• The much-revered crime writers G.D.H & Margaret Cole’s first-ever crime novel back in print for the first time in almost a century. • ‘Inspired… will no doubt have a wide circulation’ NEW YORK TIMES. • ‘A first-class detective story’ THE SPECTATOR. • Includes a complete bibliography of the Coles’ crime novels. • Includes all the original illustrations, critical to the plot. ABOUT 'THE BROOKLYN MURDERS': The setting is the London mansion and nearby theatre belonging to Sir Vernon Brooklyn, the famed theatrical impresario. On the night of his birthday he announces a new will – and two dead bodies are discovered the next day. The clues point to the conclusion that each man killed the other – a physical impossibility as the two victims lie not together, but apart. The discovery of a heavy club at the scene of the crimes points to Sir Vernon’s wastrel brother, Walter, as the murderer. Determined to prove Walter’s innocence, Joan Cowper his estranged stepdaughter and her lover, Robert Ellery, set out to establish his movements. Meanwhile, Superintendent Henry Wilson of Scotland Yard is called in to officially investigate… ABOUT THE G.D.H. and Margaret Cole were a husband and wife detective fiction writing duo who wrote over thirty novels between 1923 and the early 1940s. Much admired at the time (‘The collaborating Coles, have long been known as writers of skilfully constructed detective tales’ NEW YORK TIMES; ‘Among the most remarkable and efficient of English detective story writers’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT), their success is all the more remarkable because they both led sterling careers in addition to their prodigious crime-writing output; George as an Oxford University economist and Margaret as a socialist politician. Their best-known character, Superintendent Wilson, starred in twenty-three novels. Originally a conscientious Scotland Yarder, Wilson is eventually forcibly retired into private practice after catching-out an ex-Home Secretary. Among their other literary creations are medic turned private detective, Dr Ben Tancred, the prickly and difficult Inspector Tom Fairford and the gentle, old-lady sleuth, Mrs Warrender. G.D.H. Cole died in 1959 and Margaret in 1980. PRAISE FOR G.D.H & MARGARET ‘Any mystery story by the Coles is sure to be worth while’ NEW YORK TIMES; ‘Highly recommended to readers who like a good, practical mystery neatly and entertainingly recorded’ CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE; ‘I enjoy all Mr and Mrs Cole’s stories’ THE SUNDAY TIMES; ‘Mr and Mrs Cole are deservedly noted for their detective stories’ THE SCOTSMAN; ‘A really entertaining yarn’ NEW YORK TRIBUNE; ‘Few crime experts are so consistently good as are the two Coles’ EVENING NEWS; ‘These famous authors have achieved a flawless technique’ COUNTRY LIFE; ‘A Cole story is always a first-class story’ ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS; ‘Well-written and carefully planned… will please the most fastidious devotee of mystery stories’ BOSTON TRANSCRIPT.

Hugh Radlett was one of the richest men in the United States. After a breach with his wife he disappeared, and was heard nothing of for several years. Then he turned up again in London, coming from Russia, where, with his partner, John Pasquett, he had fixed up a great mining commission with the Soviet Government. The morning after his arrival his suite at the hotel is found in disorder, with all the signs of a violent struggle. An eye-witness, discovered under curious circumstances, deposes to having seen the murderer and Radlett’s dead body. But the body cannot be found, and the man suspected of the crime, a Russian named Rosenbaum, has left before the discovery with a heavy trunk. How did Hugh Radlett die, and what has become of his body? That is the problem Mr. Cole sets his reader to solve.

Solve the mystery along with the detective. In the US the book was released as The Berkshire Mystery,

Excerpt from Death in the Quarry Nothing of the sort. By the way, Everard broke off to observe, what are we going up here for? It looks as if it would be much nicer to keep over to the left, where those pines are, and cross the ridge. We ought to come down to the Severn that way, I should think. Where's the map?

extremely rare,very good condition

In this mystery the plot centers around two households - the Fred Sackvilles of Birmingham and the Alfred Sackvilles of Brondesbury. How do they fit into the sudden death of John Ainsworth, estranged brother of Bertha Sackville? There seems little doubt that Alfred Sackville was on hand when Ainsworth died. But did he kill him, and if so, why? Alfred cannot be found to be questioned, and his mysterious disappearance brings added complications. In Fred Sackville and his wife Bertha; Josephine, Alfred's wife; Inspector Tom Fairford; and the inimitable Miss Wishe the authors have created finely drawn characters made real by plenty of good, natural dialogue. The plot is ingenious and the solution surprising. And apart from the mystery, Mr. and Mrs. Cole have given us a satirical glimpse of life as it is lived in a high-class quarter of Birmingham, and in a shabby-genteel house in a respectable London suburb. The story is rich in observation of character, and the murderer turns out to be a gentleman with a strong sense of humor.