Bücher von Christopher Bush

"JAAAAKE!" Harriet shouted upstairs to Jake, "I'm packing your lunch this week, it's delicious!" But will Jake's lunch be delicious..? Jake is a mischievous older brother and Harriet is his unwitting little sister. Jake loves to see his sister squirm and is enjoying every minute of it. However, Harriet has had enough of Jake's constant pranks. Can she pull off the biggest surprise yet and teach Jake a real lesson?

I was thinking of offering Godfrey Prial some sort of partnership. I'm pretty sure now of at least two thingsthat he liked me, and that he'd have accepted. If he'd lived.When Ludovic Travers took over Bill Ellice's Broad Street Detective Agency, he was glad to welcome back from war service the Agency's star operative, Godfrey Prial. But when something happened to Prial whilst holidaying in an East Anglian town, Travers decided that a case was one he must tackle on his own. The trail led him to a year-old murder, the violent death of a retired jeweller, the theft of some particularly valuable diamonds, to a mad old man and to a young lady who didn't somehow ring true. The Case of the Corner Cottage shows Christopher Bush at his most astute and entertaining.The Case of the Corner Cottage was originally published in 1951. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

';Famous Spiritualist Dead . . . Gun Found in Flat'In The Case of the Happy Medium Ludovic Travers is at the top of his considerable form. When Ludovic and his wife set out to attend a seance, they are in a mood of amiable scepticism. But the atmosphere swiftly changes when Travers is plunged headlong into a case where he, and Scotland Yard supremo George Wharton, must tussle with murder, suicide and traffickers in forbidden goods. There is action, dry humour, and a more than fair chance for the armchair detective to join in the hunt.The Case of the Happy Medium was originally published in 1952. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Bush gets better and better . . . And Ludovic Travers is becoming one of our favourite sleuths' San Francisco Chronicle

He was deader than last year's hit-song. At the side of the skull was where the bullet had done its work.Four detectives? Surely things must have come to quite a pass if the well-tried team of Ludovic Travers and George Wharton has to be doubled in order to crack even the most baffling case. Yet when sudden death comes to the head of a big firm of grocers in the City, our old friends do find both help and hindrance in unexpected quarters.The Case of the Fourth Detective was originally published in 1951. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

';At first it may seem an astounding coincidence that two members of a family should have considered it necessary to ask for the services of the same detective agency. I think I can prove otherwise, and even if I can't, the facts remain. Alice Stonhill and Peter Wesslake did precisely what I have said, and what's more . . .'So Ludovic Travers says at the opening of a case in which he joins with Bill Ellice and Superintendent George Wharton to solve the mystery of a novelist, his two wives, and a murder that happened contrary to expectationsnot to mention the identity of the Happy Warrior. This is one of Christopher Bush's crispest brain-teasers told in the smooth and friendly Travers manner loved by the author's devotees.The Case of the Happy Warrior was originally published in 1950. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Christopher Bush is one of the good ones. Although he has written so many mysteries, the strange thing is that they all sound fresh, wide-eyed and dewy, as if he had written hardly any.' New York Herald Tribune

';Murder's my job, not parish politics.'Ludovic Travers, the unofficial expert of Scotland Yard, pairs with his friend, Superintendent Wharton, to dig deeply into an East Anglian murder. Interwoven are the thefts of antique rugs and pictures from old churches, and in putting together the facts and defining the motives, Travers comes up with the answerall i's dotted and t's crossed in the solution to a diabolical and absorbing mystery.The Case of the Purloined Picture was originally published in 1949. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';First class mystery reading. A good, well planned plot and even better told.' Minneapolis Tribune

The murderer was clever and the planning was perfect. There was apparently nothing that had been overlooked and nothing that didn’t go to plan. There was nothing that could be called a slip. Why then was the murderer caught?Too few answers chasing too many questions is the problem facing Ludovic Travers and Superintendent George Wharton when a famous actress is murdered. The crime-investigator always looks for unusual circumstances, departures from customary routines. Travers’ trouble is that in the odd-behaviour department he finds himself confronted by a definite surfeit of riches. . . .The Case of the Seven Bells was originally published in 1949. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.“Has all the elements of mounting suspense. . . . not only well-plotted but told with the skill in depicting atmosphere and character that readers have learned to expect from Mr. Bush.” Knoxville News-Sentinel

';I have an idea that a certain man is going to commit murder. He told me soin so many words.'If Ludovic Travers hadn't been so sure the man was serious, he might not have gone snooping. If he hadn't kept his eyes peeled, he might have noticed what happened to the housekeeper's hair. It is even less likely he would have uncovered those dark deeds that took place in France, deeds that led to three violent deaths.The Case of the Housekeeper's Hair was originally published in 1948. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Christopher Bush is one of the good ones. Although he has written so many mysteries, the strange thing is that they all sound fresh, wide-eyed and dewy, as if he had written hardly any.' New York Herald Tribune

It was Murder Eve, and I was the last person in Sandbeach to suspect it.Ludovic Travers certainly isn't anticipating anything remotely resembling murder, least of all his own. But when he is invited to a strange hotel, someone does turns up murdered, and in a most peculiar way. Travers, and his Scotland Yard supremo Superintendent Wharton, are not officially connected with the case, but still co-operate with the local police. The solution will be as ingenious as the mystery is baffling.The Case of the Haven Hotel was originally published in 1948. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Christopher Bush is one of the good ones. Although he has written so many mysteries, the strange thing is that they all sound fresh, wide-eyed and dewy, as if he had written hardly any.' New York Herald Tribune

What was I to be this time? A Commandant again of a Prisoner of War Camp? Was I to get a sedentary job at the War Office itself, and begin the slow process of fossilisation? Was I due for some wholly new job of which the rank and file had never even heard? As it turned out, I most certainly was.Ludovic Travers reports to room 299 of the War Office to receive new orders. He is sent up to Derbyshire to be a training officer for the local Home Guard, and to be plunged headlong into a new wartime mystery. It is not long before he meets the ';fighting soldier' of the title, a tough veteran of the Spanish Civil War and dozens of other bloody battlefields.But when chewing-gum is discovered wedged into the barrel of a bomb launcher, it is obvious there's an individualor more than onein the camp out to make sure someone doesn't live to fight another day. And it's not long before their diabolical intent leads to explosive murder. Once again, it will be down to Travers's quick wits to make sense of it and bring the guilty to justicewith able support from George Wharton of Scotland Yard.The Case of the Fighting Soldier was originally published in 1942. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

The curtain had been drawn back and there was the bed. Wharton and a stranger were standing by it, and when Wharton moved to meet me, I saw on the bed the body of Penelope Craye.';She's dead,' I said.Wharton merely nodded.Once again, we meet our old friend Ludovic Traversnow Major Travers, and commandant of Camp 55 in England during World War Two. Nearby lives the rather mysterious Colonel Brendemysterious because he is in possession of certain fact relating to aerial defence.Travers's suspicions that all is not well are intensified when Penelope, the colonel's flashy secretary, is murdered. Then George Wharton appears on the scenethe Scotland Yard man who has already solved some strange mysteries. In the rush of exciting events which follow, Travers plays a major part in solving the baffling happenings. Christopher Bush, Ludovic Travers, and George Whartonat their best!The Case of the Kidnapped Colonel was originally published in 1942. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Curiosity is whetted by the aptness and neatness of his plots. . . All kinds of whys and wherefores could plainly be devised, but it would be hard to imagine any so satisfying as Mr. Bush's.' Times Literary Supplement';Well written, supplied with good characters, its setting and military incidentals realistic . . . in short, a good specimen of detective-story fitted to war-time England.' Sunday Times';No wonder Ludovic Travers is puzzled, and so will be the reader in this amusing variety of the orthodox spy story.' Guardian

';';This is something desperately secret,' she said. ';Something I want you to do for me . . . But I can't tell you now. It's something I'm frightened about.'Ludovic Travers, consulting specialist for Scotland Yard, receives two invitations at once to visit Beechingford. One comes from Cuthbert Daine, his literary agent. Daine is an important and busy man, and it seems strange that he would want to see Travers personally about a matter that might have been handled by mail. The other invitation comes from Austin Chaice, the successful mystery writer. He is, he says, preparing a manual for detective story writers, and needs advice on certain points.The puzzlement aroused in Travers's mind by these two letters is crystallized by a half-hysterical telephone call from Chaice's attractive wife.Travers is prepared to find a delicate and involved situation at Beechingfordbut not prepared for the murder of his host!The Case of the Missing Men was originally published in 1946. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

It wasn't I who discovered the body. I want to make that perfectly clear, if only for the benefit of a couple of club acquaintances of mine.Ludovic Travers, special investigator for Scotland Yard, commits murder? Nobut at the end of this novel you will understand why he might claim to have done so.Sir William Pelle has become a missing person, and Superintendent Wharton of the Yard is prioritizing his recovery. But when Pelle is found murdered, there are serious questions to answer. Was the well-to-do jewellery-handler the victim of a well-planned robbery? And why was the corpse partly covered in sugar?Several of the enigmatic figures formerly surrounding the deceased are going to repay close scrutiny; as is the importance of the army corporal who keeps weaving in and out of the story. It will take all Travers's customary acuity to bring the case to a successful conclusionand eventually to explain his assertion of committing murder himself.The Case of the Corporal's Leave was originally published in 1945. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

';It's about a murder. . . . Here. Five Oaks, they call it. . . . A man, he's murdered. . . . Oh, no, it isn't a joke. I wish it was. . . . I said I wished it was. . . . You'll send someone at once?'Ludovic Travers, still in the army, is obliged to combine his military duties with being an invaluable private sleuth on behalf of Scotland Yard. Now Inspector Wharton has asked Ludo to track down a man in a village rife with blackmail and skulduggery. A problem soon arises howevermurder, and that of the very man Travers was sent to find. Travers eventually faces a moral quandary about what to conceal and what to reveal about his discoverieswhich could lead to someone's execution.This classic English village murder mystery involves a large number of suspects, and a breathtaking series of twists, some if not all involving the Chief Constable's wifethe novel's ';platinum blonde'.The Case of the Platinum Blonde was originally published in 1944. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Readers who have asked ';Why?' impatiently at the beginning of this book will be twice shy.' Times Literary Supplement

';Is he bad, sir?'';Worse than that,' I said. ';In fact, he's dead.'1943. Ludovic Travers, consulting specialist for Scotland Yard, is on a fortnight's well-earned leave in London from his military posting. Anticipating relaxation, he is instead thrown into a fresh mystery by a letter from one Peter Worrack, the owner of a genteel gambling club.Worrack's business partner, Georgina, has disappeared. Or has she? Ludo rapidly has doubts, but the reasons for any deception remain obscure until he takes on the case, and finds that the clues he'll need to consider include the jokes of a radio comedian, a handful of jaded club-goers, the novelty of a mouse in the wainscotingand someone desperate enough to commit murder most foul.The Case of the Running Mouse was originally published in 1944. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

';Good God!' I was staring like a lunatic. ';Murdered, you say? When?'';Less than half an hour ago, sir.'TRAVERS: ';I don't know why I should call this case that of the Magic Mirror for there's nothing in it reminiscent of ';Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' even if the mirror did do a certain amount of magical revelation.';As a matter of fact the title is my obstinate own. In the first place, of the many murder cases with which I have been officially connected, this one which I am about to relate was easily the most unusual. On the face of it one could at first hardly call it a case at all, for its solution presented no difficulties. Then curious doubts arose, and the obvious was far from what it seemed, and finally the whole thing seemed incapable of any solution at all. Then when the solution did come, it was so absurdly simple that one doubted one's sanity for not having seen it from the very first.'The Case of the Magic Mirror was originally published in 1943. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

The tea had brought a pleasant warmth and Travers snuggled down in bed. Once more he was busy with something that had vastly cheered him of latea perfect scheme for the murder of Stirrop.There were difficulties from the first day the blustering and objectionable Major Stirrop set foot in the Prisoner-of-War camp. Captain Ludovic Travers, his adjutant, saw troubledire troublelooming ever nearer. For there was something sinister about the camp, and there were strange happenings among the prisoners. One day, when Travers was making his count, there was one prisoner too many; the next the numbers tallied rightlyonly to be wrong again within an hour or two.An escape plan is uncovered, and then Major Stirrop was murdered. And not only the Majorfor another strange death is later brought to light. Travers will join forces once more with his old friend Superintendent George Wharton to get to the bottom of this mystery, one of Christopher Bush's most intriguing and thrilling.The Case of the Murdered Major was originally published in 1941. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Great is the gain to any tale when the author is able to provide a novel and interesting environment described with evident knowledge.' Guardian

An attendant had come in with the cage. He stooped and held the rope taut. The cage door was opened, Jules called from high in the roof and at once the rat began to climb. Then something went wrong. All at once Auguste scampered down and shot back into his cage.When Ludovic Travers arrives in the South of France to say a few well-chosen words to his wife's shady relative, Gustave Rionne, he finds them unnecessary: a knife-thrust a few minutes before had put an end to Rionne's career.Also down on the Riviera, on business connected with the notorious murderer Bariche, is Inspector Gallois of the Srete. Joining forces, they are soon confronted with a second even more baffling murder. What is the connection, if any, between the two crimes? Who are the masked trapezists in the circus, and what is the significance of their performing rat? The car smashwas it deliberate? Had Madame Perthus been Letoque's lover? Ludovic Travers has been involved in some curious cases but none so strange and absorbing as that of the Climbing Rat.The Case of the Climbing Rat was originally published in 1940. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

As Travers's finger touched the dead hand, he felt the warmth, and wondered if the man were still alive. Then he saw the knife that stuck sideways in the ribs.It was three years after Ludovic Travers had acquired a painting by the famous contemporary French artist, Henri Larne, that a mysterious art dealer named Braque turned up, showed great interest in the picture, and invited Travers to visit him in Paris. But all Travers saw of Braque in Paris was his dead body: a knifealmost warm from the murderer's handwas stuck in his ribs.Travers and his old friend Inspector Gallois soon found some very pertinent questions to answer. What was Braque's ';gold mine'? Why had he been so interested in paintings by Larne? What were his relations with Pierre Larne, and with Elise, the model? But not until Travers suddenly realised the significance of the flying donkey was the murderer's astonishing identity revealed.The Case of the Flying Donkey was originally published in 1939. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

';You needn't look impatient, sir. He'll be finished with you long before dinner.E Who has murdered the beautiful Sonia Vorge in her bridal bed? Why is the sinisterly looped rope hanging from the oak-beam? And what has the ghost of Montage Hall to do with it all? These are the problems confronting Ludovic Travers, and he rapidly finds that there is much more in this than meets the eyeand that there are things even Superintendent Wharton must not be told.Belgian hares, missing masterpieces, the mysterious man from OdessaTravers, with methods as unorthodox as they are brilliant, finally sees their significance and solves the case.The Case of the Hanging Rope was originally published in 1937. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.Travers: ';As for my methods of crime detectionwell, I haven't any. For that my only tool is a brain that has been called agile, sharpened on crosswords rather than chess.'

Old Hunt slithered in the most amazing way and then fell to the floor. He lay between the seats, face upwards.Ludovic Travers is on his way by train from Toulon to Marignac. Along for the ride are several suspicious characters, two of whom die en route. Although the murders seem at first unrelated, Travers is able to prove the connection between the two, while diverting the eye of official suspicion from himself. After Travers learns that one of the victim's country house has been burgled soon after the murderous act, the inquisitive sleuth decides to look into the case himself when he returns to England. Soon Travers, his Isotta now replaced with a Bentley, is working in tandem with Superintendent Wharton to solve one of the strangest cases which he has yet encountered. It is one in which some of the darkest of human impulses are exposed, and a twist is guaranteed in the tail.The Case of the Three Strange Faces was originally published in 1933. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

';Let us know when you're dead!'Ludovic Travers had known it was a publicity stunt, all that business about the anonymous threatening letters. He expected a hoax but what he found was two men lying dead on the floor of Crewe's bedroom. To be confronted with murder at eight in the morning was no joke. Norris, the quiet, steady Inspector of Scotland Yard, certainly didn't think so, although during the weeks he and Travers sought to puzzle it all out, he many times remarked, ';It was on April Fool's Day, don't forget that.' This is one of Bush's masterpieces an intricate and baffling country house murder mystery.The Case of the April Fools was originally published in 1933. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

Travers looked down at the face. On the collar was a red patch and a long streak. Across the throat was a gash.Two rival London newspaper tycoons are at daggers drawn. But when Sir William Griffith's corpse turns up in a hamper, his throat cut from ear to ear, the enmity appears to turned deadly. Or is it instead a case of domestic terrorism? Superintendent Wharton of the Yard brings Ludovic Travers into the case and together they investigate a gallery of additional suspects: explorer Tim Griffiths; Sir William's financial secretary, Bland, and his wife; local vicar Reverend Cross; an archetypally sinister butler and an intrusive crime reporter, who always seems to find himself in the thick of a crime scene. Wharton and Travers come to believe they have identified their murderer but how can they break a cast-iron alibi?Cut Throat was originally published in 1932. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.