When a young woman is found murdered in the Earl of Unsworth’s garden, his loyal secretary, Mr. Quayle, must uncover the truth in this "English country house mystery infused with humor, verve, and plenty of surprises." (Kirkus Reviews)“I do not wish to disturb you, your lordship, but there is a body in the garden…”England, 1925. No one knew who the dead woman was—not Lord Unsworth or his sister, not his niece or his nephew, nor any of His Lordship’s other increasingly distant relations—no one. Or so they claimed.But the police soon have other ideas, impertinent, dangerous ideas, and when their suspicions dare fall on one of the family, Lord Unsworth turns to his loyal secretary, Mr. Quayle to solve the case.Quiet, methodical, and eminently efficient, Mr. Quayle has been Lord Unsworth’s personal secretary for almost a year now, but their connection runs far deeper. Unable to protect His Lordship’s only son-and-heir during the War, Mr. Quayle is determined to find the true culprit and save Lord Unsworth’s remaining family—from themselves, if necessary.With a cast of intriguing characters and a plot full of twists and turns, “A Most Efficient Murder” offers an intriguing blend of humor and suspense—an Agatha-Christie-style whodunit that will keep you guessing until the final pageA Most Efficient Murder is the first Mr. Quayle Mystery.ALSO BY ANTHONY SLAYTONTHE MR. QUAYLE MYSTERIESBook 0: A QUITE DEADLY AFFAIRBook 1: A MOST EFFICIENT MURDERBook 2: A RATHER DASTARDLY DEATH

From the Edgar Award–winning author, a tale of a missing woman and a crime ring, featuring the lawyer and detective who inspired the HBO limited series.Defense lawyer Perry Mason needs a temporary typist, but the one he hires turns out to be more temporary than expected. When she disappears, leaving a couple of diamonds behind in her haste, Mason winds up taking on a new client: a gem importer in his office building who's been charged with smuggling and murder. But if Mason's going to untangle this case, finding the typist is key . . .This mystery is part of Edgar Award–winning author Erle Stanley Gardner's classic, long-running Perry Mason series, which has sold three hundred million copies and serves as the inspiration for the HBO show starring Matthew Rhys and Tatiana Maslany."Millions of Americans never seem to tire of Gardner's thrillers." —The New York Times

Gentleman sleuth Albert Campion battles amnesia while trying to save his country during World War II in this mystery from a Golden Age Queen of Crime. "If I had to vote for the single best detective story, this would be it."—A.S. Byatt Celebrated amateur detective Albert Campion awakes in hospital, accused of attacking a police officer and suffering from acute amnesia. All he can remember is that he was on a mission of vital importance to His Majesty's government before his accident. On the run from the police and unable to recognize even his faithful servant or his beloved fiancée, Campion struggles desperately to put the pieces together—while World War II rages and the very fate of England is at stake. Published in 1941, Traitor's Purse is "a wartime masterpiece" (The Guardian). "Uncommonly exciting stuff, replete with Allingham's skill in story-building and the plausible characters that make her as much a fine novelist as a mystery writer."?The New Republic "Margery Allingham stands out like a shining light. And she has another quality, not usually associated with crime stories, elegance."?Agatha Christie

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder'The lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.... Think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser.' —Sherlock HolmesMany of the greatest British crime writers have explored the possibilities of crime in the countryside in lively and ingenious short stories. Serpents in Eden celebrates the rural British mystery by bringing together an eclectic mix of crime stories written over half a century. From a tale of poison-pen letters tearing apart a village community to a macabre mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle, the stories collected here reveal the dark truths hidden in an assortment of rural paradises.Among the writers included here are such major figures as G. K. Chesterton and Margery Allingham, along with a host of lesser-known discoveries whose best stories are among the unsung riches of the golden age of British crime fiction between the two world wars.