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'Rotten news, isn't it?''Rotten,' I agreed, taking it that he referred to the state of the national economy, 'but I daresay it will come all right in the end.'He stared at me as though I were either raving mad or drunk, which was excusable, since it turned out that he had been talking about the untimely death of Eliza Deverell.The renowned Deverell theatrical family, gathers to celebrate the 80th birthday of its matriarch, actress Evadne Proctor, on a TV show specializing in celebrities' lives. An unexpected guest is daughter Eliza, a former actress now married to an anthropologist and living on a Pacific island. Always a source of tension in a bickering family, Eliza is soon found in her hotel room, dead from a mixture of pain-killers and alcohol.Actress Tessa Crichton and her husband, chief inspector Robin Price, become involved, and while Evadne angles for a suicide verdict, Tessa finds that Eliza had a lot to live for. Soon other members of the Deverell clan excite Tessa's suspicions. This final 'Tessa Crichton' mystery shows Anne Morice's dry wit and keen observations in full effect.Fatal Charm was originally published in 1988. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'A light hand, an engaging ease, and an inventive mind: all welcome qualities in the writing of crime novels.' Financial Times'What makes her such good company - and the whole point of Miss Morice's book is to converse, as it were, with Tessa Crichton - is not her deductive skill but her shrewd eye and quick tongue for people and situations.' Daily Telegraph

'How was she killed?''Strangled, I gather, with her own silk scarf.'A murder involving a group of Americans on an English 'Mystery Tour' has actress Tessa Crichton investigating members of the group, including a young lady recently released from a psychiatric hospital who claims she is seeing ghosts.When a woman is found strangled, Tessa is on the case, along with detective husband Robin. But it will be Tessa's insight that helps Robin to solve the case as events reach a suspenseful climax.Treble Exposure was originally published in 1987. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'A light hand, an engaging ease, and an inventive mind: all welcome qualities in the writing of crime novels.' Financial Timesi 'What makes her such good company - and the whole point of Miss Morice's book is to converse, as it were, with Tessa Crichton - is not her deductive skill but her shrewd eye and quick tongue for people and situations.' Daily Telegraph

'I don't give much for Baba's chances. Her days as an authoress must be numbered.'It is well known that the celebrated playwright, Sheridan Seymour, had three children by his mistress. The copyright to his plays was left to his legitimate daughters, but over the years Baba, the youngest, has gained sole control.Now Sheridan's work is enjoying a popular revival on the West End stage. Baba is rich and planning to write a biography of her father, promising salacious revelations.When Tessa Crichton is asked to help prevent the biography's publication, she needs no encouragement. With all of her customary curiosity she burrows deep into the family secrets. But she is brought to a halt by the disappearance of a family member, identified as the body found in a burnt-out house - but who reappears from an impulsive visit overseas.So who died in the fire?Publish and be Killed was originally published in 1986. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'A light hand, an engaging ease, and an inventive mind: all welcome qualities in the writing of crime novels.' Financial Timesi 'What makes her such good company - and the whole point of Miss Morice's book is to converse, as it were, with Tessa Crichton - is not her deductive skill but her shrewd eye and quick tongue for people and situations.' Daily Telegraph

He was confronted by the sight of his wife sagging full length on the sofa, where she had been since approximately half past six, when she was strangled to death with one of her own silk scarves.Death isn't in the script of the comedy slated to open in London's West End. But bloody bad luck during rehearsals has convinced actress Tessa Crichton that the first night of Elders and Betters will be its last. Even a charming plot can't help the doddering old star, Sir Philip Mickleton, who is dying in every scene . . . or the indecisive director, who's killing the timing; the producer, who's fatally fouling up the financing; and the leading lady and her lover, who are battling it out in the dressing room. But the finishing touch comes with anonymous letters predicting murder. Fear suddenly takes centre stage as Tessa switches roles from ingenue to detective. A theatre goes dark . . . and somebody dies.Sleep of Death was originally published in 1982. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'The fun lies in the style, light and sweet as a souffle."e; Daily Telegraph

"e;I'm haunted by an awful dread,"e; said Raine. "e;It was a wedding Mysie once went to. The bridegroom never turned up and the bride swooned at the altar."e;"e;Have you practised swooning?"e;It's 1948 in the Scottish Highlands, with postwar austerity and rationing in full effect, but Mr and Mrs MacAlvey and their family and friends are too irrepressibly cheerful to let it get them down. There's Raine, newly engaged to the brother of a local farmer, and Cleo, just back from three years in the States, along with their brother James, married to neurotic Trina, who smothers their two oversheltered children. There are also three MacAlvey grandchildren, orphaned in the war, whose hilarious mishaps keep everyone on their toes. There are wedding preparations, visits from friends, an adventurous hike, and frustrated romance. But really the plot of the novel is, simply, life, as lived by irresistible characters with humour, optimism, and affection.First published in 1952 and inexplicably out of print for decades, Apricot Sky shows the author of the classic Lady Rose and Mrs. Memmary in a decidedly more frolicking mood. This new edition includes an introduction by Candia McWilliam.

"e;She came to me for help, Andrew, and I failed her. I failed her living, but I promise to God I won't fail her dead!"e;Richard Arbuthnot is convinced that a crime will be committed. The odd behaviour of a man who shares his train to work in Kingsley raises suspicions-suspicions which soon drive Artbuthnot to contact detective Anthony Bathurst.The next day, Bathurst is approached by Kathleen Regan to investigate the disappearance of her artist brother. When Bathurst discovers that Regan also lives in Kingsley, it seems that trouble is afoot in that parish.The Grim Maiden was first published in 1944. This new edition features an introduction by Steve Barge.

"e;What I smelt and what you smelt, Constable Wragg, was burning flesh!"e;William Norman dies of shock after being burnt by hot coals. The Mallett constabulary first look for a motive amongst his fellow farmers. But when a second murder occurs by poisoning, and a third by drowning, it appears this is no farming dispute but the work of a serial killer stalking the streets.With no indication of where the killer is going to strike next, Anthony Bathurst and Scotland Yard are initially at a complete loss. Are the killings random or are they following an unseen pattern? And how many more bodies will be needed to complete that pattern?Reverse the Charges was first published in 2019. This new edition features an introduction by Steve Barge.

"e;It has been evident to me for some time that this country, the Empire and all that you and I hold dear are in deadly peril."e;Mrs. Warren Clinton, the American millionaire, summons nine talented individuals to the Royal Sceptre Hotel. Her stated purpose-to save the British Empire. Through a series of fiendish intellectual tests, she whittles the numbers down to two-only for the chosen pair to be found murdered, and for Mrs. Clinton to have vanished without trace.Faced with the possibility of an international conspiracy, rooted in Nazi Germany, Anthony Bathurst finds himself challenged as never before. Are all of the guests invited to the hotel exactly whom they appear to be? Who can be trusted-and who is a ruthless murderer?Glittering Prizes was first published in 1942. This new edition features an introduction by Steve Barge.

"e;Murder? Is that how you see it? Well-I don't! Justifiable homicide more like it!"e;Hubert Grant is a fairly unpleasant man. He also thinks he is happily married.Dorothy Grant despises her husband but finds consolation in the handsome Laurence Weston. In order for the lovers to be happy, however, the intolerable Hubert needs to be cut out of the picture. Permanently.Dorothy and Laurence start plotting. But the best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley and by the end of the scheming, there will be more than one body. Enter detective extraordinaire Anthony Bathurst . . .Such Bright Disguises was first published in 1941. This new edition features an introduction by Steve Barge.

"e;I don't like any of it. He's either being prevented from going home by force . . . or else he'll never go home again."e;'Lefty' Donovan, a boxer, leaves home after receiving a mysterious offer that seems too good to be true-and is never seen again. His wife, Flora, approaches Anthony Bathurst to look for her husband, but he fears the worst, especially when he discovers another fighter who had vanished in identical circumstances weeks earlier.As time ticks down to a crucial bout, a body is found, suffering from terrible clawed lacerations, with a mysterious footprint nearby. The work of a mythical beast? The truth is that Bathurst finds himself up against an enemy even more monstrous . . .They Never Came Back was first published in 1940. This new edition features an introduction by Steve Barge.

"e;Before she could finish what she wanted to say, she just gasped once or twice and died there in my arms."e;Nothing seems amiss at the Hillier family dinner party but the very next morning Jacqueline Hillier is found dying in her car. Her clothes are dirty and torn, her face bruised, but it was an overdose of chloral hydrate which took her life. Nobody knows where she might have gone . . . and nobody knows why, after her funeral, her grave is covered in violets.Anthony Bathurst, a guest at the local hostelry, is intrigued by the case, officially ruled as a suicide. Acting unofficially, outside of the police investigation, his resources are limited, yet he will need to move swiftly-Death is far from done with the Hillier family.The Case of the Faithful Heart was first published in 1939. This new edition features an introduction by Steve Barge.

"e;I cannot tell you of your future - because there is no future for you."e;Three remarkable things happen to Aubrey Coventry in one day. First, he is contacted by Wall Street financier Silas Montgomery with a lucrative business proposition - although Montgomery insists on meeting him at two a.m. the following day. Second, at a village garden party, a fortune teller cannot read his future, as he does not have one. And thirdly, a shabbily-dressed man reacts with a vicious snarl when simply asked for a light.The fortune teller is proven correct when Coventry is found dead in his office the next morning. Private Detective Anthony Bathurst finds himself on the trail of the snarling man, reported to have been following Coventry in the night. To unmask the culprit, however, Bathurst is going to need help from some very special friends . . .The Case of the Painted Ladies was first published in 1940. This new edition features an introduction by Steve Barge.

The moment they entered, Anthony pointed to the floor and to a hand that protruded from beneath the bed.Dr. Traquair is determined that either he or his wife should die. He decides to allow her to cut a deck of cards to see who will shoot whom - highest card wins.As the winner of this deadly duel, Traquair takes flight, desperate to elude capture for his crime. Super-sleuth Anthony Bathurst takes up the chase, but it seems that, this time, he may be matching wits with someone just as crafty as he is. And when more corpses turn up, it looks as though the adversary might be far more ruthless than even Bathurst could have anticipated.Black Edged was first published in 1939. This new edition features an introduction by Steve Barge.

"e;I believe those men were murdered just as clearly as if they had been stabbed to the heart with a knife. The only sign that they bore was a dull red mark . . . behind the ears."e;Six men meet at the vicarage of St Crayle one evening to tell each other ghost stories. In particular, it is Martin Burke's tale, one of a homicidal chimera in India, that chills his audience to the bone. Burke believes that the events in the story might be a demonstration of pure evil.This is soon revealed to be a prophecy of sorts, when one of the men disappears that very night, walking home across Constanton Moor. His body is found a week later, without a mark on him, save a look of sheer terror on his face - and a dull red mark behind his ear.Cold Evil was first published in 1938. This new edition features an introduction by Steve Barge.

"e;Tell me, Doctor, could the wound have been made by the antlers of an angry stag?"e;With Scotland Yard overstretched, Anthony Bathurst is recruited to investigate the death of seventy-three year old Robert Forsyth in the village of Upchalke. Forsyth had been brutally attacked in his home and stabbed through the chest with an unknown weapon.As suspicions form that Forsyth was not who he claimed to be, Bathurst is troubled by a particular detail of the case. Why was a model of a stag, carved from ebony, carefully placed next to the corpse - and then smashed to pieces?The Ebony Stag was first published in 1938. This new edition features an introduction by Steve Barge.

Miss Dorothea Balfour was nearer seventy than sixty, but there was something childlike about her . . . She felt rather like a child, a lost, bewildered child, and she was doing what Belle had always objected to so strongly: staring out of the window at 'those rather odd persons next-door' . . .Shy, uncertain Miss Balfour is still finding her way after the sudden death of her domineering sister Belle, who-following a failed marriage many years ago-had returned home and made a career of brow-beating her meeker sibling (her memorable final words were 'Don't be a fool Dottie'). But Dorothea soon begins exploring her newfound freedom, observing and then becoming happily enmeshed in the doings of her neighbours, the widowed Mrs. Lenox and her five unusual and charming children, with whom Belle had always forbidden contact. Domestic challenges, romantic difficulties, and efforts to aid a painter's abandoned family-all are facilitated by Dorothea's calm intelligence. And before long she has drama of her own, from her spontaneous rescue of an endangered child to her encounter with Belle's long-lost husband, from whom she learns some surprising secrets.Molly Clavering was for many years herself a near neighbour and friend of bestselling author D.E. Stevenson, and they may well have influenced one another's writing. Originally published in 1956 and set vividly in postwar Edinburgh, Near Neighbours is one of Clavering's most cheerful and amusing tales. This new edition includes an introduction by Elizabeth Crawford.

When the time comes for you to retire, Hugo, if you want a quiet life, don't settle down in the country. Bury yourself in London or any really large city, and you can live like a hermit, but avoid the outskirts of a village. I am dazed by the ceaseless whirl of activities in which almost everyone in and round Ravenskirk is involved.Sara Monteith makes an ideal correspondent for Hugo Jamieson, brother of her lost love Ivo, killed in the war before they could marry. Her neighbours in the lovely Border village of Ravenskirk don't know that Sara has moved here because it's where Ivo and Hugo grew up, but they welcome her warmly. Soon, she's drawn into the active village social scene of tea parties, gardening, carol-singing, and Coronation festivities, dodging the judgments of stern Miss Bonaly, defending her helper Madge Marchbanks, an unwed mother, befriending kind, practical Elizabeth Drysdale and charming Mrs. Currie and her daughter Sylvia (the latter first met halfway through Sara's drawing room window), and having an embarrassing first encounter with rugged Major Whitburn. Add in her nephew Arthur, neglected by an indifferent father, Arthur's dog Pam, and even Hugo himself returning unexpectedly from overseas, and Sara's life is a 'ceaseless whirl' indeed!Molly Clavering was for many years the neighbour and friend of bestselling author D.E. Stevenson (in just such a village as Ravenskirk), and they may well have influenced one another's writing. First published in 1955, Dear Hugo is one of the funniest of her spirited, joyful comedies of Scottish village life. This new edition includes an introduction by Elizabeth Crawford.

"e;Old age really must be creeping upon me at last,"e; said Susan Armstrong. "e;I find more and more that what I most enjoy is a quiet evening at home by the fire, with a book..."e;Susan Armstrong is savouring a quiet evening at home with husband Jed, but her peace is fleeting. A call from Jed's irritating cousin results in a visit from young Amanda, whose ace pilot husband is missing (and none too sorely missed). There are complications with their neighbours, the embittered Larry Heriot and his spiteful sister Ruth, and with the formidable trio of Misses Pringle, the gossipy Furies of the village. Susan's brother Oliver and cheerful wife Peggy come in for difficulties as well. Of course, it all works out in the end, but not before some distressing confusion, grave misunderstandings, and rollicking adventures, permeated with eccentric and lovable characters and vivid Scottish landscapes.Molly Clavering was for many years the neighbour and friend of bestselling author D.E. Stevenson, and they may well have influenced one another's writing. First published in 1939 (under the pseudonym B. Mollett) and out of print for more than 80 years, Touch Not the Nettle reunites us with characters from the earlier Susan Settles Down (though they may be read in any order). This new edition includes an introduction by Elizabeth Crawford.i

Sometimes, in a rare moment of leisure, when Mrs. Maitland looked back across the thirty years of her short married life and long widowhood, the nineteen-year-old girl on the other side of that gap seemed a total stranger, incredibly young and untried, incredibly ignorant.Millie Maitland has settled happily into her busy if slightly impoverished existence in the Scottish village of Mennan, watched over now and then by her solicitor, who once proposed marriage, and her daughter Amabel, grown but still a handful. Millie is much loved by her friends and neighbours, including the gossipy Mrs. Gray, the kind Mrs. Denholm, a shepherd's wife isolated in the hills, and the appalling Mrs. Noble, a flirt whose husband is overseas. But into this contented, quiet life comes a bit of drama. It all starts innocently enough when Martin Heriot, a bachelor farmer, asks Millie to board a black labrador puppy named Sam . . .Molly Clavering was for many years the neighbour and friend of bestselling author D.E. Stevenson (in just such a village as Mennan), and they may well have influenced one another's writing. First published in 1954, Because of Sam is a charming and compulsively readable comedy of errors. This new edition includes an introduction by Elizabeth Crawford.

'Ever heard of the Alibi Club?,' Robin asked when he was driving me home after one of the most disastrous first nights in theatrical history.When Tessa's Scotland Yard husband Robin is invited to speak at the renowned and respectable Alibi Club, she is excited to be surrounded by the members - all mystery writers of the first rank - although one is missing.Crime novelist and playwright William Montgomerie has died, leaving behind a widow and a lost manuscript. His former spouse, Gwen, suddenly blossoms into literary fame after years of struggling in the shadows. The splendidly eccentric Myrtle Sprygge, whose clairvoyant powers and old relationship with Montgomerie further complicate the situation, and lead Tessa to wonder whether Gwen is taking credit for something she didn't write. When Gwen is found murdered, everyone wonders what - and who - could have triggered such revenge.Dead on Cue was originally published in 1985. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'A light hand, an engaging ease, and an inventive mind: all welcome qualities in the writing of crime novels.' Financial Timesi 'What makes her such good company - and the whole point of Miss Morice's book is to converse, as it were, with Tessa Crichton - is not her deductive skill but her shrewd eye and quick tongue for people and situations.' Daily Telegraph

The two were friends and had been for many years before Miss Douglas, a little battered by war experiences, had settled down in Threipford, to Mrs. Lorimer's quiet content. ... Both wrote; each admired the other's work. Lucy possessed what Gray knew she herself would never have, a quality which for want of a better name she called "e;saleability."e;In what is surely Molly Clavering's most autobiographical novel, two middle-aged women writers, close friends and neighbours, offer one another advice and support while navigating life in a lively Border village. Lucy Lorimer, the more successful author, with her four children, in-laws, and grandchildren gathered for a summer reunion, must try to avert disaster in one daughter's marriage, help a daughter-in-law restless with mundane married life after flying planes in the war, and deal with the awkward reappearance of an old flame. Unmarried Grace ('Gray') Douglas, meanwhile, has struggles of her own, but is drawn delightfully into her friend's difficulties.In real life, Molly Clavering was herself for many years a neighbour and close friend of bestselling author D.E. Stevenson. First published in 1953, Mrs. Lorimer's Quiet Summer is not only an irresistible family story, but undoubtedly provides some indication of the inspiring friendship between these two brilliantly talented women. This new edition includes an introduction by Elizabeth Crawford.

"e;I should warn you that it is not a pretty story."e;"e;Stories about murder rarely are."e;Nobody knows who started the rumour that James McGrath murdered his wife Rosamund. Certainly no one had seen her in a while, and she had gone off to visit a sick cousin without mentioning a trip to the neighbours. Still, everyone was inclined to accept the story - that is, until one of the neighbours meets the cousin in town, in excellent health and eager for news of country cousin Rosamund. Tessa Crichton, a guest in the Oxfordshire locale, is fascinated by this series of events. Fascination soon turns to a neat bit of detection when someone comes to her with a very strange confession.Dipping into the case with relish, Tessa soon suspects there's murder mixed up in the mystery. But until she comes up with a body - or two - no killer can get just deserts.Murder Post-Dated was originally published in 1983. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'The fun lies in the style, light and sweet as a souffle."e; Daily Telegraph

'Not complaining, are you? Right up your street, I should have thought. Solving the odd murder between professional engagements is your forte.'When the rare chance occurs for Tessa Crichton and her policeman husband, Robin, to have a three week holiday together it is with some misgivings that Tessa agrees to spend the time at a luxury hotel in the West Country.Her misgivings are confirmed when she realises that Robin's insistence in going to Mattingly Grange is due to an unsolved murder which had taken place in nearby Chissingfield two years previously, when a young woman had been killed near the racecourse.The link between their hotel and the death naturally gives full rein to Tessa's natural inquisitiveness. There is also the added enigma of a birthday party at the hotel involving characters who were connected with the dead woman.Getting Away with Murder? was originally published in 1984. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'What makes Tessa Crichton such good company are her shrewd eye and quick tongue for people and situations.' Daily Telegraph'A lovely idea for your fictional murder, occurring at provincial arts festival and nearby racecourse. Lots of good old larger-than-life characters.' The Times'Anne Morice's books are frothy and light, a welcome sorbet to refresh the palate between ponderously significant blockbusters.' The Tablet

Some fast thinking would be required, if I were not to get my head chopped off on the coming Friday.When Mrs Trelawney, a much-married Australian of considerable fortune, bought the big house at Sowerley, the locals hoped her money would help enrich the locality and the community. Instead they found themselves in a cold war.When Tessa Crichton arrives in the neighbourhood to stay with some old friends, there is a tense atmosphere as the established inhabitants mount guard over the oak tree threatened by the Trelawney axe. But almost before Tessa can catch up on the local news - eviction of tenants, dogs caught in gin traps, fortress fences round the big house - a murder occurs which makes all that has gone before pale into insignificance.Hollow Vengeance was originally published in 1982. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'The fun lies in the style, light and sweet as a souffle.' Daily Telegraph

'So what tips do you need of a criminal nature?''Oh, nothing complicated. Just the basic rules for committing the perfect murder will do to be going on with.'The Rotunda in Dearehaven has a reputation as one of the most distinguished theatres in the country. Its success is due to its owner, Elfrieda Henshaw, a strong-willed woman whose character and methods have moulded a professional and happy company.Tessa Crichton joins the cast of the new play, only to find the company has been upset by Elfrieda's protegee. Melanie, a young woman with a wayward past who has bewitched the old lady.As rehearsals get under way, Melanie disappears and everyone except Elfrieda is convinced she has absconded with the theatre's cash. Elfrieda is found dead, in puzzling circumstances which sharpen Tessa's acute antennae for the mysterious. It is then discovered that the famous Rotunda is nearly bankrupt - and the small residue of the once great fortune is bequeathed to Melanie.In splendid form Tessa ferrets her way to the truth in a most satisfying denouement.Death in the Round was originally published in 1980. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'Actress Tessa Crichton is just the girl to have in the wings when disappearance and death take the stage at a seaside rep. On cue.' Evening News

'I'm assuming that you want to see a murderer caught and getting what he deserves?''You bet I do. In fact, I hope he gets worse than he deserves.'When a young American girl disappears from her flat and usual London haunts, her friends and family aren't frantically worried. She is over twenty-one, of independent spirit - the type who might conceivably vanish in search of greener grass.But Sandy Thurloe is also an heiress and a disappearance can often mean kidnapping. So her aunt by marriage is despatched to London to try to find out the circumstances of her disappearance. Her first move is to enlist the help of Tessa Crichton, soignee actress and amateur sleuth extraordinaire.Although some puzzling and contradictory facts quickly come to light there is really nothing concrete for Tessa to get her inquisitive teeth into. Then a ransom note arrives in America. From that point events move with menacing rapidity.This cleverly constructed mystery has all the ingredients of Anne Morice at the peak of her form: a delightful array of characters, a fast-moving plot and a truly ingenious denouement.The Men in her Death was originally published in 1981. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'Anne Morice has a light hand, an engaging ease, and an inventive mind: all welcome qualities in the writing of crime novels.' Financial Times'The fun lies in the style, light and sweet as a souffle.' Daily Telegraph

Dangerous secrets score high at an exclusive girl's school . . . but top marks belong to murder.Actress Tessa Crichton has mixed reactions to being on the panel of judges at the annual inter-house competition of the Waterside Drama and Ballet School, her alma mater. When she arrives on campus, the headmistress is having an affair with the founder's husband, a kleptomaniac is on the loose among the budding thespians, and the beloved and bewildering foundress is suffering from a most mysterious illness. When a student with a penchant for drawing compromising caricatures is found dead, the picture is one of murder most academic.Is it illicit love among the staff? Stealing among the students? Espionage among the alums? Or a scheme so beastly that Tessa's search for a killer becomes an education in the elusive evil one might find behind the most friendly facade.Murder in Outline was originally published in 1979. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'Anne Morice has a gift for creating intelligent, affection-generating characters, set in light and entertaining atmospheres.' Spectator

I had detected no sound or movement, but her eyes were open and, as I approached, she fixed them on me with an agonised stare.Tessa Crichton, actress wife of Scotland Yard Inspector Robin Price, comes to Storhampton to star in the local drama festival . . . and finds her most challenging role in a masquerade ending in murder. It begins when the insufferable Edna Mortimer sees her exact double at the races-and is literally scared stiff.Somebody has played a nasty practical joke on the wealthy dowager. But one look at Mrs. Mortimer's terrified eyes and some indecipherable pencil squiggles tell Tessa this is no laughing matter. Could the grim prankster be one of Edna's greedy heirs? When the will is finally read, it only raises more questions. Someone is not getting their just deserts. But can Tessa find out who before the deadly double strikes again?Scared to Death was originally published in 1977. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'Anne Morice has a gift for creating intelligent, affection-generating characters, set in light and entertaining atmospheres.' Spectator

"e;I am absolutely certain that someone is trying to kill me,"e; she announced, which was pretty run of the mill compared to most of her ghastly secrets over the years.Tessa Crichton is appearing in a West End play when her old school friend Anne reappears in her life. Anne and her baby daughter are living in her lover's family manor, while the latter's wife and teenaged daughter inhabit a cottage on the grounds. Pregnant again, possibly with a much desired son, Anne complains to Tessa about attempts on her life. But when Tessa investigates, aided in part by the only dimly enthusiastic Uncle Toby, she finds a number of people who don't care for Anne. When the murders begin, first signs point to suicide, though the coincidences seem to Tessa to be a little suspicious . . .Murder by Proxy was originally published in 1978. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.'Anne Morice has a gift for creating intelligent, affection-generating characters, set in light and entertaining atmospheres.' Spectator

Miss Flora Milligan, tripping westwards through the royal burgh of Haystoun with a bowl of her famous potted head, decently shrouded from vulgar gaze by a snowy napkin, in a neat basket, was the first person of any social standing to notice that the 'To Sell or Let' board had been taken down from the Soonhope entrance.The town of Haystoun is in a tizzy because Andrew and Lucy Lockhart and their children are boldly returning, several years after Andrew's scandalous liaison with another woman. Most residents are firmly in Lucy's corner, but as Lucy's plans to host a family gathering in celebration of their return exacerbates existing tensions, Andrew's cousin Kate Heron-drafted to help smooth the way-begins to wonder . . . The resulting difficulties draw in Kate's brother Greystiel, elderly Jean Anstruther, who keeps the town under careful surveillance, Jean's nephew Robin, the Lockharts' formidable Aunt Charlotte, and an unforgettable array of supporting characters as the tale reaches its satisfying climax.Molly Clavering was for many years the neighbour and friend of bestselling author D.E. Stevenson, and they may well have influenced one another's writing. First published in 1938 (under the pseudonym B. Mollett) and out of print for more than 80 years, Yoked with a Lamb is a witty and entertaining account of family conflict and reconciliation in a charming Scottish setting. This new edition features an introduction by Elizabeth Crawford.