Why the warning about water? Or rather why any warning at all?Miss Venables, a rich and kindly old lady, is the recipient of several threatening letters. Her young companion, Sarah MacNeil, wonders who can possibly bear a grudge against her employer, and energetically endeavours to find out who is threatening her. Together they set out for France, but just on the point of departure they receive a shattering communication which reads: 'Go to France if you like, but once there, keep away from water.' In this clever detective story Mrs. Campbell once more proves herself an expert purveyor of thrills.Keep Away From Water! was originally published in 1935. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."She could not be unexciting if she tried" Times Literary Supplement

"I may tell you it's a matter of murder."What did Caroline Bundy keep in the alligator bag?Why was the key missing from around the dead woman's neck?Did Caroline Bundy really give the pearl necklace to Natasha, or-?What was the "medicine" that Tilbury gave Miss Bundy?What were the contents of the paper that disappeared from the library?How do these clues answer the question-WHO KILLED CAROLINE BUNDY?The Murder of Caroline Bundy was originally published in 1933. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."She could not be unexciting if she tried" Times Literary Supplement

Up and up crept the weight. Its touch was cold and scaly; she shuddered at the contact. At the same dreadful moment she realised what the Thing was.Esther Rowe, a Canadian, is on holiday in Cannes. She decides to stay on, and seeks nursing employment with the enigmatic and elusive Dr. Gregory Santorius. She finds herself caring for the ageing invalid Sir Charles Clifford, and meets various members of his family, some nice-some less so.Certain suspicious events seem to indicate that someone wants Sir Charles out of the way-after all, there's a will to be considered. When Sir Charles meets his demise, it appears that the causes of death are natural. Edith isn't so sure-and finds herself caught up in murderous machinations. But will she have an ally to protect her and help her solve this macabre mystery-and escape death herself?Juggernaut, Alice Campbell's first crime novel, was originally published in 1928, and later made into a film starring Boris Karloff....

"So Jeanne has a lover," she concluded with a touch of amused wonder. "But what a lover!"Somehow the creature had suggested an undertaker.Alone in Paris after arriving from America, Catherine West finds herself swiftly and dangerously involved in the mysterious case of her cousin, Madame Germaine Bender. Catherine has received a letter from one of Mme Bender's close friends, urging her to come to Paris for reasons unspecified but pressing. When she reaches Mme Bender's house things go from merely intriguing to downright eerie. The servants are off-hand to the point of impertinence, and Mme Bender herself is like a ghost . . .Also in Paris is Geoffrey Macadam, an English lawyer, and Catherine and he join forces, trying to penetrate the mystery of what is happening-and why. Atmosphere, suspense, a touch of horror give this highly coloured novel of strange characters and exciting events a quality that is all Alice Campbell's own.Spiderweb was originally...

Clare-her Clare-was gone.Mystery in Paris! A disappearance as surprising and baffling as if it had been done by magic. A young girl, barely fifteen, beautiful yet shy and under constant protection, disappears in the one moment that is offered. Between the click of a garden gate and the opening of a door. Fifteen seconds! The quiet dispatch of the affair was its most appalling feature. No struggle, no outcry. She had vanished into the thin air with a finality that shocked and puzzled. As the story unfolds a note of sinister intrigue enters in and violence heightens the plot.Charnwood, the Englishman who loves the girl's mother, works in the dark, as do the Paris police. But the key to the solution lies close to all the characters in the story. This is a fascinating tale of disappearance, murder and adventure-a thriller even for calloused students of crime.The Click of the Gate was originally published in 1932. This new edition features an introduction by...

It was Margaret Fairlamb-still warm, but stone-dead.Margaret Fairlamb, celebrated actress, had been a popular and genuinely loved figure in the world of the theatre. Her death at the hands of an unknown, brutal assailant was a calamity fraught with horror not only to her family and friends, but to a wide public as well. Every known fact pointed to robbery as the motive. What other belief was possible when the victim had not an enemy in the world, and when the handbag taken from her had contained close on £100 in addition to valuable jewellery? Her death, following as it did the equally mysterious demise of her friend and fellow actress Rose Walsh, was a first-class sensation, but it was only the prelude to a story that for sheer drama outclassed any of the plots that had made her famous.Death Framed in Silver was originally published in 1937. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."She could not be unexciting if...

"The only thing plain to me is that you're determined to shield that girl-that murderess."Dodo Quarles liked to live fast. The parties in her Paris apartment were events to be remembered. Dodo, not yet twenty-one, could always be relied upon to supply a new thrill for her jaded guests. On this occasion, she had surpassed herself. Each guest had partaken of a rare dish-an Indian sweet which concealed a drug reputed to induce slumber and evocative dreams. But later that evening it emerged that murder was walking among them . . . and Dodo was stabbed to death.Desire to Kill was originally published in 1934. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."She could not be unexciting if she tried" Times Literary Supplement

"Her maid found her this morning. She was lying across the bed, strangled."Young Virginia Carew is making a trip to England when she encounters old friend Glenn Hillier-strangely altered from the last time they met. Glenn is besotted with a glamorous middle-aged lady, with whom he's been staying in the blissful English countryside. It isn't long before Virginia too is a guest of the family, but there are snakes in this garden of Eden-snakes at first entangled in jealousy; then blackmail; finally murder.In the events which follow, Glenn disappears, suspected by some of suicide. Virginia finds her world up-ended as events take an ever darker turn. It'll be up the intrepid young American to stay one step ahead of the police, and finish the case before the deadly water weed pulls her down . . .Water Weed was originally published in 1929. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."She could not be unexciting if she...

"How would you feel if your own flesh-and-blood suddenly developed into a fiend who wants to murder another person you're fond of?"Flying Blind has nothing to do with aviation.The title is used metaphorically to describe a situation in which daily, even hourly, calamity threatens through a fog of mystery. The fog enfolds the characters in the story; blinding them to their position; blotting out the truth; making every move a danger; effacing, with terrifying completeness, the familiar facts of ordinary existence. Through this fog Tommy Rostetter, free-lance journalist, gropes his way. It leads him from a smart hat-shop in Mayfair to a sleepy Sussex village, and finally, after a night race with death, to a dark lonely waste of Wiltshire downland. And not until the very last moment are the factors in the series of murders sorted out. "Here is," as a critic has written of Alice Campbell's work, "detective writing par excellence."Flying Blind was originally...