The Inspector Cockrill Mysteries Series
3.5/5
()
About this series
Titles in the series (5)
- Fog of Doubt
The Golden Age author of Green for Danger delivers “a mystery in the classic Christie-Carr-Queen manner . . . An outstanding tour de force” (The New York Times). Few were disappointed when Raoul Vernet was found with his head bashed in, dead in a pool of his own blood. On vacation in England, the Belgian seducer comes to visit Matilda, an old flame from a few years before. She agrees despite suspicions that Vernet has been deploying his legendary charm on another member of the family: young Rosie, who has returned from her Swiss boarding school carrying a child. None of the family members were in the house when Raoul was killed, but all were within a fog-choked London mile. Rosie calls in the brilliant Inspector Cockrill to clear the family’s name, but what he finds is a twisted clan of seven people, each as likely to laugh at a murder as commit one.
- Tour de Force
Inspector Cockrill’s dull vacation is jolted by a Mediterranean murderFrom the moment he steps on the plane, Inspector Cockrill loathes his fellow travelers. They are typical tour group bores: the dullards of England whom he had hoped to escape by going to Italy. He gives up on the trip immediately, burying his nose in a mystery novel to ensure that no one tries to become his friend. But not long after the group makes landfall at the craggy isle of San Juan el Pirata, a murder demands his attention. The body of a woman is found laid out carefully on her bed, blood pooled around her and fingers wrapped around the dagger that took her life. The corrupt local police force, impatient to find a killer, names Cockrill chief suspect. To escape the Italian hangman, the detective must find out who would go on vacation to kill a stranger.
- Heads You Lose
In the English countryside, one of the well-mannered guests at Pigeonsford Estate may be a murderer in this series debut by an Edgar Award–nominated author. As war rages in Europe, the citizens of London flee to the country. At Pigeonsford, a group of guests plays cards, drinks tea, and acts polite—but Grace Morland knows the strong emotions that lurk beneath the placid social surface. She’s painfully in love with Stephen Pendock, the squire of Pigeonsford, but Pendock’s smitten with young beauty Francesca Hart. One afternoon, Fran debuts a new hat, and Grace’s jealousy gets the better of her. She exclaims, “I wouldn’t be seen dead in a ditch in a thing like that!” She will soon be proven wrong. Grace is found dead with the hat on her head—and her head removed from her neck. To the scene comes the incomparable Inspector Cockrill, who finds that far more than petty jealousy lies beneath this hideous murder.
- The Crooked Wreath
From the Golden Age author of Green for Danger. “You have to reach for the greatest of Great Names to find Brand’s rivals in the subtleties of the trade” (The New York Times). Sir Richard’s family has spent years waiting for him to die, but despite his weak heart, the old man simply refuses to cooperate. In the meantime, he makes their lives miserable by changing his will every few months, depending on which of his strange brood he favors that moment. Now he calls them together to announce his most diabolical revision yet: complete disinheritance of all the wastrels who bear his name. But he never gets a chance to sign the papers—by morning, he’s dead. Scotland Yard sends Inspector Cockrill, the only detective clever enough to unravel the family’s tangle of jealousy and deceit. Each member had reason to kill Sir Richard, but which one plunged the syringe of poison into his heart? With a family this mad, nothing is as complicated as the truth.
- The Three-Cornered Halo
An island republic goes to insane lengths to canonize its most famous residentJuanita di Perli was a young woman when she decided to live the rest of her life on a table-top. She called it God’s will, but for the order of nuns that sprang up around her, Juanita’s devotion was a curse. For decades they did the bidding of the holy grouch, and the entire island of San Juan el Pirata sighed with relief when she died. Twenty years later, the islanders fight for Juanita’s canonization—not because they liked her, but because a local saint would be a tourist boon. The only thing keeping the island poor is the Archduke, who refuses to ask Rome to consider Juanita for sainthood. His stubbornness may get him dethroned or worse, for nothing will stop his subjects in their pursuit of Juanita’s holy cause.
Christianna Brand
Christianna Brand (1907–1988) was one of the most popular authors of the Golden Age of British mystery writing. Born in Malaya and raised in India, Brand used her experience as a salesgirl as inspiration for her first novel, Death in High Heels, which she based on a fantasy of murdering an irritating coworker. The same year, she debuted her most famous character, Inspector Cockrill, whose adventures she followed until 1957. The film version of the second Cockrill mystery, Green for Danger, is considered one of the best-ever screen adaptations of a classic English mystery. Brand also found success writing children’s fiction. Her Nurse Matilda series, about a grotesque nanny who tames ill-behaved children, was adapted for the screen in 2005, as Nanny McPhee. Brand received Edgar Award nominations for the short stories “Twist for Twist” and “Poison in the Cup”, as well as one for her nonfiction work Heaven Knows Who. The author of more than two dozen novels, she died in 1988.
Read more from Christianna Brand
Heaven Knows Who: The Trial of Jessie M'Lachlan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Buffet for Unwelcome Guests: The Best Short Mystery Stories of Christianna Brand Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Court of Foxes: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Cat and Mouse: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bodies from the Library: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Honey Harlot: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5What Dread Hand?: A Collection of Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Brides of Aberdar: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBrand X: A Collection of Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStarrbelow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bodies from the Library 4: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Inspector Cockrill Mysteries
Related ebooks
The Plague Court Murders: A Sir Henry Merrivale Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blackthorn House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tour de Force Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fog of Doubt Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Case of the Seven Whistlers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Delicate Murder: A Golden Age Mystery Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Thirteen Guests Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mystery of the Skeleton Key Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Murder Underground Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5What Would Wimsey Do? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeath in High Heels Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scarweather Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Half-mast for the Deemster Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Intruder in the Dark Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Z Murders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Holy Disorders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Some Must Watch Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLucian the Dreamer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat Dread Hand?: A Benvenuto Brown Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Santa Klaus Murder Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Call Mr. Fortune Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Crime Coast: A Benvenuto Brown Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrime in Lepers' Hollow Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Brand X: A Collection of Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTriple Quest: A Bobby Owen Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStarrbelow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder in Piccadilly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Toll the Bell for Murder Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Amateur Sleuths For You
Pieces of Her: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Courting Dragons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eight Perfect Murders: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Murdery Mystery Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pale Blue Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life We Bury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories: A Miss Marple Collection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Woman in the Library: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bangalore Detectives Club: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5John Grisham: Series Reading Order - 2019 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murderous Affair at Stone Manor: A Completely Gripping Cozy Murder Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fletch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Word Is Murder: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death by Dumpling: A Noodle Shop Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sentence Is Death: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Crossing Places: The First Ruth Galloway Mystery: An Edgar Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret, Book & Scone Society Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Night Olivia Fell Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Summer House: A highly addictive psychological thriller from TOP 10 BESTSELLER Keri Beevis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Accidental Alchemist: An Accidental Alchemist Mystery, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Volume One: Whose Body?, Clouds of Witness, and Unnatural Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Lucky: A Mystery Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Florida Roadkill: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Color Me Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hardy Boys Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Murder on a Mystery Tour Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Inspector Cockrill Mysteries
193 ratings0 reviews