epton has vowed never to work with Malcolm Palfrey again, yet here she was, helping him defend a young couple charged with malicious damage. He was elusive as she prepared the case, culminating in his non appearance on the day of the trial. Then Palfrey was discovered on a park bench with a bullet in his brain and a revolver beside him. Was it suicide or murder?

Wentworth, Patricia.Miss Silver intervenes. 1944. 5v. UK Loan only.A chance encounter restores Giles Armitage to his fiancée, but the shipwreck has left him with amnesia, and their happiness is threatened by Carola Roland. So when Carola is murdered, Giles is the chief suspect and it takes Miss Silver's ingenuity to unravel the real significance of the crime.

Wentworth, Patricia.Out of the past. 1955. 6v. James and Carmona Hardwick are playing host to numerous friends at their family residence. The arrival of a figure from Carmona's past causes mounting tension, culminating in murder. Fortunately Miss Silver is present to unravel the complex mystery.

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