1215. Morgan, Lorna Nicholl: Talking Of Murder

Published by George G. Harrap, 1945

Hardback 1st, services edition silver stamp to upper board. Very good+ in a very good+ d/w with small loss to the bottom of spine.

1618. Murray, Stephen: Death and Transfiguration

Published by Collins Crime, London. 1994

1st edition hardback, very good in a very good unclipped dust wrapper. The book leans slightly, no previous owner names or marks. Philanderer Ken Crossland goes missing and his abandoned car is found on DCI Alec Stainton's turf. A serial killer known as the Carver is terrorizing women across the country. As the hunt for Crossland intensifies, so the suspicion grows that he and the Carver are one and the same person.

900. O'Connell, Carol: Mallory's Oracle

Published by Hutchinson, 1994

1st edition hardback in very good condition. The dust wrapper is also very good. Kathy Mallory was saved from the streets and adopted by Louis Markowitz, a New York detective. Now Markowitz is dead, and his killer may be responsible for a number of other deaths. Kathy, now a police officer herself, begins a search for his killer, and an investigation into her own psyche.

1216. O'Hagan, Joan: Against The Grain

Published by Macmillan, 1987

1st edition hardback, very good with small ink mark to top page edges. Alongside a uranium mining site in the Northern Territory of Australia a plot of arable land has been secretly planted with an experimental wheat. At once it is evident that complete secrecy has not been achieved, since the novel opens with a scene of violence - an attempted raid to seize some of these plants.

1217. Olesker, H.: Now, Will You Try For Murder

Published by TV Boardman and Company Limited, 1959

1st edition hardback good+ unclipped d/w, edge worn & light fading to spine. Bright orange boards with black print & blood hound decoration to upper board & spine very good+ dusty top edge.

1218. Page, Martin: Set a Thief

Published by Bodley Head, 1984

1st edition hardback. A very good book in very good dust wrapper with a few creases to top edge. A brilliant historical thriller which begins in 1911. John Pierpoint Morgan, the world's richest man, eighty-one and dying, obsessed with his own ugliness, has one last unfinished piece of business on earth: to procure the Mona Lisa. Since the French Government refuses to sell it, Morgan hires the world's most accomplished thief, Adam Worth.

Published by Virago Press, London. 1991

UK hardback 1st edition in very good condition. The dust wrapper too is very good and not clipped. There are no other marks or inscriptions. Twenty-one writers with the best eye in the business give us twenty-one new stories. Sara Paretsky, Amanda Cross, Antonia Fraser, Liza Cody, Gillian Slovo, Barbara Wilson, Sue Grafton, Mary Wings and many more favourites have been gathered together in A Woman's Eye. This marvellous collection just goes to prove that there is no one way to view a woman!

1219. Parker, Robert B.: Thin Air

Published by Putnam, 1995

1st US edition hardback fine d/w with crease rear back edge, fine book. Lisa St. Claire, the pretty young wife of a middle-aged cop, Frank Belson, has disappeared. When somebody takes a shot at Frank a few days later, he asks Spenser to find her. Spenser quickly discovers that she had a past and a different identity, in the L.A. underworld of drugs and sleaze.

1220. Parker, Robert B.: Chance

Published by Viking, 1996

1st edition hardback very good d/w, very good book has a tiny ink mark to back board. When big-time Boston hoodlum Julius Ventura approaches Spenser and his sidekick, Hawk, about locating his daughter's missing husband, it's clear he's not telling the whole truth. Something appeals to Spenser and he takes the case, and so begins an odyssey into the netherworld of disorganized crime.

911. Patterson, James: Cat and Mouse

Published by Headline, 1997

1st edition hardback with dust wrapper in very good condition. Just as Alex Cross is beginning to feel that life is good and he is finally coming out of the depression he's been in since the death of his wife, he is called to Union Station train terminal - a man is on the loose, firing at random into the swarming crowds of travellers. Psychopath Gary Soneji seems determined to go down in a blaze of glory, and he wants Alex Cross to be there. Will this be the final showdown?

243. Patterson, James: Hide and Seek

Published by HarperCollins, London. 1996.

1st edition hardback in near fine condition. The dust wrapper is slightly rubbed at the edges with a couple of light surface marks but unclipped and otherwise fine. There are no previous owner names or marks. Maggie Bradford is on trial for murder – in the celebrity trial of the decade. As one of the world's best-loved singer-songwriters, she seems to have it all. So how could she have murdered not just one, but two of her husbands? Will Shepherd was Maggie's second husband. A magnificent athlete and film star, he was just as famous. But Will had dark, dangerous secrets that none of his fans could have imagined… that his own wife could never have dreamed of.

2420. Peace, David: Tokyo Year Zero

Published by Faber & Faber, London. 2007

1st edition hardback signed by the author. The book and unclipped dust wrapper are in fine condition. There are no previous owner names or marks. It's August 1946-one year after the Japanese surrender-and women are turning up dead all over Tokyo. Detective Minami of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police-irreverent, angry, despairing-goes on the hunt for a killer known as the Japanese Bluebeard-a decorated former Imperial soldier who raped and murdered at least ten women amidst the turmoil of post-war Tokyo. As he undertakes the case, Minami is haunted by his own memories of atrocities that he can no longer explain or forgive. Unblinking in its vision of a nation in a chaotic, hellish period in its history, Tokyo Year Zero is a darkly lyrical and stunningly original crime novel.

2208. Penzler, Otto (Editor): Murder in the Rough

Published by Mysterious Press, New York. 2006

1st trade edition US paperback in fine condition. This the fourth title in a sports mystery series edited by Otto Penzler. Lawrence Block, Simon Brett, HRF Keating, Ian Rankin and many others deliver up an ace anthology of original short stories that mix murder and mystery on the fairway. This collection is sure to appeal to golf fans and those eager to read stories by the most celebrated authors in the mystery genre.

1221. Perry, Thomas: Shadow Woman

Published by Macmillan, 1997

1st edition hardback, fine d/w, fine book. Jane Whitefield helps people to disappear. Her client this time is a Las Vegas casino executive who knows too much for the big boys at Pleasure, Inc, who have hired two assassins to take him out. Now the contract killers, Earl and Linda, are on the trail of the shadow woman, not just her client.

1222. Peters, Ellis: A Morbid Taste for Bones

Published by Book Club Associates, 1977

Hardback book club edition. Very good, there is a small stain to the rear of the dust wrapper otherwise very good. In 1137 the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey has decided to acquire the remains of Saint Winifred for his Benedictine order. Brother Cadfael is part of the expedition sent to her final resting place in Wales, where they find the villagers passionately divided by the Benedictines' offer for the saint's relics. Canny, wise and all too worldly, Cadfael isn't surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder. The leading opponent to moving the grave has been shot dead with a mysterious arrow, and some say Winifred herself dealt the blow. Brother Cadfael knows that a carnal hand did the killings, but he doesn't know that his plan to unearth a murderer may dig up a case of love and justice, where the wages of sin may be scandal - or his own ruin. The first chronicle of Brother Cadfael.

1223. Peters, Ellis: The Hermit of Eyton Forest

Published by Mysterious Press, 1988

1st US edition hardback near fine d/w, fine book. The year is 1142, and all England is in the iron grip of a civil war. And within the sheltered cloisters of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, there begins a chain of events no less momentous than the political upheavals of the outside world. First, there is the sad demise of Richard Ludel, Lord of Eyton, whose ten year old son and heir, also named Richard, is a pupil at the Abbey. Supported by the Abbot Radulfus, the boy refuses to surrender his new powers to Dionysia, his furious, formidable grandmother. A stranger to the region is the hermit Cuthred, who enjoys the protection of Lady Dionysia, and whose young companion Hycacinth, befriends Richard. Despite his reputation for holiness, Cuthred's arrival heralds a series of mishaps for the monks. When Richard disappears and a corspe is found in Eyton forest, Brother Cadfael is once more forced to leave the tranquility of his herb garden and devote his knowledge of human nature to tracking down a ruthless murderer.

2365. Peters, Ellis: A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael

Published by Headline, London, 1989

1st edition paperback. Slightly chipped at the edges otherwise appears unread, near fine. There are no previous owner names. 'Brother Cadfael sprang to life suddenly and unexpectedly when he was already approaching sixty, mature, experienced, fully armed and seventeen years tonsures.' So wrote Ellis Peters in her introduction to A Rare Benedictine - three vintage tales of intrigue and treachery, featuring the monastic sleuth who has become a cult figure of crime fiction. The story of Cadfael's entry into the monastery at Shrewsbury has been known hitherto only to a few readers; now his myriad fans can discover the chain of events that let him into the Benedictine Order. Lavishly adorned with Clifford Harper's beautiful illustrations, these three tales show Cadfael at the height of his sleuthing form, with all the complexities of plot, vividly evoked Shropshire backgrounds and warm understanding of the frailties of human nature that have made Ellis Peters and international bestseller.

2469. Peters, Ellis: The Holy Thief

Published by Headline, London. 1992

1st edition UK hardback in near fine condition. Slight browning at the page edges otherwise fine. Library edition, laminated boards. There are no previous owner names or other marks. The dust wrapper is also fine and not clipped. The nineteenth chronicle of Brother Cadfael. In the chilly, damp Autumn of 1144, two groups of visitors seek the hospitality of the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and Brother Cadfael fears the trouble has come in with them. Among the first arrivals is Brother Tutilo, a young Benedictine with a guileless face and- to Brother Cadfael's shrewd eyes- a mischievous intelligence. The second group, a ribald French troubadour, his servant and a girl with the voice of an angel, seems to Brother Cadfael a catalyst for disaster. All of Cadfael's fears become manifest as rising flood waters endanger the abbey's most sacred relic, the remains of Saint Winfred. When the bones disappear and a dead body is found, Brother Cadfael knows that carnal and spiritual intrigues are afoot. Now, in a world that believes in signs and miracles, Brother Cadfael needs his prayers answered- as well as some heavenly guidance to crucial clues- to catch a killer hell-bent on murder.

2468. Peters, Ellis: The Potter's Field

Published by Headline, London. 1989

1st edition UK hardback in very good condition. Slightly bumped top front corner and slight browning at the page edges otherwise fine. There are no previous owner names or other marks. The dust wrapper has a very small nick to the bottom edge otherwise also very good and not clipped. The seventeenth chronicle of Brother Cadfael. The body of a woman is unearthed in the freshly ploughed fields that once belonged to a local potter -- now a Benedictine monk. The woman is revealed to be his beautiful young wife, thought to have run away. Medieval Benedictine monk Brother Cadfael must determine if one of his own order is guilty of the crime.

Published by Macmillan, London, 1987

Hardback reprint in very good condition. Browned at the page edges otherwise very good. There are no previous owner names. The twelfth chronicle of Brother Cadfael. Christmas, 1141 AD. A priest arrives from London to fill the vacant living of Holy Cross (the Foregate) - a man of presence, scholarship and discipline, but one who lacks the common touch. When he is found drowned in the mill-pond, suspicion is cast in many directions, not least towards a young man who came in the priest's train. Sent to work in Brother Cadfael's garden, he has attracted the friendship of a beautiful and formidable girl. To Brother Cadfael, once worldly, now dedicated, if gently cynical, is left the familiar task of sorting the complicated strands which define guilt and innocence.

277. Petit, Chris: Back from the Dead

Published by Macmillan, London. 1999.

1st edition hardback. The condition is fine, both book and unclipped dustwrapper. There are no previous owner names or marks. The haunting new novel from the acclaimed author of The Psalm Killer. Set in the decadent world of an aging rock star, a tough city cop is put on a case involving letters full of sinister yet tender outpourings to rock star, McMahon, from an obsessive fan with the same name of someone who died a long time ago. She knows things about McMahon that only Leah could have known, and McMahon doesn't want to remember, especially the hidden facts of Leah's death.

1225. Pitman, Richard and Joe McNally: Hunted

Hardback 1st edition. Both book and dust wrapper are in very good condition. The book leans slightly and there is some browning of the page edges. The jacket is only very slightly edge worn and is slightly sunned at the spine. When jockey Tommy Gilmour fails to turn up for the big race, it seems like a golden opportunity for Eddie Mallory to ride the favourite. So when Tommy is found dead, Eddie is prime suspect. Then a second body is discovered. The hunt is on for the killer, and Eddie knows his name is on the hit list.

1226. Pugh, Dianne: Slow Squeeze

Published by Headline, 1994

1st edition hardback, near fine d/w with slight edge wear on back cover, fine book with small water stain to edge of centre pages. Broker Iris Thorne has enough worries without the murder of a client who, beneath the guise of sisterly friendship, used and duped her. But Barbie Stringfellow still exerts a stranglehold.

1227. Randisi, Robert J. and Marilyn Wallace (editors): Deadly Allies: Private Eye Writers of America/Sisters in Crime Collaborative Anthology

Published by Doubleday, 1992

1st edition hardback fine book and dust wrapper. An anthology of mystery works by the two most influential mystery writers' organizations includes stories by Sue Grafton, Loren Estleman, Susan Dunlap, Sara Paretsky, Ben Schutz, Max Allan Collins, Jeremiah Healy, and others.

1228. Rankin, Ian: Set In Darkness

Published by Orion, 2000

Hardback 1st edition. Very good+ book and unclipped d/w. Edinburgh is about to become the home of the first Scottish parliament in 300 years. As political passions run high, DI John Rebus is charged with liaison, thanks to the new parliament being resident in Queensbury House, bang in the middle of his patch. But Queensbury House has its own, dark past. Legend has it that a young man was roasted there on a spit by a madman. When the fireplace where the youth died is uncovered another more recent murder victim is found. Days later, in the gardens outside, there is another body and Rebus is under pressure to find instant answers. As the case proceeds, the Inspector finds himself face to face with one of Edinburgh's most notorious criminals...

1229. Rankin, Ian: The Hanging Garden

Published by Orion Book Ltd, London. 1998

Hardback 3rd impression. This hardback book is in near fine condition, there is shelf wear and slight browning to page edges, the book has no previous owner names or inscriptions.. The dust wrapper has a very small rip to the top front edge and a 3cm tear to the back but otherwise in very good + condition. DI Rebus is buried under a pile of paperwork but an escalating dispute between the upstart Tommy Telford and Big Ger Cafferty's gang gives Rebus an escape clause. Telford is known to have close links with a Chechen gangster bringing refugees into Britain as prostitutes. When Rebus takes under his wing a distraught Bosnian call girl, it gives him a personal reason to make sure Telford goes back to Paisley and pronto. Then Rebus's daughter is the victim of an all too professional hit-and-run and Rebus knows that there is now nothing he won't do to bring down prime suspect Tommy Telford - even if it means cutting a deal with the devil.

1231. Reichs, Kathy: Deja Dead

Published by Heinemann, 1998

Hardback 1st edition. Near fine in like d/w. Enter Dr Temperance Brennan, Director of Forensic Anthropology for the province of Quebec, who has been researching recent disappearances in the city. Despite the deep cynicism of Detective Claudel who heads the investigation, Brennan is convinced that a serial killer is at work. Her forensic expertise finally convinces Claudel, but only after the body count has risen... Tempe takes matters into her own hands, but her determined probing places those closest to her in mortal danger. Can Tempe make her crucial breakthrough before the killer strikes again?