Traditional British category: 5721 books

This cosy short story is set in an antique shop in the fictional Yorkshire village Aldburgh. When a dead body is found in the shop, Constable Archibald Penrose asks for reinforcement. His incompetent boss is most unhelpful so Penrose calls in his smart fiancée, the librarian Rhapsody Gershwin,...

First published by Collins in 1928, this was the first of 22 mystery novels by Vernon Loder, one of the most popular British mystery-thriller writers of his generation. When a guest at Stowe House is found dead, killed by a lethal dart, suspicion naturally falls on the resident collector of poisoned...

The Chichester is making a routine journey across the English Channel on a pleasant afternoon in June, when the steamer's crew notice something strange. A yacht, bobbing about in the water ahead of them, appears to have been abandoned, and there is a dark red stain on the deck... Two bodies later,...

The twelfth book in the Libby Sarjeant series of British murder mysteries which features a retired actress as the female sleuth and are based in the picturesque village of Steeple Martin. An unidentified woman's body is found in a remote garden in Kent. With the owners not in residence, the only people...

The Female Detective is the first novel in British fiction to feature a professional female detective. Written by Andrew Forrester, it was originally published in 1864. The protagonist is Miss Gladden, or 'G' as she is also known - the precursor to Miss Marple, Mma Ramotswe and Lisbeth Salander. Miss...

A Yorkshire mining town is haunted by a mysterious tragedy in this “admirable addition to Hill’s Dalziel/Pascoe series” (The Washington Post Book World). Reginald Hill “raised the classical British mystery to new heights” when he introduced pugnacious Yorkshire Det. Inspector Andrew...

It’s murder on the moon—in an out-of-this-world mystery featuring “the best detective duo on the scene” (Daily Telegraph).   Reginald Hill “raised the classical British mystery to new heights” when he introduced pugnacious Yorkshire Det. Inspector Andrew Dalziel and his partner, the callow...

The Yorkshire detectives reopen an old murder case and stir a royal scandal in this “dynamic, surprising mystery” (Publishers Weekly). Reginald Hill “raised the classical British mystery to new heights” when he introduced pugnacious Yorkshire Det. Inspector Andrew Dalziel and his partner,...

A New York Times Notable Book: A girl’s disappearance unearths old crimes for the Yorkshire detectives in this “multilayered masterpiece” (Publishers Weekly). Reginald Hill “raised the classical British mystery to new heights” when he introduced pugnacious Yorkshire Det. Inspector...

Seven Bengal tigers are the star attraction of Carey's Circus. Their trainer is the fearless Anton, whose work demands absolute fitness and the steadiest of nerves. When Anton is found lying dead in the tigers' cage, it seems that he has lost control and been mauled by the tigers - but Detective-Inspector...

'Don't talk bunk!' said Mr Douglas. 'You can't carry on with the show with a man dying on stage. Drop the curtain!' When Douglas B. Douglas - leading light of the London theatre - premieres his new musical extravaganza, Blue Music, he is sure the packed house will be dazzled by the performance....

Praise for Peter Lovesey: “Lovesey’s restrained wit and charming cast ensure him a place in the winner’s circle.”—Entertainment Weekly “A master of black humor and macabre plot twists.”—The New York Times Book Review “One of Britain’s foremost mystery novelists.”—Houston...

Walking into Murder is a cozy mystery with a strong setting and distinctive characters: wonderfully appealing amateur sleuth Laura Morland, a Professor of Gender Studies; a country manor full of British eccentrics, and the Cotswolds, site of Laura’s planned walking tour through England’s quaintest...

In a “splendid mystery with . . . a lovely twist,” the Yorkshire detectives dig up a bad seed in a horticulturalist’s rosy life (Publishers Weekly). Reginald Hill “raised the classical British mystery to new heights” when he introduced pugnacious Yorkshire Det. Inspector Andrew Dalziel...