Cet auteur britannique s'est fait connaître principalement pour ses romans policiers, dans lesquels il a habilement conçu des intrigues et des personnages captivants. Son style d'écriture se caractérisait par sa lisibilité et sa fluidité, entraînant les lecteurs dans chaque récit. Au-delà de la fiction policière, il a également exploré la fantasy et la littérature jeunesse, démontrant sa polyvalence. Bien que peut-être pas révolutionnaires, ses œuvres ont été appréciées pour leur savoir-faire accompli et leur caractère divertissant.
A formidable French detective leads a gripping quest for truth in this spirited mystery novel set against a backdrop of intrigue. Originally published in 1956, the story unfolds with tension and excitement as the detective navigates challenges to uncover hidden secrets.
Two mysteries of the kind John Bude does best, with well-drawn and authentic period settings and a satisfying whodunit structure, following the traditional rules and style of the Golden Age of the genre.
Death knows no calendar: A shooting in a locked artist's studio. Four suspects; at least two of whom are engaged in an affair. With four colourful suspects to scrutinise, and not one, but two, "impossible" elements of the crime to solve, there is a long day ahead for detective fiction enthusiast, Major Tom Boddy.
'Small hostilities were growing; vague jealousies were gaining strength; and far off, wasn't there a nebulous hint of approaching tragedy in the air?' Welworth Garden City in the 1940s is a forward-thinking town where free spirits find a home - vegetarians, socialists, and an array of exotic religious groups. Chief among these are the Children of Osiris, led by the eccentric High Prophet, Eustace K. Mildmann. The cult is a seething hotbed of petty resentment, jealousy and dark secrets - which eventually lead to murder. The stage is set for one of Inspector Meredith's most bizarre and exacting cases. This witty crime novel by a writer on top form is a neglected classic of British crime fiction.
In the seeming tranquility of Regency Square in Cheltenham live the diverse inhabitants of its ten houses. One summer's evening, the square's rivalries and allegiances are disrupted by a sudden and unusual death - an arrow to the head, shot through an open window at no. 6. Unfortunately for the murderer, an invitation to visit had just been sent by the crime writer Aldous Barnet, staying with his sister at no. 8, to his friend Superintendent Meredith. Three days after his arrival, Meredith finds himself investigating the shocking murder two doors down. Six of the square's inhabitants are keen members of the Wellington Archery Club, but if Meredith thought that the case was going to be easy to solve, he was wrong... The Cheltenham Square Murder is a classic example of how John Bude builds a drama within a very specific location. Here the Regency splendour of Cheltenham provides the perfect setting for a story in which appearances are certainly deceiving.
Two brothers, John and William Rother, live together at Chalklands Farm in the beautiful Sussex Downs. Their peaceful rural life is shattered when John Rother disappears and his abandoned car is found. Has he been kidnapped? Or is his disappearance more sinister -
This classic crime novel from 1952 evokes all the sunlit glamour of life on the Riviera, and combines deft plotting with a dash of humour
The Reverend Dodd, vicar of the quiet Cornish village of Boscawen, spends his evenings reading detective stories by the fireside - but the peace is shattered one stormy night when Julius Tregarthan, a secretive and ill- tempered magistrate, is found with a bullet through his head!
When a body is found at an isolated garage, Inspector Meredith is drawn into a complex investigation where every clue leads to another puzzle: was this a suicide, or something more sinister? A classic mystery novel set amidst the stunning scenery of a small village in the Lake District.
Der legendäre britische Inspector Meredith tauscht das neblige London gegen die strahlend blaue Côte d'Azur. Denn dort treibt ein berüchtigter Geldfälscher sein Unwesen, den er vor Jahren schon einmal hinter Schloss und Riegel gebracht hat. Doch nicht nur das: Auch ein Mord unter Palmen will aufgeklärt werden – ausgerechnet in der mysteriösen Villa Paloma, die einer steinreichen britischen Witwe gehört ... Für Inspector Meredith geht es in diesem Kriminalfall aus dem Londoner Nebel an die glitzernde Côte d'Azur. Denn seit Kurzem wird die französische Küste mit gefälschten Tausend-Franc-Noten überschwemmt und die lokale Polizei vermutet einen englischen Drahtzieher als Kopf der Falschgeldtruppe. Und tatsächlich: Offenbar stammen die Banknoten von Chalky Cobbett, einem englischen Fälscher von berüchtigtem Talent. Doch nicht nur das Falschgeld bereitet Meredith Sorgen, auch eine reiche englische Witwe, die in ihrer Villa im malerischen Menton eine ganze Reihe an mysteriösen Hausgästen beherbergt, weckt sein Interesse. Nicht ganz unbegründet, wie sich herausstellt, denn kurz nach dem Eintreffen eines weiteren Gastes aus dem britischen Königreich geschieht ein Mord ...
