The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Hercule Poirot Novel
2022 (First published: 1921)
Poirot is settling in England near Styles Court, the country estate of his wealthy benefactress, the elderly Emily Inglethorp. When Emily is poisoned, Poirot puts his sleuthing skills to work. Suspects are plentiful, including the victim’s husband, her stepsons, her longtime hired companion, a young family friend working as a nurse, and a London specialist on poisons who just happens to be visiting the nearby village.
115 Pages
5/5
237
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Hercule Poirot
2022 (First published: 1926)
The villagers of King’s Abbot are shocked when a wealthy local widow commits suicide and the very next day her fiancé, Roger Ackroyd, is stabbed to death. Dr. James Sheppard, the local physician, discovers the body of his friend and narrates the ensuing hunt for the killer. - One of the most fiendish mysteries with the most dramatic twists in Christie’s extensive oeuvre.
288 Pages
5/5
352
And Then There Were None
2001 (First published: 1939)
Agatha Christie's version of the nursery rhyme is often considered the best mystery novel ever written. 10 strangers are trapped in an Indian island, where the sinister Mr. Owen is accusing them of murder. One by one is found dead, until ... (the resolution of the novel is very different from that of the movie versions).
300 Pages
5/5
285
The Murder at the Vicarage
Miss Marple Mystery 1
2016 (First published: 1930)
This classic mystery is set in the quiet village of St. Mary Mead. Reverend Clement's wife, Griselda, stumbles upon Colonel Protheroe's lifeless body, igniting a web of intrigue. As villagers reveal secrets, suspicion points to multiple suspects. Miss Marple steps in to decipher clues and motives, ultimately unraveling the truth behind the murder in Agatha Christie's captivating tale of deception.
247 Pages
4/5
263
The Body in the Library
Miss Marple Mystery 2
2011 (First published: 1942)
The tranquil world of Colonel Bantry is shattered when a young woman's lifeless body is discovered in his library. As suspicion falls on his wife, the Colonel enlists the help of the ingenious Miss Marple to untangle the web of intrigue. With meticulous deduction and sharp insight, Miss Marple navigates through secrets and motives, piecing together the truth in this classic tale of deception, suspense, and intricate mystery.
247 Pages
4/5
221
The Moving Finger
Miss Marple Mystery 3
2011 (First published: 1942)
A sudden outbreak of anonymous hate mail causes only a minor stir in the small town of Lymstock. Then, one of the recipients, Mrs. Symmington, apparently commits suicide. But Miss Marple questions the coroner’s verdict. Soon secrets stop being shameful and start becoming deadly.
240 Pages
4/5
245
A Murder is Announced
Miss Marple Mystery 4
1968 (First published: 1950)
Miss Marple is staying at a spa hotel in a small village for treatment, when a murder is announced in the local newspaper. It shall take place on Friday, 29 October, at Little Paddocks, at 6.30 pm. Miss Marple works with Inspector Craddock of the county police to solve the crime. Deft and ingenious plot fabrication!
197 Pages
3/5
233
They do it with Mirrors
Miss Marple Mystery 5
2011 (First published: 1952)
Miss Marple senses danger when she visits a friend living in Stoneygates, a rehabilitation center for delinquents. Her fears are confirmed when someone shoots at the administrator. Although he is not injured, a mysterious visitor is less fortunate—shot dead simultaneously in another part of the building.
224 Pages
3/5
355
A Pocket Full of Rye
Miss Marple Mystery 6
2011 (First published: 1953)
The bizarre death of a financial tycoon has Miss Marple investigating a very odd case of crime by rhyme. Rex Fortescue, king of a financial empire, was sipping tea in his “counting house” when he suffered an agonizing and sudden death. On later inspection, the pockets of the deceased were found to contain traces of cereals.
256 Pages
4/5
359
4.50 from Paddington
Miss Marple Mystery 7
2022 (First published: 1957)
A woman is murdered on a train. When Miss Marple telephones her friend Lucy Eyelesbarrow and asks her to go undercover to investigate, Lucy quickly accepts the challenge! When a second murder takes place, everyone at Rutherford Hall seems in danger, so Miss Marple sets a trap to catch the murderer.
288 Pages
3/5
195
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
Miss Marple Mystery 8
2011 (First published: 1962)
A fatal dose of poison meant for a glamorous movie star fells her ardent admirer instead. One minute, silly Heather Babcock had been babbling on at her movie idol, the glamorous Marina Gregg. The next, Heather suffered a massive seizure, poisoned by a deadly cocktail. But Miss Marple is there to unmask a murderer.
288 Pages
3/5
413
A Caribbean Mystery
Miss Marple Mystery 9
2011 (First published: 1964)
Miss Marple is ensnared in A Caribbean Mystery when a retired military man sparks her curiosity with a photograph and a strange story of a murderer. As Miss Marple sat basking in the Caribbean sunshine, she felt mildly discontented with life. True, the warmth eased her rheumatism, but here in paradise nothing ever happened.
240 Pages
4/5
296
At Bertram's Hotel
Miss Marple Mystery 10
2011 (First published: 1985)
When Miss Marple comes up from the country for a holiday in London, she finds what she’s looking for at Bertram’s Hotel: traditional decor, impeccable service, and an unmistakable atmosphere of danger behind the highly-polished veneer. Yet, not even Miss Marple can foresee the violent chain of events set in motion.
272 Pages
2/5
395
Nemesis
Miss Marple Mystery 11
2022 (First published: 1971)
Miss Marple receives a letter from the solicitors of the recently deceased Jason Rafiel, a millionaire whom she had met during a holiday on which she had encountered a murder, which asks her to look into an unspecified crime; if she succeeds in solving the crime, she will inherit £20,000. Rafiel has left her few clues.
304 Pages
3/5
304
Sleeping Murder
Miss Marple Mystery 12
2022 (First published: 1976)
Soon after Gwenda moves into her new home, odd things start to happen. Despite her best efforts to modernize the house, she feels an irrational sense of terror every time she climbs the stairs. In fear, Gwenda turns to Miss Marple. Between them, they solve a “perfect” crime committed many years before.
256 Pages
4/5
275
The Hound of the Baskervilles - 150th Anniversary Edition
Sherlock Holmes - Book 3
2023 (First published: 1902)
A country doctor visits Sherlock Holmes with the eerie tale of the Hound of the Baskervilles. The legend warns Baskerville descendants against the moors, where a devilish hound lurks. The story sounds preposterous, but now Sir Charles Baskerville is dead—and the footprints of a giant hound have been found near his body. Holmes and Watson investigate. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle masterfully blends detection and suspense.
256 Pages
5/5
92
Heads You Lose
Inspector Cockrill Mysteries - Book 1
2021 (First published: 1941)
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 polite — but Grace Morland is painfully in love with Stephen Pendock, the squire of Pigeonsford. Pendock, however, is smitten with young beauty Francesca Hart. One afternoon, Fran debuts a new hat, and Grace’s jealousy exclaims: “I wouldn’t be seen dead in a ditch in a thing like that!”. She will soon be proven wrong.
190 Pages
4/5
105
Green for Danger
Inspector Cockrill Mysteries - Book 2
2023 (First published: 1944)
When postman Higgins returns to Heron's Park hospital with injuries from a bombing raid in 1943, his inexplicable death by asphyxiation in the operating theatre casts four nurses and three doctors under suspicion. A second death in quick succession invites investigation by Inspector Cockrill. As an air raid detains the inspector for the night, the stage is set for a tense and claustrophobic investigation with a close-knit cast of suspects.
284 Pages
5/5
136
The Thin Man
1989 (First published: 1934)
New York City in December 1932, the last days of Prohibition. Nick Charles, a former private detective, and Nora, his clever young wife are drawn, mostly against their will, into investigating a murder.The case brings them in contact with the Wynants, a rather grotesque family, and with various policemen and lowlifes.
208 Pages
5/5
234
The Maltese Falcon
1989 (First published: 1930)
Archetypal tough guy, detective Sam Spade, risks his reputation by trying to help a beautiful young lady. As his partner gets killed Spade is suspected for murder. The story is a complex web of betrayal and deception, in which everyone tries to get the gold statuette of a falcon. Sam's masculine strength is refreshing in today's world of male insecurity. Also an excellent movie with Humphrey Bogart - but the book is better.
217 Pages
5/5
265
Gaudy Night
Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries
2012 (First published: 1935)
Gaudy Night takes Harriet and her paramour, Lord Peter, to Oxford University, Harriet’s alma mater, for a reunion, only to find themselves the targets of a nightmare of harassment and mysterious, murderous threats. A nightmare of romance and terror.
544 Pages
5/5
220
The Postman Always Rings Twice
1989 (First published: 1934)
Cain started a new genre: American noir fiction. It may be full of despair, sweltering greed, dark violence and raw sex, but the no-nonsense description of humanity heading towards destruction is impossible to resist. In his laconic style Cain tells the story of Frank, a tramp, who his attracted to Cora, the young wife of brutally violent Nick. When Frank and Cora start an affair behind her older man's back, the story is heading for disaster.
116 Pages
5/5
234
The Daughter of Time
1995 (First published: 1951)
Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, recuperating from a broken leg, becomes fascinated with a contemporary portrait of Richard III that bears no resemblance to the Wicked Uncle of history. Could such a sensitive, noble face actually belong to one of the world’s most heinous villains—a venomous hunchback who may have killed his brother’s children to make his crown secure?
206 Pages
5/5
287
Miraculous Mysteries
Locked-Room Murders and Impossible Crimes. British Library Crime Classics
2017
Fiendishly intricate cases became popular during the 'golden age of murder' between the two world wars. The tradition goes back to the days of Edgar Allan Poe and Wilkie Collins. Impossible crime stories have also been written by such luminaries as Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham.This anthology celebrates their work.
358 Pages
4/5
248
Lady Audley’s Secret
2012
Beautiful Lucy Graham accepts the hand of Sir Michael Audley. But her past is shrouded in mystery, and Sir Michael's nephew Robert has vague forebodings. When Robert's good friend George Talboys suddenly disappears, he is determined to find him and unearth the truth. A tangled story of lies and deception, crime and intrigue.
496 Pages
5/5
240
A Man Lay Dead
Inspectr Roderick Alleyn - Book 1
2021 (First published: 1934)
Ngaio Marsh has crafted a gripping tale where a seemingly innocent game turns deadly. As guests gather for an evening of entertainment, a real-life murder steals the show. With hidden motives and a tangled web of suspects, it's a race against time to uncover the truth. Follow Inspectr Roderick Alleyn and ive into this classic mystery that will keep you guessing until the final page.
196 Pages
5/5
125
Anatomy of a Murder
1983 (First published: 1958)
Anatomy of a Murder immediately became a number-one bestseller in America, and was subsequently turned into the now classic Otto Preminger film of the same name, starring Jimmy Stewart and Duke Ellington. A gripping tale of deceit, murder, and a sensational trial, unmatched in the authenticity of its settings, events, and characters.
448 Pages
5/5
781
Death on Gokumon Island
Detective Kindaichi Series - Book 2
2020 (First published: 1948)
Detective Kosuke Kindaichi arrives on the remote Gokumon Island bearing tragic news—his friend and fellow soldier, the son of one of the island's most important families has died, on a troop transport ship bringing him back home after the Second World War. With his last words, the dying man warned that his three step-sisters' lives would now be in danger.
320 Pages
5/5
227
The Village of Eight Graves
Detective Kindaichi Series - Book 3
2020 (First published: 1951)
Nestled in mist-shrouded mountains, The Village of Eight Graves takes its name from a bloody legend: eight samurais, who had taken refuge there along with a secret treasure, were murdered by the inhabitants, bringing a terrible curse down upon their village. Centuries later a mysterious young man named Tatsuya arrives in town, bringing a spate of deadly poisonings in his wake.
352 Pages
4/5
494
The Inugami Curse
Detective Kindaichi Series - Book 4
2020 (First published: 1951)
In 1940s Japan, the wealthy head of the Inugami clan dies, and his family eagerly await the reading of the will. But no sooner are its strange details revealed than a series of bizarre, gruesome murders begins. Detective Kindaichi must unravel the clan's terrible secrets of forbidden liaisons, monstrous cruelty, and hidden identities to find the murderer.
320 Pages
5/5
218
In Cold Blood
1994 (First published: 1966)
A masterpiece from the author of "Breakfast at Tiffanies". With this thriller Capote invented a new genre. It reconstructs the 1959 murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote describes the investigations, capture, trial and execution of the killers in harrowing, yet empathic prose.
343 Pages
5/5
241
The Woman in White
2003
Walter Hartright, engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his "charming" friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons and poison. This upper-class Victorian love story is certainly one of the greatest romantic thrillers.
720 Pages
5/5
239
The Moonstone
2018
Lady Verinder’s uncle gives her the Moonstone – a magnificent diamond as large as an egg – for her eighteenth birthday, but it is not quite the generous gift it first seems. For he obtained it through bloody and nefarious means in India, and legend says the diamond’s guardians will stop at nothing to get it back. When the Moonstone is stolen, an innocent man is accused of the crime.
528 Pages
5/5
256