Martin Edwards Books In Order

All the Lonely People

Many mystery authors have launched their careers with notable first novels, and Martin Edwards is no exception. His first book introduced his series character, lawyer Harry Devlin and the city and characters he lives with every day in Liverpool, England. Appearing for the first time in the U.S., All the Lonely People introduces Harry Devlin stumbling on a murder case that strikes a bit too close to home. When Harry’s wife is found dead and he’s the lead suspect, Harry takes it upon himself to investigate who would have wanted her dead, and why. His queries will take him beyond his relatively safe world into sordid city streets that contain more than one danger, and change the illusions that he had clung to regarding his life and his wife forever. Martin Edwards lives in Lynn, England.

Suspicious Minds

Harry Devlin is at it again, when he’s asked to help his client, Jack Stirrup find out the truth of his missing wife’s whereabouts. Has she been murdered? And if so, is Jack Stirrup guilty? Harry is just beginning to unravel the details when Stirrup’s only daughter turns up missing as well. And there’ve been a number of rapes happening in the city lately by a perpetrator known only as ‘The Beast.’ Falling for Valerie Kaiwar’s charms, Harry Devlin finds himself deeper and deeper into the mystery of Jack Stirrup’s life and trailing certain suspects to find out who the Beast is. But will Harry be up to the challenge? And will he be able to hold onto Valerie’s heart? Martin Edwards was born at Knutsford, Cheshire in 1955. He is married with two children and they are all now living in Lymm. His series character, solicitor Harry Devlin, has appeared in seven novels; in addition, he is the author of a psychological suspense novel, Take My Breath Away, and two Lake District Mysteries.

Eve of Destruction

When Liverpool solicitor and detective Harry Devlin takes on a client who has been taping his wife’s telephone conversations with her lover, he gets more than he bargained for. Trapped in a maze where neither victims nor apparent culprit are who they seem to be, Harry must go into the dark places of the human heart to find the answers.

Waterloo Sunset

A notice announcing that Harry Devlin died suddenly on Midsummer’s Eve arrives at the office of his law firm one June day. Harry isn t happy to read it especially as Midsummer s Eve is less than a week away. His partner Jim Crusoe treats the message as a joke, but Harry isn t so sure. From that moment on, his world starts to fall apart. Who is his unknown enemy? The list of people who might want rid of him lengthens, and soon someone close to him is savagely attacked and left for dead. Meanwhile, young women are being murdered in Harry s home city of Liverpool. When a friend who has asked to meet him becomes the latest victim, Harry is dragged into the investigation and becomes a suspect. He finds himself fighting for survival on two fronts. But even as he unravels the shocking secret behind the murders, the clock keeps ticking. Harry must discover and confront the enemy who wants him dead if he is to live to see Midsummer s Day. An atmospheric, fast moving and intricate thriller, Waterloo Sunset features in Harry Devlin one of modern crime fiction s most memorable amateur detectives in the deadliest case of his life.

The Coffin Trail

What is meant as a fresh start in the English Lakes District begins to reek of buried secrets…
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Oxford historian and TV personality Daniel Kind and his new lover, Miranda, both want to escape to a new life. On impulse they buy Tarn Cottage in Brackdale, an idyllic valley in the Lake District that Daniel knew as a boy. He is still fascinated by a place so remote that the dead had to be carried out over the peaks on pack animals along the ancient Coffin Trail. But though the couple hope to live the dream of downsizing, the past has a way of catching up.

Tarn Cottage was once home to Barrie Gilpin, an autistic youth suspected of a savage murder what looks like the ritualistic killing of a young woman visitor to the valley. She was found laid out on the Sacrifice Stone, an ancient pagan site up on the fell. Barrie fell to his death near the crime scene before he could be questioned. All these years later, Daniel retains his belief in Barrie’s innocence and questions his own policeman father’s handling of the case. When DCI Hannah Scarlett and her squad launch a cold case review, Brackdale’s skeletons begin to rattle&.

The wild geography of the Lakes District plays against local literary references, all backdrop to the lives of villagers and outsiders drawn to this beautiful spot but for what reasons? The Coffin Trail launches a new series by a master British hand.

The Cipher Garden

Warren Howe is surprised by a hooded visitor while working in a garden in Old Sawrey, a lovely village in England’s Lake District. Soon it is Warren who is deadmurdered with his own scythe. The police identify several suspects, but lack the evidence to make an arrest. Years later, an anonymous tip sparks the interest of DCI Hannah Scarlett, who heads the local Cold Case Review Team. Warren’s wife Tina is accused of killing her husband, although she had an alibi. Hannah’s sergeant, Nick Lowther, involved in the original investigation, seems disturbed by her determination to look again at the old crime. And Daniel Kind, the historian, wants to uncover the secret of the strange garden at his own cottage. Enlisting the help of Warren’s former business partner, garden designer Peter Flint, he is drawn into the mystery of the murder. Daniel and Hannah find old sins cast long shadows as they search for the truth. Then there is another horrifying death. Daniel and Hannah piece together the clues that lead to a shocking revelation. But by the time the puzzle is solved, Hannah’s life has changed forever.

The Arsenic Labyrinth

After 10 years, Guy–a drifter with a taste for deception–has returned to Coniston in England’s Lake District. A local journalist, Tony di Venuto, is campaigning to revive interest in the disappearance of Emma Bestwick, and Guy knows what happened to her.

When he tips off the newspaperman that Emma will not be coming home, DCI Hannah Scarlett, head of Cumbria’s Cold Case Review Team, re-opens the old investigation. Her enquiries take her to the Museum of Myth and Legend and to the remote and eerie Arsenic Labyrinth–a series of stone tunnels used to remove arsenic from tin ore.

Meanwhile, historian Daniel Kind is immersing himself in the work of John Ruskin, whose neighbors created The Arsenic Labyrinth. A shocking discovery makes it clear to Hannah that there is not one mystery to solve, but two, and she turns to Daniel for help in untangling the secrets of the past. As Hannah and Daniel struggle to resist a growing but dangerous attraction, Guy’s plan to make a quick buck runs into trouble, and he has to resort to desperate measures. Someone is determined to kill to keep their secrets safe.

Set against the stunning backdrop of the Lake District in winter, the novel depicts how passionate relationships can lead to obsession and murder.

The Serpent Pool

They halted close to the water’s edge. This was their destination. This was The Serpent Pool. And here, six years ago, Bethany Friend’s body had been found. The Lake District’s cold case specialist, DCI Hannah Scarlett, is determined to uncover the truth behind an apparent suicide in The Serpent Pool some years ago. Why would Bethany, so afraid of water, drown herself? Hannah fears that her partner, bookseller Marc Amos, is keeping dark secrets. Does he hold the key to Bethany’s past and why was his best customer burnt to death in an Ullswater boathouse? Hannah still carries a torch for Daniel Kind, who is researching Thomas De Quincey and the history of murder. Once Daniel and Hannah suspect connections between Bethany’s drowning and a current sequence of killings, death comes dangerously close to home.

The Great Impersonation (By:E. Phillips Oppenheim)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www. million books. com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III Mr. John Lambert Mangan of Lincoln’s Inn gazed at the card which a junior clerk had just presented in blank astonishment, an astonishment which became speedily blended with dismay. ‘Good God, do you see this, Harrison?’ he exclaimed, passing it over to his manager, with whom he had been in consultation. ‘ Dominey Sir Everard Dominey back here in England! ‘ The head clerk glanced at the narrow piece of pasteboard and sighed. ‘ I’m afraid you will find him rather a troublesome client, sir,’ he remarked. His employer frowned. ‘ Of course I shall,’ he answered testily. ‘ There isn’t an extra penny to be had out of the estates you know that, Harrison. The last two quarters’ allowance which we sent to Africa came out of the timber. Why the mischief didn’t he stay where he was! ‘ ‘What shall I tell the gentleman, sir?’ the boy enquired. ‘ Oh, show him in!’ Mr. Mangan directed ill temperedly. ‘ I suppose I shall have to see him sooner or later. I’ll finish these affidavits after lunch, Harrison.’ The solicitor composed his features to welcome a client who, however troublesome his affairs had become, still represented a family who had been valued patrons of the firm for several generations. He was prepared to greet a seedy looking and degenerate individual, looking older than his years. Instead, he found himself extending his hand to one of the best turned out and handsomest men who had ever crossed the threshold of his not very inviting office. For a moment he stared at his visitor, speechless. Then certain points of familiarity the well shaped nose, the rather deep set grey eyes presented themselves. The surprise enabled him to infuse a little real heartiness into his welcome. ‘ My dear Sir Everard ! ‘ he exclaimed. ‘ This is a most unex…

The Poisoned Chocolates Case (By:Anthony Berkeley)

Sir Eustace is a cad of the first water, with a specialty in other men?s wives, and the list of people who might want to do him in could fill a London phone book. But which of them actually sent the chocolates with their nasty hidden payload? Scotland Yard is baffled. Enter the Crime Circle, a group of society intellectuals with a shared conviction in their ability to succeed where the police have failed. Eventually, each member will produce a tightly reasoned solution to the Case of the Poisoned Chocolates, but each of those solutions will identify a different murderer. First published in 1929, this is both a classic of the golden age of mystery fiction, and one of the great puzzle mysteries of all time.

The Murder of My Aunt (By:Richard Hull)

In this darkly comic, quite immoral masterwork, Edward is an effete, poor young man who has something in store for his only relative, his wealthy aunt. First published in 1934, this classic mystery is considered a masterpiece of the inverted detective story, in which it is known ‘whodunit.’ The question is ‘how will they catch ’em?’ Highly unpredictable, it contains one of the most surprising denouements in all of detective fiction.

Antidote to Venom (By:Freeman Wills Crofts)

In an English city zoo a murderer plans to use snake venom to kill an old professor, hoping to inherit a fortune. In this unusual detective story we are shown the planning of the crime. When Inspector French is called in to solve the mystery we learn how an ingenious murder has been committed and follow the actions of the guilty men.

The Colour Of Murder (By:Julian Symons)

John Wilkins was a gentle, mild mannered man who lived a simple, predictable life. So when he met a beautiful, irresistible girl his world was turned upside down. Looking at his wife, and thinking of the girl, everything turned red before his eyes the colour of murder. Later, his mind a blank, his only defence was that he loved his wife far too much to hurt her…
‘A book to delight every puzzle suspense enthusiast’ The New York Times

The Progress of a Crime (By:Julian Symons)

Hugh Bennett, young reporter on a local paper, witnessed a terrible crime a group of boys stabbed a man to death on Guy Fawkes’ night, right in front of the fire on the village green. But as Bennett attempts to write the story for his paper, doubts begin to creep in about what he had actually seen and he finds himself in an immense moral dilemma. On first publication, The Progress of a Crime was seen as setting new standards in crime fiction. ‘Brilliant’ The Guardian

The Belting Inheritance (By:Julian Symons)

When a stranger arrives at Belting, he is met with a very mixed reception by the occupants of the old house. Claiming his so called rightful inheritance the stranger makes plans to take up residence at once. Such a thing was bound to cause problems amongst the family but why were so many of them turning up dead?

Northern Blood 2

This is the latest collection of fiction to be compiled by leading crime writers who live and work in the North of England. Contributors include such internationally acclaimed names as Reginald Hill, author of the successfully televised ‘Dalziel & Pascoe’ series, Nicholas Rhea, author of the books on which Yorkshire TV series ‘Heartbeat’ is based, the CWA Macallan Gold Dagger winner Val McDermid and Edgar winner Robert Barnard.

Perfectly Criminal

The linking theme in this collection of stories is the ‘perfect crime’. It includes contributions from authors such as Susan Moody, Lindsey Davies, Reginald Hill, Peter Lovesey, and Val McDermid.

Past Crimes: Perfectly Criminal III

Following the first two CWA anthologies from Severn House, Perfectly Criminal, whose story Herbert in Motion by lan Rankin won the 1996 CWA Short Story Dagger, and Whydunit?: Perfectly Criminal II, whose story On the Psychiatrist’s Couch by Reginald Hill won the 1997 CWA Short Story Dagger, this thrilling collection focuses on historic crimes, from ancient Greece to the Middle Ages to World War II. This theme has inspired many contributions original to the anthology from such distinguished names as

Catherine Aird

Eileen Dewhurst

Edward D Hoch

H R F Keating

Ruth Rendell

Mat Coward

Marjorie Eccles

Susanna Gregory

Amy Myers

Anne Perry

and many more…

To add to the collection’s desirability, each contributor introduces their story to the reader setting the scene and explaining their own inspiration.

Scenes of Crime: CWA Anthology 2000

Entertaining, inventive and full of quality, the Crime Writers’ Association short story anthologies demonstrates the impressive diversity of the crime genre and the skill of the writers who choose to make crime writing their art. Contributors include Ruth Rendell Peter Lovesey, Ian Rankin and more.

Mysterious Pleasures

Ever since its creation, the Crime Writers Association has championed the very best in murder and mystery. Now, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this esteemed organization, Mysterious Pleasures showcases the short stories of some of its most illustrious members. All the contributors are winners of the CWA’s prestigious Diamond or Gold Dagger Awards, or have served as chairman. These are tales that alternately tantalize, intrigue, shock, surprise, and thrill a myriad of styles united only by genre and by the sheer quality of the writing.

Crime in the City

This first in a series of anthologies sponsored by the British Crime Writers Association features 22 short stories with urban themes. The editor notes that he was looking for stories that offered imaginative takes on the familiar idea of big city crime. He certainly got what he wanted. Notable British writers, the majority of whom have at least one major mystery award under their belts, have contributed a fine collection of stories that are funny, tragic, offbeat, suspenseful, or plain weird. Ruth Rendell, Reginald Hill, Bill James, Val McDermid, and John Harvey are among the big name contributors. McDermid’s story of tragic love set in Russia and Rendell’s bleak exploration of the effects of loneliness are among the highlights, but it’s impossible to choose a favorite. All of these tales are eminently readable and will fill the bill perfectly when noir fans are looking for a quick read.” Booklist

Green for Danger

The official 2004 anthology of the Crime Writers’ Association, Green for Danger, edited by Martin Edwards, gathers 20 mostly original stories by such British mystery masters as Ruth Rendell, Peter Lovesey and Robert Barnard. The unifying theme is crime in the countryside.”’ Publishers Weekly

Crime on the Move

Crime fiction and travel go together like Watson and Holmes, Poirot and Hastings, and Rebus and Edinburgh. Murder in and around trains, planes and automobiles has always been a rich source of inspiration for mystery writers and here the boundaries are extended to their widest. In this Official Anthology of the Crime Writers’ Association, some of our finest mystery writers tackle the subject of Crime on the Move. Without doubt this is the mystery collection of this and most other years!

I.D.: Crimes of Identity

With the threat of identity theft ever on the rise, this anthology from the Crime Writers Association is both timely and fascinating, exploring this disturbing modern day crime phenomenon in more than 20 chilling tales. Featuring such leading crime writers as Ian Rankin, Ruth Rendel, Stuart Pawson, and Kate Ellis, the collection includes tension wrought psychological thrillers and unnerving cat and mouse mysteries that prove no character’s identity, from the criminal to the victim, is ever fully known.

M.O.: Crimes of Practice

Picking up the primary scent of any investigation, this anthology of wicked tales paints a chilling portrait of modus operandi the signature that identifies any repeat offender. In this collection of villainous narratives, a coroner reveals a body’s telltale clues to his students as he unwittingly dissects his own relationship, a broken down driver turns his roadside routine into a quite different type of pick up, and two creative writing tutors discuss the merits of hard boiled versus cozy schools of crime writing while a murderous student points out that it s really procedure that counts. From the ex doctor tenderly administering a final prescription to his victims to the party of finishing school debutantes exacting revenge on their lecherous host, these stories demonstrate that, even with the most despicable of crimes, there is always methodology within the madness.

Original Sins

An anthology of crime from a distinguished selection of British writers – A verger’s son, whose childhood playground was a graveyard, remembers a night best forgotten…
Two drug addicts find that theft does not pay…
A corrupt politician charges a curious vehicle to his expenses…
The latest showcase of shorts from the CWA takes readers on a twisted route to the origin of evil: original sin. From a fish that can’t help but dispense his own kind of justice, to an assassin handling a misogynistic client, these tales demonstrate that, for some, there’s no going against their own nature.