Murder in the Telephone Exchange

Murder in the Telephone Exchange

Author: June Wright

Publisher: Verse Chorus Press

Published: 2014-02-17

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13: 1891241966

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

First published in 1948, when it was the best-selling mystery of the year in the author’s native Australia, Murder in the Telephone Exchange stars feisty young operator Maggie Byrnes. When one of her more unpopular colleagues is murdered — her head bashed in with a “buttinski,” a piece of equipment used to listen in on phone calls — Maggie resolves to turn sleuth. Some of her coworkers are acting strangely, and Maggie is convinced she has a better chance of figuring out who is responsible for the killing than the rather stolid police team assigned to the case, who seem to think she herself might have had something to do with it. But then one of her friends is murdered too, and it looks like Maggie might be next. Narrated with verve and wit, this is a whodunit in the tradition of Dorothy L. Sayers and Daphne du Maurier, by turns entertaining and suspenseful, and building to a gripping climax.


Murder in the Telephone Exchange

Murder in the Telephone Exchange

Author: June Wright

Publisher: Verse Chorus Press

Published: 2014-06-10

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13: 1891241370

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

First published in 1948, when it was the best-selling mystery of the year in the author’s native Australia, Murder in the Telephone Exchange stars feisty young operator Maggie Byrnes. When one of her more unpopular colleagues is murdered — her head bashed in with a “buttinsky,” a piece of equipment used to listen in on phone calls — Maggie resolves to turn sleuth. Some of her coworkers are acting strangely, and Maggie is convinced she has a better chance of figuring out who is responsible for the killing than the rather stolid police team assigned to the case, who seem to think she herself might have had something to do with it. But then one of her friends is murdered too, and it looks like Maggie might be next. Narrated with verve and wit, this is a whodunit in the tradition of Dorothy L. Sayers and Daphne du Maurier, by turns entertaining and suspenseful, and building to a gripping climax.


So Bad a Death

So Bad a Death

Author: June Wright

Publisher: Verse Chorus Press

Published: 2014-12-21

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1891241605

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The return of Maggie Byrnes, heroine of Murder in the Telephone Exchange. Maggie is married now, with a young son, and living in an outer Melbourne suburb. But violent death dogs her footsteps even in apparently tranquil Middleburn. It’s perhaps not that much of a surprise when widely disliked local bigwig James Holland (who also happens to be Maggie’s landlord) is shot, but Maggie suspects that someone is also trying to poison the infant who is his heir, and turns sleuth once more to uncover the culprits. First published in 1949, So Bad a Death is is June Wright’s second novel, which she originally planned to call Who Would Murder a Baby? Her publishers demurred, but under any title it’s a worthy sequel to Murder in the Telephone Exchange. Novelist and crime fiction historian Lucy Sussex contributes an introduction to this reissue, which also includes a fascinating interview she conducted with June Wright in 1996.


Duck Season Death

Duck Season Death

Author: June Wright

Publisher: Verse Chorus Press

Published: 2014-12-21

Total Pages: 133

ISBN-13: 1891241982

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

June Wright wrote this lost gem in the mid-1950s, but consigned it to her bottom drawer after her publisher foolishly rejected it. Perhaps it was a little ahead of its time? Because while it’s a tour de force of the classic ‘country house’ murder mystery, it’s also a delightful romp, poking fun at the conventions of the genre. When someone takes advantage of a duck hunt to murder publisher Athol Sefton at a remote hunting inn, it soon turns out that virtually everyone, guests and staff alike, had a good reason for shooting him. Sefton’s nephew Charles thinks he can solve the crime by applying the “rules of the game” he’s absorbed from his years as a reviewer of detective fiction – only the killer evidently isn’t playing by those rules. Duck Season Death is a both a fiendishly clever whodunit and a marvellous entertainment.


The Devil's Caress

The Devil's Caress

Author: June Wright

Publisher: Verse Chorus Press

Published: 2018-03-02

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 1891241753

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The fourth in Dark Passage’s reissue series of crime mysteries by June Wright, The Devil’s Caress, originally published in 1952, is an tense psychological thriller set on the wild southern coast of the Mornington Peninsula, outside Melbourne. Overworked young medico Marsh Mowbray has been invited to the country home of her revered mentor, Dr. Kate Waring, but it's far from the restful weekend she was hoping for. As storms rage outside, the house on the cliff’s edge seethes with hatred and tension, and two suspicious deaths soon follow. "Doubt is the devil’s caress", one of the characters tells Marsh, as her resolute efforts to get to the bottom of the deaths force her to question everyone's motives, even those of Dr. Kate. This is a classic country house mystery with shades of Agatha Christie, but with the jagged emotional edge of Daphne du Maurier.


Call for the Dead

Call for the Dead

Author: John le Carré

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2012-10-02

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 1101603755

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The first of his peerless novels of Cold War espionage and international intrigue, Call for the Dead is also the debut of John le Carré's masterful creation George Smiley. "Go back to Whitehall and look for more spies on your drawing boards." George Smiley is no one's idea of a spy—which is perhaps why he's such a natural. But Smiley apparently made a mistake. After a routine security interview, he concluded that the affable Samuel Fennan had nothing to hide. Why, then, did the man from the Foreign Office shoot himself in the head only hours later? Or did he? The heart-stopping tale of intrigue that launched both novelist and spy, Call for the Dead is an essential introduction to le Carré's chillingly amoral universe.


Darkening Skies

Darkening Skies

Author: Bronwyn Parry

Publisher: Hachette Australia

Published: 2013-09-10

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 073362829X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Deadly secrets lurk in a tiny country town in this suspenseful story by Romance Writers of America award-winning author Bronwyn Parry. For eighteen years, a black hole in Mark Strelitz's memory has concealed the truth: that he was the driver of a car in which a young woman died. Now he needs to set the record straight. Not much would drag investigative reporter Jennifer Barrett back to her hometown of Dungirri - except new questions about her cousin's death. She knows too well the whiff of corruption and cover-up, and she's determined to find the truth behind Mark's startling revelations. But someone is trying to keep Mark silent and stop the investigation before it even begins. DARKENING SKIES is the third novel in Bronwyn Parry's award-winning Dungirri series. The other two novels in the series are AS DARKNESS FALLS and DARK COUNTRY; all are page-turning Australian fiction at its very best. **Includes bonus chapters of Bronwyn's latest thriller, SUNSET SHADOWS** Bronwyn Parry: WINNER, Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award (2007) FINALIST, Romance Writers of America RITA Awards (2010, 2013) FINALIST, Daphne du Maurier Award for Romantic Suspense (2010, 2013) Praise for DARKENING SKIES: 'This gripping tale mixes suspense with romance.' -- WOMAN'S DAY 'a good example of the small-town romantic suspense genre' -- SUN HERALD


A Mind to Murder

A Mind to Murder

Author: P.D. James

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2001-06-05

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0743219589

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Adam Dalgluish is called to the elegant Steen Psychiatric Clinic to investigate why the head of the clinic, Enid Bolan was found with a chisel through her heart.


The Christopher Killer

The Christopher Killer

Author: Alane Ferguson

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2008-02-01

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780142408117

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

On the payroll as an assistant to her coroner father, seventeen-year-old Cameryn Mahoney uses her knowledge of forensic medicine to catch the killer of a friend while putting herself in terrible danger.


Murder at the Book Club

Murder at the Book Club

Author: Betsy Reavley

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2018-08-07

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1504071506

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Something bad is brewing among a friendly group of book lovers: “A deliciously Agatha Christie-style mystery that sucks you in from the first page.” —Sibel Hodge, bestselling author of Look Behind You Imagine nine women meeting. Tea and cake are on the coffee table. They’ve come together to share their love of books. They are friends. They trust each other. It’s a happy gathering. What could be more harmless? Then scratch the surface and look closer. One is lonely. One is desperate. And one of them is a killer. When the body of a woman is discovered on a Cambridge common, DCI Barrett and DI Palmer are called in to investigate. But the motive behind the crime isn’t clear—and it all leads back to a book club. As the lies, volatile friendships, and tension among the group rise to the surface, DCI Barrett and DI Palmer must work out the motive and track down a cold-blooded killer. But just when they think they’re on the right track, a twist in the plot throws them off course . . . “Will keep readers guessing till the very end!” —J.A. Baker, bestselling author of The Other Mother “A deliciously devilish whodunit!” —Robert Bryndza, bestselling author of the Detective Erika Foster series