Iles, Francis – The Bell Bookshop

Before the fact

Emma — Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Swept away by an admirer's charm, Lina McLaidlaw finds herself settled in a life she could never have imagined. Her husband Johnnie is feckless and irresponsible, and even though she accepts he's a murderer, Johnnie still adores her - doesn't he?

Malice aforethought

Emma — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Summer. 1930. The hottest day of the year. And Dr Bickleigh has murder in mind.
A classic crime masterpiece from ‘One of crime fiction’s greatest innovators’ Independent

‘A fascinating insight into a troubled mind, and a gripping thriller’ Guardian

On a balmy summer’s day in 1930 the great and the good of the county are out in force for the annual, much-anticipated tennis party at the Bickleighs, although not everyone has much enthusiasm for the game. The tennis party exists for other reasons – and charmingly mannered infidelity is now the most popular pastime in the small but exclusive Devonshire hamlet of Wyvern’s Cross.

Which is why, in his own garden, the host, Dr Edmund Bickleigh, is desperately fighting to conceal the two things on his mind: a mounting passion for Gwynyfryd Rattery – and the certain conviction that he is going to kill his wife . . .

Malice Aforethought

Emma — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Malice Aforethought is one of the earliest and finest examples of the inverted detective story – we know who committed the crime, the question is, will he get away with it?

Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an afterword by crime writing expert and award-winning writer Barry Forshaw.

Dr Edmund Bickleigh and his insufferable wife Julia are hosting a tennis party where gossip rivals tennis as the most interesting sport. The seemingly genteel doctor is unable to tolerate Julia’s incessant henpecking any longer, and as his passion for the mysterious Madeleine Cranmere grows so does his resolve to murder his wife . . . Set in stuffy 1920s England and told from the perspective of the devious Dr Bickleigh himself, Malice Aforethought is impeccably plotted and darkly comic.