A local hero is kidnapped, and a shocking murder is only one of many unexpected results. Investigator Anthony Bathurst uncovers the ugly truths that someone is willing to commit murder to hide.

"The Case of the Seven Sneezes," by Anthony Boucher

May 3rd, 2021 5m 13s

A private detective and a small group of survivors from a murderous wedding find themselves trapped with an apparently psychotic killer on a remote island, cut off from the world at large.

"The Condamine Case," by Moray Dalton

Apr 27th, 2021 5m 8s

It sounded like the perfect story for a movie - a curse still working after 300 years. A macabre twist to a powerful drama - or simply brutal murder?

"Murder in Married Life," by Anne Morice

Apr 19th, 2021 5m 22s

"Death in the Grand Manor," by Anne Morice.

Apr 12th, 2021 4m 15s

Clever plotting, pointed dialogue and murder - what more could a reader want?

"The Lost Gallows," by John Dickson Carr

Apr 5th, 2021 6m 38s

A car driven by a dead man with a cut throat...a lost gallows on a missing London street...John Dickson Carr's second mystery starring Henri Bencolin, "The Lost Gallows," reviewed:

"Tuesday the Rabbi Took Off," by Harry Kemelman

Mar 28th, 2021 4m 32s

Rabbi Small needed a break in his routine. An international bombing incident wasn't what he had in mind.

"The Case of Sir Adam Braid," by Molly Thynne

Mar 22nd, 2021 4m 22s

Nearly everyone in his family hated Sir Adam Braid. Only the old man's granddaughter loved him - and the old miser was cutting her out of his will. A motive for murder? Or did someone else hate him enough to kill him? "The Case of Sir Adam Brai

"A Key to Death," by Frances and Richard Lockridge

Mar 15th, 2021 3m 52s

On the Classic Mysteries podcast this week, Mr. and Mrs. North only want to draw up a new will, but it's their lawyer who gets murdered.

"Helen Passes By," by E.R. Punshon

Mar 8th, 2021 4m 38s

Newly appointed to Scotland Yard, Bobby Owen finds himself weighing motives, politics and amazing beauty as he hunts for a murderer who might just be an "untouchable" British aristocrat. E.R. Punshon's "Helen Passes By," reviewed.

"The Mystery of the Blue Train," by Agatha Christie

Mar 1st, 2021 5m 4s

Another, earlier pre-Orient-Express train ride for Hercule Poirot comes complete with jewel robberies, blackmail, and murder on a luxury train across France.

"The Laughing Dog," by Francis Vivian

Feb 22nd, 2021 4m 35s

On the Classic Mysteries podcast this week, you might call it a portrait of the artist as a young...dog? Inspector Knollis had to decipher the secret of Francis Vivian's "The Laughing Dog."

"Murder in Vienna," by E.C.R. Lorac

Feb 15th, 2021 4m 56s

On the Classic Mysteries blog, Scotland Yard Inspector Macdonald thought he was going on holiday in Vienna. So how did he wind up helping local police investigate some nasty murders? E.C.R. Lorac's "Murder in Vienna," reviewed.

"Murder in Vienna," by E.C.R. Lorac

Feb 15th, 2021 4m 56s

"The Orange Axe," by Brian Flynn

Feb 9th, 2021 5m 30s

A grim solution to a grim problem: how to deal with a loathsome blackmailer who may also be a serial killer? For half-a-dozen young Englishmen, the answer appears to be a well-plotted murder, one where it will be impossible to tell who struck t

"Death of a Doxy," by Rex Stout

Feb 2nd, 2021 6m 18s

In Archie Goodwin’s world view, the word that best fits Isabel Kerr is a four-letter word: doxy. The dictionary says, it defines "a woman who is regarded as sexually promiscuous." Only trouble was, Isabel Kerr was dead. Murdered. And – with the

"Some Die Eloquent," by Catherine Aird

Jan 24th, 2021 5m 22s

The dead woman was a humble chemistry teacher at a girls' school. So, wonders Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan, why did she have a quarter-million pounds in her bank account? And was she murdered? Catherine Aird's "Some Die Eloquent," from her Ca

"Unusual Suspects: Selected Non-Fiction," by Joseph Goodrich

Jan 18th, 2021 8m 32s

On the Classic Mysteries podcast this week, a review of some non-fiction - a book of essays about mysteries and the people who make them. "Unusual Suspects: Selected Non-Fiction," by Joseph Goodrich, reviewed.

"A Maigret Christmas and Other Stories," by Georges Simenon

Jan 11th, 2021 6m 51s

Maigret stars in one of these holiday stories, while other associates of Maigret feature in two more tales of holiday crime and redemption.

"Halfway House," by Ellery Queen

Jan 4th, 2021 4m 56s

Too bad about Joe Wilson. The itinerant traveling salesman had a secret. And it’s only fair to point out that it turned out to be a deadly secret indeed – a secret which apparently led to his murder. Ellery Queen needed the truth to keep the wr

"The Spiked Lion," by Brian Flynn

Dec 7th, 2020 5m 5s

The victim's body turned up under a tree in a park, the body unusually battered and bruised – but that’s not what killed him; he appeared to have had potassium cyanide sprayed into his nose. What kind of animal could do that - and why?

"It Walks By Night," by John Dickson Carr

Nov 29th, 2020 6m 8s

It couldn't have been suicide - the victim was beheaded inside a watched and locked room - but the room was empty, except for the victim. French police director Henri Bencolin stars in the first novel by John Dickson Carr.

"The Case of the Leaning Man," by Christopher Bush

Nov 23rd, 2020 5m

A theatrical and criminal problem for Ludovic Travers to solve.

"It Might Lead Anywhere," by E.R. Punshon

Nov 16th, 2020 5m 10s

Right from the start, it was clearly going to be an interesting case – the murder of an inoffensive little man with no apparent enemies, not much in the way of physical clues. And that kind of case can be very frustrating indeed.

"Crossed Skis, by Carol Carnac

Nov 8th, 2020 5m 26s

What connection could there be between a gruesome fire in a London house and a ski holiday in Lech Am Arlberg in the Austrian Alps? The answer may conceal a ruthless murderer.