When Mrs. Packington's husband begins keeping regular company with an office girl, she turns to Mr. Parker Pyne, master of the human soul, for help, in the first of a series of cases that take him from London to the Middle East.

Ranging from stark psychological suspense to frothy frolic, this stunning collection of twelve short stories demonstrates Simon Brett's astonishing versatility. In TICKLED TO DEATH, a lover of practical jokes is smothered to death in a custard pie. DOUBLE GLAZING reveals the patient and perverse logic of an elderly Do-It-Yourselfer. And in BIG BOY, LITTLE BOY, a former hotel porter plots the murder of a very rich wife - with shocking results.

A superbly crafted collection of thirteen tightly plotted tales that treats readers to murder, mystery, and mayhem in the world of horseracing. With his remarkable blend of unrelenting suspense, finely tuned narrative, and lean, stylish prose, New York Times bestselling author Dick Francis proves that he is as much a master of the short story as he is of the novel in this thrilling collection.

P. D. James -- one of the most widely admired writers of detective fiction at work today -- gives us a personal, lively exploration of the human appetite for mystery and mayhem, and of those writers who have satisfied it. She examines the genre from top to bottom, beginning with the mysteries at the hearts of such novels as Charles Dickens's Bleak House, and bringing us into the present with such writers as Colin Dexter and Sara Paretsky. She compares...

The well-known mystery author presents one of her most famous sleuths, the inimitable Miss Marple, as she follows the trail of a murderer who seems to be very fond of nursery rhymes.