A request from the Danish Ambassador leads Albert Campion into a baffling murder case in this finely crafted historical mystery. The Danish Ambassador has requested Albert Campion's help on 'a delicate family matter'. He's very concerned about his eighteen-year-old daughter, who has formed an attachment to a most unsuitable young man. Recruiting his unemployed actor son, Rupert, to keep an eye on Frank Tate, the young man in question, Mr Campion notes some decidedly odd behaviour on the part of the up-and-coming photographer. Before he can act on the matter, however, both the Ambassador's daughter and her beau disappear without trace. Then a body is discovered in a lagoon. With appearances from all of Margery Allingham's regular characters, from Campion's former manservant Lugg, to his wife Lady Amanda Fitton and others, this witty and elegant mystery is sure to delight Allingham's many fans. The dialogue is sharp and witty, the observation keen, and the climax is thrilling and eerily atmospheric.

London, 1921. Prominent Cabinet minister Lord Amersham has been shot dead outside his Regents Park home, two bullets to the chest and one to the forehead. The killing bears the hallmarks of a professional hit. Tackling one of the most high-profile cases Scotland Yard has ever faced, DCI Paul Stark is under pressure to produce a quick result. Amersham's colleague, Secretary of State for the Colonies Winston Churchill, is convinced the Bolsheviks are responsible. Stark's colleagues at Special Branch believe there's a connection to the Government talks taking place over Irish Home Rule. Or could the motive be connected to Lord Amersham's scandalous private life? Then there is a second murder, once again committed by an expert marksman at close range - and the case takes a terrifying new twist . . .

"If there's ever been a more complex and compelling hero in crime fiction than Inspector Rutledge, I can't think of one."--Jeffery Deaver In one of his most puzzling cases, Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge must delve deep into a dead man's life and his past to find a killer determined to keep dark secrets buried. A peaceful Welsh village is thrown into turmoil when a terrified boy stumbles on a body in a nearby river. The man appears to have fallen from the canal aqueduct spanning the valley. But there is no identification on the body, he isn't a local, and no one will admit to having seen him before. With little to go on, the village police turn to Scotland Yard for help. When Inspector Ian Rutledge is sent from London to find answers, he is given few clues--a faded military tattoo on the victim's arm and an unusual label in the collar of his shirt. They eventually lead him to the victim's identity: Sam Milford. By all accounts, he was a good man and well-respected. Then, why is his death so mysterious? Looking for the truth, Rutledge uncovers a web of lies swirling around a suicidal woman, a child's tragic fate, another woman bent on protecting her past. But where among all the lies is the motive for murder? To track a killer, Rutledge must retrace Milford's last journey. Yet death seems to stalk his every move, and the truth seems to shift at every turn. Man or woman, this murderer stays in the shadows, and it will take desperate measures to lure him--or her--into the light.

"Your predecessor was sitting in that chair when he shot himself. You can still see the blood stains on the wall behind you." Central America, 1931. Hilary Manningham-Butler is settling into her new job as passport control officer at the British legation in Guatemala City. Her predecessor Giles Markham is dead, having embezzled a large sum of money from the office's visa receipts and then taken his own life. Freddie Reeves, a friend at the legation, believes there is more to his death than suicide. The weekend before he died, Markham spent some time at a remote coffee plantation in the north central highlands. Freddie knows the owner of the plantation and invites Hilary to accompany him there for the weekend, in the hope that she might be able to discover the truth. Hilary has no intention of getting involved, but when a house guest dies in suspicious circumstances it soon becomes clear that she will not be given the choice.

"Buckley draws even the most minor characters with subtlety and skill, making the dramatic conclusion that much more satisfying." Publishers Weekly Starred Review February, 1577. Sir William Cecil has a dangerous new mission for Ursula Blanchard. He has asked her to visit Stonemoor House on the bleak Yorkshire moors, the home of a group of recusant women led by Abbess Philippa Gould. In their possession is an ancient book, and the Queen's advisor, Dr John Dee, is eager to get hold of it. However, while the Abbess is anxious to sell the book, others such as her half-sister Bella believe it to be heretical and demand that it be burned. It is not Sir William's first attempt to secure the book. His two previous emissaries vanished without trace. What happened to them - and will Ursula suffer the same fate?