British Library Crime Classics - 3 Paperback Bundle

A Bundle of 3 paperbacks from the British Library Crime Classics collection:

1) Who Killed Father Christmas and Other Seasonal Stories - Edited by Martin Edwards.

'The red robe concealed the blood until it made my hand sticky. Father Christmas had been stabbed in the back, and he was certainly dead.'

The murder of Father Christmas in the grotto of London's busiest toy shop is just one of many Yuletide disasters in this new collection of short stories from the Golden Age of crime writing and beyond. Martin Edwards has curated a special collection with something for every reader of mystery and detective fiction, including classic offerings from masters of the genre such as John Dickson Carr, Michael Gilbert and Ellis Peters alongside gems from the 1980s and 1990s by Patricia Moyes and Catherine Aird.

Presenting fifteen stories of festive fraud, poisoned pies and cold comeuppances, this anthology parcels up a quintessentially perilous classic-crime Christmas - and offers the answer to the question burning like a fire in the hearth: Who Killed Father Christmas?

A Paperback published by The British Library in 2023 (£10.99 r.r.p.) - In AS-NEW condition.

 

2) Dramatic Murder: A Lost Chistmas Murder Mystery by Elizabeth Anthony

Dimpson McCabe - Dimpsie - has invited all of his closest friends of the theatre world to join him for Christmas at his castle on a private island a few hours' drive from Edinburgh. The festivities have barely had a chance to begin when poor Dimpsie is found draped atop the Christmas tree, electricuted by the lights with which it is festooned.

The sheriff's Court yields a verdict of Accidental Death, but in the swirling snow suspicion is dancing among the flakes. Through Dimpsie's cadre of directors, producers, actors, secretaries and agents runs a hot streak of hidden grievances and theatrical scheming, and as the group return to London the dogged Inspector Smith begins to circle, seeking to find the leading man or prima donna responsible for this ghoulish crime.

First published in 1948 and lost for over 75 years, this classic seasonal murder mystery is long overdue its bedazzling return to print.

A Paperback published by The British Library in 2024 (£9.99 r.r.p.) - In AS-NEW  condition.

 

3) The 12.30 From Croydon by Freeman Wills Crofts 

We begin with a body. Andrew Crowthger, a wealthy retired manufacturer, is found dead in his seat on the 12.30 flight from Croydon to Paris. Rather less orthodox is the ensuing flashback in which we live with the killer at every stage, from the first thoughts of murder to the strains and streses of living with its execution. Seen from the criminal's perspective, a mild-mannered Inspector by the name of French is simply another character who needs to be dealt with.
 This is an unconventional yet gripping story of intrigue, betrayal, obsession, justification and self-deliusion. And will the killer get away with it?

A Paperback published by The British Library in 2016 (£8.99 r.r.p.) - In AS-NEW condition.

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