Orion: 2711 books

The body of a woman from respectable, conservative Glendale is found stashed under a ramshackle house in the middle of the inner city. Detective Luis Mendoza marks the rising heat by the crime and violence raging through the sun-baked streets of Los Angeles - and it's going to be a hot one . . . A...

It's Christmas, but there isn't much Christmas spirit in the Glendale Police Department. Delia Riordan's father has just died, Detective Jim Harvey's family have left for the holidays, there are power blackouts, and of course no let-up in murders, muggings, burglaries and a perplexing triple murder/suicide. The...

The brutal and baffling murder of an elderly couple in their quiet suburban home, the kidnapping of two little girls, a bank hold-up, a jewel robbery from a big store - Vic Varallo and the Glendale police force are kept more than usually busy in this complex and exciting drama. 'My favourite American crime-writer' New York Herald Tribune

Four years ago Wayne Burgess killed his parents, and his plea of insanity lead to a verdict of not guilty. Now, after four years in a mental institution, he has been released and is obsessively determined to murder his wife and young daughter. Delia Riordan, the newest addition to the Glendale...

'My favourite American crime-writer' New York Herald Tribune Vic Varallo and the Glendale P.D. are startled by the latest addition to their team: a woman detective no less, and a very smart one at that. Delia Riordan soon makes her mark with enthusiasm, flair and a capacity for sheer hard work. And...

'This is a mystery readers' mystery novel, and a beauty' Anthony Boucher Walt McLean, the proprietor of Walt's Malt Shop, had been found dead by his niece. The attack did not appear to be motivated by robbery, but who would want to murder such a harmless and popular man? And what could the...

'My favourite American crime-writer' New York Herald Tribune Vic Varallo is an ambitious police officer. He and his wife Laura fix up a room for a guest, Ross Duncan, who seems extremely likeable but a little odd. Ross reveals to Vic that he is flat broke, financially crippled by alimony to...

A perfect collection of short stories for Dell Shannon fans and mystery lovers everywhere, featuring eight cases of her popular Lieutenant Luis Mendoza, alongside six intriguing non-series tales. Mysteries include the case of an exasperated husband who may have murdered his nagging wife - but...

'My favourite American crime-writer' New York Herald Tribune Charles O'Connor of the Glendale police and Vic Varallo are having dinner with their wives when they are interrupted by a call informing them of murder. The victim is an old, nearly blind woman, killed in her daughter's flat. This...

Robert Kinsolving is healthy, wealthy and forty-one, and has asked Jesse Falkenstein to draw up a will leaving everything to his sister, just in case. However, before signing, Kinsolving is found dead in an apparent suicide. Jesse is far from convinced, and discovers that Robert was actually not a...

To the California police the murder of Lilian Blake seems an open-and-shut case. In less than twenty-four hours they have arrested and charged Harry Nielsen, a mentally disabled youth. At first only Harry's mother believes his innocence, insisting he is too kind-hearted to kill anything. She begs...

Sergeant Andrew Clock of Homicide is an honest policeman, but now there's a very grave charge against him: concealing evidence in a murder investigation in return for a bribe. The evidence seems damning, but Clock's friends, including Jesse Falkenstein, cannot believe it of him. Falkenstein...

Beautiful Nell Varney was a newcomer to Contera - and to murder. Suddenly she found herself in a strange courtroom faced with seven pairs of hate-ridden, accusing eyes. Seven witnesses had identified her as the murderer who had caused the death of two women by performing illegal abortions. Why...

'My favourite American crime-writer' New York Herald Tribune The Glendale P.D. have their hands full again. What with an epidemic of motel hold-ups, a rapist with a fixation on hospital nurses, a teenager's suicide, an art gallery theft and a killing that leads to a zoo, there is no time for...