Crime Fiction from England, Scottland and Wales

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Agatha Christie (2001) And Then There Were None: A Novel. (First published in 1939)

Agatha Christie's version of the nursery rhyme is often considered the best mystery novel ever written. 10 strangers are trapped in an Indian island, where the sinister Mr. Owen is accusing them of murder. One by one is found dead, until ... (the resolution of the novel is very different from that of the movie versions).

Ruth Rendell (2001) The Lake of Darkness. (First published in 1976)

Martin Urban, a quiet bachelor, wins a large fortune at the football pools. As he decides to share his newfound wealth with those in need the disaster begins to unfold. The seemingly normal benefactors of Martin's altruistic impulses are vicious nut cases. His good intentions become fatally distorted. One of Rendell's best novels.

Collins, Wilkie (2008) The Woman in White. (First published 1859)

This upper-class Victorian love story is certainly one of the greatest literary thrillers. For slow, delicious reading.

John Le Carré (2005) The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.

In Le Carré's first masterpiece Alec Leamas, a British agent in early Cold War Berlin, is responsible for keeping the double agents under his care undercover and alive. When the East Germans start killing them, Leamas is sent deep into Communist territory to find out why. But nothing is quite what it seems. "The finest spy story ever written" (Graham Green).

Barbara Vine (1993) A Dark-adapted Eye. (First published 1987)

Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine.

Ruth Rendell (2000) A Judgement in Stone. (First published 1977)

Stella Rimington (2010) Dead Line (Kindle Edition)

After working for 27 years in Britain's intelligence agency MI 5, Rimington knows what she is talking about. When she retired as Director General of the agency she started a series of credible espionage thrillers. Her fourth thriller is about a plot to disrupt a Middle East peace conference in Scotland.

Wilkie Collins (2009) The Moonstone. (First published in 1868)

Like no other, this classical masterpiece of a mystery novel captures 19th century characters and atmosphere. "The first and greatest of English detective novels." (T. S. Eliot)

P. D. James (2001) The Black Tower. (First published in 1975)

James' deeply bleak novel is set in an isolated home for patients with a fatal muscular disease. The home's elderly chaplain invites Adam Dalgliesh asking for help. But when Dalgliesh arrives, the chaplain has died. As Commander Danlgliesh begins to investigate, more murder victims keep piling up.

John Le Carré (2004) Absolute Friends.

LeCarré is mad about what he sees as a fraudulent and unnecessary war in Iraq. The hero in his up-to-date novel, Ted Mundy, is an idealistic out-of-business spy from the Cold War era. He is hired by a mysterious benefactor to counter the widespread propaganda on behalf of an Iraqi war. Even if you don't like LeCarré's political slant, his writing is first class.

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