Detective Short Stories Mysteries

Malky Maguire is dead. The news has shocked the neighbourhood, but with so many dirty deeds recently, nobody is in the mood to mourn the local gangster and former cat lover. Leger sees it as his duty to solve the case, despite having no enthusiasm for it. With the help of his father, Ragnar, who has come to visit Maxine, Leger starts piecing together little bits of information that have been collected by Lily, Sparkle and Ragnar. Can Leger focus on the case while he is still mourning the death of one of those closest to him? Can he stop rejecting Ragnar and get over his fear of losing his ...

A wedding is due to take place but the freshly decorated venue has been sabotaged. Leger sets out to catch the vandal and reconnect with the sisters he hasn't seen since kittenhood. But they have a secret and despite Amber's attempts to protect him from the truth, it seems he is going to find out that family is about more than blood.

Leger and the clowder are back and have their hearts set on putting the infamous Harvey behind bars. They are taking shifts to watch him around the clock but it seems someone else is too... When Leger, delirious and heartbroken after Ginger's latest bombshell, finds himself at Billy Johnston's house in the middle of the night looking for Harvey, he witnesses a truly disturbing crime about to be carried out. The only thing that stops it from happening and chases the perpetrator away is the sight of Leger's Shadow on the wall. Leger finds himself conflicted and overwhelmed at this turn of ...

In Leger's latest mystery, Irenie, who claims to be a psychic with the ability to read tea leaves and tarot cards visits the hotel with a warning for Annabella. Leger is not to be trusted! Leger then has a nightmare about Annabella where he is to blame for her untimely death and begins to wonder if perhaps he really is bad luck. However Lily is concerned by the psychic's behaviour and after some digging, she uncovers a startling truth about her. Can Lily reveal Irenie's true intentions before it's too late?

You might think that with Scotland locked down and nobody able to get in or out of their homes that there would be no crimes to solve. Leger certainly did, until one happened under his own roof. There are currently six humans staying in his home, including Annabella. As they all have chronic health conditions and require to "shield" they have gathered together to form a bubble with their pets and live together so they don't get lonely. Then Leger notices that £2,000 that Annabella had foolishly hidden in her bedroom has vanished. Nobody has come or gone from the house, so one of the guests...

Now settled in his new home as a hotel cat on a tiny Scottish island, Leger is searching for activities to keep him busy. As always, his mind turns to sleuthing... At a Burns Supper hosted by Tony, the hotel's manager, in honour of the Lithuanian girls he has employed to work for him, the mystery of three recent thefts is apparently solved when two of the stolen wallets turn up in one of the girl's bags. However, Leger is not convinced that the accused, Emilija, is guilty and using his feline instincts, sets about searching for the true culprit to clear Emilija's name.

Refreshed after his recent trip to the island, Leger is back in Glasgow but finds there are matters which require his attention. His girlfriend is angry that he disappeared to the island without saying goodbye and issues an ultimatum; take a break from sleuthing or lose her. Leger must also find a home for Lily, the island sleuth who returned to Glasgow with him and it seems a local cat loving criminal, Malky Maguire, is the perfect person to adopt her. Undeterred by a series of break-ins and acts of vandalism at the Maguire home, Lily settles in and is soon part of the family. However, the...

Leger's family are taking a trip to a tiny Scottish island and he is looking forward to spending the summer with Annabella, Hugh and Bob. But when he discovers he is to stay in Glasgow with Annabella's niece, Carole, while the rest of the family go on their trip he is outraged. Leger hears there has been a murder on the island and knows he has to somehow travel with them and assist in finding the killer. What he didn't count on was meeting a fellow cat sleuth on the island as well as a clowder of unfriendly gossips. The island way of life proves to be very different from Glasgow. Can he ...

The festive season should be a time for generosity and goodwill, but in Glasgow, Leger finds that is not the case. His human companion's attempt to raise funds for a CT scanner for a local hospital has been thwarted by a callous thief who has stolen decorations from her seasonal garden display. Now Leger resolves to mend Annabella's broken heart by finding the thief. With Ginger nursing her newborn kittens, Isabella confusing him with erratic behaviour and Bob more interested in Hugh's discarded slipper than helping solve this mystery, Leger's only clue comes from an unexpected source - a ...

It's February, love is in the air and spring is just around the corner - but so is deceit. Maxine has just moved in to the street across from Leger and she is so smitten with him that she instantly adopts and renames him. She and Leger bond quickly, so when she is accused of stalking and harassment by her former neighbours, Leger cannot believe she would do such a thing. Besides, she was with him at the time when the harassment occurred. But a cat is not an alibi who will stand up in court. Desperate to clear Maxine's name, Leger seeks help from his friends, both feline and human and along ...

Glasgow's finest feline sleuth, Leger McInnes, returns and this time he tackles his most disturbing case yet! His friend Winter is traumatised and unable to speak following the horrific experience of witnessing a murder. Leger vows to track down the murderer and find closure for Winter. This will not be an easy task for Leger. With Winter unable to help, despite knowing exactly what occurred and his sidekick Ginger incarcerated while she is in season, Leger struggles to piece together the events of the night of the murder. He seeks comfort from Samara, the pretty new Persian housecat who ...

Leger returns for his fourth book set at the hotel on "the island" far away from Glasgow. Kevin the swan has confessed to killing a local man by drowning him in the loch, but is he telling the truth and why would he claim he is a murderer? While trying to uncover the real story, Leger and Bob also have to look for Carole, who Lily is convinced is the real killer. Can they clear her name?

After returning to the island following his lost week in Glasgow, Leger finds Hugh and Annabella preparing for a murder-mystery themed opening night, much to his delight. But, on learning that Annabella is to play the victim, he is not so keen. Once the lights go out, Annabella is found lying on the floor. All the humans assume it is part of the game but Leger and the other animals know the truth. She really was pushed from the stairs. It should have been an easy task for Leger as Amber witnessed the attack and was desperate to relate exactly what happened, but when he also assumed it was ...

Having decided life in the highlands, however temporary, is not for her, Annabella has given care of Leger to her niece Carol while she is Christmas shopping in Germany. Leger strongly objects to the decision, but has no choice in the matter. Leger is frequently left out in the chilly December rain with no catflap to use and questions Annabella's judgement, until one day he meets Saffron, a neglected child who lives across the street. The pair connect on a deep level in a short time, with Saffron more than once coming to Leger's aid. So when Saffron's mother is murdered one night, and Leger...

He thought she was lost forever but he has finally tracked her down. Leger reunites with his friend, former housemate and fellow detective, Lily and she's back in his life just in time to help him solve a mystery. When John, the man of the house in Leger's temporary home, unexpectedly vanishes, Leger initially is not concerned. After all, he and John have never really seen eye to eye. Why would he care if John went for a really long walk? But, Lily suspects that John is in danger and with very little in the way of clues, something Lily heard might transpire to be invaluable to the ...

Raffles is Sherlock Holmes' polar opposite, a foil for great detectives and a man with all the immoral charms of a hero-thief, plus a remarkable ability at cricket. Raffles is the godson of Robin Hood, the model for Cary Grant in "To Catch a Thief," and the inspiration of Leslie Charteris' "The Saint." As the great reinvention of the trickster for the 20th century, Raffles convinces readers to throw away their scruples and follow along for wit, bold adventures, and thrilling suspense.

Twenty-three of Shamus Award-winning author Bill Pronzini's stories, all of which display his versatility, his clean, crisp narrative style, and his keen awareness of detail. These tales, including three that feature his well-known series chararacter, the "Nameless Detective", run the gamut from psychological suspense ("Strangers in the Fog") to satire ("A Craving for Originality") to Western gothic ("The Hanging Man" and "His Name was Legion").

Seven more cases for HC Bailey's eclectic golden age sleuth Mr Reginald Fortune: surgeon, general practitioner, and advisor to Scotland Yard wherever surgery, medicine or kindred sciences can elucidate what is or is not crime. Including: a sudden death at Royal Ascot; a young doctor accused of a diamond theft; a strange country house burglary; an incident at the British Museum leading to a far darker crime; a vanished actress; and a diabolical murder at an orphanage, linked to an apparently accidental death and a near-fatal poisoning.

Five more sizzlingly scandalous Sherlock Holmes stories from the pen of Orlando Pearson. Mr. Pearson mixes the canon with elite sport, business high jinks, a musical mystery, a literary mystery, Realpolitik, and in "The Hounding of Peer Baskerville" rolls the most famous of all detective stories on 20 years. A must for traditionalists, lovers of mystery, and anyone who likes a rattling good listen.

Revelations from the despatch box of Doctor John Watson. These seven stories previously featured in various volumes of The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories and other anthologies. They come together in their own collection for the first time.