Got a problem that no one else can solve? Well, presumably if the A-Team aren’t in town, you might want to pop round and see Colonel March in the Department Of Queer Complaints. Whether it’s the shooting of a neighbour by a disembodied pair of hands, a murderer who leaves no footprints bar one on […]

Benjamin Cann has walked free from the Old Bailey, cleared of murdering his mistress. Except for the fact that he did – well, it might have been an accident, but then again, it might not have been. But a non-convicted murderer will have trouble settling into society, and that is where the Asterisk Club comes […]

When a young schoolgirl is found strangled on the golf course in the coastal town of Chalford, the town is gripped by terror until suspicion falls on Dr Terry Kendall, a troubled young man who has conveniently just fallen off a cliff to his death. And when I say fallen, obviously I meant to say […]

Rosaleen Wright was the assistant to Luther Grandison, a powerful and charismatic actor, with a voice seeming capable of persuading anyone to do anything. When she committed suicide, hanging herself with a note by her side, no foul play is suspected by anyone but her friend Jane. Recruiting her nephew (who’s the same age as […]

You know how it is – you’re bobbing around in a canoe, keeping an eye on the home of an unscrupulous millionaire to try and gain some leverage for your clients – when an attractive young lady wearing not much at all climbs into your boat pursued by guards. One sneaky escape later, and she […]

Well, that’s another year gone by. The fifteenth year of the blog, and I’ve hit my target of 120 reviews for the year – just. Admittedly, there are a couple of novellas in there, and a small number of children’s books, but I’ve read full novels faster than the time it to me to slog […]

As ever, December is the month of two summing-up posts – for the month and the year – so let’s get the year out of the way. Shall we look at my Christmas haul first of all? Look at all those lovely goodies – particularly looking forward to the Birmingham, Devine and Gray books, as […]

Detective Inspector Neville Parker has long left Saint-Marie, so the infinite number of potential murderers hiding on the island might have thought now was the time to strike. Whatever makes the island the home to approximately eight impossible crimes a year (and sometimes one at Christmas) is still there, so it’s a good job that […]

Summertime, and the killing is easy… I think that’s how the song goes. Summer is supposed to be full of brightness and light, but all light casts shadows for murderers to hide in, and there are a lot of murderers in this collection of eighteen short stories, from 1924 (Will Scott) to 1983 (Celia Fremlin) […]

When the death of Sir Francis Yordale’s death was announced in the Times, some family members sent wreaths, some sent condolences and some just didn’t send anything. Which was a bit of a mistake, because Sit Francis wasn’t dead. Moreover, he sent the announcement prior to writing his will to favour those who sent the […]