House Of Stratus: 587 books

When a girl turns up dead in a Mayfair mews, the police want to write it off as just another murdered prostitute, but Superintendent Manners isn’t quite so sure. He is convinced that the key to the crime lies in 'The Dell' – an affluent suburban housing estate. And in 'The Dell' lives Solomon Grundy. Could he have killed the girl? So Superintendent Manners thinks.

A retired criminal, Mario Ballas, lives in Mexico surrounded by his priceless collection of art treasures. Despite being protected by a ruthless gang of guards an emerald is stolen. It may seem to be outside his normal sphere, but John Mannering (aka 'The Baron') is called upon t investigate and uncovers more than anyone originally imagined.

John Mannering (aka ‘The Baron’) had purchased the Adalgo diamond, primarily out of curiosity as it was known as the ‘Blood Diamond’ because violent death had overtaken so many of its previous owners. Mannering did not believe in such myths, but soon after he was robbed, his wife was kidnapped...

John Mannering (aka ‘The Baron’) is an ex-cracksman, who is not only now ‘straight’, but can also act when needed in solving crimes. His wife has painted and exhibited and the Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy what may critics believe to be the finest work that year. She learns from her...

A quandary for John Mannering (aka ‘The Baron’). A young brash artist is found half-dead, with a noose around his neck, on the same day he had attempted to get Mannering to finance his career. The artist's terrified girlfriend desperately seeks help. Has the man tried to kill himself, or is it a case of attempted murder?

John Mannering (aka ‘The Baron’) is a retired jewel thief and cracksman who now runs a respectable antique business, Quinns, in London’s Mayfair. He buys and sells objet d’art and also provides safe-keeping for many precious items – gold, silver and especially jewellery. A new generation...

The Times' referred to this work as a superior psychothriller and it certainly lives up to the epithet. The central character is Mick Harvey, who has just been released after a spell in prison. He enjoys frightening people – it is his way of gaining a thrill. One day he encounters Laura and Marion,...

Footprints and a dead woman bring together Superintendent Minton and the amateur sleuth Mr Cardew. Who is the man in the shrubbery? Who is the singer of the haunting Moorish tune? Why is Hannah Shaw so determined to go to Pawsy, 'a dog lonely place' she had previously detested? Death lurks in the...

An extravagant, big time gangland criminal is ambushed and assassinated; the only witness a ten-year-old-boy. Chief Inspector Pel is called in to investigate the killing, which spirals into an international investigation when a respected spinster is bludgeoned to death and some curious links begin to clink into place.

A peaceful, pleasant afternoon in the woodland scene of Linton Green is disturbed when a brutal murder takes place. But thanks to an unseen witness, the killer may be caught, and the witness turns out to be a blessing in disguise. This is the story of Thomas Pedley, a gifted artist who paints what he sees from memory.

The Honourable Richard Rollison (aka ‘The Toff’) received what he thought to be a letter, addressed simply to ‘The Toff, London W1.’ Remarkable in itself in reaching him, inside the envelope there was nothing more than a photograph of a beautiful, but unidentified, woman. In fact, the previous...

A purchase at a second-hand bookshop seems an innocent enough event. Tony Shelton hadn’t expected it to be anything but that – and he certainly hadn’t expected it to throw him head first into the world of violence, blackmail and robbery. For it becomes clear that the book has a rather higher price than he paid for it – a price that was to lead to murder.

It is Paris, 1793, the most seething time of the revolution. No one knew in the morning if his head would still be on his shoulders in the evening, or if it would be held up by citizen Samson the headsman, for the sans-culottes of Paris to see. However, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Sir Percy Blakeney, is still at large to rescue France’s aristocrats.

In this, the sequel to ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’, French agent and chief spy-catcher Chauvelin is as crafty as ever, but Sir Percy Blakeney is more than a match for his arch-enemy. Meanwhile the beautiful Marguerite remains wholly devoted to Sir Percy, her husband. Cue more swashbuckling adventures as Sir Percy attempts to smuggle French aristocrats out of the country to safety.