The Ernest Lamb Mysteries Series

Who killed Ross Craddock? Inspector Ernest Lamb will sift through multiple clues and suspects to find out in this golden age mystery from the author of the acclaimed Miss Silver Mysteries   Lucy Craddock has lived at No. 7 Craddock House for years. But now she’s about to be turned out of her home—by her own nephew. She was at his christening, for mercy’s sake! Greed is what drives Ross Craddock, who inherited the once-magnificent family home built ninety years earlier and has since divided it into flats rented by quarreling, passionate tenants. But none is more wicked than Ross himself, his handsome visage concealing an evil heart. He gets his comeuppance when he’s found sprawled on the hearthrug in a pool of blood—shot to death with his own revolver.   Who had a motive to kill him? Who didn’t? Is the murderer Peter Renshaw, a soldier with His Majesty’s Army, who may have been protecting pretty young Mavis Grey from Ross’s unwanted advances? Bobby Foster, Mavis’s jealous suitor? Or Lucy’s niece, Lee Fenton, who walks in her sleep? Then there’s Miss Lucy herself. They’re all concealing secrets. But one is worth killing for, as Inspector Ernest Lamb and Detective Frank Abbott of Scotland Yard discover in this classic British puzzler that will keep readers guessing until the shocking denouement.   The Blind Side is the 1st book in the Ernest Lamb Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

Enemy forces will stop at nothing to retrieve an incriminating package in this gripping international thriller from the author of the Miss Silver Mysteries   Double agent Cornelius Roos is about to become dispensable to the Germans—until he reveals the existence of a recording that will guarantee the death of a high-ranking Nazi official if it finds its way into the hands of Hermann Goering. So Roos strikes a bargain: If he walks out of Gestapo headquarters alive, he will ensure that the compromising recording never reaches Goering.   Meanwhile, in the Foreign Intelligence office in England, agent Antony Rossiter is interrogated about Roos, his older, adopted brother. A few days later, Rossiter parachutes into Holland to make contact with Roos. But when a brown paper parcel with Rossiter’s name on it is delivered to a British law firm, Rossiter’s fiancée, Delia Merridew, becomes an innocent pawn in a deadly game of international espionage and cold-blooded murder. Now it’s up to Scotland Yard Inspector Ernest Lamb and Detective Frank Abbott to ferret out the truth before a desperate enemy claims another victim.   Pursuit of a Parcel is the 3rd book in the Ernest Lamb Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

A blackmailing businessman turns up dead in this mystery featuring Scotland Yard’s Inspector Ernest Lamb, from the creator of the Miss Silver series. Lucas Dale always gets what he wants. And this time he wants another man’s fiancée: Susan Lenox. Never mind that she’s engaged to Bill Carrick, an up-and-coming architect without a farthing to his name. Cathleen O’Hara, Dale’s mousy social secretary, serves as the unwitting instrument of his plan, and a nasty blackmail scheme is set in motion. Soon, Susan has no choice but to break off her engagement and agree to marry Dale—until he’s found in his study with a bullet in his head.   Scotland Yard is called in, and before long, Inspector Ernest Lamb and Detective Frank Abbott have a suspect: Carrick. But as Lamb and Abbott dig deeper, they discover others with means, motive, and opportunity, including the victim’s penniless former wife who was handy with a gun, and his American business partner who wanted the money Dale owed him. No one has an alibi for the time of Dale’s demise. And someone else will die before the price of murder is paid.   Who Pays the Piper? is the 2nd book in the Ernest Lamb Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Three intriguing World War II–era whodunits featuring the Scotland Yard detectives from the “timelessly charming” Miss Silver Mysteries (Charlotte MacLeod).   Inspector Ernest Lamb and Det. Frank Abbott of Scotland Yard, who also made regular appearances in Patricia Wentworth’s beloved Miss Silver mystery series, confront a range of villains—from greedy landlords to ruthless blackmailers to diabolical Nazi spies.   The Blind Side: Lucy Craddock has lived at No. 7 Craddock House for years. But now she’s about to be turned out of her home—by her own nephew. Since greedy Ross Craddock inherited the once-magnificent family estate, he has divided it into rented flats. But before he can boot out his aunt, he’s found shot to death with his own revolver. With a mansion full of suspects, Inspector Lamb comes to the door.   Who Pays the Piper?: Lucas Dale is not above blackmail to get what he wants—in this case another man’s fiancée. Susan Lenox has no choice but to break off her engagement to up-and-coming architect Bill Carrick and agree to marry Dale—until he’s found in his study with a bullet in his head. Now it’s up to Inspector Lamb and Detective Abbott to construct a solid case.   Pursuit of a Parcel: When a parcel from a double agent containing secrets the Nazis would love to get their hands on is delivered to a British law firm, an innocent woman becomes a pawn in a deadly game of international espionage, and Scotland Yard’s Inspector Lamb and Detective Abbott—along with Frank Garrett of the Foreign Office—step in to solve a cold-blooded murder.