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He Who Whispers
John Dickson-Carr; Introduction by Martin Edwards
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R317
R260
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‘It almost seemed that the murder, if it was a murder, must have
been committed by someone who could rise up unsupported in the
air…’ When Miles Hammond is invited to a meeting of the Murder
Club in London, he is met instead with just two other guests and is
treated to a strange tale of an impossible crime in France from
years before; the murder of a man on a tower with only one
staircase, under watch at the time at which the murder took place.
With theories of levitating vampires abounding, the story comes
home to Miles when he realises that the librarian he has just hired
for his home is none other than Fay Seton, a woman whose name still
echoes from the heart of this bizarre and unsolved murder of the
past. First published in 1946, in later years Carr considered this
novel one of his finest works. It shows the masterful author at the
height of his powers, boasting an ingenious plot delivered with an
astounding pace and striking characters including none other than
the great detective, Dr Gideon Fell.
A sinister case of deadly poisoned chocolates from Sodbury Cross's
high street shop haunts the group of friends and relatives
assembled at Bellegarde, among the orchards of 'peach-fancier'
Marcus Chesney. To prove a point about how the sweets could have
been poisoned under the nose of the shopkeeper, Chesney stages an
elaborate memory game to test whether any of his guests can see
beyond their 'black spectacles'; that is, to see the truth without
assumptions as witnesses. During the test - which is also being
filmed - Chesney is murdered by his accomplice, dressed head to toe
in an 'invisible man' disguise. The keen wits of Dr Gideon Fell are
called for to crack this brazen and bizarre murder committed in
full view of an audience. Also known by its US title The Problem of
the Green Capsule, this classic novel is widely regarded as one of
John Dickson Carr's masterpieces and remains among the greatest
impossible crime mysteries of all time.
Crime author Dick Markham is in love again; his fiancee the
mysterious newcomer to the village, Lesley Grant. When Grant
accidentally shoots the fortune teller through the side of his tent
at the local fair - following a very strange reaction to his
predictions - Markham is reluctantly brought into a scheme to
expose his betrothed as a suspected serial husband-poisoner. That
night the enigmatic fortune teller - and chief accuser - is found
dead in an impossible locked-room setup, casting suspicion onto
Grant and striking doubt into the heart of her lover. Lured by the
scent of the impossible case, Dr Gideon Fell arrives from London to
examine the perplexing evidence and match wits with a meticulous
killer at large. First published in 1944, Till Death Do Us Part
remains a pacey and deeply satisfying impossible crime story,
championed by Carr connoisseurs as one of the very best examples of
his mystery writing talents.
Over a long career in the courts Justice Horace Ireton has a
garnered a reputation for merciless rulings and his dedication to
meting out strict, impartial justice. Taking a break from his duty
after a session of assizes, Ireton retreats to his seaside bungalow
in Devon and turns his attention to family, and specifically in
attempting to bribe his daughter's lover Morrell to leave her alone
so that she may instead marry the respectable clerk, Fred Barlow.
It seems something about the deal with Morrell must have gone
amiss, however, when the police are called to the Justice's
residence to find Morrell shot dead and the judge still holding a
pistol. But would the lawman be so bold to commit a murder like
this? With a number of strange items making up the physical
evidence Dr Gideon Fell, himself an old friend of Ireton's, is
summoned to help with the deceptively simple - yet increasingly
complex - investigation.
'That is the case. Alison has been murdered. His blazing body was
seen running about the battlements of Castle Skull.' And so a dark
shadow looms over the Rhineland where Inspector Henri Bencolin and
his accomplice Jeff Marle have arrived from Paris. Entreated by the
Belgian financier D'Aunay to investigate the gruesome and grimly
theatrical death of actor Myron Alison, the pair find themselves at
the imposing hilltop fortress Schloss Schadel, in which a small
group of suspects are still assembled. As thunder rolls in the
distance, Bencolin and Marle enter a world steeped in macabre
legends of murder and magic to catch the killer still walking the
maze-like passages and towers of the keep. This new edition of John
Dickson Carr's spirited and deeply atmospheric early novel also
features the rare Inspector Bencolin short story 'The Fourth
Suspect'.
John Dickson Carr lays on the macabre atmosphere again in this
follow-up to It Walks by Night, in which Inspector Bencolin
attempts to piece together a puzzle involving a disappearing
street, a set of gallows which mysteriously reveals itself to a
number of figures traipsing through the London fog, and the bizarre
suggestion that a kind of fictional bogeyman, Jack Ketch, may be
afoot and in the business of wanton execution. An early gem from
one of the great writers of the classic crime genre. This edition
also includes the rare Inspector Bencolin short story 'The Ends of
Justice'.
We are thrilled to welcome John Dickson Carr into the Crime
Classics series with his first novel, a brooding locked room
mystery in the gathering dusk of the French capital. In the
smoke-wreathed gloom of a Parisian salon, Inspector Bencolin has
summoned his allies to discuss a peculiar case. A would-be
murderer, imprisoned for his attempt to kill his wife, has escaped
and is known to have visited a plastic surgeon. His whereabouts
remain a mystery, though with his former wife poised to marry
another, Bencolin predicts his return. Sure enough, the Inspector's
worst suspicions are realized when the beheaded body of the new
suitor is discovered in a locked room of the salon, with no
apparent exit. Bencolin sets off into the Parisian night to unravel
the dumbfounding mystery and track down the sadistic killer.
According to the Psalms, God is enthroned on the praises of His
people--and it is from that throne that He governs the heavens and
the earth. If this picture of God's rule, found throughout the
Scriptures, is accurate, shouldn't the Body of Christ seek to
praise the King of heaven and earth in ways that release His
kingdom government into specific circumstances? John A. Dickson and
Chuck D. Pierce, coauthors of Worship As It Is in Heaven, offer the
church a fresh look at heaven's pattern of worship, instituted in
David's tabernacle and renewed through Jesus' apostles in the
earliest days of the church. This "apostolic worship" is God's
chosen way of establishing His will on earth; through worship, the
forces of darkness are pushed back and righteousness prevails. In
Worship As It Is in Heaven, readers are invited to enter in to a
fullness of worship that the world has too rarely seen: worship
that is the conduit of God's government of peace, justice, and
holiness on the earth.
This book takes the form of intellectual histories of eight major
representative figures of the twentieth century, who inherited and
responded to the spiritual problematic left by Nietzsche. With each
figure offering very different ethical and spiritual positions, all
shed light on what we mean when we talk confusedly around the
topics of politics and religion. With portraits of Max Weber, Georg
Lukacs, T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, George
Orwell and Hannah Arendt, the author explores the "latent" content
of their worldview-the moral (or immoral) intention of their
intellectual project. In each of the case studies, the aim is to
move toward an understanding of their ultimate values, to get at
their particular picture of the soul, as well as the implications
of this vision for religion and politics. As such, The Politics of
the Soul will appeal to scholars of sociology and social theory,
religion, philosophy, political theory and cultural studies.
Who was Jesus? Historical sources portray a person who was complex,
multi-layered, and often contradictory to the tidy portrait that
much of modern Christianity paints him as. Even the gospel accounts
render him as both judge and healer, teacher and temple, servant
and savior. A Doubter's Guide to Jesus is a persuasive and often
challenging investigation into the historical figure found in the
earliest sources. These sources, which include references both
direct and indirect-from Roman, Jewish, and Christian
accounts-offer us more than simple evidence that Jesus existed;
they begin to form a picture that is both deeply credible and
profoundly counterintuitive. Each chapter explores the evidence for
a different aspect of the most influential figure in human history,
exploring: His words and their impact. The scandal of his social
life. His preference for the poor and lowly. The meaning of his
death and influence of his promises. The goal is not to turn Jesus
into something neater, more systematic and digestible; but to see
him more clearly as someone who stretches our imaginations,
confronts our beliefs, and challenges our lifestyles. After two
millennia of spiritual devotion and more than two centuries of
modern critical research, we still cannot fit Jesus into a box-and
this is as challenging as it is deeply compelling.
The Christmas season is one of comfort and joy, sparkling lights and steam rising from cups of mulled wine at frosty carol services. A season of goodwill to all men, as families and friends come together to forget their differences and celebrate the year together.
Unless, of course, you happen to be harbouring a grudge. Or hiding a guilty secret. Or you want something so much you just have to have it - whatever the cost. In A Very Murderous Christmas, ten of the best classic crime writers come together to unleash festive havoc, with murder, mayhem and twists aplenty.
Following Murder on Christmas Eve and Murder under the Christmas Tree, this is the perfect accompaniment to a mince pie and a roaring fire. Just make sure you're really, truly alone ...
For believers and skeptics alike, A Doubter's Guide to World
Religions introduces the five major world religions so that you can
explore their similarities and differences in a fair and engaging
way. The world is a very religious place. Wherever you look, people
are worshipping, praying, believing, following, even dying for
their faith. But what does it mean to be religious? Are all
religions the same? Do they all call on the same God simply using
different names? Are their beliefs and practices simply cultural
expressions of the same spiritual longings? Written by historian
and theologian John Dickson in his characteristically engaging
style, this book presents each of the world's five major systems of
faith, carefully outlining the history, doctrines, beliefs, and
spiritual practices of: Hinduism ("The Way of Release") Buddhism
("The Way of Enlightenment") Judaism ("The Way of the Torah")
Christianity ("The Way of the Christ") Islam ("The Way of
Submission") In his own words, Dickson acts as an art curator in a
gallery, presenting each of these "works of art" in their best
light and letting each have their say. Along the way, he
demonstrates the importance of religion in general-to society and
to individual believers-and addresses many of the universal
questions that all of these serious and ancient religions ask: Who
are we? What is our worth? How should we live? Are we alone? At the
end of each section is a bibliography of helpful books and websites
for those who are interested in learning even more.
For over twenty-five years John Dickson served the United States as
a Foreign Service officer in North America, South America, the
Caribbean, and Africa. In History Shock: When History Collides with
Foreign Relations Dickson offers valuable insights into the daily
life of a Foreign Service officer and the work of representing the
United States. Dickson organizes History Shock around a
country-by-country series of lively personal experience vignettes
followed by compelling historical analysis of the ways in which his
inadequate understanding of the host country's history,
particularly its prior history with the United States, combined
with his lack of knowledge of his own nation's history lead to
history shock: where dramatically different interpretations of
history blocked diplomatic understanding and cooperation. John
Dickson offers these 'stories with a history' to highlight the
interaction between history and foreign relations and to underscore
the costs of not knowing the history of our partners and
adversaries, much less our own. In both Mexico and Canada in
particular our lack of knowledge and understanding of how our long
history of military interventions continues to complicate our
efforts at developing mutually beneficial relationships with our
two closest neighbors. In Nigeria and South Africa, Dickson
experienced firsthand how the history of racism in the United
States plays out on a world stage and clouds our ability to
effectively work with key African nations. Perhaps the starkest
example of history shock, of two nations with deeply conflicted
views of their own histories and their shared history, is another
country near at hand, Cuba. Not all of the gaps are too wide for
bridge building; in Peru, Dickson provides an example of how
history can be deployed to mutual advantage. The Foreign Service
has long sought to improve its training, to provide some form of
'playbook' or 'operating manual' with systematic case studies for
its officers. In History Shock Dickson provides not only a model
for such case studies but also a unique contribution of an
interpretive framework for how to remedy this deficit, including
recommendations for strengthening historical literacy in the
Foreign Service.
It's the middle of summer. On Cornish sea-fronts, happy children grip melting ice-creams. In the south of France, sunlight filters through leaves as families picnic in the shade. And in the fashionable resorts of the Mediterranean, the beautiful people sun themselves on picture-postcard beaches.
And in those long, hot summer nights ... murder walks abroad. Away from familiar surroundings, and as the temperature rises, old grudges come to the surface, new hatreds reach boiling point - and clever minds start to make dangerous plans. These ten classic mysteries, from some of the finest crime writers, prove that no matter where you travel to - there's no rest for the wicked.
Christmas Eve. While the world sleeps, snow falls gently from the
sky, presents await under the tree ... and murder is afoot. In this
collection of ten classic murder mysteries from the best crime
writers in history, death and mayhem take many festive forms, from
the inventive to the unexpected. From a Santa Claus with a grudge
to a cat who knows who killed its owner on Christmas Eve, these are
stories to enjoy - and be mystified by - in front of a roaring
fire, mince pie to hand.
'"The purpose, the illusion, the spirit of a waxworks. It is an
atmosphere of death. It is soundless and motionless... Do you
see?"' Last night Mademoiselle Duchene was seen heading into the
Gallery of Horrors at the Musee Augustin waxworks, alive. Today she
was found in the Seine, murdered. The museum's proprietor, long
perturbed by the unnatural vitality of his figures, claims that he
saw one of them following the victim into the dark - a lead that
Henri Bencolin, head of the Paris police and expert of 'impossible'
crimes, cannot possibly resist. Surrounded by the eerie noises of
the night, Bencolin prepares to enter the ill-fated waxworks, his
associate Jeff Marle and the victim's fiance in tow. Waiting
within, beneath the glass-eyed gaze of a leering waxen satyr, is a
gruesome discovery and the first clues of a twisted and ingenious
mystery. First published in 1932 at the height of crime fiction's
Golden Age, this macabre and atmospheric dive into the murky
underground of Parisian society presents an intelligent puzzle
delivered at a stunning pace. This new edition also includes 'The
Murder in Number Four', a rare Inspector Bencolin short story.
The inside story of life with the Krays John Dickson arrived in
London from Edinburgh in 1964, looking for work...and adventure. He
soon found it in the pubs and card clubs of the East End, where he
met and go to know the twins and the members of the 'firm'. He was,
for many years, a close and trusted henchman of the Krays, and was
the man who drove Ronnie to the Blind Beggar pub the night that
George Cornell was shot. In this explosive book, Dickson tells the
inside story of Ronnie and Reggie's gangland underworld. He
recounts the increasingly erratic and senselessly violent behaviour
of the twins, and their final arrest, which came at a time when
they had thought they were invincible. The Secrets of the Krays is
an illuminating and thrilling journey into the world of the East
End's most notorious sons. *Previously published as Murder without
Conviction*
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