The Old English Peep Show

Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year: Peter Dickinson targets England''s upper classes in this murderous and strikingly original theme-park mysteryTourists are waiting in line for entry into the world of Old England, a graceful, elegant country house run as a theme park, complete with wrought-iron gates, pet lions, and maids in white caps greeting visitors with a bob and a curtsy.But this fantasy world turns very real when one of the servants takes his own life. Why did the loyal and faithful Arthur Deakin hang himself in the pantry without leaving even a note? Dispatched to find out, Scotland Yard superintendent James Pibble wonders why the local police weren''t called in on a seemingly run-of-the-mill suicide. But as Pibble will soon find, life at the Herryngs estate of twin brothers Ralph and Richard Clavering is anything but ordinary. Sir Ralph, a retired general, and Sir Richard, a former admiral who now writes about animals being driven out of their native habitats, are war heroes who have gone from charmingly eccentric to dangerously certifiable. Sir Ralph''s only daughter is desperate to shield the family from scandal. A disappearance, a man-eating lion, and an old dueling ground add up to foul play as Pibble uncovers a viper''s nest of evil behind an upper-crust facade that could claim his life next."Read this tale carefully: It''s a jewel." -The New York Times"This is a bit crazy, suspenseful, surprising . . . altogether, not to be missed." -San Francisco Chronicle "Confirms Dickinson as the best thing that has happened to serious, sophisticated, witty crime fiction." -The Sunday TimesPeter Dickinson was born in Africa but raised and educated in England. From 1952 to 1969 he was on the editorial staff of Punch, and since then has earned his living writing fiction of various kinds for children and adults. His books have been published in several languages throughout the world.The recipient of many awards, Dickinson has been shortlisted nine times for the prestigious Carnegie Medal for children''s literature and was the first author to win it twice. The author of twenty-one crime and mystery novels for adults, Dickinson was also the first to win the Gold Dagger of the Crime Writers'' Association for two books running: The Glass-Sided Ants'' Nest (1968) and The Old English Peepshow (1969).A collection of Dickinson''s poetry, The Weir, was published in 2007. His latest book, In the Palace of the Khans, was published in 2012 and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal.Dickinson has served as chairman of the Society of Authors and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2009 for services to literature.