A classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television.

 Becoming the social secretary for millionaire financier Andrew Harrison sounded like the dream job: just writing a few letters and making amiable conversation, with luxurious accommodation thrown in. But Markham Crewe had not reckoned on the unpopularity of his employer, especially within his own household, where animosity bordered on sheer hatred. When Harrison is found dead on his Henley houseboat, Crewe is not the only one to doubt the verdict of suicide. Inspector French is another.

Inspector French: The End of Andrew Harrison

To mark the publishing centenary of Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', this is one of six classic crime novels being issued in 2020 featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television.

 The Joymount Rapid Hardening Cement Manufacturing Company on the Solent is in serious financial trouble. Its rival, Chayle on the Isle of Wight, has a secret new manufacturing process and is underselling them. Having failed to crack the secret legitimately, two employees hatch a plot to break in and steal it. But the scheme does not go according to plan, resulting in damage and death, and Inspector French is brought in to solve one of the most dramatic and labyrinthine cases of his entire career.

Inspector French and the Mystery on Southampton Water

From the Collins Crime Club archive, the third standalone novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers'.

 Seymour Merriman's holiday in France comes to an abrupt halt when his motorcycle starts leaking petrol. Following a lorry to find fuel, he discovers that it belongs to an English company making timber pit-props for coal mines back home. His suspicions of illegal activity are aroused when he sees the exact same lorry with a different number plate - and confirmed later with the shocking discovery of a body. What began as amateur detective work ends up as a job for Inspector Willis of Scotland Yard, a job requiring tenacity, ingenuity and guile .

The Pit-Prop Syndicate

From the Collins Crime Club archive, the seminal first novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers' and recognised as one of the 'big four' Golden Age crime authors.

 The unloading of a consignment of French wine from the steamship Bullfinch is interrupted by a gruesome discovery in a broken cask leaking sawdust and gold sovereigns. But when the shipping clerk returns with the police, the cask and its macabre contents have gone. Following the clues to Paris, Inspector Burnley of Scotland Yard enlists the help of the genial French detective M. Lefarge to check motives and alibis in their hunt for evidence of a particularly fiendish murder.

 This Detective Story Club classic is introduced by Freeman Wills Crofts himself in a unique preface from 1946 about The Cask's origins.

The Cask

From the Collins Crime Club archive, the forgotten second novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers' and recognised as one of the 'big four' Golden Age crime authors.

 When the body of Sir William Ponson is found in the Cranshaw River near his home of Luce Manor, it is assumed to be an accident - until the evidence points to murder. Inspector Tanner of Scotland Yard discovers that those who would benefit most from Sir William's death seem to have unbreakable alibis, and a mysterious fifth man whose footprints were found at the crime scene is nowhere to be found .

The Ponson Case

From the Collins Crime Club archive, the first Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers'.

 THE FIRST INSPECTOR FRENCH MYSTERY

 At the offices of the Hatton Garden diamond merchant Duke and Peabody, the body of old Mr Gething is discovered beside a now-empty safe. With multiple suspects, the robbery and murder is clearly the work of a master criminal, and requires a master detective to solve it. Meticulous as ever, Inspector Joseph French of Scotland Yard embarks on an investigation that takes him from the streets of London to Holland, France and Spain, and finally to a ship bound for South America .

Inspector French’s Greatest Case

This special expanded edition of Freeman Wills Crofts' classic crime novel includes a unique commentary by Superintendent Walter Hambrook of Scotland Yard, never before published in book form.

 The Carrington family, victims of a strange poisoning, take an Olympic cruise from Glasgow to help them recover. At Creuta one member goes ashore and does not return. Their body is next day found floating in the Straits of Gibraltar. Joining the ship at Marseilles, can Inspector French solve the mystery before they reach Athens?

 Introduced by Tony Medawar, editor of Bodies from the Library, this classic Inspector French novel includes unique interludes by Superintendent Walter Hambrook of Scotland Yard, who provides a real-life detective commentary on the case as the mystery unfolds.

Inspector French: Found Floating

Londres, 1912, les docks sainte-katherine.
 A l'intérieur d'un tonneau d'apparence anodine, on découvre le cadavre d'une jeune femme vêtue d'une robe de soirée.  qui l'a assassinée ? est-ce l'amoureux éconduit, réfugié en angleterre après la rupture des fiançailles, et qu'elle semblait s'apprêter à rejoindre ? ou bien le mari trompé, jaloux et désabusé ? de ces deux hommes, lequel a mis en place le stratagème visant à faire accuser l'autre ?
Aux prises avec un plan d'une ingéniosité diabolique, deux policiers -le français lefarge et l'anglais burnley -sillonnent l'europe pour démêler l'écheveau d'un des crimes les plus inventifs du début du siècle.

Un des grands classiques de l'énigme.  indispensable dans la bibliothèque de l'amateur de mystère.

Le tonneau

Londres, 1912. Les docks Sainte-Katherine. A l'intérieur d'un tonneau d'apparence anodine, on découvre le cadavre d'une jeune femme vêtue d'une robe de soirée. Qui l'a assassinée ? Est-ce l'amoureux éconduit, réfugié en Angleterre après la rupture des fiançailles, et qu'elle semblait s'apprêter à rejoindre ? Ou bien le mari trompé, jaloux et désabusé ? De ces deux hommes, lequel a mis en place le stratagème visant à faire accuser l'autre ? Aux prises avec un plan d'une ingéniosité diabolique, deux policiers - le Français Lefarge et l'Anglais Burnley - sillonnent l'Europe pour démêler l'écheveau d'un des crimes les plus inventifs du début du XXe siècle.

Un des grands classiques de l'énigme, indispensable dans la bibliothèque de l'amateur de mystère.

"Sans doute le meileur premier roman policier jamais écrit." (Raymond Chandler)

A classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television.

 The new Sir Geoffrey Buller is earning his living in Chicago when he unexpectedly inherits his title, an English baronetcy, and Forde Manor in Surrey, complete with its vast collection of priceless works of art. His widowed housekeeper, who knows a thing or two, is surprised to discover that Sir Geoffrey is having his pictures cleaned. But then disaster strikes! A devastating fire, a missing artist and a lot of insurance money - from a mosaic of detail, Inspector French must reconstruct the pattern of a most cunning and complex crime.

Inspector French: Golden Ashes

A classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television.

 Moneylender Albert Reeve has added blackmail to his activities. When his cottage burns down and he perishes within the flames, his death comes as a shock to one of his victims and Tony Meadows finds himself accused of murder. Luckily for him, his sister remembers Inspector French and asks him to help. French fears a miscarriage of justice and agrees to commence one of his most challenging investigations.

Inspector French: A Losing Game

From the Collins Crime Club archive, the sixth Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers'.

 A MURDER MYSTERY WITHOUT A CLUE

 When Sir John Magill, the wealthy Irish industrialist, fails to show up at his home town on a well-publicised visit, neither his family nor the Belfast police can explain his disappearance. Foul play is suspected when his bloodstained hat is discovered, and Scotland Yard is called in. With his characteristic genius for reconstruction, Inspector French evolves a gruesome theory about what happened to the elderly man, but his reputation - and that of Scotland Yard - will depend on finding out who was responsible .

Inspector French: Sir John Magill’s Last Journey

A classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television.

 When Morrison first heard of old Stott's idea to purchase an ocean liner and run her as a tourist ship in sheltered waters off the British Isles, he was most enthusiastic. In fact, he accepted a job on board. But when he discovered the true purpose of Stott's floating paradise, Morrison's delight turned to foreboding. And when murder struck the vessel, he wasn't alone. A certain Inspector from Scotland Yard had been travelling incognito, almost as if a nasty spot of trouble had been expected.

Inspector French: Fatal Venture

A classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television.

 James Tarrant wants to make a lot of money. But as an assistant chemist in a sleepy village backwater his career seems to have reached a dead end and he has no way to further his ambitions. Suddenly inspiration strikes, and his goal looks to be within reach, with a willing young accomplice who will do almost anything for him. But would she go as far as murder? Inspector French is called in to investigate shady business deals, two-timers, and multiple motives for revenge.

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