by Martha Grimes (1985)
Superintendent Richard Tury of Scotland Yard spends his Christmas holiday at a colorful country inn near a vast estate inhabited by the titled, the rich, the famous, and--suddenly--the deceased.
Martha Grimes
As Richard Jury and Melrose Plant of Scotland Yard investigate the murder of Simon Lean, they're led to a London pub, the Five Bells and Bladebone where the "shady lady named Sadie" might have been of help if she hadn't been murdered first.
John Creasey
(From the back cover) The Christmas parcel rush at River Way sorting office brought a grisly delivery of a dismembered body. Roger West cheated death to find the key to a series of crimes -- the missing master-key to all London Post Office vans... 'Roger West at his liveliest in a story packed with thrills.' **Daily Mail**
Peter James
For LA producer Larry Brooker, this is the movie that could bring the fortune that has so long eluded him. For rock superstar, Gaia, desperate to be taken seriously as an actor, this is the role that could get her an Oscar nomination. For the City of Brighton and Hove, the publicity value of a major Hollywood movie being filmed on location, about the city's greatest love story--between King George IVth and Maria Fitzherbert--is incalculable. For Detective Superintendent Roy Grace of Sussex CID, it is a nightmare unfolding in front of his eyes. An obsessed stalker is after Gaia. One attempt on her life is made days before she leaves her Bel Air home to fly to Brighton. Now, he has been warned, the stalker may be at large in his city, waiting, watching, planning.
Nicholas Rhea
Detective Inspector Montague Pluke, of CID, is England's most superstitious police officer. With crime at its lowest level for years, he decides to conduct a cold-case review. But there are no major unsolved crimes so, alerted by his wife, Millicent, to a large number of recent deaths - all attributed to natural causes - his expert knowledge of superstitions and folklore lead him to identify areas of suspicion sufficient to justify re-opening a case. Could an undetected mass-murderer be operating in Crickledale? His inquiries reveal that many of the deceased had been attended by Crickledale Voluntary Carers and he quickly produces a list of possible suspects. Indeed, the entire team of carers falls under suspicion - and Detective Inspector Pluke's wife, Millicent, is one of them.