A wrecking ball crashes through the roof of a terraced cottage in Bath and exposes a skeleton in eighteenth-century clothes.
The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown, and Other Stories
Can these possibly be the remains of Beau Nash, the so-called King of Bath, whose body is said to have ended up in a pauper's grave? Peter Diamond, the city's most experienced detective, is ordered to investigate, but grappling with historical events causes ructions in his team until everyone is diverted by a modern killing during a fireworks display on the Royal Crescent lawn.
But Beau Nash refusesto be ignored - and when astonishing new facts emerge about the case, Bath's history is rewritten and mysteries ancient and modern are fused in a devastating climax. In Victorian London, race-walking, or 'wobbles', are all the rage. So on a Monday morning in November the crowds gather for Islington's bizarre six-day endurance walking race.
By Tuesday, one of the contestants is dead. Tetanus from a blister is assumed, but then there is a second death, and this time it's definitely murder. A bemused Sergeant Cribb from Scotland Yard is called in, along with Constable Thackeray, and they soon discover that something foul is at play.
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Forbidden in Victorian England, the grim and violent world of bare-knuckle fighting has gone underground. So when a headless body is found floating in the Thames, his hands 'pickled' for fighting, Sergeant Cribb knows he is facing a challenge. Desperate for information, they select the young constable Henry Jago to infiltrate the gang, subjecting him to a rigorous programme of purging, pickling and training. Cribb is certain that the losing fighters are being killed, or worse, so getting Jago out just in time is crucial.
A practical joker is haunting the popular music halls of Victorian London - but far from being funny, his intentions are deeply sinister. A trapeze artist misses her timing when the ropes are shortened; a comedian who invites the audience to sing along with him finds the words of his song 'shamefully' altered; mustard has been applied to a sword swallower's blade; a singer's costume has been rigged; the girl in a magician's box is trapped.
And then the mischief escalates to murder. Or was murder intended all along?
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The indomitable detective team of Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray dive into the back rooms and dark alleyways of London as they pursue the elusive criminal. Sergeant Hamish Macbeth - Scotland's most quick-witted but unambitious policeman - returns in M. Beaton's new mystery in her New York Times bestselling series. Nobody loves an honest man, or that was what police sergeant Hamish Macbeth tried to tell newcomer Paul English. Paul attended church in Lochdubh. He told the minister, Mr. Wellington, that his sermons were boring.
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He told tweedy Mrs. Wellington that she was too fat. Angela Brody was told her detective stories were pap for the masses and it was time she wrote literature instead. He accused Hamish of having dyed his fiery red hair. He told Jessie Currie - who repeated all the last words of her twin sister - that she needed psychiatric help. Voices saying, 'I could kill that man,' could be heard from Lochdubh to Cnothan. Now Hamish is faced with a bewildering array of suspects.
And he's lost the services of his clumsy policeman, Charlie, who has resigned from the force after throwing Chief Inspector Blair into the loch. Can Hamish find the killer on his own? Beaton'The much-loved Hamish Macbeth series.
A classic country house mystery republished for the first time in nearly seventy years. When Dilys Hughes finds herself snowbound in the middle of a bleak and lonely stretch of Yorkshire, she has no option but to accept help from passing motorist Inigo Brown, who is on his way to visit his uncle. Arriving at his uncle's remote country house, Wintry Wold, the couple encounters a less than warm welcome from Inigo's new young aunt, Theresa. Why is she reluctant to let Inigo see his uncle, and is he really as ill as they are told?
As the snowstorm brings more stranded strangers to their door, Dilys starts to realise that all is not as it seems at Wintry Wold. When the morning brings news of the death of Inigo's uncle, Dilys sets out to investigate - was it a natural death, or was it murder? James Harrison has recently moved to a restored hunting lodge in Sutherland with his gorgeous private nurse Gloria Dainty. When Hamish visits Mr. Harrison to welcome him to the neighborhood, the old man treats him very rudely. Gloria apologises for her employer's behavior, and Hamish takes the plunge and invites her out for dinner.
On the appointed evening, Hamish waits for Gloria at the restaurant.
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But Gloria never shows up. Four days later, Gloria's body washes up on the beach near Braikie. Now, without a date and without his former policeman Dick Fraser - who left the force to buy a bakery - Hamish must find out who killed the beautiful new resident of Sutherland, and why, before the murderer strikes again. Just as the bidding gets exciting in a Bath auction house, three armed men stage a hold-up and attempt to steal Lot , a medieval carving of the Wife of Bath.
Crime Of Miss Oyster Brown
The highest bidder, appalled to have the prize snatched away, tries to stop them and is shot dead. Peter Diamond, head of the murder squad, soon finds himself sharing an office with the stone wife - until he is ejected. To his extreme annoyance the lump of stone appears to exert a malign influence over him and his investigation. Refusing to be beaten, he rallies his team and begins finding suspects and motives. The case demands that someone goes undercover. The dangerous mission falls to Sergeant Ingeborg Smith, reverting to her journalist persona to get the confidence of a wealthy local criminal through his pop star girlfriend.
And soon, murder makes a reappearance. It is World War II and American soldiers stationed in rural England have made friends, especially with the local girls. After a dance to celebrate the pressing of the apples into cider, the resentment of the local men leads to violence and a murder. Later, a baby girl is born. Years later, Theo, a university lecturer, is approached by an American girl called Alice. As a boy, Theo had been a principal witness for the prosecution. Alice persuades him to revisit the farm where Theo was evacuated, staunchly determined to discover the facts.
The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown and Other Stories by Peter Lovesey
The horrors of the past take on a frightening immediacy when long-forgotten jealousies come to the surface and another murder is committed. It is , and Alma Webster, a reader of romances, is passionately in love with her dentist, Walter Baranov. Hardcover , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Sep 25, Damaskcat rated it it was amazing.
This is another excellent collection of crime short stories. The title story is an absolute classic and kept me guessing until almost the end. There are both chilling and amusing stories in this collection but all deal with crime whether ancient or modern. All the stories in this collection are well plotted and well written.
There are lessons to be learned in most of them abo This is another excellent collection of crime short stories. There are lessons to be learned in most of them about assuming you know what is happening when you do not have all the relevant information. Stephen J Tidy rated it liked it Dec 18, Paul Rees rated it really liked it Nov 01, Jul 13, Jeff Hobbs marked it as to-read Shelves: Helen Farmer rated it it was amazing Nov 28, William Pontarelli rated it it was amazing Feb 16, Jill rated it really liked it Aug 20, Michelle Hutchinson rated it it was amazing Jun 08, Bob rated it really liked it Nov 10, Kit rated it really liked it Oct 22, Elizabeth Loeb rated it really liked it Oct 02, Judith Clare rated it really liked it Nov 05, Paul Curd added it Jan 04, Ruth marked it as to-read Aug 08, Matthew Woodrow marked it as to-read Sep 28, Susan Parrish marked it as to-read Sep 16, Laura marked it as to-read Nov 27, Marcia Schmit marked it as to-read Feb 15, Kristin marked it as to-read May 20,