A unique anthology for crime aficionados – seven of the world’s most notorious genuine murder mysteries retold by the most accomplished classic crime writers of their generation.
A manipulative murderer who stalked the streets of Paris; a young wife who poisoned her eccentric husband; a bank cashier’s mysterious suicide; a brutal double murder in New Zealand… Seven of the world’s greatest crime writers turn their hand to some of the world’s most spine-tingling mysteries – all of them astonishingly TRUE.
This remarkable collection from the archives of the Detection Club follows The Floating Admiral, Ask a Policeman and Six Against the Yard back into print after more than 75 years, and shows some of the most accomplished authors of their generation retelling real-life murder mysteries with all the relish of the tastiest crime fiction.

The Anatomy of Murder

Literature & Fiction

Simpson, Helen

ILES, Francis

Rhode, John

SAYERS,DOROTHY L.

Club, The Detection

Wills Croft, Freeman

Genre Fiction

Collins Crime Club

Wills Crofts, Freeman

Detection Club, The

Literary

Lina Aysgarth had lived with her husband for nearly eight years before she realized that she was married to a murderer...it did seem a pity that she had to die, when she would have liked so much to live....by Francis Iles.

Before the Fact

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

Harpercollins

Lina McLaidlaw waits until she is 30 before accepting a marriage proposal from the feckless and irresponsible Johnnie Aysgarth. As head of a fine household and guardian of both the morals and finances of the man she chose to marry, she finds her husband was, and perhaps still is, a killer.

Pan/Macmillan

Malice Aforethought (Master Crime)

Everyman Ltd

"Possibly the best shocker ever written." — The English ReviewDr. Edmund Bickleigh married above his station. Although popular and well respected in his little Devonshire community, he seethes with resentment at the superior social status of his domineering wife, Julia. Bickleigh soothes his inferiority complex by seducing as many of the local women as he possibly can — but with the collapse of his latest fling and a fresh dose of sneering contempt from Julia, the doctor resolves to silence his wife forever and begins plotting the perfect murder. With Malice Aforethought, Francis Iles produced not just a darkly comic narrative of psychological suspense but also a landmark in crime fiction: for the first time, the murderer's identity was revealed at the start of the tale. Hailed as a tour de force by the British press of its day, the book retains its shock value and stands at #16 in the Crime Writers' Association ranking of the Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time.

Malice Aforethought: The Story of a Commonplace Crime (Dover Literature: Crime/Mystery/Thriller)

Dover Publications

Described on its first publication (1932) as 'one of the finest studies of murder ever written', and the inspiration for Hitchcock's classic film Suspicion, Before the Fact is a ground-breaking psychological drama of immense power. In Before the Fact the main character, wealthy but plain Lina McLaidlaw, marries feckless Johnny Aysgarth, against the advice of her father. Lina is certain she can change him for the better, until she is forced to acknowledge that he is a compulsive liar, a crook and a murderer. But still she loves him, while fearing she will inevitably become one of his victims. Written in the age of Agatha Christie's mysteries, this novel turns the storytelling on its head, introducing you to the murderer early on before going on to explore the psychology of the relationship between murderer and victim in enthralling detail.

Before the fact: A murder story for ladies

Gollancz

Malice Aforethought

On a balmy summer's day in 1930 the great and the good of the county are out in force for the annual, much-anticipated tennis party at the Bickleighs, although not everyone has much enthusiasm for the game. The tennis party exists for other reasons - and charmingly mannered infidelity is now the most popular pastime in the small but exclusive Devonshire hamlet of Wyvern's Cross. desperately fighting to conceal the two things on his mind: a mounting passion for Gwynfryd Rattery - and the certain conviction that he is going to kill his wife ...

ORION PAPERBACKS

Summer. 1930. The hottest day of the year. And Dr Bickleigh has murder in mind. 
A classic crime masterpiece from 'One of crime fiction's greatest innovators' Independent\nOn a balmy summer's day in 1930 the great and the good of the county are out in force for the annual, much-anticipated tennis party at the Bickleighs, although not everyone has much enthusiasm for the game. The tennis party exists for other reasons - and charmingly mannered infidelity is now the most popular pastime in the small but exclusive Devonshire hamlet of Wyvern's Cross. 
Which is why, in his own garden, the host, Dr Edmund Bickleigh, is desperately fighting to conceal the two things on his mind: a mounting passion for Gwynfryd Rattery - and the certain conviction that he is going to kill his wife . . .

orion#

Designed to appeal to the book lover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautifully bound pocket-sized gift editions of much loved classic titles. Bound in real cloth, printed on high quality paper, and featuring ribbon markers and gilt edges, Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure. This edition features an afterword by crime writing expert and award-winning writer, Barry Forshaw.It was not until several weeks after he had decided to murder his wife that Dr Bickleigh took any active steps in the matter. So begins the classic crime novel, Malice Aforethought. Dr Edmund Bickleigh and his insufferable wife Julia are hosting their annual tennis party where gossip rivals tennis as the most interesting sport. The seemingly genteel doctor is unable to tolerate his wife’s incessant henpecking any longer, distracted as he is by his young and attractive female guests. And as his passion for one in particular, the mysterious Gwynyfryd Rattery grows, so does his resolve to murder his wife . . .Francis Iles' classic crime novel is one of the earliest and finest examples of the inverted detective story – we know who committed the crime, the question is, will he get away with it? Set in stuffy 1930s England, and narrated by the devious Dr Bickleigh himself, Malice Aforethought is impeccably plotted and darkly comic.

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Macmillan Collector’s Library

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