Kirjahaku

'I judge him to have been dead just about twenty-four hours. Suicide, almost certainly.'Ludovic Travers polished his eyeglasses. Inspector Wharton grunted--sure signs of impending mystery. And they were right.The car took the wrong turning and landed them in double murder dressed as suicide. In one room, made up for her principal success, Mary Tudor, was Mary Legreye--poisoned on her throne. In the next, the handyman--dead on the floor. Nothing initially justifies arrest--but Travers pursues his hunch, breaks a cast-iron alibi, and justifies, as never before, his reputation for unerring intuition.The Case of the Tudor Queen was originally published in 1938. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."The visionary Travers seems to be crooning to himself with considerable justice: 'We are the alibi breakers; we are the dreamers of dreams.'"--Observer

Palmer saw him out, and gave that little deprecatory cough."If you'll pardon me, sir, is it another murder?""Looks like it," Travers told him from the door.This affair of Ludovic Travers and George "the General" Wharton is packed full with sleuthing excitement, during which three men die, and the careers of four people are ruined before the round-up is accomplished. The leaning man, the kingpin of the plot, meets his death outside a London theatre.Travers soon finds a link between this case and the murder of a Maharajah, and is curious to know why the actor, Sir Jerome Haire, is involved. In finding out, he brings under suspicion Joy and Bernice Haire, Sir Jerome's daughters and music-hall stars in their own right. The travels of a priceless emerald ring add mystery to an already perplexing problem, elucidated by the keen deduction of Ludovic Travers.The Case of the Leaning Man was originally published in 1938. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."Mr. Bush has produced another good detective story, this time with emotional complications such as the experts say should have no place in this type of fiction. But the experts are not always right."--New York Times

"George Wharton said he hoped I'd have a nice murder for you."Ludovic Travers and his wife choose to spend part of their honeymoon in the quiet town of Edensthorpe--one place where they can be sure of peace and quiet, and where an eminent author and his famous wife might not be recognised.Unfortunately for them, however, another fugitive has sought anonymity in the nearby village of Pettistone--a swindler named Brewse who has just completed a prison sentence for fraud. Brewse has made an unfortunate choice of home, because the leading citizens of Pettistone all suffered serious financial losses as a result of his fraudulent dealings, and they unite in an effort to drive him away from the village. Before they can do so, however, somebody decides upon a more permanent method of getting rid of Brewse.Ludovic Travers cannot, once again, resist the temptation to use his powers of insight and detection to discover the murderer of the man in the green hat.The Case of the Green Felt Hat was originally published in 1939. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.Travers: "As for my methods of crime detection--well, I haven't any. For that my only tool is a brain that has been called agile, sharpened on crosswords rather than chess."

As Travers's finger touched the dead hand, he felt the warmth, and wondered if the man were still alive. Then he saw the knife that stuck sideways in the ribs.It was three years after Ludovic Travers had acquired a painting by the famous contemporary French artist, Henri Larne, that a mysterious art dealer named Braque turned up, showed great interest in the picture, and invited Travers to visit him in Paris. But all Travers saw of Braque in Paris was his dead body: a knife-almost warm from the murderer's hand--was stuck in his ribs.Travers and his old friend Inspector Gallois soon found some very pertinent questions to answer. What was Braque's "gold mine"? Why had he been so interested in paintings by Larne? What were his relations with Pierre Larne, and with Elise, the model? But not until Travers suddenly realised the significance of the flying donkey was the murderer's astonishing identity revealed.The Case of the Flying Donkey was originally published in 1939. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

An attendant had come in with the cage. He stooped and held the rope taut. The cage door was opened, Jules called from high in the roof and at once the rat began to climb. Then something went wrong. All at once Auguste scampered down and shot back into his cage.When Ludovic Travers arrives in the South of France to say a few well-chosen words to his wife's shady relative, Gustave Rionne, he finds them unnecessary: a knife-thrust a few minutes before had put an end to Rionne's career.Also down on the Riviera, on business connected with the notorious murderer Bariche, is Inspector Gallois of the S ret . Joining forces, they are soon confronted with a second even more baffling murder. What is the connection, if any, between the two crimes? Who are the masked trapezists in the circus, and what is the significance of their performing rat? The car smash--was it deliberate? Had Madame Perthus been Letoque's lover? Ludovic Travers has been involved in some curious cases but none so strange and absorbing as that of the Climbing Rat.The Case of the Climbing Rat was originally published in 1940. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

The curtain had been drawn back and there was the bed. Wharton and a stranger were standing by it, and when Wharton moved to meet me, I saw on the bed the body of Penelope Craye."She's dead," I said.Wharton merely nodded.Once again, we meet our old friend Ludovic Travers--now Major Travers, and commandant of Camp 55 in England during World War Two. Nearby lives the rather mysterious Colonel Brende--mysterious because he is in possession of certain fact relating to aerial defence.Travers's suspicions that all is not well are intensified when Penelope, the colonel's flashy secretary, is murdered. Then George Wharton appears on the scene--the Scotland Yard man who has already solved some strange mysteries. In the rush of exciting events which follow, Travers plays a major part in solving the baffling happenings. Christopher Bush, Ludovic Travers, and George Wharton--at their best The Case of the Kidnapped Colonel was originally published in 1942. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."Curiosity is whetted by the aptness and neatness of his plots. . . All kinds of whys and wherefores could plainly be devised, but it would be hard to imagine any so satisfying as Mr. Bush's." Times Literary Supplement"Well written, supplied with good characters, its setting and military incidentals realistic . . . in short, a good specimen of detective-story fitted to war-time England." Sunday Times"No wonder Ludovic Travers is puzzled, and so will be the reader in this amusing variety of the orthodox spy story." Guardian

What was I to be this time? A Commandant again of a Prisoner of War Camp? Was I to get a sedentary job at the War Office itself, and begin the slow process of fossilisation? Was I due for some wholly new job of which the rank and file had never even heard? As it turned out, I most certainly was.Ludovic Travers reports to room 299 of the War Office to receive new orders. He is sent up to Derbyshire to be a training officer for the local Home Guard, and to be plunged headlong into a new wartime mystery. It is not long before he meets the 'fighting soldier' of the title, a tough veteran of the Spanish Civil War and dozens of other bloody battlefields.But when chewing-gum is discovered wedged into the barrel of a bomb launcher, it is obvious there's an individual--or more than one--in the camp out to make sure someone doesn't live to fight another day. And it's not long before their diabolical intent leads to explosive murder. Once again, it will be down to Travers's quick wits to make sense of it and bring the guilty to justice--with able support from George Wharton of Scotland Yard.The Case of the Fighting Soldier was originally published in 1942. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

"Good God " I was staring like a lunatic. "Murdered, you say? When?""Less than half an hour ago, sir."TRAVERS: "I don't know why I should call this case that of the Magic Mirror for there's nothing in it reminiscent of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," even if the mirror did do a certain amount of magical revelation."As a matter of fact the title is my obstinate own. In the first place, of the many murder cases with which I have been officially connected, this one which I am about to relate was easily the most unusual. On the face of it one could at first hardly call it a case at all, for its solution presented no difficulties. Then curious doubts arose, and the obvious was far from what it seemed, and finally the whole thing seemed incapable of any solution at all. Then when the solution did come, it was so absurdly simple that one doubted one's sanity for not having seen it from the very first."The Case of the Magic Mirror was originally published in 1943. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

"Is he bad, sir?""Worse than that," I said. "In fact, he's dead."1943. Ludovic Travers, consulting specialist for Scotland Yard, is on a fortnight's well-earned leave in London from his military posting. Anticipating relaxation, he is instead thrown into a fresh mystery by a letter from one Peter Worrack, the owner of a genteel gambling club.Worrack's business partner, Georgina, has disappeared. Or has she? Ludo rapidly has doubts, but the reasons for any deception remain obscure until he takes on the case, and finds that the clues he'll need to consider include the jokes of a radio comedian, a handful of jaded club-goers, the novelty of a mouse in the wainscoting--and someone desperate enough to commit murder most foul.The Case of the Running Mouse was originally published in 1944. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

"It's about a murder. . . . Here. Five Oaks, they call it. . . . A man, he's murdered. . . . Oh, no, it isn't a joke. I wish it was. . . . I said I wished it was. . . . You'll send someone at once?"Ludovic Travers, still in the army, is obliged to combine his military duties with being an invaluable private sleuth on behalf of Scotland Yard. Now Inspector Wharton has asked Ludo to track down a man in a village rife with blackmail and skulduggery. A problem soon arises however--murder, and that of the very man Travers was sent to find. Travers eventually faces a moral quandary about what to conceal and what to reveal about his discoveries--which could lead to someone's execution.This classic English village murder mystery involves a large number of suspects, and a breathtaking series of twists, some if not all involving the Chief Constable's wife--the novel's "platinum blonde."The Case of the Platinum Blonde was originally published in 1944. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."Readers who have asked 'Why' impatiently at the beginning of this book will be twice shy." Times Literary Supplement

It wasn't I who discovered the body. I want to make that perfectly clear, if only for the benefit of a couple of club acquaintances of mine.Ludovic Travers, special investigator for Scotland Yard, commits murder? No--but at the end of this novel you will understand why he might claim to have done so.Sir William Pelle has become a missing person, and Superintendent Wharton of the Yard is prioritizing his recovery. But when Pelle is found murdered, there are serious questions to answer. Was the well-to-do jewellery-handler the victim of a well-planned robbery? And why was the corpse partly covered in sugar?Several of the enigmatic figures formerly surrounding the deceased are going to repay close scrutiny; as is the importance of the army corporal who keeps weaving in and out of the story. It will take all Travers's customary acuity to bring the case to a successful conclusion--and eventually to explain his assertion of committing murder himself.The Case of the Corporal's Leave was originally published in 1945. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.