Books published by Dean Street Press

';I judge him to have been dead just about twenty-four hours. Suicide, almost certainly.'Ludovic Travers polished his eyeglasses. Inspector Wharton gruntedsure signs of impending mystery. And they were right.The car took the wrong turning and landed them in double murder dressed as suicide. In one room, made up for her principal success, Mary Tudor, was Mary Legreyepoisoned on her throne. In the next, the handymandead on the floor. Nothing initially justifies arrestbut Travers pursues his hunch, breaks a cast-iron alibi, and justifies, as never before, his reputation for unerring intuition.The Case of the Tudor Queen was originally published in 1938. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';The visionary Travers seems to be crooning to himself with considerable justice: ';We are the alibi breakers; we are the dreamers of dreams.''--Observer

';George Wharton said he hoped I'd have a nice murder for you.'Ludovic Travers and his wife choose to spend part of their honeymoon in the quiet town of Edensthorpeone place where they can be sure of peace and quiet, and where an eminent author and his famous wife might not be recognised.Unfortunately for them, however, another fugitive has sought anonymity in the nearby village of Pettistonea swindler named Brewse who has just completed a prison sentence for fraud. Brewse has made an unfortunate choice of home, because the leading citizens of Pettistone all suffered serious financial losses as a result of his fraudulent dealings, and they unite in an effort to drive him away from the village. Before they can do so, however, somebody decides upon a more permanent method of getting rid of Brewse.Ludovic Travers cannot, once again, resist the temptation to use his powers of insight and detection to discover the murderer of the man in the green hat.The Case of the Green Felt Hat was originally published in 1939. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.Travers: ';As for my methods of crime detectionwell, I haven't any. For that my only tool is a brain that has been called agile, sharpened on crosswords rather than chess.'

Palmer saw him out, and gave that little deprecatory cough.';If you'll pardon me, sir, is it another murder?'';Looks like it,' Travers told him from the door.This affair of Ludovic Travers and George ';the General' Wharton is packed full with sleuthing excitement, during which three men die, and the careers of four people are ruined before the round-up is accomplished. The leaning man, the kingpin of the plot, meets his death outside a London theatre.Travers soon finds a link between this case and the murder of a Maharajah, and is curious to know why the actor, Sir Jerome Haire, is involved. In finding out, he brings under suspicion Joy and Bernice Haire, Sir Jerome's daughters and music-hall stars in their own right. The travels of a priceless emerald ring add mystery to an already perplexing problem, elucidated by the keen deduction of Ludovic Travers.The Case of the Leaning Man was originally published in 1938. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Mr. Bush has produced another good detective story, this time with emotional complications such as the experts say should have no place in this type of fiction. But the experts are not always right.'--New York Times

Travers looked down at the thing that sprawled. The head gave a last movement, and there was a faint sound like a tired moan. The time was eight minutes to eight.Ludovic Travers is approached by his sister after tales of strange doings and horrible night shrieks in a country house called Highways. Travers makes an investigatory visit, where he finds stabbed to death the bizarre old man who was living at the house with his 10-year-old granddaughter. Among the prime suspects are the child's tutor, and a classical pianist who happens to be in the village on holiday. But airtight alibis abound, hinging on an ingenious manipulation of time. Chief Constable Major Tempest and his subordinates Inspector Carry and Sergeant Polegate are delighted to have the resourceful Travers's help in finding the murderer.The Case of the Missing Minutes was originally published in 1937. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Refreshingly different from that of the general run of detective novels. . .'--Times Literary Supplement

';It's terrible. It's a body . . . the head cut off . . . and the hands.'Who isor wasthe headless, handless corpse, found discarded on a bonfire? This baffling case of identity leads to a dead doctor who, according to information received, committed murder himself and was in turn murdered by his victim. A contradiction in termsor is it? The solution to this mystery involves a taciturn match-seller, unbreakable alibis and several double identities on the part of both the murderer and the victim. The case is dazzling in its ingenuity, as well as being one of the more chilling cases in Ludovic Travers's colourful investigative career. This is a story containing surprises which will satisfy all fans of golden age detective fiction.The Case of the Bonfire Body was originally published in 1936. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.Travers: ';As for my methods of crime detectionwell, I haven't any. For that my only tool is a brain that has been called agile, sharpened on crosswords rather than chess.'

Murder on Mondays! Greatest prophecy of the century! T.P. Luffham was murdered!Ferdinand Pole of the Murder League claims that, since 1918, thirteen murders have been committed on a Monday. A sleazy economist has now been slain, followed the next week by a blameless actressboth on Monday. While the press have a field day, it is up to Inspector Wharton of Scotland Yard, along with his inspired amateur co-investigator Ludovic Travers, to see if London has a new Jack the Ripper at work. The eccentric parrot-owning Pole seems to be out to implicate himself in the murders, though whether this is bravado or fact remains very much in question . . . This sly, often satirical, whodunit shows a master of classic mystery on top form.The Case of the Monday Murders was originally published in 1936. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.Travers: ';As for my methods of crime detectionwell, I haven't any. For that my only tool is a brain that has been called agile, sharpened on crosswords rather than chess.'

Travers turned to Wharton. ';I ask you, George, as a man of the worlddo schoolmasters and mistresses have souls full of glamour and passion and intrigue? Are they torn by the same emotions that rend people like us?'At first the old schoolmaster's poisoning was judged a suicide. But there were too many suspicious circumstances to satisfy Inspector Wharton of Scotland Yard. Why, for instance, had the dead man clung to a large book as he expired? And where is Flint, the school caretaker? Wharton, accompanied as ever by inspired amateur sleuth Ludovic Travers, journey to the grim pile of Woodgate Hill school to find a shocking and unpredictable solution to this murder . . . and then another.The Case of the Dead Shepherd was originally published in 1934. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Thoroughly engrossing, well written and full of legitimate puzzlement.'Dorothy L. Sayers

';Send someone here quick. There's been a murder!'Mr Lewton is dead. Stabbed through the back, no possibility of suicideand no sign of a knife either. The deceased made a phone call summoning a doctor immediately before his own death. And the servant who supposedly reported the murder wasn't even at the scene of the crime, and denies all knowledge. These are among the bizarre opening features of a classic labyrinthine whodunit from a master of the genrean adventure into which master sleuth Ludovic Travers must plunge himself. This is a tale of cake and conundrum in which every suspect has a water-tight alibi. But trust Travers to solve a virtually unbreakable mystery.The Case of the 100% Alibis was originally published in 1934. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Seldom, if ever, has the alibi problem been handled so deftly or in such an entertaining manner as Mr. Bush has done in this grade A yarn,'--New York Times

"e;There's no dirty trick he wouldn't play-it's my belief that he wouldn't even stop at murder!"e; Her husband unmasked as a scoundrel, Lady Cynthia Letchingham seeks refuge at her cousin Hannah's north-country home Greylands. But on Cynthia's arrival, she finds Hannah an invalid, having recently suffered a mysterious paralysis; the house is devoid of servants, and Hannah's husband, charming and sinister by turns, keeps watch over everything and everyone. Only the presence of charming Sybil Hammond and a darkly handsome neighbour relieve the atmosphere for Cynthia - but then a dark red stain appears mysteriously on the sleeve of her coat...What has really happened to Hannah, and the other entangled mysteries along the way, make The Secret of Greylands (1924) an absorbing golden age crime novel matching Wilkie Collins' high Victorian gothic to the agility of early jazz age fiction. This new edition, the first in over eighty years, features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."e;Not only a crime story of merit, but also a novel which will interest readers to whom mystery for its own sake has little appeal."e; Nation"e;Full of thrills and unexpected developments."e; Star"e;A most skilfully written detective story and the mystery is carried through quite brilliantly."e; Clarion"e;A capital story- highly ingenious."e; Truth

She was looking at the place where the mirror had hung. It didn't reflect anything because the glass was gone. Instead there was a blackness, a dark hole full of shadows. There was a shuffling and a sighing, and a deep and dreadful groan. Then something moved.Flossie Palmer worked in the kitchen at 16 Varley Street. It was her job to see that the trays were carried up to Miss Rowland on time. But the job lasted only a few hours and Flossie found herself running, her heart pounding in her throat, down the foggy street, not daring to stop or to listen for the footsteps that might be following her. She had been exploring the drawing room of the great house and had suddenly seen the big six-foot mirror move - and reveal a human face. In the thickness of the fog Flossie met Miles Clayton and told him her story. Miles has a story of his own which explains his presence in London - searching for a 19-year-old girl who, if found, would become heir to a vast sum. How these two mysteries coincide, and how they are resolved, form one of the author's most beguiling adventures.Blindfold was originally published in 1935. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."When I pick up a book by Patricia Wentworth I think, now to enjoy myself-and I always do." Mary Dell, Daily Mirror

"I don't know…no one knows…nobody knows but me…and they're the finest emeralds in the world…the Van Berg emeralds…and nobody knows where they are but me…"Jim could remember drinking with Elmer Van Berg and seeing his hand holding up the priceless string of emeralds-but Elmer Van Berg was killed that night. Did Jim do it? He couldn't remember a thing of the six weeks that followed. How could he have married the overbearing Nesta when Caroline, the lovely girl of his youth, was waiting for him? And how did the emeralds come to be in the secret hiding place in the Blue Room-the hiding place of which only he and Caroline knew the secret? The future looms malevolently, yet Caroline out of her love for him finds strength to help him to the truth…Outrageous Fortune was originally published in 1933. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."When I pick up a book by Patricia Wentworth I think, now to enjoy myself-and I always do." Mary Dell, Daily Mirror

"They are letting me say good-bye. I'm to be shot to-morrow. It will be over by the time you get this…"Laura stood, pale and trembling, in the veiled dress she was to have worn as Jim Mackenzie's bride, and gave her word to marry Basil Stevens, a man she scarcely knew. In his unexpected visit Basil had made three things clear: Laura was the heiress of the great Hallingdon fortune; Jim faced a Soviet firing squad; and only this marriage would save Jim. Why? What was the plot that threatened to destroy him?It was not until Laura phoned Jim late one night after he had returned to England, half insane with grief, that he had an inkling of the truth about the remorseless power back of it all, and its single, far-reaching purpose. How Jim saves Laura from her fate underlies one of the most exciting mysteries Patricia Wentworth has written.Red Shadow was originally published in 1932. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."When I pick up a book by Patricia Wentworth I think, now to enjoy myself-and I always do." Mary Dell, Daily Mirror

Ten years! He had been dead ten years!Uncannily alike in appearance were the twins, Jim and Jack Laydon. Both, too, loved beautiful Evelyn Prothero. For three mad, ecstatic days early in the Great War, Evelyn had been engaged to Jack. Then the engagement was broken, for reasons the girl chose never to make public. Soon after, she abruptly married Jim, but no one who saw it could ever forget Jack's face during the ceremony. A week later, on the same day, in the same raid, both brothers went missing. Now, ten years later, Evelyn is still a widow grieving - some say for Jack, some say for Jim.Then suddenly in Germany a mute peasant is struck on the head. When he recovers consciousness he claims his name is Laydon - Jim or Jack, he will not say. And how is Evelyn to know, when every distinguishing trait has been lost? Who - Jim, Jack, or A.N. Other - has grasped at a chance for a new life, and what steps has he taken to live it?The Amazing Chance was originally published in 1926. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."When I pick up a book by Patricia Wentworth I think, now to enjoy myself-and I always do." Mary Dell, Daily Mirror