Christianna Brand: 20 books

This collection of short crime stories offers five courses of delectable depravity from mystery’s master chef.   Playing Othello is hard on any actor, but for the great James Dragon, the role is toxic. During the play’s run, he must reenact the horrible crime that took his own wife’s...

Eighteen short stories—chilling, lovely, and sad—from a modern master of the form For days she has been terrified that the phone will ring. Whenever she picks it up, the voice is there—breathing, cursing at her, terrifying her with words alone. Tonight, though, it isn’t the phone that...

Fifteen classic tales of murder, mayhem, and mystery from “one of the great masters of English detective fiction” (Francis M. Nevins, author of Cornell Woolrich).   Mr. de Silva begins the day sipping his coffee, reading the Times, and trying to decide how to murder his wife. After two...

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 16 tales by masters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a newly discovered Agatha Christie crime story that has not been seen since 1922. At a time when crime and thriller writing has...

The chilling true account of the Sandyford murder case and the sensational nineteenth-century trial that forever changed how homicides are investigated. Jessie M’Lachlan was one of the countless thousands who lived in the tenements of Glasgow, Scotland. In poor health ever since her pregnancy,...

THE FAIRER SEX? NOT THESE LADIES… The female of the species is absolutely deadlier than the male in these 14 cunningly-crafted tales of suspense, crimes of passion, and murder, all by women writers. Edited by MWA Grandmaster and bestselling mystery author John D. MacDonald, these bone-chilling...

A young Italian woman travels to eighteenth-century England to wage war on polite society in this sweeping historical saga of mystery, scandal, and romance. Sophia Devigne is a child of Venice, as much a part of the wonderful island city as the canals themselves. If it were up to her, she would...

In WWII England, a military hospital may hide a murderer: “[Brand] could construct puzzles with the best of them” (Elizabeth George). As German V-1 rockets rain down on the English countryside, the men and women of the military hospitals fight to stay calm. The morning after a raid, Doctor...

From the Golden Age author of Green for Danger. “You have to reach for the greatest of Great Names to find Brand’s rivals in the subtleties of the trade” (The New York Times). Sir Richard’s family has spent years waiting for him to die, but despite his weak heart, the old man simply...

In the English countryside, one of the well-mannered guests at Pigeonsford Estate may be a murderer in this series debut by an Edgar Award–nominated author. As war rages in Europe, the citizens of London flee to the country. At Pigeonsford, a group of guests plays cards, drinks tea, and acts...

One woman has the answer to history’s strangest maritime mystery in this novel from “one of the great masters of English detective fiction” (Francis M. Nevins).   Though history would remember her as the Marie Celeste, the ship’s name was Mary Celeste. She was a brig—square-rigged,...

Among the society of London, the unapproachable Marchesa is causing a sensation with her modesty—and planning a devious con—in this historical crime novel.   The Marchesa goes to the theater accompanied only by her maid. She dresses in pure white, without any jewels or powder to compete...

The Golden Age author of Green for Danger delivers “a mystery in the classic Christie-Carr-Queen manner . . . An outstanding tour de force” (The New York Times). Few were disappointed when Raoul Vernet was found with his head bashed in, dead in a pool of his own blood. On vacation in England,...

Inspector Charlesworth investigates a strange murder in a dress shop The sales room at Christophe et Cie is staffed by five young women. Each is beautiful in her own way—and each could be a murderer. One morning, two of the women purchase some oxalic acid to clean a stain off a Panama hat....