Anty Boisjoly is back to fill the gap that overlaps between Ruth Rendell and P. G. Wodehouse, and where Jerome K. Jerome meets Dorothy L. Sayers.
The Tale of the Tenpenny Tontine is another mystifying, manor house stumper for Wodehousian bon-vivant and problem-solver Anty Boisjoly, when his clubmate asks him to determine who died first after a duel is fought in a locked room. The untold riches of the Tenpenny Tontine are in the balance, but the stakes only get higher when Anty determines that, duel or not, this was a case of murder.
Anty Boisjoly tackles the strange case of a war hero who visits his old friends on Christmas morning—after being murdered on Christmas Eve.
In The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning, Wodehousian clubman, flaneur, idler, and sleuth Anty Boisjoly pits his sardonic wits against another pair of impossible murders. This time, Anty Boisjoly’s Aunty Boisjoly is the only possible suspect when a murder victim stands his old friends a farewell drink at the local, hours after being murdered.
Like The Case of the Canterfell Codicil, The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning fits the narrow literary needs of those who feel that Lord Peter Wimsey isn’t frivolous enough or that Blandings Castle could stand a few more baffling murders.
There’s a literary niche for all tastes including those who think that either Agatha Christie wasn’t funny enough or that PG Wodehouse didn’t feature anywhere near as many baffling murders as he could have. The Case of the Canterfell Codicil is a classic, cozy, locked-room mystery written in the style of an homage to PG Wodehouse. The result, for those familiar with Wodehouse or Jerome K Jerome and Agatha Christie or Dorothy L Sayers, is either an inexcusable offence to several beloved canons, or a hilarious, fast-paced, manor house murder mystery.
In The Case of the Canterfell Codicil, Wodehousian gadabout and clubman Anty Boisjoly takes on his first case when his old Oxford chum and coxswain is facing the gallows, accused of the murder of his wealthy uncle. Not one but two locked-room mysteries later, Boisjoly’s pitting his wits and witticisms against a subversive butler, a senile footman, a single-minded detective inspector, an irascible goat, and the eccentric conventions of the pastoral Sussex countryside to untangle a multilayered mystery of secret bequests, ancient writs, love triangles, revenge, and a teasing twist in the final paragraph.
They say you can’t catch a fish with a hook.
It’s 1925, a world on the cusp of change. Hitler has published Mein Kampf and Mussolini has shut down the free press in Italy.
Three friends meet on a Scottish estate for a weekend of salmon fishing and convivial conversation over brandy and cigars: Winston Churchill, future world leader, ‘Bendor’, 2nd Duke of Westminster and Coco Chanel, iconic fashion entrepreneur. The narrative develops into a visceral account interspersed with sharp and insightful humour, revealing two men whose deep friendship is divided by their profound political differences, as each of them tries to navigate an uncertain world.
And then there is Coco Chanel, also an accomplished angler and Bendor’s mistress. She enters wearing furs and exits wearing waders.
In Winston & The Duke, Rory Fellowes delivers a thought-provoking play that invites the audience to question:
- Have we learned anything from history?
- Should we pay attention to past events rather than purge them for comfort’s sake?
- Can controversial friendships exist openly and provoke change in today’s political arena?
That is for the listener to decide.
Winston & The Duke was developed through WIN: Writers Innovative Network and was directed by Maureen Payne-Hahner.
Detective Leone Scamarcio, the son of a former leading mafioso, has turned his back on the family business and has joined the Rome police force. He may be one of the last honest men in Italy.
But when Scamarcio is handed a file of extremely compromising photographs of a high-profile Italian politician and told to ‘deal with it’, he knows he’s in for trouble. And when a young man is found stabbed to death in Rome, and a young American girl disappears on a beach in Elba, Scamarcio’s job gets a whole lot more complicated.
Worst of all, every lead seems to implicate the prime minister — a multi-media baron, and the most powerful man in Italy. As the case spins out of control, and his own past catches up with him, Scamarcio must navigate the darkest currents of Italian society — only to find that nothing is as it seems, and that the price of truth may be higher than he can pay.
‘A rock-solid read, with the click-clack of shoes on cobblestones and the oppressive heat of a Mediterranean summer making for a delectable spring treat.’ Readings Monthly
'Packed full of twists and turns with never a dull moment... A real page-turner.' Crime Review
‘Gripping… You won't be able to put down this unsettling tale.’ The Sun
She has to be OK, I pleaded silently to myself. She has to be.
‘We’ve alerted the RNLI and they’re sending a lifeboat out.’
‘The RNLI?’ I said, surprised. ‘They do that?’
Saved from the Waves is a heart-warming collection of first-hand accounts from RNLI volunteers of the myriad dangers they face during each mission to save beloved pets, wildlife and livestock.
This remarkable book shines a light on the bravery of the volunteers, and the necessity of these rescues – not only to save animals at risk of drowning, but to prevent people putting themselves in danger when trying to save a cherished furry friend.
Each mission requires courage, determination and an unrelenting commitment to helping those in danger. Each day brings a new challenge for the extraordinary volunteer crews who are the lifeblood of the RNLI.
Three dead bodies. A mountain of lies. Will the hunt for a killer turn fatal?
Private Investigator Carlos Jacobi wants to spend time in London with his girlfriend, and his favorite pooch. But, after recovering stolen puppies to smash a dog-theft ring, he’s still upset that the mastermind escaped, when he gets a call about strange fatalities in Leicester. And with the victims’ wives asking for help, he allows himself to be roped into investigating a possible triple murder.
Buried in half-clues and conflicting evidence, Carlos struggles to provide a link to reveal the obscure motive behind the deaths. And as he tracks the elusive perpetrator, the haunted investigator finds himself on the wrong end of a brutal beating, meant to throw him off the trail.
Can the clever sleuth untangle a web of corruption, before he’s ensnared in a deadly trap?
The Bradgate Park Murders is the twisty second book in the Carlos Jacobi private eye series. If you like determined detectives, jaw-dropping surprises, and detailed investigative work, you’ll love Dawn Brookes’s latest book.
A peaceful village. A buried secret. Award winning crime novel.
Private investigator Carlos Jacobi is looking forward to a peaceful Christmas in the Peak District with his sister and his beloved dog. But when the ex-police dog unearths the body of an elderly man in the local woods and an old enemy turns out to be the lead investigator, he's forced to make a decision. Either he leaves his incompetent nemesis to jump to the wrong conclusion or he gets involved. When the victim's family ask for assistance, his resolve weakens and he's soon investigating a strange murder.
With fractured relationships and family secrets, Carlos discovers villagers are not what they seem. When another body shows up, and Carlos is attacked, things go from bad to worse.
Bad blood between him and the lead investigator threatens to cloud the investigation as neither man can bury the past. Working with an old friend helps keep him focussed.
Can the canny investigator sift through the lies to get to the truth?
Body in the Woods is the first in a twisty new series featuring private eye, Carlos Jacobi. If you like dogged detectives, twists you don't see coming and likeable sleuths, you'll love this man and his dog murder mystery.
'It's absolutely delightful, and I would recommend it to anyone who's a fan of Sarah Caudwell, or Agatha Christie, or anyone who loves really clever British murder mysteries set in the '20s.' - Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl.
On his return from South Africa, Charles Knox is invited to spend the weekend at the country home of Sir Neville Strickland, whose beautiful wife Rosamund was once Knox's fiancée. But in the dead of night Sir Neville is murdered. Who did it? As suspicion falls on each of the house guests in turn, Knox finds himself faced with deception and betrayal on all sides, and only the enigmatic Angela Marchmont seems to offer a solution to the mystery. This 1920s whodunit will delight all fans of traditional country house murder stories.
Master Hugh won the Black Prince's favor when he helped to ease the Prince's illness. Now, in the autumn of 1372, the prince is suffering a relapse and sends to Bampton for Master Hugh to attend him. While at dinner in Kennington Palace, Sir Giles, the knight who escorted Hugh to London, is stricken and dies. Poison! Sir Giles is not popular, and there are many who would gladly see the fellow done away with, except for Prince Edward. The Black Prince feels a debt to the slain man because of his heroic behavior at the Battle of Crécy, where the knight stood firm with the prince when the fight seemed of uncertain outcome. Despite caring little for Sir Giles, Master Hugh must once again place himself in jeopardy and seek to uncover the perpetrator of the crime.
When Bampton's coroner, Hubert Shillside, does not return from a trip to Oxford, Master Hugh de Singleton is called. Concerned for his old friend, Hugh takes to the road to investigate. Travel is safer than in times hence but, out of sight of prying eyes, it is still unwise to travel alone.
Hugh finds a body, stabbed and left to rot, but it is not the body he was expecting to find. Indeed, reports of pillage, attacks, and chaos on the roads out of Oxford suddenly seem rampant. Hugh must ascertain whether the incidents are random, or whether something darker is afoot.
The guilty cannot afford to be caught, but what lengths will they go to to cover their tracks, and will Hugh escape unscathed?
King Charles of France has announced that he is confiscating Aquitaine, and Prince Edward has sent for knights and men at arms from England to assist him in opposing the French king. Lord Gilbert Talbot is required to provide five knights, twelve squires, and twenty archers and men at arms, and wishes his surgeon-Hugh de Singleton-to travel with the party, while Hugh's wife Kate oversees the castle. Among the party will be Sir Simon Trillowe, Hugh's old nemesis and Kate's former suitor, who had once set fire to Hugh's house. After a brawl on the streets of Oxford, Sir Simon had nearly lost an ear; Hugh had sewn it back on but it had healed crooked, and Simon blamed Hugh for the disfigurement. Finding himself in the same party, Hugh resolves not to turn his back on the knight-but it is Sir Simon who should not have turned his back.
