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How could a murderer escape from a moving train? How was murder committed in full view of other passengers? How did poor Anstruther's body get on the line? How did one notorious villain dupe the police? A city solicitor, a grotesque and pressing old man, a mysterious railway passenger and a country doctor each have a story to tell that will intrigue and baffle crime fiction enthusiasts and railway buffs alike. ... Read more

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Six stories, from some of the finest crime writers of the past 100 years: Hunted Down / Charles Dickens Loopy / Ruth Rendell Bluebeard's Bathtub / Margery Allingham The Case for the Defence / Graham Greene Nine Points of the Law / E.W. Hornung (a Raffles story) Insufficient Evidence / Frances Hegarty ... Read more

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All four stories in this collection were written by masters of the art of suspense. Baroness Orczy's "The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway" presents a murder committed in full view of the passengers, yet no one can identify the killer. In Maurice Leblanc's "The Mysterious Railway Passenger," a notorious villain dupes the police and escapes with ingenuity and audacity. Freeman Wills Crofts's "The Mystery of the Sleeping Car Express" features a murderer who escapes from a moving train while his victims and an innocent bystander are locked in their compartment. In Victor Whitechurch and E. Conway's "A Warning in Red," a man's body found on the tracks could not have been thrown out of the train as supposed by the police. How did it get there? ... Read more

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Chapters: Henry Mayr-Harting, Patrick Malahide, Tod Sweeney, Michael Derrick, Anthony Milner, Cyril Stanley Smith, Norbert Lynton, P. J. Kavanagh, Brandon Gough. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 35. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Professor Henry Maria Robert Egmont Mayr-Harting was Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the University of Oxford and Lay Canon of Christ Church, Oxford from 1997 until 2003. On 6 April 1936 Henry Maria Robert Egmont Mayr-Harting was born in Prague to a Viennese couple, Herbert Mayr-Harting and Anna Mayr-Harting, née Münzer, who had a distinguished career as a bacteriologist in Bristol, England. Mayr-Harting was educated at Douai School and Merton College, Oxford (BA 1957, MA 1961, DPhil 1961). He was Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Liverpool 1960-68. He then returned to Oxford to become Fellow and Tutor in Medieval History at St Peter's College from 1968 until 1997, when he was appointed Fellow Emeritus. From 1976 until 1997 he was also Lecturer in Medieval History at Merton College. He was Slade Professor of Fine Art for the academic year 1987-88 and in 1993 he was named University Reader in Medieval History. In 1997 he became the first Catholic and the first layperson to be appointed Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the University of Oxford and consequently he became the first Lay Canon of Christ Church Cathedral. He retired from these positions in 2003. Mayr-Harting was elected Visiting Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1983 and Brown Foundation Fellow at Sewanee: The University of the South in 1992. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in the same year and he is a Corresponding Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. In 2003 he took part in the Spring Lecture Series, Barbarian Europe: The Cre...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=10683847 ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! He made his television debut in 1976, in an episode of The Flight of the Heron, then in single episodes of Sutherland's Law and The New Avengers and ITV Playhouse. He was then in an adaptation of The Eagle of the Ninth, and his first film was Sweeney 2 in the following year. In 1979 he began a nine-year stint as Detective Sergeant Albert "Cheerful Charlie" Chisholm in the popular TV series Minder.Since then, he has become a familiar face to screen audiences, often playing villains. His television appearances have included dramas such as The Singing Detective and Middlemarch, and he played Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Roderick Alleyn in a 1993-94 series. His films include Comfort and Joy, A Month in the Country, and Captain Corelli's Mandolin. In 1999 he made a small appearance in the introduction to the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough opposite Pierce Brosnan as a Swiss banker named Lachaise working in Bilbao. He played Mr. Ryder in a 2008 film adaptation of Brideshead Revisited. ... Read more

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Unabridged short stories include: 'The Monkey's Paw' by W.W. Jacobs, 'Timber' by John Galsworthy, 'The Masque of the Red Death' by Edgar Allan Poe, 'The Squaw' by Bram Stoker, 'Martin's Close' by M.R. James, 'The Man in the Bell' by W.E.Ayton, 'Caterpillars' by E.F. Benson and 'A Tale of Terror' by Thomas Hood. ... Read more

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The short story represents the perfect diversion for the busy modern reader — long enough to engage, but short enough to be portable to almost any setting from beach to bus ride. In this audio collection, a group of British readers breathe new life into 20 masterpieces of the form. There’s something here for every taste and mood, from a prime example of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s satirical “Pat Hobby” stories based on his Hollywood experiences, to gripping thrillers from the pen of Arthur Conan Doyle and Arnold Bennett. Writers include early masters such as Guy de Maupassant (“The White Wolf”), Poe (“The Purloined Letter”), and Alphonse Daudet (“Old Cornille’s Secret”). Here too are 20th-century favorites like Sapper (“The Patch on the Quilt”), E. E. Nesbitt (“The Violet Car”), and Jerome K. Jerome (“On Being in Love”). Readers include such notables as Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and Patrick Malahide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

audio book
Wonderful to hear my favorite actor, and many others reading so many stories. I love listening in my car. Really great set of CD's! ... Read more

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In 1909, the crack Blue Anchor liner, the Waratah, sinks without trace, or survivors, off the coast of South Africa. In 1967, the Gemsbok, a Viscount airliner of South African Airways disappears in exactly the same place.

To some it is merely an uncanny mystery. To others a tragedy. People like Ian Fairlie, captain of the weather ship Walvis Bay--whose father was the pilot of the Gemsbok and whose grandfather was the first officer of the Waratah.

Ian Fairlie has sworn that he will resolve the mystery. But to do so, he must face cyclonic winds and mountainous seas, risking his ship, his life and the woman he loves...

"Geoffrey Jenkins can write with a rare compelling fervour."
Times Literary Supplement ... Read more

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Word goes round that Jack Havoc, jail breaker and knife artist, is at large again, carving his way into more innocent - or less innocent - lives. Together Albert Campion and Chief Inspector Luke draw a tight net round the man-eater loose in London's November smog. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

A classic
A young woman receives a series of photographs--snapshots of a man who looks exactly like her first husband. An investigation turns up something much darker and more sinister than anyone could have expected, and secrets from the past come to light. Most dangerous of all is a mad serial killer on the loose with everything to lose, called Jack Havoc.

The Tiger in the Smoke is the first Albert Campion book I've read, having first heard about it in a list of great 20th century mysteries. Maybe it wasn't the best book to start with, as Campion isn't a central figure in this book and there's not much character development of the regulars. But nonetheless I enjoyed this taut, slightly grim story of the chase of a homicidal maniac, loose on the streets on postwar Europe. It's a highly suspenseful novel; I especially enjoyed the scene in the empty house. There's also a wonderfully intriguing cast of characters, including an albino and a dwarf. But the "character," if you could call it that, is the November fog, which pervades everything. This is a highly effective mystery; suspenseful, as I've said. I'll definitely be reading more by Margery Allingham in the future.

The Science of Luck
This is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. I just finished reading it for the third time. Each time I read it I am fascinated by the author's ability to capture and express an almost inexpressible truth of the way life works. The main character, Havoc, calls it *the Science of Luck*. Look to this book for more than the thrilling read it is.

Excellent mystery/thriller
It's been a while since I read it -I thoroughly enjoyed this book (much better than the over-hyped Da Vinci code). Some reviewers inferred that the villian was not evil enough (a bit weak by lofty contemporary standards of evil villainry) but I thought this made the book stronger. It displays a vulnerable, human side to that particular character, brought about via a brief scene where the heroine recalls an incident from childhood involving both herself and the said villian. The character is strengthened by this and made less arch and less caricature as a result. I very much like the novels of Charles Dickens so I really don't mind a story hinging on incredible coincidence, just as long as it's handled deftly, which this is. Well worth the effort of reading it. I'm going to read it again!

Havoc in London
This is one of the authors better novels in my opinion, more thriller than who dunnit as other reviewers have said, but non the worse for that.The pace of the book is good moving you on through the pages and the story which I won't divulge keeps you interested all the way through.

In today's world the characters are a little hard to swallow, Albert Campion the hero is a gentleman detective with no apparent source of income, Lugg the ex con manservant is corny, the evil Jack Havoc doesn't come across as especially evil by todays standards and Meg the heroine is a tad pathetic although she is supposed to be a modern woman.The setting, a dank and fog bound London is also a little trite, but makes some of the twists and turns in the plot more believable.

That said if like me you enjoy the period and can mentally get in tune with the values and society of the time it's a really fun book to read.I am a sucker for the twenties through to the end of the fifties and could read books like this one after the other.

I agree with the reviewer who felt it would make a good movie, my only condition is that it would have to be in black and white.

"Tiger" begging for a film remake! Challenges Grishom books
For excellent plot summaries, read the longer reviews in this string. I won't rehash what others have said so well...

Allingham does in this book what Sayers and sometimes Christie did. They take a break from routine or just lighthearted mysteries & get a bit (dare I say) theological.

But don't get scared off.
The heart of good drama is...meaningful conflict.

And the theological concept from Judaism/Christianity
...is the war between good versus evil---
...personified in Canon Avril (I know his "kin"--those who handwrestle evil regularly)
.......and in "Havoc". Can't tell too much here to give "Havoc" away.

If you are a real postmodern & laugh at the idea of evil, be thrilled by a retro book like this one nonetheless.

This story just "itches" to be remade...as a "period" thriller with British consultants who can get the post World War II London right. ... Read more

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Too much whisky and the fracas in the McClellan Arms was inevitable.When one of the brawlers is found dead, Lord Peter Wimsey in convinced that the death wasn't an accident. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Good Mystery
Lord Peter visits Scotland and solves a good mystery that has the typical Sayers huge cast of characters.The best thing (besides the story) about this audio version is the masterful voice of Patrick Malahide.His ability to change from plain English to polished Scotch is remarkable!

Murder Must Advertise? You must be joking!
I agree that this is one of Sayers' weaker mysteries, but Murder Must Advertise is much, much worse. For beginners, I'd start with Whose Body?, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, or the short stories (which are all together in Lord Peter).

Of course, if one wants the most experimental of her mysteries, there is Gaudy Night, which combines a novel with a detective book. Or if one wants her MASTERPIECE, then it's The Nine Tailors. Those who like a little highbrow romantic comedy mixed in will want to read Have His Carcass, and Busman's Honeymoon.

The best idea, however, is to read them all.

Not her best
The least successful of Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, this is alibi-driven, filled with timetables, and clocks, and such.Very mathematical, and not enough of the character development and social commentary that marks Sayers' best work.Nevertheless, a poor Sayers is better than most mystery authors' best.

Vacation with Murder
Step back in time with THE FIVE RED HERRINGS. Dorothy L. Sayers moves Lord Peter Wimsey to Scotland for a fishing vacation in a colony of artists who have an eye for detail, which Miss Sayers exploits.
Campbell has a tendency to badger and fight at the drop of a hat, which Lord Peter witnesses on a visit to the local pub. Campbell is discovered death at the bottom of a ravine with an unfinished canvas still wet on its easel above the body.
Was his death an accident or was it murder? Lord Peter assists the police to bring the mystery home with great attention to the details in each the alibis of the six suspects who have reason to celebrate Campbell's demise. Clever writing for which Miss Sayers is famous leads the reader down every path in this intricate puzzle.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

Sadly, you can skip this Sayers entry
You need have no fear of missing out on the possibility of a good Sayers read here. This one is a jumble of train schedules, vague characters, and improbable caveats.

The Story: Lord Peter Wimsey is visiting in Scotland in a community of fishermen-artists (this seems odd right off the bat) when one of these men, Campbell, is killed. At first, it looks like an accident but Lord Peter wont let it rest and the police agree that he's right. This is a murder made to look like an accident.

There are six fishermen-artist suspects, five of which must be "red herrings" as none of the men seem to have a clear alibi for the probable time of the murder. It has to be one of these fellows because the killer faked a Campbell painting, and was dressed in Campbell's clothes as to be seen at a distance by witnesses, thus making it appear that the notorious and turbulent Campbell was alive later than he actually was.

All the suspects display "battle scars" on the day following the murder and various accounts are given to the police and to Wimsey to account for these injuries, most of which turn out to be lies. From there, Lord Peter spends his time analyzing train schedules for those suspects who left the community for various purported reasons, in an effort to break their alibis.

In the end, this mystery appears to have been written by formulating an introduction and an ending, and then going back to fill in a bunch of laborious details. However this mystery was inspired, it's turned out as an uninspiring, confused effort. The ending is also notably abrubt and not particularly well thought-out.

I did give Sayers two stars instead of one for her Herculean effort in one realm: she took on the incredible difficulty of writing Scottish dialogue in the native brog. Ironically, the end result of this is that it makes for very difficult reading and I'm still wondering what some of those words meant in regular English. Now I know why there aren't many Scottish mysteries!

Pass this one by and seize upon any of Sayers' other fine mysteries. ... Read more

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Playaway is the easiest way to listen to a book on the go. An all-in-one format, the player and content are combined in one 2 ounce unit and it comes with everything you need to start listening immediately. No separate player needed, no CDs, no downloads - just press play!

This riveting and comprehensive collection brings together some of the best crime writing of all time. Ruth Rendell and Frances Hegarty spearhead the modern genre, moving through the popular and rarely-recorded Graham Greene, to Edgar Wallace and G.K. Chesterton and his master detective Father Brown. ... Read more