Detective Inspector Coffin of Scotland Yard is sent to Malta to investigate the baffling murder of a laundress' retarded son

Nobody took much notice when the handbag slashing began in London. A few women found small nicks in their handbags, others huge gashes. John Coffin had a feeling that the cases were going to lead to something far more unpleasant. A similar case in Scotland—of coats, this time—comes to trial in Murreinhead, and Giles Almond, a mild-mannered officer of the Court, is viciously attacked by a knife-wielding assailant. Then the body of a missing Murreinhead woman is discovered in a rotting tenement in London, and the chase is on ...

A crime novel in which Aaron Tyler and his poker club friends apprehend and accidentally kill an intruder in his house. Thus begins a descent into a web of violence that may cost them everything - their jobs, families and ultimately their lives. From the author of THE LONG MIDNIGHT and SERPENT'S KISS.

Three little girls are reported missing in the same district of South London and Superintendent John Coffin suspects there could be more. A gripping crime novel from one of the most universally praised English mystery writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. Three little girls have been reported missing recently in the same district of South London and Superintendent John Coffin believes there might be others. The area has more than its fair share of cranks, and Tony Young’s club of UFO watchers is no exception. But Tony’s concerns start to grow as more children disappear, always at a time when members of the club are out investigating a sighting. While Coffin probes the backgrounds of the victims, trying to establish a pattern, Tony takes matters into his own hands and does some detecting of his own…

When the politician, Thomas Barr, and his secretary are found brutally murdered in scandalous circumstances, Detective Coffin is called in to investigate

Book by Butler, Gwendoline

Inspector John Coffin has a yellow canary - not a bird, but a woman, as the police refer to women who sing with a touch of hysteria. Olivia struggles through a nightmare where fact and fantasy merge as she tries to find who murdered her lover.

British Metropolitan Detective John Coffin investigates a spate of murders involving a deranged man who kills and mutilates people, offering each victim as a "gift" to a famous actress from her dead son. Reprint.

James Coffin, now a sergeant, discovers a body in the new house he's bought, but when he decides to investigate the case himself it unexpectedly leads to the clothing industry

John Coffin, Scotland Yard Superintendent, moves to a house in South London, despite the stories about the house's violent past

Detective John Coffin must find out who killed the man belonging to the severed human head found in an urn on the church steps. Reprint. PW. AB.

The brutal murder of a young girl polarizes the inhabitants of the newly gentrified London neighborhood under the jurisdiction of police chief commander John Coffin. Victim Anna Mary Kinver belonged to a working-class family long resident in the area, while one of the suspects, Tim Zeman, is the son of a well-to-do doctor. Although a blood-soaked vagrant seems a more likely suspect at first, anonymous letters signed "Paper Man" threaten vengeance if the police don't arrest Tim. The mental breakdown of Anna's father, the deaths of two members of Tim's family and then his apparent suicide add further complications. While neighborhood turmoil escalates, Coffin is forced to unravel this complex skein of events while fulfilling the day-to-day requirements of his new position and conducting a love affair with actress Stella Pinero, who runs a nearby theater workshop and knows the families involved in the murders.

Inspector Coffin decides to investigate some strange goings-on on Murder Street—the most violent street in town—when a man who thrives on reporting and even predicting murder disappears himself. By the author of Coffin and the Paper Man.

A series of apparently indiscriminate murders reveals the work of a very patient, calculating criminal, and Chief Commander John Coffin must discover the link between the victims from an elite London university and a refuge for battered women.

In the wake of a series of killings, Inspector John Coffin becomes seriously worried when someone begins stalking his wife and is challenged to connect the present-day incidents to a twenty-year-old murder. Reprint.

Commander John Coffin suspects foul play when two officers investigating a money laundering scheme are found dead and launches into his own investigation with the help of his worldly wife. Reprint.

Suspecting that the deaths of Joe and Josie Macintosh at the St. Luke's Theater had not really been a double suicide, Commander John Coffin finds himself working with enigmatic Harry Trent, who believes his twin brother is the killer. Reprint.

After Prime Minister Richard Lavendar confesses that he helped bury one of his serial killer father's victims, Commander John Coffin finds himself investigating a murder that seems connected to the killings done by an infamous serial killer.

Following a terrorist bombing, the battered corpse of a woman is found in a house on Percy Street in the Second City of London. Her fingertips have been removed and her face made unrecognizable by a sadistic killer. The only clue to her identity is a handbag, and the owner of the handbag is Stella Pinero, the beloved actress wife of Chief Commander John Coffin. Several things complicate the investigation into the murder. Coffin refuses to believe that the remains could be Stella's. In addition, Coffin does not welcome the uncomfortable questions posed by Chief Superintendent Archie Young about the tempestuous Stella's personal life. And all the while the secretive Inspector Lodge of the Terrorist Squad harbors suspicions of his own.

A grim note next to the body of a murdered police officer, who was investigating internal police corruption, burdens Commander John Coffin with a difficult task that further complicates his investigation into a series of deaths of young children. Reprint.

Sometimes the door to the past opens gently—other times, with a terrible bang, and for John Coffin, it is the latter when a package marked with his initials is opened to reveal a woman’s severed arms and legs. Coffin’s own dark suspicion is that the limbs belong to someone with whom he had a brief affair during a rocky time in his marriage. Past ghosts or not, Coffin doggedly pursues the investigation even as an ominous spectre comes back to haunt him. When a second woman is found shot to death in her car, Coffin begins to suspect those closest to his wife, Stella Pinero, a famous actress who still manages to keep her own husband guessing at her secrets. As the Second City police force works to identify the first victim and make a connection to the second, unexpected events lead Coffin to the stunning unraveling of this bizarre crime.

1st edition 1st print Collins Crime 2000 hardcover near fine condition book near fine condition dw In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Coffin Knows the Answer by Gwendoline Butler released on Aug 25, 2004 is available now for purchase.