I’ve always been a reader of classic crime fiction, but it was only when I became an author that I fell in love with the “locked room” premise. There’s just something so sinister about a closed setting where a small group of suspects and potential victims are bound by the facets of an “impossible murder”. Whether it be a snowed-in cabin, a sinister manor house, a grand hotel, a ship, a train, or in the case of my own book — Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder — an underground labyrinth, I always feel that the atmosphere of claustrophobia adds to the suspense and mystery of these brilliant tales.
Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder plunges readers into the heart of London, to the secret tunnels that exist far beneath the city streets. There, a mysterious group of detectives recruited for Miss Brickett’s Investigations & Inquiries use their cunning and gadgets to solve crimes that have stumped Scotland Yard.
Late one night in April 1958, a filing assistant for Miss Brickett’s named Michelle White receives a letter warning her that a heinous act is about to occur. She goes to investigate but finds the room empty. At the stroke of midnight, she is murdered by a killer she can’t see—her death is the only sign she wasn’t alone. It becomes chillingly clear that the person responsible must also work for Miss Brickett’s, making everyone a suspect.
Like any good “locked room” murder mystery, the tone of The Hunting Party is insular and claustrophobic. It begins with a group of old friends snowed in at a cabin in the woods in the Scottish Highlands. Not long into the story, one of the friends dies under suspicious circumstances and it’s up to you, the reader, to figure out who among the group is the murderer. I was hooked from beginning to end by this fast-paced, tense tale and, as always, was enthralled by Foley’s sharp prose.
EVERYONE'S INVITED.
EVERYONE'S A SUSPECT.
AND EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT IT.
'Ripping, riveting' A. J. Finn 'Clever, twisty and sleek' Daily Mail 'Unputdownable' John Boyne 'Foley is superb' The Times 'Chilling' Adele Parks 'Terrific, riveting' Dinah Jefferies
In a remote hunting lodge, deep in the Scottish wilderness, old friends gather for New Year.
The beautiful one The golden couple The volatile one The new parents The quiet one The city boy The outsider
The Maid has all the building blocks of a classic “locked room” mystery: a closed setting (a grand hotel), a small group of suspects, and a tense atmosphere. It is also, however, lighthearted and quirky with a unique protagonist (Molly the maid), who sees the world very differently from everyone else. While The Maid fits neatly into the “cosy mystery” sub-genre, I believe it will appeal to a broad spectrum of crime lovers.
*THE NO.1 NEW YORK TIMES & SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER *WINNER OF THE NED KELLY AWARD FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL CRIME FICTION *A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME PICK
'An escapist pleasure' SUNDAY TIMES 'Delightful' GUARDIAN 'An instantly gripping and delightful whodunnit' STYLIST 'Smart, riveting, and deliciously refreshing ' LISA JEWELL
Ruth Ware needs no introduction and The Woman in Cabin 10 is — in my humble opinion — her best book yet. In this story, our protagonist, Lo, is offered a dream assignment aboard a luxury cruise (the “locked room”) on the North Sea. It’s all smooth sailing until Lo sees a body being thrown overboard. But when she reports the incident to officials, they claim that all passengers are accounted for and insist she must be mistaken. The book takes a dark turn rather quickly, and each page is more intense than the next. A true gem!
All you have to know about Stuart Turton is that he is a genius. This book is a mind-bending, time-travelling masterpiece that I don’t think anyone else could have written. The "locked room” in this case is Blackheath Manor, where the very unfortunate Evelyn Hardcastle is doomed to die every day until our protagonist, Aiden, can break the cycle. If you’re into crime fiction with a touch of something peculiar, then Seven Deaths is definitely for you. Be warned, though, you might need to read it several times before it makes sense.
WINNER OF THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD WINNER OF THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG NOVEL AWARD A WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH SHORTLISTED FOR THE SPECSAVERS NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT OF THE YEAR LONGLISTED FOR THE THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR
Gosford Park meets Groundhog Day by way of Agatha Christie and Black Mirror - the most inventive story you'll read
Tonight, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed ... Again
It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks…
Agatha Christie is the undisputed queen of the “locked room mystery” and Murder on the Orient Express is quite frankly one of the best crime novels of all time. As the title suggests, the “locked room” in this novel is a luxurious train filled with a motley crew of suspects and, of course, detective extraordinaire Hercule Poirot. I can’t recommend this book enough.
THE MOST WIDELY READ MYSTERY OF ALL TIME—NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY KENNETH BRANAGH AND PRODUCED BY RIDLEY SCOTT!
“The murderer is with us—on the train now . . .”
Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Without a shred of doubt, one of his fellow passengers is the murderer.
Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man’s…
Susan Tate Ankeny left a career in teaching to write the story of her father’s escape from Nazi-occupied France. In 2011, after being led on his path through France by the same Resistance fighters who guided him in 1944, she felt inspired to tell the story of these brave French patriots, especially the 17-year-old- girl who risked her own life to save her father’s. Susan is a member of the 8th Air Force Historical Society, the Air Force Escape and Evasion Society, and the Association des Sauveteurs d’Aviateurs Alliés.
The first and only full-length biography of Hazel Ying Lee, an unrecognized pioneer and unsung World War II hero who fought for a country that actively discriminated against her gender, race, and ambition.
This unique hidden figure defied countless stereotypes to become the first Asian American woman in United States history to earn a pilot's license, and the first female Asian American pilot to fly for the military.
Her achievements, passionate drive, and resistance in the face of oppression as a daughter of Chinese immigrants and a female aviator changed the course of history. Now the remarkable story of a fearless underdog finally surfaces to inspire anyone to reach toward the sky.
One of WWII’s most uniquely hidden figures, Hazel Ying Lee was the first Asian American woman to earn a pilot’s license, join the WASPs, and fly for the United States military amid widespread anti-Asian sentiment and policies.
Her singular story of patriotism, barrier breaking, and fearless sacrifice is told for the first time in full for readers of The Women with Silver Wings by Katherine Sharp Landdeck, A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell, The Last Boat Out of Shanghai by Helen Zia, Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown and all Asian American, women’s and WWII history books.…
