Kirjahaku

A classic British crime novel from the Golden Age – perhaps the first ever psychological crime novel – by the founder of the Detection Club, marking 50 years since the death of the author. Mrs Bentley has been arrested for murder. The evidence is overwhelming: arsenic she extracted from fly papers was in her husband’s medicine, his food and his lemonade, and her crimes are being plastered across the newspapers. Even her lawyers believe she is guilty. But Roger Sheringham, the brilliant but outspoken young novelist, is convinced that there is ‘too much evidence’ against Mrs Bentley and sets out to prove her innocence. Credited as the book that first introduced psychology to the detective novel, The Wychford Poisoning Case was based on a notorious real-life murder inquiry. Written by Anthony Berkeley, a founder of the celebrated Detection Club who also found fame under the pen-name ‘Francis Iles’, the story saw the return of Roger Sheringham, the Golden Age’s breeziest – and booziest – detective.

A classic British crime novel from the Golden Age – one of the first to feature a serial killer – by the founder of the Detection Club, marking 50 years since the death of the author. Investigating the disappearance of a vicar’s daughter in London, the popular novelist and amateur detective Roger Sheringham is shocked to discover that the girl is already dead, found hanging from a screw by her own silk stocking. Reports of similar deaths across the capital strengthen his conviction that this is no suicide cult but the work of a homicidal maniac out for vengeance – a desperate situation requiring desperate measures. Having established Roger Sheringham as a brilliant but headstrong young sleuth who frequently made mistakes, trusted the wrong people and imbibed considerable liquid refreshment, Anthony Berkeley took his controversial character into much darker territory with The Silk Stocking Murders, a sensational novel about gruesome serial killings by an apparent psychopath bent on targeting vulnerable young women.

Republished for the first time in nearly 95 years, a classic winter country house mystery by the founder of the Detection Club, with a twist that even Agatha Christie couldn't solve Stephen Munro, a demobbed army officer, reconciles himself to taking a job as a footman to make ends meet. Employed at Wintringham Hall, the delightful but decaying Sussex country residence of the elderly Lady Susan Carey, his first task entails welcoming her eccentric guests to a weekend house-party, at which her bombastic nephew - who recognises Stephen from his former life - decides that an after-dinner s ance would be more entertaining than bridge. Then Cicely disappears With Lady Susan reluctant to call the police about what is presumably a childish prank, Stephen and the plucky Pauline Mainwaring take it upon themselves to investigate. But then a suspicious death turns the game into an altogether more serious affair...This classic winter mystery incorporates all the trappings of the Golden Age - a rambling country house, a s ance, a murder, a room locked on the inside, with servants, suspects and alibis, a romance - and an ingenious puzzle.First published as a 30-part newspaper serial in 1926 - the year The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was published, The Wintringham Mystery was written by Anthony Berkeley, founder of the famous Detection Club. Also known as Cicely Disappears, the Daily Mirror ran the story as a competition with a prize of 500 (equivalent to 30,000 today) for anyone who guessed the solution correctly. Nobody did - even Agatha Christie entered and couldn't solve it. Can you?

Republished for the first time in nearly 95 years, a classic winter country house mystery by the founder of the Detection Club, with a twist that even Agatha Christie couldn’t solve! Stephen Munro, a demobbed army officer, reconciles himself to taking a job as a footman to make ends meet. Employed at Wintringham Hall, the delightful but decaying Sussex country residence of the elderly Lady Susan Carey, his first task entails welcoming her eccentric guests to a weekend house-party, at which her bombastic nephew – who recognises Stephen from his former life – decides that an after-dinner séance would be more entertaining than bridge. Then Cicely disappears! With Lady Susan reluctant to call the police about what is presumably a childish prank, Stephen and the plucky Pauline Mainwaring take it upon themselves to investigate. But then a suspicious death turns the game into an altogether more serious affair… This classic winter mystery incorporates all the trappings of the Golden Age – a rambling country house, a séance, a murder, a room locked on the inside, with servants, suspects and alibis, a romance – and an ingenious puzzle. First published as a 30-part newspaper serial in 1926 – the year The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was published, The Wintringham Mystery was written by Anthony Berkeley, founder of the famous Detection Club. Also known as Cicely Disappears, the Daily Mirror ran the story as a competition with a prize of £500 (equivalent to £30,000 today) for anyone who guessed the solution correctly. Nobody did – even Agatha Christie entered and couldn’t solve it. Can you?

When two newlyweds discover that a corpse has been buried in the basement of their new home, a gruelling case begins to trace the identity of the victim. With all avenues of investigation approaching exhaustion, a tenuous piece of evidence offers a chance for Chief Inspector Moresby and leads him to the amateur sleuth Roger Sheringham, who has recently been providing cover work in a school south of London. Desperate for evidence of any kind on the basement case, Moresby begins to sift through the manuscript of a satirical novel Sheringham had been writing about his colleagues at the school, convinced that amongst the colourful cast of teachers hides the victim - and perhaps their murderer. A novel pairing dark humour and intelligent detection work, this 1932 'whowasdunin?' mystery is an example of a celebrated Golden Age author's most inventive work.

Graham and Joan Bendix have apparently succeeded in making that eighth wonder of the modern world, a happy marriage. And into the middle of it there drops, like a clap of thunder, a box of chocolates.

" Anthony Berkeley's] tale of petty rivalries, affairs, and revenge plots is so deliciously entertaining. Murder in the Basement is] a pioneering example of the "whowasdunin" that, like that corpse in the basement, richly deserves exhumation."-- Kirkus ReviewsWhen two newlyweds discover that a corpse has been buried in the basement of their new home, a grueling case begins to trace the identity of the victim. With all avenues of investigation approaching exhaustion, a tenuous piece of evidence offers a chance for Chief Inspector Moresby and leads him to the amateur sleuth Roger Sheringham, who has recently been providing cover work in a school south of London.Desperate for evidence of any kind in the basement case, Moresby begins to sift through the manuscript of a satirical novel Sheringham has been writing about his colleagues at the school, convinced that amongst the colorful cast of teachers hides the victim--and perhaps their murderer.A novel pairing dark humor and intelligent detection work, this 1932 mystery is an example of a celebrated Golden Age author's most inventive work. This edition includes an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger Award-winning author Martin Edwards.

"A witty and tricky plot and a genuinely shocking conclusion."--Publishers Weekly, Starred ReviewA mystery dinner theater party thrown by local author with a taste "for rather gruesome humor" requires guests come dressed as infamous killers--Jack the Ripper, Dr. Crippen, and the like. Whatever could go wrong?Know-it-all amateur criminologist Roger Sheringham settles in for an evening of beer, small talk, and analyzing his companions. Ena Stratton, the host's sister-in-law, catches his attention. Her erratic mood swings and loud, gossipy talk is winning her more than a few enemies amongst the guests. When she's found dead, it's clear that one of the partygoers helped her to an early grave.Noticing a key detail that could implicate a friend in the crime, Sheringham decides to meddle with the scene and unwittingly makes himself a suspect.Tightly paced and cleverly defying the conventions of the classic detective story, Anthony Berkeley's dark sense of humor and taste for the macabre drive this 1933 classic.This edition includes an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger and Edgar (R) Award-winning author Martin Edwards.

Berkeley, like his contemporaries Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, "were fascinated by murder in real life," according to Martin Edwards, who makes another observation. True crime tales provided them with inspiration and motivation. (four) The Wychford Poisoning Case drew inspiration from the case of Florence Maybrick, who faced accusations of poisoning her husband, James Maybrick, and ultimately proved guilty of the crime. Both Edwards and Tony Medawar have mentioned this fact. Sheringham also alludes to numerous other true crime cases involving Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters, Frederick Seddon, Hawley Harvey Crippen, William Palmer, Edward William Pritchard, George Henry Lamson, Herbert Rowse Armstrong, Catherine Wilson, Maria van der Linden-Swanenburg (referred to in the novel as "Van de Leyden"), Marie Jeanneret (a Swiss nurse found guilty of murdering six persons and attempting to murder two others by poison), Steinie Morrison, Oscar Slater, Constance Kent, Alfred John Monson, and Madeleine Smith.The Wychford Poisoning Case was dedicated to fellow crime writer E. M. Delafield.

Berkeley's work stood out for its focus on the psychology behind crime, often highlighting moral ambiguity and unreliable narratives. Unlike traditional mysteries where the detective solves the case through logic, Berkeley was more interested in exploring multiple possibilities, false leads, and the role of human error in investigations.Roger Sheringham series: Berkeley's most famous character, Roger Sheringham, is an amateur detective who appears in several of his novels, including The Poisoned Chocolates Case (1929). Sheringham is often portrayed as flawed and arrogant, contrasting with the infallible detectives seen in many Golden Age mysteries.Francis Iles novels: Under the pseudonym Francis Iles, Berkeley wrote psychologically driven novels such as Malice Aforethought (1931) and Before the Fact (1932). These works are early examples of "inverted detective stories," where the criminal's identity is known from the beginning, and the suspense comes from whether they'll be caught.Malice Aforethought is particularly famous for its darkly comic portrayal of a murderer planning to kill his wife, showing Berkeley's mastery of psychological tension.Before the Fact became even more famous after being adapted into the 1941 Hitchcock film Suspicion.Berkeley was a founding member of the Detection Club, a group of British mystery writers that included luminaries like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. The club was known for its rules on fair play in detective fiction-ensuring that readers had all the clues necessary to solve the mystery along with the detective.Berkeley's influence on the detective genre lies in his willingness to subvert its conventions. He moved away from the purely puzzle-driven approach of many of his contemporaries, instead focusing on character psychology and the ambiguity of moral choices. His "inverted" mysteries, where the reader knows the identity of the killer from the start, were groundbreaking at the time.

The Piccadilly Murder (1929) is a classic detective novel by Anthony Berkeley, a celebrated writer in the Golden Age of detective fiction. This book is one of his many clever and intricately plotted mysteries, featuring his popular amateur sleuth, Roger Sheringham.In the novel, Sheringham investigates the death of a man in a London tea shop, initially thought to be a heart attack but soon revealed to involve foul play. True to Berkeley's style, the story unfolds with wit, sharp dialogue, and a focus on psychological depth. Berkeley's hallmark is his ability to play with conventional mystery tropes, offering surprises and a sometimes unconventional approach to justice.Anthony Berkeley Cox (1893-1971), writing under the pen names Anthony Berkeley and Francis Iles, was a prolific and influential figure in the Golden Age of detective fiction. His work is notable for its wit, psychological insight, and innovative approaches to the mystery genre.Berkeley was born in Watford, England, and educated at University College, Oxford. He served in World War I before embarking on a career as a journalist and novelist. His experience in journalism informed his sharp, satirical writing style.Berkeley was a founding member of the Detection Club, a prestigious organization of mystery writers that included Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. His works often satirized and subverted the conventions of detective fiction, influencing later crime novelists.

The Mystery at Lovers' Cave, a classical book, was published more than a century ago and has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we at Alpha Editions have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies of their original work and hence the text is clear and readable.

Kostüümipeol, mille teemaks on kuulsad mõrvarid ja nende ohvrid, osaleb ka amatöörist kriminoloog Roger Sheringham, kes on valmis meeldivaks "mõrvapeoks".Paraku saab väljamõeldud mõrvast kiiresti tegelikkus, kui leitakse poodud Ena Strattoni surnukeha.Ent kas tegemist on ikka mõrvaga või läks ta hoopis vabasurma?Roger Sheringham otsustab uurimisse sekkuda, seades end sellega tahtmatult ohtu.Kuid põhjalik politseiuurimine liigub tõele aina lähemale ...ANTHONY BERKELEY oli Anthony Berkeley Coxi (1893-1971) kirjanikunimi. Ta on üks tähtsamaid tegelasi Briti krimikirjanduse ajaloos. Berkeley loodud on Detektiivklubi, maailma vanim krimikirjanike sotsiaalvõrgustik, mis tegutseb tänapäevani.

"The murder is by arsenic; and although the number of suspects is strictly limited the construction is so ingenious that to attain the correct solution of the problem requires all the reader's concentration; to skip is fatal." Times Literary Supplement, 1938 John Waterhouse has died of some gastric complication. Exhumed at his brother's request, it transpires that he has been killed by arsenical poisoning, though nobody in the sleepy village of Anneypenny seems to have had a reason to do him ill. Rumors abound of Nazi intrigue and military skullduggery, but whatever the motive, the truth remains; this was murder. Originally serialized as a competition with a prize for the readers that could answer Berkeley's direct challenge of 'who was the poisoner', Not to Be Taken remains one of the most fiendish exercises in subtle clue work and detection from the Golden Age of Crime.