A corpse in a top hat leads Dr. Gideon Fell to a killer with a sick sense of humor in this mystery by the celebrated author of Hag's Nook.At the hand of an outrageous prankster, top hats are going missing all over London, snatched from the heads of some of the city's most powerful people?but is the hat thief the same as the person responsible for stealing a lost story by Edgar Allan Poe, the manuscript of which has just disappeared from the collection of Sir William Bitton? Unlike the manuscript, the hats don't stay stolen for long, each one reappearing in unexpected and conspicuous places shortly after being taken: on the top of a Trafalgar Square statue, hanging from a Scotland Yard lamppost, and now, in the foggy depths of the Tower of London, on the head of a corpse with a crossbow bolt through the heart. Amateur detective and lexicographer Dr. Gideon Fell is on the case, and when the dead man is identified as the nephew of the collector, he discovers that the connections underlying the bizarre and puzzling crimes may be more intimate than initially expected . . .Reprinted for the first time in thirty years, the second novel in the Dr. Gideon Fell series, which need not be read in any order, finds the iconic character investigating one of the most extraordinary murders of his career. A baffling whodunnit with menace at every turn, The Mad Hatter Mystery proves that Carr is the "unexcelled master of creepy erudition, swift-moving excitement and suspense through atmosphere" (New York Times)."Every sentence gives a thrill of positive pleasure. [The Mad Hatter Mystery] is the most attractive mystery I have read for a long time."?Dorothy Sayers

A medieval salesman and amateur sleuth must look past superstition to find an elusive murder suspect in this entry in the beloved mystery series."Another intelligent installment in a superbly crafted series of medieval mysteries that rival the best of Ellis Peters." —BooklistIt is October 1477, and Roger the Chapman, newly married and still enjoying wedded bliss in Bristol, England, is surprised to find his old, familiar feeling of restlessness returning. Within a month he is setting off, once again, on the ancient ridge road that dissects Dartmoor and heads for Plymouth, driven by some instinct that he is needed there.Roger accepts a lift from a carter who is going to visit his daughter, Joanna, in the oldest part of the city. Roger's instinct is soon proven correct when Joanna tells the story of her neighbor, Master Capstick, who was brutally beaten to death. The chief suspect is Capstick's great-nephew, Beric. Master Capstick's housekeeper saw Beric leaving the house that morning, his tunic stained with blood, and many more people saw the young man's wild ride for home on his great black horse. When the King's men arrived at Beric's manor house, though, the horse was already in the stables—and Beric had somehow managed to vanish completely.The local people, quick to fall back on the witchcraft of their ancestors, blame the Saint John's fern, which if eaten can make a man invisible. Roger, already responsible for solving many difficult mysteries, suspects that there is a more obvious answer and begins his own inquiries. Roger notices that he is not the first to approach witnesses, and when an attempt is made on his life, Roger knows he must be close to a truth that is even more extraordinary than the superstition—if only he can live to tell it.The Saint John's Fern is the ninth book in Kate Sedley's popular medieval mystery series featuring Roger the Chapman.

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder"Tired of newspaper headlines that accuse cops of malfeasance or worse? Veteran editor Edwards has the perfect antidote: 15 reprints of stories from 1908 to 1966 showing English police officers at (generally) their most sterling." —Kirkus ReviewsIn classic British crime fiction, dazzling detective work is often the province of a brilliant amateur—whereas the humble police detective cuts a hapless figure. The twelve stories collected here strike a blow for the professionals, with teasing mysteries to challenge a hard-working police officer's persistence and scrupulous attention to detail. As in his previous anthologies for the British Library Crime Classics series, Martin Edwards introduces readers to fascinating neglected gems of British crime writing as well as uncovering lesser-known stories by the great novelists of the golden age. Each of these stories combines realism with entertainment, skilfully blending the conduct of a criminal investigation with a compelling murder-mystery plot.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, now streaming on Netflix, starring Essie Davis as the honourable Phryne FisherDot unfolded the note. "He says that his married couple will look after the divine Miss Fisher...I'll leave out a bit...their name is Johnson and they seem very reliable." Phryne got the door open at last. She stepped into the hall. "I think he was mistaken about that," she commented.Traveling at high speed in her beloved Hispano-Suiza with her maid and trusted companion Dot, her two adoptive daughters Jane and Ruth, and their dog Molly, Phryne Fisher is off to Queenscliff. She'd promised everyone a nice holiday by the sea with absolutely no murders, but when they arrive at their rented accommodation that doesn't seem likely at all.An empty house, a gang of teenage louts, a fisherboy saved, and a missing butler and his wife seem to lead inexorably toward a hunt for buried treasure by the sea. Phryne knows to what depths people will sink for greed, but with a glass of champagne in one hand and a pearl-handled Beretta in the other, no one is getting past her.

Master storyteller David Hewson launches a major new series featuring retired archivist Arnold CloverVenice is a city full of secrets. For hundreds of years it has been the scene of scandal, intrigue and murderous rivalries. And it remains so today.1548, Lorenzino de Medici, himself a murderer and a man few will miss, is assassinated by two hired killers.Today, Marmaduke Godolphin, British TV historian and a man even fewer will miss, is stabbed by a stiletto blade on the exact same spot, his body dropping into the canal.Can the story of the first murder explain the attack on Godolphin? The Carabinieri certainly think so. They recruit retired archivist Arnold Clover to unpick the mystery and to help solve the case. But the conspiracy against Godolphin runs deeper than anyone imagined.

A funeral on a remote country estate descends into chaos and murder when the deceased proves unexpectedly and most inconveniently alive in this latest Mr. Quayle mystery.England, 1926. Following the death of the Viscount Featherstone, his closest friends and most hated family descend upon his isolated mansion for the funeral and—more importantly—for the will-reading. Among the guests are Featherstone’s first and second wives with their assorted brood of ne'er-do-well children, along with the love of Featherstone’s life, the woman he jilted almost forty years before—Lady Constance.The only trouble is that Featherstone is very much alive and is not at all pleased to see them, but when someone starts picking the unwanted guests off one by one, Mr. Quayle must race against time not only to save the Unsworth’s reputation but their very lives!A Terribly Savage Killing is the third novel in the Mr. Quayle Mystery series.