Classic English Mystery

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a classic dystopian novel by English author George Orwell. Published in 1949, it is set in the eponymous year and focuses on a repressive, totalitarian regime. Read by gritty and accomplished actor Philip Glenister from the acclaimed crime series Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.

"The 120 Days of Sodom" is "the most impure tale that has ever been told since our world began". It was written by the Marquis de Sade, a french noble man, in the space of 37 days, while imprisoned in the famous parisian Bastille. Fearing confiscation, the Marquis de Sade, Donatien-Alphonse-François, had to write it on a continuous roll of paper, made up of small pieces glued together. The original manuscript is now on display in Paris, and is the third most expensive kept in France, insured for 12 million euros.

Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog find excitement and adventure wherever they go in Enid Blyton's most popular series. In book 14, George is not pleased when Berta, a spoilt American girl, turns up at Kirrin Cottage in the dead of night. But George hasn't got time to be jealous; Berta is in hiding from kidnappers. The Famous Five are the only ones who can protect her - but will they take on dangerous criminals to help out a stranger?

Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog find excitement and adventure wherever they go in Enid Blyton's most popular series. In book 11, the Famous Five are on an adventurous holiday in horse-drawn caravans. They discover a ruined castle that looks deserted. But is that a face at the window? Or is it a trick of the light? Just who is hiding in the castle?

Ashley Court: the tumbledown ancestral home of the Ashley family, all blessed with 'the gift' of being able to speak to each other without words. When Bryony Ashley's father dies under mysterious circumstances, his final words a cryptic warning to her, Bryony returns from abroad to uncover Ashley Court's secrets. What did her father's message mean? What lies at the centre of the overgrown maze in the gardens? And who is trying to prevent Bryony from discovering the truth?

The Sugar Creek Gang discovers a "disguise" hidden in a old tree. Does it belong to the bank robber hiding in the swamp? A mysterious map hidden near the tree proves to be even more exciting than the disguise. Before the adventure ends, the gang encounters the robber, helps Bill Collins welcome a new baby sister, and saves the victim of a black widow spider bite. Join the gang as they learn the lesson of sowing and reaping.

A collection of Smith's apace adventure stories featuring Captain Volmar, including the never before published novella, "Red World of Polaris."

Dr. Miranda Ecouvo, forensic therapist of the City, just helped put a serial killer behind bars. But she soon discovers that her investigation into seven unusual murders is not yet complete. A near-death experience throws her out of time and into a realm of labyrinths and spirits. There, she encounters brothers Chance and the Trickster, who have an otherworldly interest in the seemingly mundane crimes from her files.

While riding in their homemade iceboat on the frozen surface of Barmet Bay, Frank and Joe Hardy and Chet Morton discuss their plans for the upcoming Christmas holiday break. They visit Cabin Island but a mysterious stranger chases them off the island. The boys are invited to the home of Elroy Jefferson, a man whose car they returned in The Shore Road Mystery. They overhear an argument between Jefferson, the owner of Cabin Island, and Hanleigh, who is trying to buy the island. Mr. Jefferson rewards the boys and grants them permission to use the cabin for Christmas

Twelve hundred British soldiers isolated on the small island of Kheros off the Turkish coast, waiting to die. Twelve hundred lives in jeopardy, lives that could be saved if only the guns could be silenced. The guns of Navarone, vigilant, savage and catastrophically accurate. Navarone itself, grim bastion of narrow straits manned by a mixed garrison of Germans and Italians, an apparently impregnable iron fortress.

Jasper Fforde's delightfully zany Thursday Next series shows no signs of slowing down with its seventh entry, The Woman Who Died a Lot. Despite being semihappily semi-retired from SpecOps, Thursday accepts the head librarian position at the Swindon library. But soon threats from a supreme Deity, a mnemonomorph, and the nefarious Goliath corporation press Thursday back into active duty.

When horror author Thad McAlister began his latest novel, a tale rooted in the witch trials of centuries past, the words flowed effortlessly. The story poured forth, filling page after page with the most frightening character ever to crawl from his imagination. It was his greatest work, one that would guarantee him a position among the legends of the craft.

A psychological thriller before its time, James Hogg’s Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, published in 1824, takes us back to the world of 18th-century Scotland, into a mind haunted by religious obsession, and driven to commit murder. The events are told from several different viewpoints, so that truth and reality appear to dissolve in this disturbing story of the dark legacy of Calvinist doctrine, and how it led one man to madness.

Tautly narrated and excruciatingly suspenseful, Double Indemnity gives us an X-ray view of guilt, of duplicity, and of the kind of obsessive, loveless love that devastates everything it touches. First published in 1936, this novel reaffirmed James M. Cain as a virtuoso of the roman noir.

Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog find excitement and adventure wherever they go in Enid Blyton's most popular series. In book 17, the Famous Five are skiing and having lots of fun. But who is living in the mysterious house near their chalet? The caretaker claims it's been deserted for years, but the Five are sure they've seen a face at the window. A terrified, and haunted face. Have the gang got the courage to find out?

Both the skeleton and the corpse have died with suspicious convenience for Georgia Wells, a monstrous but charming actress with a raffish entourage. Georgia's best friend just happens to be Valentine, a top couturière and Campion's sister. In order to protect Valentine, Campion must unravel a story of blackmail and ruthless murder....

Two couples vacationing in Alabama are pursued by a maniac killer who lures them to a vacant house which won't let them leave. The "house" mirrors their own heart and souls and they must defeat the evil within.

Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog find excitement and adventure wherever they go in Enid Blyton's most popular series. In book 21, the Famous Five are camping out near the home of a famous scientist. But when his important research papers go missing, he needs the gang's help to get them back. Can the Five work out who took them? And why?

The Austins are trying to settle into their new life in New York City, but their once close-knit family is pulling away from each other. With the Austins going in different directions, they don't notice that something sinister is going on in their neighborhood - and it's centered around them. A mysterious genie appears before Rob and Emily. A stranger approaches Vicky in the park and calls her by name. Members of a local gang are following their father. The entire Austin family is in danger. If they don't start telling each other what's going on, someone just might get killed.

After the explosive events of the Copper Heart, Lydia must deal with a secret service operative with murder in his heart. The mysterious Mr Smith has sent a professional assassin after Lydia and the bonds of blood are stretched to breaking point when it turns out to be someone very close to home. Meanwhile, the head of the powerful Silver Family is demanding a favour and Lydia must comply or risk their fledgling alliance. To be strong enough to beat the odds stacked against her, Lydia must delve deep into Crow Family lore, but what she discovers is far from a fairy tale.