Penguin reprint, published 1971.

Renowned scientist John Sinclair and his old school friend Richard, a celebrated composer, are enjoying a climbing expedition in the Scottish Highlands when Sinclair disappears without a trace for thirteen hours. When he resurfaces with no explanation for his disappearance, he has undergone an uncanny alteration: a birthmark on his back has vanished.

But stranger events are yet to come: things are normal enough in Britain, but in France it's 1917 and World War I is raging, Greece is in the Golden Age of Pericles, America seems to have reverted to the 18th century, and Russia and China are thousands of years in the future. Against this macabre backdrop of coexisting time spheres, the two young men risk their lives to unravel the truth.

Condition grading: Good. Minor wear to cover edges. Minor wear to faded spine. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1947.

The Gilt Kid details the exploits of the titular (anti)hero, a street-hardened young spiv who believes that ‘only saps work’, a philosophy that inevitably leads him into a life of crime. Newly released from prison, he variously meets with fellow criminals, gets drunk, consorts with prostitutes and, in the dramatic centrepiece of the novel, takes part in a daring robbery. Author James Curtis brilliantly captures the excitement of 1930s London as he delves into the sleazy glamour of the underworld web, a tangle of low-level criminals, prostitutes and chancers.

Condition grading: Very Good. Owner address sticker to inside front cover. Light foxing to both covers. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1943.

Eleven short stories with a Scottish setting. The first, The Coasts of Normandy by George Blake, is the story of a tragedy which befell the narrator’s childhood friend and its effect on the child’s mother as reflected through the prism of a chance encounter with a stranger many years later on the coast of Normandy.

Condition grading: Good Minus. Wear to bottom left section of front cover. Very light creases to top right section of front cover. Light foxing to both covers. Wear to spine. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

A bundle of novels from the pen of Edmund Crispin, featuring Professor Gervase Fen--the eccentric Oxford don with a knack for solving "impossible" crimes.

Holy Disorders - reprinted, 1960
Fen is in Tolnbridge, where he is happily bounding around with a butterfly net until the cathedral organist is murdered, giving him the chance to play sleuth. The man didn't have an enemy in the world, and even his music was inoffensive: Could he have fallen afoul of a nest of German spies or of the local coven of witches, ominously rumored to have been practicing since the 17th century?

The Moving Toyshop - reprinted, 1960
It is late at night when poet Cadogan stumbles on the dead body of an old lady in an Oxford toyshop. The following morning, the toyshop has vanished and in its place is a grocery store. Nobody, not even the police, seem surprised…

Buried for Pleasure - reprinted, 1961
When young actress Gloria Scott throws herself from Waterloo Bridge, the news sends shockwaves through her film studio. Luckily Fen is in London to investigate. But when someone acts fast to cover up any evidence – removing all signs of Ms Scott’s identity from her apartment and poisoning a suspicious cameraman – the truth is hard to find…

Frequent Hearses - reprinted, 1960
At the offices of the Hatton Garden diamond merchant Duke and Peabody, the body of old Mr Gething is discovered beside a now-empty safe. With multiple suspects, the robbery and murder is clearly the work of a master criminal, and requires a master detective to solve it. Meticulous as ever, Inspector French of Scotland Yard embarks on an investigation that takes him from the streets of London to Holland, France and Spain, and finally to a ship bound for South America…

All of these books are originals, published by Penguin Books. All books are Fair overall condition. There may be corner folds, inscriptions, tears, signs of wear etc. inside some of these books not shown in photographs. The photographs do form part of the description and the condition is reflected in the price.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1948.

Roger Ackroyd was a man who knew too much. He knew the woman he loved had poisoned her first husband. He knew someone was blackmailing her – and now he knew she had taken her own life with a drug overdose. Soon the evening post would let him know who the mystery blackmailer was. But Ackroyd was dead before he’d finished reading it – stabbed through the neck where he sat in the study.

Condition grading: Good Minus. Foxing to both covers. Some wear to edges of tanned spine. Light circular crease to top right corner of front cover. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1948.

Poirot had been present when Jane bragged of her plan to ‘get rid of’ her estranged husband. Now the monstrous man was dead. And yet the great Belgian detective couldn’t help feeling that he was being taken for a ride. After all, how could Jane have stabbed Lord Edgware to death in his library at exactly the same time she was seen dining with friends? And what could be her motive now that the aristocrat had finally granted her a divorce?

Condition grading: Good. Some wear to grubby spine. Small light stain to rear cover. Very light foxing in some places on front cover. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1953.

It’s seven in the morning. The Bantrys wake to find the body of a young woman in their library. She is wearing evening dress and heavy make-up, which is now smeared across her cheeks. But who is she? How did she get there? And what is the connection with another dead girl, whose charred remains are later discovered in an abandoned quarry? The respectable Bantrys invite Miss Marple to solve the mystery… before tongues start to wag.

Condition grading: Fair. Some foxing to both covers. Wear to spine ends and edges. Some wear to cover edges. Loss to top right corner of front cover. Pencil name to first inside page. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.

Penguin 1st Edition, published 1953.

Before retirement, Poirot takes on the twelve labours of his namesake, each one a new mystery to be solved across Europe.

Condition grading: Fair. Annotations to inside front cover and first page (see photo). Taped tear to rear cover (see photo). Light creases to front cover. Some wear and creasing to spine. Binding tight. The photographs form part of the description.