Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder"At 8 o'clock in the evening on the 8th of November, there was a terrific explosion in Green Lane, Evingden."The offices of the Excelsior Joinery Company have been blown to smithereens; three of the company directors are found dead amongst the rubble, and the peace of a quiet town in Surrey lies in ruins. When the supposed cause of an ignited gas leak is dismissed and the presence of dynamite revealed, Superintendent Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is summoned to the scene.But beneath the sleepy veneer of Evingden lies a hotbed of deep-rooted grievances. The new subject of the town's talk, Littlejohn's investigation is soon confounded by an impressive cast of suspicious persons, each concealing their own axe to grind.First published in 1964, Bellairs' novel of small-town grudges with calamitous consequences revels in the abundant possible solutions to its central,...

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder'A decent, hardworking chap, with not an enemy anywhere. People were surprised that anybody should want to kill Jim.'But Jim has been found stabbed in the back near Ely, miles from his Yorkshire home. His body, clearly dumped in the usually silent ('dumb') river, has been discovered before the killer intended – disturbed by a torrential flood in the night.Roused from a comfortable night's sleep Superintendent Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is soon at the scene. With any clues to the culprit's identity swept away with the surging water, Bellairs' veteran sleuth boards a train heading north to dredge up the truth of the real Jim Teasdale and to trace the mystery of this unassuming victim's murder to its source.

Whilst taking the dog out for the last walk of the day, Littlejohn of Scotland Yard comes across a body in the rain. Recognising it as Charles Blunt, a thief he crossed paths with and admired many years before, Littlejohn resolves to solve the case. But where did the body come from? What was it doing in front of a deserted house? And why, after all these years, had Charles Blunt finally come to a sticky end? Looking into the life of Blunt the Gentleman burglar brings Littlejohn into the complex love triangles and debauchery of the filthy rich, and all of the scandal that goes with it.First published in 1973, Devious Murder is a classic detective mystery, full of intrigue, tantalising clues and colourful characters.

The Todd family, governed by their aged mother, are important people in Fordinghurst. When the younger brother, Heck, is found murdered in his boat at sea they do their best to hush up the scandal. They obstruct the police in their inquiries among the suspects of the locality. There has been an epidemic of crime in the neighbourhood and Scotland Yard is called in to assist the depleted police force. Chief Superintendent Littlejohn, assisted by a new recruit, Hopkinson, struggles with a tangle of lies, deceit and prejudice until he arrives at a surprising conclusion and a confusion of confessions.First published in 1972, Murder Adrift is a classic crime, full of intrigue, mysterious motives, and ingenious speculation.

A body in a trunk draws Thomas Littlejohn of Scotland Yard to a peculiar English village On a cobblestoned street almost too quaint to be believed, two antique dealers named Grossman and Small have set up shop. Grossman is short and meek, while Small is large and brutish, but their partnership seems happy enough until the day when old Miss Adlestrop purchases the large oak chest in the window and finds Mr. Grossman stuffed inside it—stone dead. The cozy English hamlet is thrown into an uproar, overwhelming the local constabulary and requiring the services of Detective-Inspector Thomas Littlejohn. Cool-headed and never in a hurry, Littlejohn has solved his fair share of village murder cases. But when the key to the fatal chest goes missing, Littlejohn discovers the community to be so infested with jealousies and secrets that he begins to envy the dead man.