A wealthy family A fatal cup of tea

First published in 1964, Anthony Masters' early collection of short stories , A Pocketful of Rye, is preoccupied with problems of social marginalisation and inequality. With his typical sensitivity, Masters observes universal human struggles caused by ageing, impoverishment, alienation and disability. These short stories are touching and poignant without being sentimental or patronising.

A nursery rhyme figures tantalizingly in each of these novels, but there is nothing childlike about the dark secrets and darker deeds of some of the characters, nothing innocent about the murderers. Whether the detective featured is the delightful, sharp-eyed Miss Marple, the redoubtable Hercule Poirot, or Chief Inspector Taverner of Scotland Yard each one is challenged by an adversary worthy of a master of crime. Here is Agatha Christie at her best - baffling, daringly logical, and immensely entertaining.

Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories gathers together in one magnificent volume all of Agatha Christie’s short stories featuring her beloved intrepid investigator, Miss Marple. It’s an unparalleled compendium of murder, mayhem, mystery, and detection that represents some of the finest short form fiction in the crime fiction field, and is an essential omnibus for Christie fans. Described by her friend Dolly Bantry as “the typical old maid of fiction,” Miss Marple has lived almost her entire life in the sleepy hamlet of St. Mary Mead. Yet, by observing village life she has gained an unparalleled insight into human nature—and used it to devastating effect. As her friend Sir Henry Clithering, the ex-Commissioner of Scotland Yard, has been heard to say: “She’s just the finest detective God ever made”—and many Agatha Christie fans would agree.

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 16 tales by masters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a newly discovered Agatha Christie crime story that has not been seen since 1922.

Lymstock was a town with more that its share of shameful secrets – a town where even a sudden outbreak of anonymous hate-mail caused only a minor stir. But all of that changed when one of the recipients, Mrs Symmington, committed suicide. Her final note said 'I can't go on'. Only Miss Marple questioned the coroner's verdict of suicide. Was this the work of a poison-pen? Or of a poisoner? Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and became, quite simply, the best-selling novelist in history. She wrote 79 crime mysteries and collections, and saw her work translated into more languages than Shakespeare. Her enduring success, enhanced by many film and TV adaptations, is a tribute to the timeless appeal of her characters and the unequalled ingenuity of her plots. "Beyond all doubt the puzzle in 'The Moving Finger' is fit for experts."THE TIMES

In Utter Disbelief Miss Marple Read The Letter Addressed To Her From The Recently Deceased Mr Rafiel An Acquaintance She Had Met Briefly On Her Travels. Recognising In Miss Marple A Natural Flair For Justice, Mr Rafiel Had Left Instructions For Her To Investigate A Crime After His Death. The Only Problem Was, He Had Failed To Tell Her Who Was Involved Or Where And When The Crime Had Been Committed. It Was Most Intriguing.

A classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually for the first time as an ebook.

A.J. Cronin, author of some of the best-loved novels of the mid-twentieth century and the creator of Dr Finlay, has been unjustly overlooked by literary biographers. In this, the first full-length life of this eminent but often neglected writer, Alan Davies recounts the story of Cronin's Scottish childhood as the son of a Protestant mother and Catholic father, his subsequent medical career, and ultimately his rise to literary prominence, emphasizing throughout the importance of holding at arm's length many of the apocryphal tales that have accumulated around the memory of the author of Hatter's Castle, The Citadel and The Stars Look Down, many of which are based on mistaken autobiographical readings of Cronin's fiction itself. Incorporating an account of Cronin's tempestuous relationship with his publisher, Victor Gollancz, and some startling revelations about the author's marriage, Davies's timely and moving book paints a clearer portrait of both Cronin the writer and Cronin the man than the world has hitherto seen.