Features

CIS: The lasting legacy of The Moonstone

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Although its claim to be as the first detective story in the English language is often disputed by Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue (published more than 25 years earlier), The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins is certainly the first full-length novel where a detective systematically examines clues and follows leads. It has…
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Features

A classic revisited: The Big Bow Mystery

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The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill wasn’t the first locked room mystery ever published. That accolade goes to Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, The Murders in the Rue Morgue in 1841. However the 1892 book is widely regarded as the first full length novel…
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iBookKindlePrintReviews

No Man’s Nightingale by Ruth Rendell

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In 2014 Ruth Rendell will celebrate 50 years as a published author of ingenious procedurals and disquieting psychological crime, and her debut novel, From Doon with Death, will be reissued to mark the anniversary. Baroness Rendell of Babergh remains remarkably prolific at the age of…
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iBookKindlePrintReviews

Mayhem

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Written by Sarah Pinborough — As a setting Victorian London seems to be a mainstay in crime fiction. It will always of course be associated with that most famous of detectives, Sherlock Holmes, but there is also Sexton Blake, Dickens’ Bleak House, and The Moonstone…
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AudiobookFeatures

Five free classic crime audiobooks

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Here at CFL we’re always keen to unearth hidden gems and our regular readers may remember that back in September we reported on five free classic crime reads that are legally available to download. Now if you happen to be an audiobook fan, we think…
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