Murder Mystery

Meet Harry, aspiring tech entrepreneur. He’s a would-be Steve Jobs trapped in a cubicle gig at an angel investor firm, so close and yet so far from his dreams. His marriage is foundering, his career is stalled out, and all he wants is to create an app like Uber, or Tinder, something to make real change in the world, and change his own life forever. Now meet Peter, a deeply troubled computer genius who lives in a basement apartment, chugging red wine, nursing old grudges and writing code. When Harry meets Peter, it’s both of their lives that will change, when they invent an app for murder.

For The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries, writer and anthologist Michael Sims did not summon the usual suspects. He sought the unfamiliar, the unjustly forgotten, and little-known gems by writers from outside the genre. This historical tour of one of our most popular literary categories includes stories never before reprinted, features rebellious early “lady detectives," and spotlights former stars of the crime field—Austrian novelist Auguste Groner and prolific American Geraldine Bonner among them.

When Ginger’s former sister-in-law Felicia, now Lady Davenport-Witt, first received a mysterious note in the post, she dismissed it as coming from a nuisance writer. These things were known to happen to those who enjoyed social popularity. But with a third one, she began to feel ill at ease. Ginger, however, had been worried since the first short missive had arrived. Someone knew of a family secret that would upset Felicia’s apple cart in a very big way.

The young man with the shock of white-blond hair lay spread-eagled on the floor, surrounded by fallen books. His hand reached out to the scattered pages, as though he was trying to tell her something. But who is he? How did he come to be killed in Flora’s ordinary little bookshop? Flora finds out he was staying at the Priory Hotel, and when the gardener suddenly dies in its beautiful grounds only a few days later, she is certain that something untoward is happening in her quiet village by the sea.

Charlotte, now the Countess of Wrexford, would like nothing more than a summer of peace and quiet with her new husband and their unconventional family and friends. Still, some social obligations must be honored, especially with the grand Peace Celebrations unfolding throughout London to honor victory over Napoleon. But when Wrexford and their two young wards, Raven and Hawk, discover a body floating in Hyde Park's famous lake, that newfound peace looks to be at risk.

Nursing a broken heart, Robbie Jordan is trading in her life on the West Coast for the rolling hills of Southern Indiana. After paying a visit to her Aunt Adele, she fell in love with the tiny town of South Lick. And when she spots a "for sale" sign on a rundown country store, she decides to snap it up and put her skills as a cook and a carpenter to use. Everyone in town shows up for the grand reopening of Pans 'n Pancakes, but when the mayor's disagreeable assistant is found dead, Robbie realizes that not all press is good press.

June 1933. Independent, young Kitty Underhay has been left in charge of her family’s hotel, The Dolphin, on the tranquil English coast. But when several rooms are broken into and searched, including Kitty’s own, she quickly realizes that something out of the ordinary is afoot at the hotel. Soon, rumors are flying in the cozy town that someone is on the hunt for a stolen ruby. A ruby that Kitty’s mother may well have possessed when she herself went missing during the Great War.

1867: For commoners and nobility alike, the Isle of Wight is an ideal holiday destination. Queen Victoria and her family frequently spend time at Osborne House, their stunning coastal residence. For the next few days the island will also be home to Dr. Julia Lewis, who is traveling with her grandfather and her great-aunt. But despite the pleasant surroundings, Julia is beset by worries. Julia and Inspector Richard Tennant grew close during their last investigation, but he abruptly left England on a dangerous chase.

Kaely Quinn's talents as an FBI behavior analyst are impossible to ignore, no matter how unorthodox her methods. But when a reporter outs her as the daughter of an infamous serial killer, she's demoted to field agent and transferred to St. Louis. When the same reporter who ruined her career claims to have received an anonymous poem predicting a string of murders, ending with Kaely's, the reporter's ulterior motives bring his claim into question. But when a body is found that fits the poem's predictions, the threat is undeniable.

When a craft fair turns deadly, Gemma and Mavis investigate a local man’s murder, unearthing many secrets. In the peaceful town of Belper, Derbyshire, Gemma, the owner of the Bookworm bookshop and café, and her trusted assistant Mavis are exhibiting books at the town’s annual fair. But the tranquillity of the town is shattered when the body of a local man is found in the church. A man is arrested amidst the chaos, and the evidence against him is compelling but Gemma and Mavis don’t buy it and set out to clear his name and uncover the truth.

Holly Miller's life has gone to the dogs. She has no job, her boyfriend's former flame is sniffing around, and a scruffy but lovable Jack Russell terrier is scattering crumbs all over her borrowed car. Just when she thought things couldn't get worse, a troubling phone call about her grandmother sends her rushing home to the family inn on Wagtail Mountain.

Onetime adventurer and now amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift is attending the annual royal regatta with her new pal Tipsy Fitzroy. Tipsy has Eleanor trussed up like a debutante in a new dress, determined to turn her into a proper society lady. Even Eleanor’s favorite companion, Gladstone the bulldog, has a new outfit for the occasion. But the sparkling prize-giving ceremony is interrupted when the devilishly handsome host gulps his glass of champagne on stage and collapses to the floor. The victim is none other than the king’s cousin, Lord Xander Taylor-Howard.

Now that Alexandra "Alex" Donavan is finally free of her troubled upbringing, she's able to live out her childhood dream of working for the FBI. But soon after she becomes a member of the FBI's elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, authorities in Kansas and Missouri contact them about bodies found on freight trains traveling across the country - all killed in the same way.

With few other options, African American classical musician Gethsemane Brown accepts a less-than-ideal position turning a group of rowdy schoolboys into an award-winning orchestra. Stranded without luggage or money in the Irish countryside, she figures any job is better than none. The perk? Housesitting a lovely cliffside cottage. The catch? The ghost of the cottage's murdered owner haunts the place.

The orders given to Isabeau Agarwal and her partner are simple: ensure the safety of all passengers and crew until the point of destination. But on the maiden voyage of this luxury train, nothing is quite what it seems. Isabeau soon discovers why her unique professional skills are needed when the passengers are threatened with a possible monster hiding among them.

When a body is discovered at a popular Highland landmark, it seems like just another day on the job for DCI Jack Logan and his team. Except this body is missing a very vital component, and given its location - The Well of Seven Heads - it seems like someone is trying to send a message. But why? And to whom?

After the success of her first event, which revived the fortunes of the bookstore she loves so dearly, Annie is excited to launch Redwood Grove’s first film festival. But when an infamous film critic plunges to his death during the premiere of a Hitchcock-inspired thriller, Annie’s instincts tell her that this was no accident. She soon discovers that many of the cast, crew, and guests are harboring dark secrets—from the lead actress with a scandalous past, to a film historian obsessed with protecting his vintage reel collection.

Quand on bascule dans la folie, il est souvent trop tard ! Unité pour malades difficiles de Chambly. Un nouveau patient est accueilli. Délirant, sans papiers, inapte à la garde à vue, celui-ci a poussé sans raison un passager sur les rails et prétend " fuir des vers ". Seine-Saint-Denis, à cinquante kilomètres de là. Sharko et son équipe découvrent le corps d'un quinquagénaire sauvagement assassiné dans son lit. Chez lui, aucune empreinte digitale ni trace d'ADN, pas même les siennes. Qui sont ces deux hommes ? Quelles sont leurs histoires ?

Beneath the surface lie deadly secrets... DI Shona Oliver agreed to move to Dumfries with her ex-banker husband when their teenage daughter got in with a bad crowd in London. As a Glasgow native, she's back on home turf. Living on the shores of the Solway Firth allows Shona to continue as an...

What do you do when there is No One Near...

High in the Welsh hills, a honeymoon getaway takes a dark turn when a rotting corpse is discovered in the rental property’s bedroom. In a dark, cold and damp December, DCI Evan Warlow and his team head out to investigate. They find a victim who may not be as innocent as he first seems, and a rural community harbouring the worst kind of secrets.