Death on the Nile – Hercule Poirot has his work cut out for him when an heiress becomes the target of her fellow cruise passengers. Linnet Ridgeway has money, looks and intelligence, but she also has enemies, most of whom seem to have joined her and her new husband on their honeymoon cruise up the Nile River. The Times Literary Supplement’s short review in November 1937 concluded that, “Hercule Poirot, as usual, digs out a truth so unforeseen that it would be unfair for a reviewer to hint at it”.
A Morbid Taste For Bones – In this first book of the Brother Caedfel series, set in 12th century Britain, the monk is charged with collecting the holy remains of Saint Winifred and returning them to Shrewsbury Abbey, but when one of the villagers opposed to the removal of the saint’s remains is found dead in the woods with an arrow in his chest, Brother Caedfel must find the culprit. The Wall Street Journal called A Morbid Taste For Bones one of their five best historical novels.
The Nine Tailors – Following a car wreck in the countryside, Lord Peter Wimsey and his trusty manservant, Bunter, find shelter in a church in an isolated town. The town may be isolated, but it’s far from peaceful. The church bells are ringing, long missing jewels are involved, and when gravediggers open a family grave, a mutilated corpse is found. This is Dorothy Sayers and Lord Peter Wimsey at their best.
The Daughter of Time Confined to a hospital bed with a broken leg, Inspector Alan Grant is feeling bored and out of sorts. A friend who knows that Grant is intrigued by faces, brings him several portraits to examine. When he looks at the portrait of Richard III, Shakespeare’s hunched back monster and purported killer of the young princes in the Tower, Grant is surprised to see a face full of integrity. As Grant pursues Richard’s history, he becomes convinced that the “monster” was framed. This masterful historical mystery jump-started a wave of research that has since concluded that Inspector Grant (And Josephine Tey) were right.
Howe's Book Valet 