Classic Fiction

The brand new Christmas murder mystery from the author of The Twelve Days of Murder. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Alexandra Benedict and Janice Hallett's The Christmas Appeal. Christmas shopping can be murder. It's Christmas Eve at the Emporium, a bespoke gift shop hidden in the depths of London's winding streets, where a select few shoppers are browsing its...

This deliciously funny first in a new series of country house murder mysteries is full of 1920s flavour and introduces feisty dressmaker Jemima Flowerday. Jemima Flowerday combines her skills as a dressmaker and sleuth to solve crimes in the crumbling stately homes of 1920s Britain. 'A brilliant cosy mystery and a fantastic introduction to what is promising to be an...

Christmas is a season of overindulgence. For most of us, that means an extra mince pie, a second helping of turkey, or perhaps a third glass of mulled wine. But for some among us, the festive season is a time to settle old scores, dispatch new enemies and indulge...in murder. Here, ten masters of the genre serve up mystery and...

A war's on and a murder has been committed—and we sit here talking nonsense about almond whirls and mince pies! Good old Uncle Willie—rich, truculent and seemingly propped up by his fierce willpower alone—has come to stay with the Redpaths for the holidays. It is just their luck for him to be found dead in the snow on Boxing Day...

On a sultry afternoon in July, a man stumbles through thick foliage and rough ground, making for the coast. He wears prisoner's garb and the guards are hot on his heels. Happening upon a bather's clothes—the bather nowhere in sight—the escapee takes the risk, changes, and leaves the scene looking the part of the average beachcomber. But it can be...

Winter 1964. After a hit-and-run accident nearly kills her mother, Mike Hammer’s partner (both in life and the PI business), Velda Sterling, learns her father is not who she thought he is. Seeking to uncover her true, troubling heritage, Velda and Mike travel to Phoenix, Arizona—and sunny Dreamland Park, where retired law enforcement officers protect and corral notorious criminals held...

The streets of London have been home to many great detectives since the days of Sherlock Holmes and Watson, and the exploits of these city sleuths have flourished in the short story form. Featuring a roster of Scotland Yard's meticulous best, a cohort of daring doctors, and a handful of characterful private investigators, this new collection of short stories selected...

Discover Dorothy L. Sayers' inimitable Golden Age detective in this newly published collection of the complete Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Presented in chronological order, these short stories see Lord Peter Wimsey bringing his trademark wit and unique detection skills to all manner of mysteries. From poisoned port to murder in fancy dress, Wimsey draws on his many skills—including his expertise...

"You have to reach for the greatest of the Great Names (Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr, Ellery Queen) to find Christianna Brand's rivals in the subtleties of the trade." Anthony Boucher in the New York Times Night falls in the capital, and a "London particular" pea-souper fog envelops the city. In Maida Vale, Rose and her family doctor Tedwards struggle...

In time for the major feature film, a new edition of one of the most beloved novels of all time. The perfect holiday read and just in time for the major feature film, a timeless new edition of one of the most beloved novels of all time. Little Women is recognized as one of the best-loved classic children's stories, transcending...

The Master? Dr. Greeby? You don't say so! Murdered? Dear me! Poor Greeby! This will upset my whole day's work. An Oxford Master is slain on campus during Pentecost. A headmaster faces off in a deadly battle of wits with a disgruntled parent. A sixth-form public school prank courts a murderous consequence. In this new anthology, theft, blackmail, murder, and...

When a Hollywood film crew descends on her small town, part-time librarian Aurora 'Roe' Teagarden gets a behind-the-scenes look at movie making - and reprises her role as an amateur sleuth . . . It's been more than a year since her husband Martin's death, and Roe is still in mourning. All she wants is to be left alone to...

And now, in this low and critical moment, something in Penelope, something which had understood courage and resource and action, though she herself had never been brave or resourceful or active, stirred and shook itself. Penelope Shadow is quite hopeless at female pursuits, such as housework, looking after children or darning a sock. One day, she buys a typewriter and...

'One of the great masterpieces of Japanese crime fiction' David Peace, author of Tokyo Year Zero One of Japan's great modern writers, this second half of Lady Joker brings Kaoru Takamura's breathtaking masterpiece to a gripping conclusion. Five men who meet at a Tokyo racetrack every week carry out a heist. They have kidnapped the CEO of Japan's largest beer...

THE JAPANESE CRIME CLASSIC - ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD 'One of the great masterpieces of Japanese crime fiction and one of the must-read books of this or any year' - David Peace Tokyo, 1995. Five men meet at the racetrack every Sunday to bet on horses. They have little in common except a deep disaffection with their lives, but together...

Lucy Graham is a beautiful but impoverished governess when she meets the wealthy widower Sir Michael Audley, who, instantly besotted, makes her his wife. Their life at Audley Court is happy and uneventful until the arrival of Sir Michael's nephew Robert with his friend George Talboys, who has recently returned from making his fortune in Australia. When George suddenly vanishes...

Mr. Anthony Berkeley deserves all gratitude for his energetic efforts to escape from the thraldom of formula... If you are hard-boiled and disillusioned about detectives, you will find this tale very refreshing. Dorothy L. Sayers At a costume party with the dubious theme of 'famous murderers and their victims', the know-it-all amateur criminologist Roger Sheringham is settled in for an...

When Muriel Carew attends a lavish society party, the last person she expects to bump into is her ex-fiancée Henry Jekyll, a man she’s not seen for many years. When Jekyll turns out to be investigating a series of missing persons in London, Muriel is intrigued. But Jekyll is not working alone, and if Muriel wants to aid in the...

We are thrilled to welcome John Dickson Carr into the Crime Classics series with his first novel, a brooding locked room mystery in the gathering dusk of the French capital. In the smoke-wreathed gloom of a Parisian salon, Inspector Bencolin has summoned his allies to discuss a peculiar case. A would-be murderer, imprisoned for his attempt to kill his wife,...

Upon the death of her husband, Innocenzo Monti, Lalla Romano sought to distil the essence of their long life together. The result was In Farthest Seas: a piercingly intimate retelling of the first four years and final four months of their relationship, built from shard-like moments of connection and revelation. With precise artistry, Romano braids together seemingly minor details—the expressiveness...

Her best yet. A classic story with well concealed and ingenious clues, sufficiently difficult to leave us properly surprised by both murderer and method. — The Spectator Near St. Brynneys in the Welsh border country, isolated by heavy snow and flooding from the thaw, a calamity has occurred. Old Dr. Robinson, a known 'menace on the roads', has met his...

Hunkeler's Secret by Hansjörg Schneider explores a gripping mystery set in Switzerland. Hunkeler, now a retired inspector of the Basel police force, is hospitalised and sharing a room with Stephan Fankhauser, an old acquaintance terminally ill with cancer. One night, a groggy Hunkeler wakes up to see a young nurse administering an injection to his friend. The following day, Fankhauser...

It almost seemed that the murder, if it was a murder, must have been committed by someone who could rise up unsupported in the air... When Miles Hammond is invited to a meeting of the Murder Club in London, he is met instead with just two other guests and is treated to a strange tale of an impossible crime in...

The only hardback one-volume edition of Cary's classic trilogy, in which three remarkably different characters narrate their interlocking stories across half a century in a gloriously inventive and dazzling triptych. From her prison cell, the irrepressible, magnetic Sara Monday looks back on the past half-century of her life in Herself Surprised. Born into a poor family, her employment while still...

Robert Westland's date with the executioner is just around the corner when he finally decides to fight the murder rap sending him to the electric chair. Framed for his wife's grisly demise, Westland is in a bind, and his last hope is Bill Crane, a booze-soaked detective who's as ruthless with a quip as he is when trawling the streets...

"Curiously enough," said Dr. Manners, "I know a story in which the detection of a murder turned on the behaviour of a bird: in this instance a jackdaw." Since the dawn of the crime fiction genre, animals of all kinds have played a memorable part in countless mysteries, and in a variety of roles: the perpetrator, the key witness, the...

Of crime fiction's many sub-genres, none is so reflexive and intriguing as the "bibliomystery": stories that involve crimes set, somehow, in the world of books. In Vincent Starrett's A Volume of Poe, a bookseller is murdered; in Ellery Queen's The Adventure of the Three R's, the detective tracks the disappearance of a local Missouri author; and a killer stalks the...

Today, translated crime fiction is in vogue, but this was not always the case. A century before Scandi noir, writers across Europe and beyond were publishing detective stories of high quality. Often, these did not appear in English and have been known only by a small number of experts. Foreign Bodies is the first ever collection of classic crime in...

‘One of the greatest writers of the first half of the tormented 20th century’ - Simon Schama ‘An almost perfect book’ Rolling Stone At the close of the Great War, a captured Austrian soldier escapes Siberia and sets off in search of his fiancée, her photograph sewn into the lining of his coat. But the old order has vanished, and...

The Second World War is drawing to a close. Nicholas Vaughan, released from the army after an accident, takes refuge in Devon, renting a thatched cottage in the beautiful countryside at Mallory Fitzjohn. Vaughan sets to work farming the land, rearing geese and renovating the cottage. Hard work and rural peace seem to make this a happy bachelor life. On...

'The Alexander Trilogy contains some of Renault's finest writing. Lyrical, wise, compelling: the novels are a wonderful imaginative feat' SARAH WATERS 'The Alexandriad is one of the twentieth century's most unexpectedly original works of art' GORE VIDAL In the first novel of her stunning trilogy, Mary Renault vividly imagines the life of Alexander the Great, the charismatic leader whose drive...

... and what a motive! Murder to save one's artistic soul... who'd believe that? Behind the stage lights and word-perfect soliloquies, sinister secrets are lurking in the wings. The mysteries in this collection reveal the dark side of theatre and performing arts: a world of backstage dealings, where unscrupulous actors risk everything to land a starring role, costumed figures lead...

First published in 1944, Fell Murder sees E.C.R. Lorac at the height of her considerable powers as a purveyor of well-made, traditional, and emphatic detective fiction. The book presents a fascinating 'return of the prodigal’ mystery set in the later stages of the Second World War amidst the close-knit farmerfolk community of Lancashire’s lovely Lune valley. The Garths had farmed...

Age range 12+ Faculty of Murder introduces Mother Paul, June Wright's beloved nun-detective, who returns to her sleuthing ways after taking up a new position as warden of a student hall of residence at the University of Melbourne. Upon her arrival on campus, Judith Mornane startles her fellow residents by announcing her intention to uncover the truth behind her sister's...

From the point of view of the nation, it's a good thing that he died. Great Barwick's least popular man is murdered on a train. Twelve jurors sit in court. Four suspects are identified—but which of them is on trial? This novel has all the makings of a classic murder mystery, but with a twist: as Attorney-General Anstruther Blayton leads...

"Her writing is moment by moment intense, and successful as such... What propels the reader through the pages is not the tug of 'who done it' nor the excitement of men with guns coming through doors, but the sheer excellence of the writing." — H.R.F. Keating A car speeds down a road between miles of marshes and estuary flats, its...

Celebrating 90 Years of Penguin Michael Joseph publishing the Mermaid collection - Fay Weldon's Down Among the Women with a foreword by Jenny Colgan. “Down among the women. What a place to be!” So says Wanda, a former radical who left her husband and raised her daughter Scarlet to be as liberated as she. But twenty-year-old Scarlet, with an abortion...

When an ageing, impoverished nobleman decides to style himself Don Quixote and embarks upon a series of daring endeavours, it is clear that his ability to distinguish between reality and the fantasy world of literary romance has broken down. His exploits turn into comic misadventures, in which everyday objects are transformed into the accoutrements of chivalry, peasant girls become princesses...

From picturesque canals to the swirling currents of the ocean, a world of secrets lies buried beneath the surface of the water. Dubious vessels crawl along riverbeds, while the murky depths conceal more than one gruesome murder. The stories in this collection will dredge up delight in crime fiction fans, as watery graves claim unintended dwellers and disembodied whispers penetrate...

Two separate murders put CI Littlejohn on a devious killer's twisting path in this long-running British mystery series. Finlo Crennell, the former harbourmaster of Castletown, was reported missing one week ago. Now he's turned up in London, wandering the streets and suffering from amnesia. He has no recollection of where he's been or how he got here from the Isle...

The headline from The Maningpool Telegraph read: TRAGIC DEATH OF SIR NOEL GRAMPIAN shot during performance Symphony Concert Calamity. As a rousing Strauss piece is reaching its crescendo in Maningpool Civic Hall, the talented yet obnoxious conductor Sir Noel Grampian is shot dead in full view of the Municipal Orchestra and the audience. It was no secret that he had...

A bookshop is a first-rate place for unobtrusive observation, he continued. One can remain in it an indefinite time, dipping into one book after another, all over the place. Mr Richard Dodsley, owner of a fine second-hand bookshop on Charing Cross Road, has been found murdered in the cold hours of the morning. Shot in his own office, few clues...

At Elysian Hall, a great exhibition space in post-War London, a cast has been assembled for a Medieval pageant show. There are knights in coloured armour, real horses, and a fair damsel in the tower on high. Tragedy is in the air when several members of the troupe are sent death threats before the show, and the worst comes to...

There's more crime going on in Carey's Circus than in the whole underworld of London. Theft, immorality, blackmail - you'll find all the pretties here. Seven Bengal tigers are the star attraction of Carey's Circus. Their trainer is the fearless Anton, whose work demands absolute fitness and the steadiest of nerves. When Anton is found lying dead in the tigers'...

Death in White Pyjamas: A theatre-owner, a 'slightly sinister' producer, a burgeoning playwright, and a cast of ego-driven actors have gathered at a country home to read through the promising script for Pigs in Porcelain. Before the production ever reaches the stage, one of their number is found murdered in the grounds wearing what mysteriously seems to be somebody else's...

Inspector Littlejohn confronts a challenging case across the Channel in this classic mystery from the "venerable" British author (Kirkus Reviews). When Alderman Dawson is stabbed to death while visiting the Riviera with a group of English tourists, Inspector Littlejohn puts his holiday on hold to assist the French police. But the suspects are plentiful. The culprit could be one of...

At the Central Criminal Court, an eager crowd awaits the trial of Victoria Lamartine, an active participant in the Resistance during the war. She is now employed at the Family Hotel in Soho, where Major Eric Thoseby has been found murdered. The cause of death? A stabbing reminiscent of techniques developed by the Maquisards. While the crime is committed in...

Things get murky when a ferry captain is found dead in the water in this mystery starring Inspector Littlejohn, "the model of a calm, rational policeman" (Publishers Weekly). After a ferry to Falbright carrying forty people runs aground, the skipper is nowhere to be found. When the ferry pilot is discovered under a pier with a knife in his back,...

A gripping new serial killer crime thriller from Simon Toyne featuring criminologist Dr Laughton Rees and DCI Tannahill Khan. ‘As fast flowing and threatening as the Thames itself’ – Daily Mail 'Packed with danger and suspense … Loved it!' – Sam Holland 'Simon Toyne is one of the best storytellers writing today' – M. W. Craven A brutal murder When...

Dead Over Heels by Charlaine Harris introduces readers to part-time librarian Aurora 'Roe' Teagarden, who finds herself entangled in a perplexing murder case. This is the fifth thrilling mystery in the series by the No. 1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. Roe never liked Detective Sergeant Jack Burns, but she certainly didn't wish for his...

More in the bestselling, fan favourite crime series from Leigh Russell. The next novel from one of the UK's favourite crime writers with over 1.5 million copies sold. The body of a wealthy businessman is discovered in the river, but this was no accidental drowning. He was shot before his body entered the water. The police question the dead man's...

In London's Bloomsbury, Inspector Julian Rivers of Scotland Yard looks down at a dismal scene. Here is the victim, burnt to a crisp. Here are the clues — clues which point to a good climber and expert skier, and which lead Rivers to the piercing sunshine and sparkling snow of the Austrian Alps. Yet there is something sinister beneath the...

It all began with sheep-stealing. A hateful act among the shepherds of the fells, and yet not a matter of life and death. Then came arson, and with the leaping of the flames, death and disorder reached the peaceful moors. Holidaying with his friends the Hoggetts in High Gimmerdale while on a trip to find some farmland for his retirement,...

Crimson Snow brings together a dozen vintage crime stories set in winter. Welcome to a world of Father Christmases behaving oddly, a famous fictional detective in a Yuletide drama, mysterious tracks in the snow, and some very unpleasant carol singers. The mysterious events chronicled by a distinguished array of contributors in this volume frequently take place at Christmas. There's no...

"Ahoy, my lad!" he bellowed back. "I didn't expect you so early. Come for a dip! The water's fine. Everything is-" Then it happened. Mystery and murder runs amok amidst ominous peaks and icy lakes. In hushed valleys, venom flows through villages harbouring grievances which span generations. The landscapes and locales of Wales ("Cymru", in the Welsh language) have fired...

The stakes have never been higher for Geraldine Steel. When Alice Lewis is found murdered, the case becomes personal for DI Steel, as Alice was the niece of her childminder, Lisa. Despite Lisa's earlier pleas for help, Geraldine hadn't acted in time to save Alice. Now, driven by guilt and a thirst for justice, Geraldine dives headfirst into the case....

A mini deluxe box set that brings back three of our classic Christmas mini books that have been out of print, now featuring new handsome POB covers for this special slipcase edition: The Night Before Christmas, by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Christian Birmingham The Nutcracker, from the story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, illustrated by Don Daily A Christmas Carol, by...

From New York Times bestselling author Mark Kurlansky, a delectable novel follows one Manhattan block as an ancient cheesecake recipe—and a conniving landlord—changes the Upper West Side forever. West 86th Street knows its desserts. It’s the 1970s, and poppyseed strudel, praline ice cream cake, and New York cheesecake are as integral to Manhattan’s Upper West Side as clustered pigeons, suited...

A lean and mean thriller about one man and the Mob from the crime laureate INDEPENDENT The last time Florida motel owner George Moran was in the Dominican Republic, he was in a uniform and people were shooting at him. Years later, he's back looking for a girl he lost—and finding one he'd be better off without. Mary de Boya...

A stunning new espionage novel by a master of the genre, Beirut Station follows a young female CIA officer whose mission to assassinate a high-level Hezbollah terrorist reveals a dark truth that puts her life at risk. 'Vidich has firmly established himself in the very top flight of espionage writers, with a series of slow-burn character studies putting him in...

Against the backdrop of growing discontent in Paris, Doctor Manette is released from the Bastille after eighteen years of unjust imprisonment and begins a new life in England with his devoted daughter Lucie. There, the gifted but dissolute lawyer Sydney Carton and the exiled French nobleman Charles Darnay find their lives increasingly intertwined with those of the Manettes. Yet soon...

Widely considered one of the greatest American novels, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells the story of Huck Finn and his companion, the slave Jim, as they journey down the Mississippi River after running away from Huck’s alcoholic father and Jim’s owners. As they travel, they encounter a floating house, feuding families, and cunning grifters. More importantly, Huck gets to know...

From the bestselling author of Get Shorty and Jackie Brown, a thriller spiced with blackmail and revenge. Detroit businessman Harry Mitchell is a self-made man, happily married for over twenty-two years and a pillar of the community. But then he slips – he meets a young 'model' and begins an affair. One night he arrives at his girlfriend's apartment and...

THE LOCATION: Undisclosed THE THREAT: Unconfirmed (but scary as hell) OUR ONLY HOPE: Two high school dropouts who really have better things to do with their time than prevent the apocalypse. Its street name is Soy Sauce - a drug that lets its users drift across time and dimensions. But sometimes, those who come back bring something with them. Suddenly,...

This book is different from others. YOU decide what happens in this story.You were born on a spaceship travelling between galaxies on a dangerous research mission. Now that you have come of age, you must choose which planet to live on before travelling to your new home.Regardless of your decision, you are sure to face many terrifying dangers on the...

This book is different from others. YOU decide what happens in this story. You are a famous deep-sea explorer searching for the sunken city of Atlantis. In your state-of-the-art submarine, you dive into the dark, mysterious depths of the ocean. As you approach a treacherous-looking canyon, you must decide whether to plunge in and explore it on your own. A...

Something moves on the forest floor . . . Josie is at rock bottom. Burned out and heartbroken, she lives a haunted existence after returning to her isolated hometown on the edge of the Forest of Dean. When she stumbles across a decaying, ant-infested body in the woods, Josie plummets into a downward spiral, facing uncomfortable truths about the victim...

A cult crime classic about pool-playing, hard drinking and a search for a meaningful life. Jack Levitt—teenaged orphan and small-time criminal—lives off his wits, dividing his time between the pool halls, bars, and brothels of Portland, Oregon. Billy Lancing is a young black runaway and pool hustler who falls into Jack's orbit. After a messed-up heist lands Jack at reform...

Originally published in 1945, The Green Years is one of A. J. Cronin's best-loved novels. It tells the story of Robert Shannon, a young Irish Catholic boy, who, orphaned at the age of seven, is brought to live with his mother's estranged family in Scotland. As he grows up in a dour Presbyterian town, only his great-grandfather, an incorrigible, swaggering,...

Celebrating 90 Years of Penguin Michael Joseph publishing with the Mermaid collection - Helen McCloy's Through A Glass, Darkly with a foreword by Gillian McAllister. 'They watch me all the time. In and out of the classroom, their eyes are always following me . . .' Quiet, gentle, young Faustina Crayle is dismissed from her teaching position at Brereton School...

'Come to-night', I heard the old man say, 'come to me to-night into the Wood of the Dead'. Join Weird Walk for a new journey into the ghostly and bizarre, striking out from the shelter of the inn for the places where the path begins to fade, from the sublime wilderness of mountains, coasts, and ravines to forbidden, ancient tracts...

This Norton Critical Edition includes: - The third-edition text (1848), the last corrected by Charlotte Brontë, accompanied by revised and expanded explanatory footnotes. - "Contexts," highlighting Jane Eyre as a bildungsroman through diary entries and letters by the author about her experiences as a student, teacher, and governess, as well as her feelings about friendship, love, and writing. - Five...

This lost classic coming-of-age tale is a tragicomic portrait of one young woman's university breakdown and recovery, introduced by Daisy Johnson. I wanted the knack of existing. I did not know the rules ... I wanted to tell them all about the animals, but would they understand? A tea party at an Oxford college. Earnest undergraduates in floral dresses clink...

Phillips is dark, dangerous, and important . . . Crime fiction at its best. Michael Connelly This dark historical adventure captures the beginnings of the Hollywood studio system and the 'blue movie' industry that grows up alongside it. Los Angeles, 1916: Photographer Bill Ogden has opened a portrait studio in seedy Hollywood, where he is joined by his granddaughter, Flavia...

Herman Melville's profound and timeless inquiry into one man's obsession, in a gorgeous new clothbound edition. Part of Penguin's beautiful hardcover Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. In part, Moby-Dick is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an...

The third and final deluxe volume of the graphic novel adaptation of Dune, the groundbreaking science-fiction classic by Frank Herbert. DUNE: The Graphic Novel, Book 3: Prophet is now available in a deluxe collector’s edition with an increased trim size, printed on high-quality matte art paper, and packaged in a faux-cloth slipcase with foil stamping and tip-on cover. In DUNE:...

Rose has news for Celia: she is due to have a baby by Celia's husband, Humphrey. Soon after, the seeds of scandal bear a criminal fruit when a body is discovered in Little Venice along with Rose's handbag. Celia drafts in an old flame, Will, to root out the truth from suspicions of murder and blackmail, as the evidence starts...

A celebration of the very best literary horror, a series of terrifying novels and tales that for generations have thrilled, captivated, and kept readers wide awake at night. Step into the terrifying world of ghostly apparitions, grotesque monsters, and terrible, creeping dread—but be careful, who knows if you'll make it out alive? This collection brings together ten of the greatest...

“For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack,” —Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle BookPenned by English Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling in 1894, The Jungle Book is a collection of allegorical stories that take place deep in the Indian jungle. The most famous stories of The Jungle Book are those featuring a...

No library's complete without the classics! This new, enhanced leather-bound edition collects the greatest works of Robert Louis Stevenson, whose stories of excitement and adventure will never be forgotten.He wrote stories of chance and peril, pirates and buried gold. He told tales of good and evil, of men struggling with the darkest parts of their souls. Acclaimed Scottish writer Robert...