Showing results by publisher "Isis Publishing Ltd" in Crime Fiction

A parent's worst fear is realised when seven-year-old Libby Hallforth goes missing at a funfair; no witnesses, no leads, and no trace. Months later, human remains are found, but they're too old to be Libby. It's the tip of a gruesome iceberg - bodies, buried in pairs, carefully laid to rest in a ritualistic manner. For DI Jake Porter and DS Nick Styles, the trail for Libby is cold, and everyone is a suspect.

Cheryl Davidson was happy with husband Leo, watching her beloved son, Dean, grow into a handsome young man, dreaming of the paths his life would take. Until the day that Dean was murdered, his body dumped in an isolated scrapyard with a bullet in his head, and Cheryl's world exploded. Discovering that Dean had been mixed up in the Glasgow underworld, and worst of all, that Leo had brought him in, means that Cheryl's sanity is hanging by a thread. Overwhelmed by grief and with no one left to trust, Cheryl plans to take deadly retribution on the family that caused her son to be killed.

In Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg's so-called 'problem area', an American couple is found brutally murdered in a derelict villa. Prosecutor Chastity Riley is assigned the case, and quickly finds herself waist-deep in a murky tangle of city planners, shady investors and vanishing officials. The gentrification machine is rolling on, and someone is sending a very clear message...

Nothing bad ever happens in the small seaside town of Castle Bay - until the body of missing tourist Bethany Haliwell is found in the bush, buried in a shallow grave. News crews and journalists from all over the country descend as old secrets are dragged up and gossip is taken as gospel. Among them is Miller Hatcher, a reporter battling her own demons, who arrives intent on gaining a promotion by covering the grisly murder. Following an anonymous tip, Miller begins to unravel the mystery. When another woman goes missing, she finds herself getting closer to the truth. But at what cost?

This short story features Baroness Orczy’s most intriguing sleuth, 'The Old Man in the Corner', as he explains how he solved a high-profile case: the theft of an actress' pearls.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. A cabaret act sees thirteen knives thrown to outline Jean La Morse's body; if he moves when the thirteenth is thrown above his head, he will likely die. With plenty of men vying for the hand of the woman he loves, the act is becoming more and more dangerous...

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. When playwright James Annixter is hit by a taxi and forgets the ingenious resolution of his locked room mystery play, he struggles to find the mysterious man he explained it to...

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. The strange new owner of a run-down theatre tells the tale of how a man was killed on its stage many years ago, in full view of an audience, and why the murder was never solved despite the many witnesses.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. The third act of a play is cut short by the death of an actor onstage. Inspector Bristow must delve into the man's past and relationships with his colleagues to solve the mystery.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. The cast and crew of a play quickly find themselves under suspicion when their lead actor is discovered dead in his dressing room between acts, with his face made-up a horrifying picture.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. This unusual tale by Roy Vickers follows Scotland Yard as they investigate the mysterious death of the wife of a famous clown.

The city of Wellington is unforgiving and unrepentant. Forget the politicians: they're poor amateurs in deception and crime. It's Saturday night down on the wharf. Celebrations are in full swing for the Westons' fortieth wedding anniversary. Their daughter Stella has returned from London to attend. Once shoulder-tapped as detective material, a few bad decisions and a questionable ethical dilemma saw her leave the police force under a cloud. She's now a private investigator in London, reduced to filming errant husbands for court cases.

Actress Enora Andressen is facing the perfect storm. Her favourite French director, Remy Despret, has lost his touch and is keeping dangerous company. Her agent, Rosa, has been seduced by a kiss-and-tell novel of doubtful provenance. While H, sicker by the day at home at Flixcombe Manor, is battling both Long Covid and something far darker. Devoting herself to H, Enora needs good news, and it arrives in the shape of a fascinating Remy idea based on Flixcombe's role during the Second World War.

After Arthur Penfold’s wife reveals she is leaving him to care for her ailing aunt, he sets upon a path of murder and deceit to avoid the social embarrassment of a second marital breakdown. But the purchase of a poetry book triggers a sequence of events that begins to unravel both Arthur and a seemingly open-and-shut murder case.

The world is struggling in the face of a relentless virus. When Hayden Prentice develops symptoms during a stay in his native Portsmouth, Enora Andressen and her son, Malo, must do their best to save his life. Because H, already in deep financial jeopardy, trusts no one. Except his kith and kin. But survival comes at a savage price. Not just the fortune that Enora must somehow raise to pay for his home nursing, but the murderous attentions of a stalker from H's past, determined to pay him one last visit and exact vengeance for a long-ago debt of blood....

Detective fiction writer Coleby is asked for his theory on a murder case that seemingly points to one conclusion. But when the facts don’t quite add up, Coleby must draw on his crime writing experience to construct a plausible narrative.

Writer Carl Borden mysteriously falls violently ill one evening whilst out walking his dog, and then again less than two weeks later, whilst asleep in bed. His friend and physician, Doctor Thomas Wingate, suspects foul play, but it will take a lot to convince Borden he could be in danger in his own home.

A struggling writer battles constant interruptions during his day, until a final visit from unexpected guests pushes him to his breaking point. A tongue-in-cheek nod to Edmund Crispin’s own troubles as a writer, this short story is both an ironic commentary on what it means to ‘work for yourself’ and arguably one of Crispin’s most personal pieces of crime fiction.

Private detective Philip Trent, who first appeared in E.C. Bentley’s Golden Age crime classic The Woman in Black, is called upon to solve a mystery surrounding the will of a wealthy man with a particular appreciation for the work of Lewis Carroll. A string of literary clues leads Trent to suspect there was more to the man’s dying wishes than may have first appeared.

Private detective Nigel Strangeways attends a dinner with an elite group of detective fiction writers, known as The Assassins’ Club. A room full of crime enthusiasts seems like an amusing setting for a murder...until one happens at the dinner table. With no shortage of suspects capable of thinking up a murder plot, Strangeways must quickly deduce who in the room could be responsible for the crime.