Moonstone press gb (84 resultados)

Paperback. Condición: New. "It was my own fault, of course.  I realized that when it was too late. "Crime writer Iain Carter has recently married and is struggling to make a decent living as an author.  His brother-in-law is a likable but slightly indiscreet constable, and Iain decides to use this inside knowledge to write a satirical series featuring a pompous dictatorial police superintendent.  To protect his identity, Iain creates an elaborately designed pseudonym, 'John Ky Lowell', that can't be traced back to him.  When the first book by Lowell, The Undetective, proves to be a huge success, Iain finds he must take increasingly convoluted steps to protect his secret from the press, the police and the taxman.   But the real trouble begins when a local bookmaker is killed, and Iain finds his mysterious alter-ego is the prime suspect.…

Paperback. Condición: New. Christabel Strange, a highly successful young novelist, is taken ill and dies a year before the story begins. It was her wish that her biography should be written by her friend Marcia Wentworth; but inexplicably, she bequeathed her diaries to her wily, eccentric grandmother, who loathes Marcia and refuses to allow her to see them. Dr. George Cardew, Christabel's childhood friend, arriving at the house (which according to Christabel's will, is being shared by Marcia), finds himself between opposing and bitterly hostile camps, for the family are at loggerheads with Marcia. He begins to wonder why Christabel behaved in such a peculiar way, and whether her death was really due to a fever. The possibility of foul play becomes a certainty when another murder takes place and a volume of the diary is stolen. Gradually Dr. Cardew pieces together the clues to Christabel's hidden life, but it is not until there has been further violence that he is able to identify the murderer and the reason for the original crime.…

Paperback. Condición: New. When wealthy elderly Simon Ewing is found murdered in his flat, it appears to be a robbery gone wrong. Two rings were taken from the dead man's hands, but his hidden jewelery strongbox remained untouched, except for one missing diamond solitaire. An unknown man was spotted exiting the building; there is evidence that he had searched the upper floors before attacking Ewing when the old man was briefly left unattended. But how could an outsider have known when to strike? And why take only one ring from a treasure trove? Superintendent Woods is called in, and through patient careful detection begins slowly to disentangle the clues, as suspicion shifts from one character to the next. This classic detective novel from the 1930s is now republished for the first time.…

Paperback. Condición: New. The man calling himself Henry Rowles had lived in the lonely hut by the sea wall for twenty years when he decided to make a will leaving everything to old George Pollicott, the night-watchman who had so curiously befriended and cared for him. But his money was in a South African bank and deposited under another name, so retired solicitor Vaughan agrees to look into the matter, Shortly after Rowles is found dead, and Pollicott is charged with his murder. As Vaughan digs into the victim's past, he must decide if Rowles was an imposter or a frightened man cruelly deprived of his birthright.…

Paperback. Condición: New. "Three hundred years ago, Lord Carpenter, I'd have had your head on a spike on Tower Hill."It is 1938 and newspaper chief Lord Carpenter is about to publish a front-page story that will guarantee war with Russia. But before the paper can go to print, he is found stabbed in his office, and circumstances suggest the killer is one of his staff. Everyone from the editor-in-chief to the staff librarian had the opportunity. But was the motivation for the murder political or personal?Crime reporter Charles Venables finds himself both suspect and sleuth as he tries to disentangle the clues and determine which of his colleagues is the guilty party. Red herrings abound, but it soon becomes apparent that more than one person had a reason to want Carpenter dead.Fatality in Fleet Street displays the author's trademark wit and a plot with plenty of twists and ingenuity to please the reader. Equally interesting are the political overtones and the militaristic pretensions of the deceased newspaper baron. The novel is set in 1938 - five years later than its real publication date - and presents a Russia whose economy is growing, which makes the country 'a real menace to the established order of things' in Carpenter's worldview. Although the imperious newspaper baron meets his demise early on, his outsized personality and ambition are the bedrock that propels the story. Sprigg makes his satire clear; there is more than a passing resemblance between the fictional Lord Carpenter and the real world Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, owner of the Evening Standard and Daily Express.Sprigg started his career as a cub reporter and the book's setting of a busy newspaper is well realised. Fatality also takes a sardonic view of socialist activity in Britain. When Venables goes to investigate a local chapter of the Communist Party, the situation is alternately threatening and farcical, with members parading their revolutionary credentials and loudly denouncing the 'bourgeois'.   Sprigg later became an active member of the Communist Party and published Marxist literary criticism, but his gently mocking tone in Fatality suggests this conversion was some way off in 1933.…

Paperback. Condición: New. 'Mr Gabb, your son did not commit suicide.  He was murdered.'Simon Gabb has everything - or so it seems: a beautiful house, a big estate, a flourishing business and two sons, both endowed with evident capacity for carrying on the family firm.  The moody Giles is brilliant and inventive; the married Basil is dependable and efficient.  And yet something is manifestly wrong.  A secret invention, on which his business was engaged for the government, becomes known to those who had no right to know it.  But how and where did the leak occur? It is a conundrum which creates suspicion and dissension within the family and engulfs everyone who dine with them one Saturday night.  Giles has become friendly with young Arden and Billy Laforte, who were the previous owners of Herons' Hall until their father's death left them penniless, and who now rent one of the lodges on the property.  When Giles brings the Lafortes to the Hall for the first visit to their old home in three years, the Gabbs hardly know what to expect.  Yet the Lafortes seem completely at ease, so when a fierce storm develops, Mrs Gabb insistes they stay the night. The next morning, Gabb's elder son, Giles, is found dead in a motorboat on the lake, his body propped up by a shotgun. But it is soon apparent that the gun was not the cause of death, nor did he die in the boat; a skilled marksman shot him from a distance.  Superintendent Mallett is assigned the case and must deal with the smouldering emotions the flare up between everyone present that evening.…

Paperback. Condición: New. Not every woman can collect her dethroned lovers and their wives into one room. But then Claribel was not 'every woman'. Things happened at her parties and so one swallowed the latest baits and joined all the other poor fish. But having given her party, having collected her bevy of expectant friends, having displayed her three mysterious lovelies, it was painfully bad tactics to make them play a murder game. All sorts of curious things were liable to happen when one let loose such a motley throng in a darkened house. So really it was Claribel's fault, and she had only herself to blame when things did happen. A fairy tale with a sting in its tail.…

Paperback. Condición: New. "This letter has come straight from the murderer, don't you realize that? Hot from his bloody hand. Don't just stand there dithering, man. Don't you realize you hold the key to everything?"The Clove and Hoof is the hot spot in Larcombe for a pint of bitter, a good story and some laughs. It's also the focal point of a bizarre series of murders, for the only connection the victims have seems to be that they all frequented the local pub. Strange pranks, a spate of anonymous letters all painted in blue watercolor, and a decapitated head found floating in the stream near Starehole Gap all lead to the police uncovering unusual criminality dating back 20 years. Two policemen with decidedly differing approaches to crime solving head up the professional side of the investigation, accompanied by Christian Peascod, dilettante of the arts and amateur detective.…

Paperback. Condición: New. 'A man does not leave school at fourteen, make a fortune by forty and go on to become a skilful and powerful politician without ruthlessness.'Hugh Mason was the kind of man it was very easy to hate, if you were not susceptible to his particular kind of charm. He had of necessity hurt a lot of people on his way up. Taciturn and enigmatic, his extended family did not really know him well. At a weekend gathering for his 60th birthday, it slowly becomes apparent that Hugh plans to give substantial funding and support to a new right-wing political group called the Freemen. The next morning Hugh is dead of poisoning and the evidence suggests a family member must be responsible. But who among them would risk such a move, given that Hugh provides for all.…

Paperback. Condición: New. "Are you a detective, Mr. Terhune?  If you will forgive my saying so, you do not look like one."Theodore Terhune, bookseller in the tranquil Kent village of Bray-in-the-Marsh, interrupts the attempted robbery of Helena Armstrong, secretary-companion to Lady Kylstone. Someone was trying to steal the key to the Kylstone burial vault, which will shortly be open to the public for the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt. When the key goes missing, Terhune is certain there must be something in the barren vault the thieves are after, but why bother when it will shortly be accessible to all? A series of mysterious encounters leads the curious Terhune from one clue to another, involving a trip to New York City, a professional criminal for hire, attempted murder on board a passenger ship, an automobile accident, and a mysterious person nicknamed "Blondie"; eventually leading to the secret past of two families.A 1941 bibliomystery rthat mixes detective novel, adventure thriller, quest story and satire of English village life into one highly entertaining read. …

Paperback. Condición: New. Stretched across the road was the body of a policeman.On the way home one evening in the Romney Marsh, Bookseller Theodore Terhune and friend Julia are caught in heavy coastal fog.  A passing lorry provides some guidance on the narrow country roads, but the night ends with intentional mishap and a dead body.  It becomes clear that the constable's death was not accidental, but what possessed Tom Kitchen to try to stop a lorry singlehandedly at 1am?  His widow is frightened; local farms vandalized; his home ransacked.  Suspicion centres around the Load of Hay, an ancient Dickensian pub full of unsavoury characters, and Terhune finds the clues may lay in the history of 18th century smuggling in the Romney Marsh.…

Paperback. Condición: New. 'Mr Gabb, your son did not commit suicide.  He was murdered.'Simon Gabb has everything - or so it seems: a beautiful house, a big estate, a flourishing business and two sons, both endowed with evident capacity for carrying on the family firm.  The moody Giles is brilliant and inventive; the married Basil is dependable and efficient.  And yet something is manifestly wrong.  A secret invention, on which his business was engaged for the government, becomes known to those who had no right to know it.  But how and where did the leak occur? It is a conundrum which creates suspicion and dissension within the family and engulfs everyone who dine with them one Saturday night.  Giles has become friendly with young Arden and Billy Laforte, who were the previous owners of Herons' Hall until their father's death left them penniless, and who now rent one of the lodges on the property.  When Giles brings the Lafortes to the Hall for the first visit to their old home in three years, the Gabbs hardly know what to expect.  Yet the Lafortes seem completely at ease, so when a fierce storm develops, Mrs Gabb insistes they stay the night. The next morning, Gabb's elder son, Giles, is found dead in a motorboat on the lake, his body propped up by a shotgun. But it is soon apparent that the gun was not the cause of death, nor did he die in the boat; a skilled marksman shot him from a distance.  Superintendent Mallett is assigned the case and must deal with the smouldering emotions the flare up between everyone present that evening.…

Paperback. Condición: New. Stretched across the road was the body of a policeman.On the way home one evening in the Romney Marsh, Bookseller Theodore Terhune and friend Julia are caught in heavy coastal fog.  A passing lorry provides some guidance on the narrow country roads, but the night ends with intentional mishap and a dead body.  It becomes clear that the constable's death was not accidental, but what possessed Tom Kitchen to try to stop a lorry singlehandedly at 1am?  His widow is frightened; local farms vandalized; his home ransacked.  Suspicion centres around the Load of Hay, an ancient Dickensian pub full of unsavoury characters, and Terhune finds the clues may lay in the history of 18th century smuggling in the Romney Marsh.…

Paperback. Condición: New. Charles was in a vile temper and Anne was catching the full benefit of it.Charles Courtley is a difficult man. Prone to violent outbursts and a bully to his wife and daughters, he has uprooted the family from London to an old manor house in remote East Anglia. Spoilt by his growing wealth and increasingly intolerant of any dissent, Charles enjoys controlling everyone around him. His family, his employees and even the locals - banned from using the traditional footpaths on his forested estate - have multiple reasons to bear a grudge. When Charles is shot dead in a woodland clearing, evidence from an unreliable witness points to Courtley's secretary, but he has a cast iron alibi and the resulting trial ends in an acquital. A year later, a seemingly innocent death and an odd cenotaph leads Chief Inspector Simon Sturt to reconsider the case.Dorothy Erskine Muir (1889-1977) was one of seventeen children of John Sheepshanks, Bishop of Norwich. She attended Oxford, worked as an academic tutor, and began writing professionally to supplement the family income after the unexpected death of her husband in 1932. Muir published historical biographies and local histories, as well as three accomplished detective novels: In Muffled Night (1933), Five to Five (1934) and In Memory of Charles (1941).…

Paperback. Condición: New. "My accidents can't be accidental.  Very well, there's only one thing they can be-and that's attempted murder."Archy Mitfold had always loved a mystery, but he never expected to take the lead role in a thriller. Yet there was no doubt in his mind that someone was trying to kill him. First there was the narrow miss on Trumpeter's Row, where a car accelerated straight at him. Then there were the chocolates Archy received on his birthday-with an unsigned card-that made him ill. Most recent was the sharp push in the back that almost sent him sprawling in front of an oncoming commuter train.  What does Archy know that someone is willing to kill for? And does the recent kidnapping of millionaire Sampson Vick have anything to do with his accidents? Or is all this just the sign of self-absorbed and histrionic young man? Before long, Chief Inspector Dan Pardoe is called to investigate and untangles more than one mystery in the process.A Deed Without a Name has a well-realised and atmospheric setting during England's "phony war" period in 1939.…

Paperback. Condición: New. It won't be much longer now. Keep your head and hold your tongue."In Shadows Before, events from the past are the catalyst for murder.  In hope of a fresh start after being acquitted of the murder of his sister-in-law, Matthew Weir has moved his family to Spanwater, a remote manor in the Cotswolds. But his heiress wife Catherine is traumatised by her sister's death and Matthew's trial, and has retreated into childhood memories, believing she is living in the Welsh border cottage of her childhood.  Hired to keep Catherine safe in her wanderings, companion Aurelia Brett is fleeing poverty and hunger in London,  Matthew's brother Augustus is trying to elude past debts. His nephew is haunted by the death of his father. Then Catherine dies suddenly, and arsenic is found in her home-made tea.  Evidence suggests someone in the house, but Chief Inspector Pardoe finds conflicting clues and suspicious behaviour among Spanwater's neighbours too.   When a second death occurs, Pardoe  - and the reader - must decide which shadows points to the perpetrator and why.Dorothy Bowers (1902 - 1948) was a champion of "fair play" mysteries, in which all the clues are cunningly displayed within the context of the story.…

Paperback. Condición: New. "It was my own fault, of course.  I realized that when it was too late. "Crime writer Iain Carter has recently married and is struggling to make a decent living as an author.  His brother-in-law is a likable but slightly indiscreet constable, and Iain decides to use this inside knowledge to write a satirical series featuring a pompous dictatorial police superintendent.  To protect his identity, Iain creates an elaborately designed pseudonym, 'John Ky Lowell', that can't be traced back to him.  When the first book by Lowell, The Undetective, proves to be a huge success, Iain finds he must take increasingly convoluted steps to protect his secret from the press, the police and the taxman.   But the real trouble begins when a local bookmaker is killed, and Iain finds his mysterious alter-ego is the prime suspect.…

Paperback. Condición: New. 'When a man has three separate notices by three different women inserted in the local paper, and he's my own namesake besides, I feel I owe him something.'Sequential death notices appear for Robert Raynald: one by his mother, one by his estranged wife, one by his daughter. This odd approach draws the attention of Superintendent Mallett and his friend Dr. Fitzbrown. The inquest had decided that Raynald shot himself whilst temporarily insane, but his daughter Geraldine is not convinced and presents enough evidence to arouse the investigator within Mallett. Raynald's story is presented in flashbacks, as Mallett and Fitzbrown build a picture of his life through the people who knew him best. Requiem for Robert combines the excitement of a detective story with a haunting reading of character. …

Paperback. Condición: New. Christabel Strange, a highly successful young novelist, is taken ill and dies a year before the story begins. It was her wish that her biography should be written by her friend Marcia Wentworth; but inexplicably, she bequeathed her diaries to her wily, eccentric grandmother, who loathes Marcia and refuses to allow her to see them. Dr. George Cardew, Christabel's childhood friend, arriving at the house (which according to Christabel's will, is being shared by Marcia), finds himself between opposing and bitterly hostile camps, for the family are at loggerheads with Marcia. He begins to wonder why Christabel behaved in such a peculiar way, and whether her death was really due to a fever. The possibility of foul play becomes a certainty when another murder takes place and a volume of the diary is stolen. Gradually Dr. Cardew pieces together the clues to Christabel's hidden life, but it is not until there has been further violence that he is able to identify the murderer and the reason for the original crime.…

Paperback. Condición: New. "So you know House-on-the-Hill, Mr. Terhune?"Local bookseller and amateur detective Theodore Terhune is asked to investigate the history of an ancient Kentish manor house for its new owner, Dr. Vincente Salvaterra. Recently arrived from Panama, Salvaterra wants to know why the house was shunned by the locals and abandoned for nearly a century, despite commanding the best views in the county. Terhune digs deep into the mansion's past and find more than one unsolved-and disturbing-mystery, dating back hundreds of years. When tragedy later strikes the eccentric Salvaterra family in their new home, Terhune must determine if the cause is the Gothic House-on-the Hill itself, or whether a sinister human plot is afoot.…

Paperback. Condición: New. Not every woman can collect her dethroned lovers and their wives into one room. But then Claribel was not 'every woman'. Things happened at her parties and so one swallowed the latest baits and joined all the other poor fish. But having given her party, having collected her bevy of expectant friends, having displayed her three mysterious lovelies, it was painfully bad tactics to make them play a murder game. All sorts of curious things were liable to happen when one let loose such a motley throng in a darkened house. So really it was Claribel's fault, and she had only herself to blame when things did happen. A fairy tale with a sting in its tail.…

Paperback. Condición: New. When wealthy elderly Simon Ewing is found murdered in his flat, it appears to be a robbery gone wrong. Two rings were taken from the dead man's hands, but his hidden jewelery strongbox remained untouched, except for one missing diamond solitaire. An unknown man was spotted exiting the building; there is evidence that he had searched the upper floors before attacking Ewing when the old man was briefly left unattended. But how could an outsider have known when to strike? And why take only one ring from a treasure trove? Superintendent Woods is called in, and through patient careful detection begins slowly to disentangle the clues, as suspicion shifts from one character to the next. This classic detective novel from the 1930s is now republished for the first time.…

Paperback. Condición: New. The man calling himself Henry Rowles had lived in the lonely hut by the sea wall for twenty years when he decided to make a will leaving everything to old George Pollicott, the night-watchman who had so curiously befriended and cared for him. But his money was in a South African bank and deposited under another name, so retired solicitor Vaughan agrees to look into the matter, Shortly after Rowles is found dead, and Pollicott is charged with his murder. As Vaughan digs into the victim's past, he must decide if Rowles was an imposter or a frightened man cruelly deprived of his birthright.…

Paperback. Condición: New. "This letter has come straight from the murderer, don't you realize that? Hot from his bloody hand. Don't just stand there dithering, man. Don't you realize you hold the key to everything?"The Clove and Hoof is the hot spot in Larcombe for a pint of bitter, a good story and some laughs. It's also the focal point of a bizarre series of murders, for the only connection the victims have seems to be that they all frequented the local pub. Strange pranks, a spate of anonymous letters all painted in blue watercolor, and a decapitated head found floating in the stream near Starehole Gap all lead to the police uncovering unusual criminality dating back 20 years. Two policemen with decidedly differing approaches to crime solving head up the professional side of the investigation, accompanied by Christian Peascod, dilettante of the arts and amateur detective.…

Paperback. Condición: New. On the eve of her adored adopted daughter Augusta's twenty-first birthday, and after bullying her harpist Tenella, and telling her great nephew Palin a family secret so dreadful he leaves Tristowell Castle and goes straight down a pothole, old Lady Elizabeth Carn is found securely and determinedly strangled. All sorts of developments in every direction occur, with some thumping subterranean scenes. Inspector Mallet investigates.…

Paperback. Condición: New. Charles was in a vile temper and Anne was catching the full benefit of it.Charles Courtley is a difficult man. Prone to violent outbursts and a bully to his wife and daughters, he has uprooted the family from London to an old manor house in remote East Anglia. Spoilt by his growing wealth and increasingly intolerant of any dissent, Charles enjoys controlling everyone around him. His family, his employees and even the locals - banned from using the traditional footpaths on his forested estate - have multiple reasons to bear a grudge. When Charles is shot dead in a woodland clearing, evidence from an unreliable witness points to Courtley's secretary, but he has a cast iron alibi and the resulting trial ends in an acquital. A year later, a seemingly innocent death and an odd cenotaph leads Chief Inspector Simon Sturt to reconsider the case.Dorothy Erskine Muir (1889-1977) was one of seventeen children of John Sheepshanks, Bishop of Norwich. She attended Oxford, worked as an academic tutor, and began writing professionally to supplement the family income after the unexpected death of her husband in 1932. Muir published historical biographies and local histories, as well as three accomplished detective novels: In Muffled Night (1933), Five to Five (1934) and In Memory of Charles (1941).…

Paperback. Condición: New. In the beginning was the Word-When Theodore Terhune's wealthy client Arthur Harrison is found stabbed and his library ransacked, the police suspect the murderer was looking for a book. Harrison collected rare early printed books called incunabula, but as the provenance of such titles is well documented in the book world it would make little sense to steal one. Terhune is hired by the estate to sell off Harrison's library, but another armed break-in and a very strange book auction suggest the killer is still searching for something. Soon Terhune himself becomes a target, but what exactly does the murderer want? And why are crosses appearing in the turf of local fields?The sixth book in the entertaining series involving bookseller and amateur sleuth Theodore Terhune.…

Paperback. Condición: New. "Three hundred years ago, Lord Carpenter, I'd have had your head on a spike on Tower Hill."It is 1938 and newspaper chief Lord Carpenter is about to publish a front-page story that will guarantee war with Russia. But before the paper can go to print, he is found stabbed in his office, and circumstances suggest the killer is one of his staff. Everyone from the editor-in-chief to the staff librarian had the opportunity. But was the motivation for the murder political or personal?Crime reporter Charles Venables finds himself both suspect and sleuth as he tries to disentangle the clues and determine which of his colleagues is the guilty party. Red herrings abound, but it soon becomes apparent that more than one person had a reason to want Carpenter dead.Fatality in Fleet Street displays the author's trademark wit and a plot with plenty of twists and ingenuity to please the reader. Equally interesting are the political overtones and the militaristic pretensions of the deceased newspaper baron. The novel is set in 1938 - five years later than its real publication date - and presents a Russia whose economy is growing, which makes the country 'a real menace to the established order of things' in Carpenter's worldview. Although the imperious newspaper baron meets his demise early on, his outsized personality and ambition are the bedrock that propels the story. Sprigg makes his satire clear; there is more than a passing resemblance between the fictional Lord Carpenter and the real world Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, owner of the Evening Standard and Daily Express.Sprigg started his career as a cub reporter and the book's setting of a busy newspaper is well realised. Fatality also takes a sardonic view of socialist activity in Britain. When Venables goes to investigate a local chapter of the Communist Party, the situation is alternately threatening and farcical, with members parading their revolutionary credentials and loudly denouncing the 'bourgeois'.   Sprigg later became an active member of the Communist Party and published Marxist literary criticism, but his gently mocking tone in Fatality suggests this conversion was some way off in 1933.…

Paperback. Condición: New. On the eve of her adored adopted daughter Augusta's twenty-first birthday, and after bullying her harpist Tenella, and telling her great nephew Palin a family secret so dreadful he leaves Tristowell Castle and goes straight down a pothole, old Lady Elizabeth Carn is found securely and determinedly strangled. All sorts of developments in every direction occur, with some thumping subterranean scenes. Inspector Mallet investigates.…

Paperback. Condición: New. In the beginning was the Word-When Theodore Terhune's wealthy client Arthur Harrison is found stabbed and his library ransacked, the police suspect the murderer was looking for a book. Harrison collected rare early printed books called incunabula, but as the provenance of such titles is well documented in the book world it would make little sense to steal one. Terhune is hired by the estate to sell off Harrison's library, but another armed break-in and a very strange book auction suggest the killer is still searching for something. Soon Terhune himself becomes a target, but what exactly does the murderer want? And why are crosses appearing in the turf of local fields?The sixth book in the entertaining series involving bookseller and amateur sleuth Theodore Terhune.…