Though British Mysteries often follow the case of Police detectives and are generally Cozy Mysteries, they really deserve a page of their own. The British setting is what makes these Mysteries appealing - after all, England is the home of the Classic Mystery.
Sometimes a Mystery just isn't a Mystery without those dreary, gray skies and a big, spooky manor house. - or at the very least, a cup of tea.
The Thursday Murder Club by
A New York Times bestseller | Soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment "Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining." --Wall Street Journal "Don't trust anyone, including the four septuagenarian sleuths in Osman's own laugh-out-loud whodunit." --Parade Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves A female cop with her first big case A brutal murder Welcome to... THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late?
Brighton Belle by
"Great fun. The world needs Mirabelle's feistiness, intelligence, and charm." --James Runcie, author of the Grantchester mysteries In post-World War II England, former Secret Service operative Mirabelle Bevan becomes embroiled in a new kind of intrigue... 1951: In the popular seaside town of Brighton, it's time for Mirabelle Bevan to move beyond her tumultuous wartime years and start anew. Accepting a job at a debt collection agency seems a step toward a more tranquil life. But as she follows up on a routine loan to Romana Laszlo, a pregnant Hungarian refugee who's recently come off the train from London, Mirabelle's instincts for spotting deception are stirred when the woman is reported dead, along with her unborn child. After encountering a social-climbing doctor with a sudden influx of wealth and Romana's sister, who seems far from bereaved and doesn't sound Hungarian, Mirabelle decides to dig deeper into the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. Aided by her feisty sidekick--a fellow office worker named Vesta Churchill ("no relation to Winston," as she explains)--Mirabelle unravels a web of evil that stretches from the Brighton beachfront to the darkest corners of Europe. Putting her own life at risk, she must navigate a lethal labyrinth of lies and danger to expose the truth. Praise for Brighton Belle "Beneath that prim exterior lies a fearless, fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants kind of gal. One part Nancy Drew, two parts Jessica Fletcher, Mirabelle has a dogged tenacity to rival Poirot." --Sunday Herald "Unfailingly stylish, undeniably smart." --Daily Record "I was gripped from start to finish." --Newbooks "Plenty of colour and action . . . will engage the reader from the first page to the last. Highly recommended."--Bookbag "Fresh, exciting and darkly plotted, this sharp historical mystery plunges the reader into a shadowy and forgotten past." --Good Book Guide "Early 1950s England is effectively portrayed in this intriguing mystery story... An excellent read for the beach or a long flight." --Historical Novel Review "After many twists and turns, she finally unravels the mystery in an entertaining romp pitting her wits against underworld characters and scheming impostors." --Bookseller
The Word Is Murder by
SHE PLANNED HER OWN FUNERAL. BUT DID SHE ARRANGE HER OWN MURDER? New York Times bestselling author of Magpie Murders and Moriarty, Anthony Horowitz has yet again brilliantly reinvented the classic crime novel, this time writing a fictional version of himself as the Watson to a modern-day Holmes. One bright spring morning in London, Diana Cowper - the wealthy mother of a famous actor - enters a funeral parlor. She is there to plan her own service. Six hours later she is found dead, strangled with a curtain cord in her own home. Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric investigator who's as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. Hawthorne needs a ghost writer to document his life; a Watson to his Holmes. He chooses Anthony Horowitz. Drawn in against his will, Horowitz soon finds himself a the center of a story he cannot control. Hawthorne is brusque, temperamental and annoying but even so his latest case with its many twists and turns proves irresistible. The writer and the detective form an unusual partnership. At the same time, it soon becomes clear that Hawthorne is hiding some dark secrets of his own. A masterful and tricky mystery that springs many surprises, The Word is Murder is Anthony Horowitz at his very best.
Just One Evil Act by
#1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George delivers another masterpiece of suspense in her Inspector Lynley series: a gripping child-in-danger story that tests Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers like never before. Barbara is at a loss: The daughter of her friend Taymullah Azhar has been taken by her mother, and Barbara can’t really help—Azhar had never married Angelina, and his name isn’t on Hadiyyah’s, their daughter’s, birth certificate. He has no legal claim. Azhar and Barbara hire a private detective, but the trail goes cold. Azhar is just beginning to accept his soul-crushing loss when Angelina reappears with shocking news: Hadiyyah is missing, kidnapped from an Italian marketplace. The Italian police are investigating, and the Yard won’t get involved, until Barbara takes matters into her own hands — at the risk of her own career. As both Barbara and her partner, Inspector Thomas Lynley, soon discover, the case is far more complex than a typical kidnapping, revealing secrets that could have far-reaching effects outside of the investigation. With both her job and the life of a little girl on the line, Barbara must decide what matters most, and how far she’s willing to go to protect it.
The Water's Lovely by
From the award-winning author of The Babes in the Wood and The Rottweiler comes another terrifically paced, richly drawn novel of suspense and psychological intrigue.
The Black Cat by
The inimitable Richard Jury returns in a thrilling tale of mystery, madness, and mistaken identity Three months have passed since Richard Jury was left bereft and guilt- ridden after his lover's tragic auto accident, and he is now more wary than ever. He is deeply suspicious when requested on a case far out of his jurisdiction in an outlying village where a young woman has been murdered behind the local pub. The only witness is the establishment's black cat, who gives neither crook nor clue as to the girl's identity or her killer's. Identifying the girl becomes tricky when she's recognized as both the shy local librarian and a posh city escort, and Jury must use all his wits and intuition to determine the connection to subsequent escort murders. Meanwhile, Jury's nemesis, Harry Johnson, continues to goad Jury down a dangerous path. And Johnson, along with the imperturbable dog Mungo, just may be the key to it all. Written with Martha Grimes's trademark insight and grace, The Black Cat signals the thrilling return of her greatest character. The superintendent is a man possessed of prodigious analytical gifts and charm, yet vulnerable in the most perplexing ways.
Clutch of Constables by
Taking a spontaneous river cruise through the part of England made famous by the paintings of John Constable, Agatha Troy, Inspector Alleyn's painter wife, encounters murder and international art theft. The story is told through a series of lectures Inspector Alleyn gives at a police training in the United States.
A Ghost in the Machine by
When a bloody, pulverized body is found lying beneath the rustic timbers of an authentic torture device so vicious and complicated as to be blood-curdling, there's sufficient unrest in tiny Forbes Abbot to call in Chief Inspector Barnaby. Was Dennis Brinkley done in by crooked business partners, a teenage seductress, a couple of would-be publishers who've just inherited--and then lost--millions, or perhaps by tired, timid little Benny Fraye, who wouldn't hurt a fly--would she? Barnaby will soon find out just who set in motion the gruesome machine that crushed the unfortunate victim. Caroline Graham's delightful cozy village mysteries, which inspired the continuing Midsommer Murders series starring Inspector Barnaby on A&E Television, have long been fan-favorites; A Ghost in the Machine is sure to cement her reputation as one of the best crime writers in the mystery business today.
The Cure of Souls by
As high summer bakes the rich earth of north-east Herefordshire, dark shadows gather around a converted hopkiln where the last owner was savagely murdered. Though the local vicar dismisses claims by its current occupants that the place is haunted, their story is soon splashed over a Sunday newspaper—and Merrily Watkins is directed by the Bishop of Hereford to defuse this situation. Merrily, however, is already contending with a woman's claim that her adopted teenage daughter is possessed by an evil spirit. In both cases Merrily remains unconvinced, but in this summer of oppressive heat and sudden storms, nothing is ever quite what it seems.
The Agatha Christie Miss Marple Movie Collection. Agatha Christie's Murder Most Foul
The Cosgood Players are knocking 'em dead. No matter what's on the playbill, the shabby repertory company seems to specialize in mysteries as members of the troupe shuffle off this mortal coil in alarmingly rapid succession. Luckily, the Players have a detective in the cast : the newest (if not quite ingénue) thespian, the redoutable Miss Marple.
Inspector Lewis. The Pilot and Complete 1st Series
Home from a two-year assignment in the British Virgin Islands, Inspector Robert Lewis, protégé of the legendary Inspector Morse, returns to Oxford, England in the series pilot, where he is teamed with a brilliant new partner, Detective Sergeant James Hathaway. Lewis barely makes it out of the airport before falling into his first murder investigation. But even if he solves the case, will his new boss still move him from the front lines to a training assignment? Next, Lewis and Hathaway return to the streets of Cambridge and the halls of Oxford University with three more mysteries to unravel. In Whom the gods would destroy, Detectives Lewis and Hathaway are thrown into a delicate murder case that implicates one of Oxford University's most prominent figures when an old classmate of his is found dead. In Old school ties, Lewis comes face to face with his past when the murder of bright young Jo Gilchrist pulls Lewis and Hathaway into a case driven by celebrity, scheming, and dangerous sexual politics. In Expiation, when a North Oxford housewife is found hanged, it appears to be an open and shut case of suicide. But the lack of a suicide note and the victim's seemingly perfect life leads Lewis to suspect foul play.
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Series 1
Our lady sleuth sashays through the back lanes and jazz clubs of late 1920's Melbourne, fighting injustice with her pearl-handled pistol and her dagger sharp wit.
Midsomer Murders. Series 1
The cozy villages of Midsomer County reveal their most sinister secrets in these contemporary British television mysteries.
Broadchurch
Two strong yet compassionate detectives are brought together to solve the murder of an eleven year-old boy in a small coastal town. Under the glare of the media spotlight, the two race to find the killer.
