Best Selling Books by Peter Dickinson

In this brilliant crime novel by CWA Gold Dagger winner Peter Dickinson, a writer looks back on his past and discovers the memory of a murder that needs to be solved It’s been forty years since Paul Rogers spent a night at St. Aidan’s Preparatory School. When a biographer asks the now-middle-aged novelist about his youth, it triggers memories that Rogers thought he had lost forever. He begins writing about the summer of 1940, when the Nazis took Paris and his entire boarding school was evacuated to a country house in Devon. There the boys discovered a pastoral countryside whose woods held untold mysteries—one of which, Rogers realizes in hindsight, might have been a murder. To write about this long-forgotten crime, Rogers digs deep into his past, uncovering terrifying recollections that may or may not be real. Something gruesome happened that summer, but understanding it will force Rogers to clear the fog of memory and unravel its mysteries once and for all.

It''s 1968 and one communal house in West London, home to the last, desperate remnants of an Aboriginal tribe, echoes with drum-calls and unintelligible chants. And it reeks of blood''the animal blood used in divination rituals and the blood of the tribe''s murdered chief. Detective Jimmy Pibble specializes in the peculiar, but he''s never before had to play anthropologist. How do you solve a crime when you don''t speak the language and you don''t understand the community''s most basic assumptions''like what makes a woman different from a man, or how one tells the dead from those who are still among the living?

Master storytellers Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson, the team behind Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits, collaborate again to create five captivating tales incorporating the element of fire. In McKinley?s ?First Flight,? a boy and his pet foogit unexpectedly take a dangerous ride on a dragon, and her ?Hellhound? stars a mysterious dog as a key player in an eerie graveyard showdown. Dickinson introduces a young man who must defeat the creature threatening his clan in ?Fireworm,? a slave who saves his village with a fiery magic spell in ?Salamander Man,? and a girl whose new friend, the guardian of a mystical bird, is much older than he appears in ?Phoenix.? With time periods ranging from prehistoric to present day, and settings as varied as a graveyard, a medieval marketplace and a dragon academy, these stories are sure to intrigue and delight the authors? longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Detective Pibble returns in three more mysteries in the CWA Gold Dagger–winning series by a “master of the bizarre” (Louis Untermeyer). Fired by Scotland Yard, James Pibble continues to solve the weirdest and most difficult cases, testing his wit while traveling to new and strange locales. Sleep and His Brother: When Pibble arrives at McNair House after being discharged by Scotland Yard, he discovers children there with a rare disease called Cathypny, which renders them sleepy, fat, and gifted with telepathic powers. Detective Pibble suspects these children are being used as bait in an exploitative con game—and one may even be the target of an escaped killer obsessed with the supernatural. The Lizard in the Cup: Pibble has come to the island of Hyos to protect Greek tycoon Thanassi Thanatos from the mob after he muscles in on their territory. Rumor has it the crooks are eyeing Hyos for its booming drug-smuggling industry. The mystery deepens when Detective Pibble uncovers a monastery led by Fathers Polydore and Chrysostom, who may be the richest men on the island. But a myth about a lizard called the samimithi could hold the key . . . One Foot in the Grave: At Flycatchers, a well-to-do nursing home, Detective Pibble is mired in a listless existence—until he discovers a dead body on top of the water tower, one of several suspicious deaths. The subsequent arrival of a woman in black sets off a sinister chain of events, and before he knows it, Pibble is on the case.

A blind boy and his brother set out on a motorcycle in search of their ghost-hunting grandfather It all starts with the postman. Jake cannot see the mail, but he is an excellent listener, and he can tell by the sound the mail makes when it hits the floor that bad news is coming. At the top of the pile is a very thin letter rejecting Jake’s brother, Martin, from every college he applied to. Even worse, there is no news from their grandfather, an eccentric ghost hunter whose supernatural investigations have carried him into the wilds of northern England. Martin cashes in his college savings to buy a secondhand motorcycle, and the boys set out to find their grandfather. It is a trip that will change their lives forever. This ebook features an illustrated personal history of Peter Dickinson including rare images from the author’s collection.

Praise for Peter Dickinson''s mysteries: "A literary magician controlling an appar-ently inexhaustible supply of effects."—Penelope Lively For best-selling author Lady Margaret, the past is no longer a pleasant memory. Her first lover''s mysterious death and the seeming inevitability of her inheriting the family''s stately home are cast in new light by secrets unwillingly revisited. The first in a series of reprints of Peter Dickinson''s mysteries, this classic British mystery will win fans currently engrossed in Downton Ab-bey. Peter Dickinson has twice received the Crime Writers'' As-sociation''s Gold Dagger. He lives in England and is married to the novelist Robin McKinley.

At a future time in England when anyone knowledgeable about machines is severely punished as a witch, four children dare to aid in the escape of a "witch" left for dead.

While seeking the Ropemaker to restore the ancient magic that will protect their valley, Saranja, Maja, and Ribek must outwit twenty-four of the empire''s most powerful and evil magicians.

"I think Peter Dickinson is hands down the best stylist as a writer and the most interesting storyteller in my genre." —Sara Paretsky, author of Breakdown Praise for The Poison Oracle: "I have no idea if any of this talk and ac-tion is authentic, and I don''t care. Either way it''s marvellous."—Rex Stout "Intelligent, elegantly written . . . a thoroughly enjoyable read."—Sunday Times Praise for Peter Dickinson''s mysteries: "He is the true original, a superb writer who revitalises the traditions of the mystery genre . . . incapable of writing a trite or inelegant sentence . . . a mas-ter."—P. D. James "Consummate storytelling skill."—Peter Lovesey Take a medieval Arab kingdom, add a ruler who wants to update the kingdom''s educational facilities, include an English research psycholinguist (an Oxford classmate of the ruler) invited to pursue his work on animal communication, and then add a touch of chaos in Dinah, a chimpanzee who has begun to learn to form coherent sentences with plastic symbols. When a murder is committed in the oil-rich marshes, Dinah is the only witness, and Morris has to go into the marshes to dis-cover the truth. The Poison Oracle is a novel of its time that exposes in the everyday language people use humanity''s thinking and unthinking cruelties to one another and to the animals with whom we share this earth. Peter Dickinson has twice received the Crime Writers'' Association''s Gold Dagger. His novels include Death of a Unicorn, A Summer in the Twenties, and many more. He lives in England and is married to the novelist Robin McKinley.

In this evocative tale of suspense from CWA Gold Dagger winner Peter Dickinson, a British diplomat’s wife in Nigeria inadvertently precipitates a senseless tragedy, and six decades later, her son becomes caught up in a maelstrom of violent political corruption Filmmaker Nigel Jackland has come to northern Nigeria to work on a new project: a documentary based on the personal diary entries of his mother. Sixty years have passed since Betty Jackland first accompanied her husband, Ted, to this colonial African backwater, resolving to be a perfect helpmate and wife to Britain’s district officer in the emirate of Kiti. But Betty’s fascination with the local Kitawa tribe, innate sense of justice, and irrepressibly independent spirit mean she could never turn a blind eye to the suffering of oppressed women—particularly the abused wives of the ruling emir. She never imagined that her strong words and actions could have violent consequences in the shadow of Tefuga Hill—or that the echoes of the tragedy would resound dangerously in the life of her own son many years on. Linking two stories separated by more than half a century and relating them in alternating chapters, Tefuga is an enthralling, evocative, and suspenseful tale of corruption, imperialism, race, and murder. A master of both style and substance, Dickinson brilliantly re-creates times and places in stunning detail, transporting readers to an Africa so remarkably realistic they can almost feel the equatorial winds on their faces.

After she and Suth rescue four small children following an attack on Good Place about 200,000 years ago, Noli heeds the warnings of Moonhawk and leads the group to safety.

Three mysteries in the CWA Gold Dagger–winning series by a “master of the bizarre” (Louis Untermeyer). Scotland Yard detective James Pibble is known for accepting any case, no matter how strange. Taking him to every corner of England, his job throws him into the most curious circumstances. The Glass-Sided Ants’ Nest: Detective Pibble is on the case when the revered elder of a New Guinea tribe is bludgeoned to death. All the suspects—including a real estate agent, a professional escort, and an anthropologist who married into the tribe—have alibis. And Pibble’s only clue is an Edwardian penny. The Old English Peep Show: Pibble’s next case takes him to the World of Old England, a country house run as a theme park. When one of the servants at the estate hangs himself, Detective Pibble discovers not a suicide, but a bizarre set of circumstances that add up to foul play. The Sinful Stones: Nobel Prize–winning scientist and one of the first builders of the atomic bomb Sir Francis Francis summons Detective Pibble to an isolated island to find his stolen memoir. But is Francis senile? Was the manuscript really stolen? What’s the real reason he sent for Pibble? And why does the island’s religious sect want Francis to stay so much?

From the author of "Skeleton-In-Waiting" and "The Yellow Room Conspiracy. On her deathbed, an old woman rakes through the years of her life to attempt to learn the truth about a precious possession--one with a dangerous history--so she can die in the manner she has chosen.

Examines the history and theory of films adapted from Canadian literature through the lens of gender studies. This study offers readings of works by well-known Canadian authors such as Margaret Atwood, Marie-Claire Blais, and Michael Ondaatje, and by important Canadian filmmakers such as Mireille Dansereau, Claude Jutra, and Bruce McDonald.

In a bungled attempt to kidnap an ambassador''s son, four revolutionaries make hostages of a hundred children rehearsing an opera.

The Gold Dagger–winning author “outdoes himself” with this pair of “most unusual and original” mysteries set in an alternate twentieth-century British monarchy (Publishers Weekly). With two CWA Gold Dagger awards for his mystery novels and two Carnegie Medals for his children’s books, Peter Dickinson is one of the most acclaimed and beloved fiction authors in recent history. In this pair of mysteries featuring an imaginary royal family, and told from the perspective of Princess Louise—a precocious teenager and later a proud mother—Dickinson reaffirms his reputation as “one of the most versatile and inventive writers of mysteries” (Los Angeles Times). King and Joker: Princess Louise is bored at Buckingham Palace before someone starts playing pranks. But when one joke really kills, the teenage princess and her father, King Victor II, stop laughing and start sleuthing in this “exceptional” mystery (Newsweek). “Wry, witty, irresistible.” —Financial Times Skeleton-in-Waiting: Now a young mother, Princess Louise is on a case that takes her to Uzbekistan where a mysterious woman claims to be a Romanov royal relation. Kidnapping, conspiracy, scandal, and murder all play a part in this New York Times Notable Book, the “wonderful” follow-up to King and Joker (Financial Times). “Fast paced and enthralling as a good detective thriller should be but also a study of extraordinary social and psychological perception.” —The New York Times Book Review

People of the future recreate the Middle Ages by destroying Machines and by subjecting anyone found with a machine or a knowledge of mechanics to severe punishment or death.

When his grandfather has a stroke, Gavin tries everything to get through to him. He even asks the selkies, the seal people, for help.

Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger: Scotland Yard’s James Pibble puzzles over the murder of a pygmy tribesman in the middle of London in this “first class” mystery (The Times Literary Supplement). Oddball cases are James Pibble’s specialty. But the brutal bludgeoning of the revered elder of a New Guinea tribesman may be his strangest yet. The corpse, in striped pajamas, lies in the middle of a room completely absent of furniture. Seven women squat on the floorboards. One knits. Another sits cross-legged at his feet. They all chant incantations in a strange language. The murder weapon, a wooden balustrade ornament in the shape of an owl, could have been wielded by any of the myriad suspects Pibble meets at Flagg Terrace, the London residence where the Ku family currently lives. And the only clue seems to be an Edwardian penny. So who killed bearded, four-foot-tall Aaron Ku? Everyone seems to have an alibi, including a local real estate agent, a professional escort, and an anthropologist whose marriage into the tribe was forbidden. In a house where men and women live in separate quarters, Pibble must follow a hierarchy of primitive rituals and gender-role reversals to unmask a surprising killer. The Glass-Sided Ants’ Nest is the 1st book in the James Pibble Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Fully revised edition of Peter Dickinson''s acclaimed study of one of the great British composers of the twentieth century. Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989) was one of the leading British composers of the mid-twentieth century and his music has unique qualities which will ensure its survival far beyond transient fashions. Peter Dickinson knew Berkeley for more than thirty years and this much enlarged book places the composer in the context of his extended study with Nadia Boulanger, his friendship with Britten, and the achievement of an independent voice of remarkable distinction. The new book now benefits from interviews with Lady Berkeley, Michael Berkeley, Julian Bream, Colin Horsley, Sir John Manduell, Nicholas Maw, Malcolm Williamson and the late Basil Douglas, Desmond Shawe-Taylor and Norman del Mar. There are photographs, a full list of works, bibliographies and over a hundred musical examples. PETER DICKINSON is Head of Music at the Institute of United States Studies at the University of London and an Emeritus Professor of the Universities of Keele and London.

In this gripping novel by CWA Gold Dagger winner Peter Dickinson, the survivor of a manor-house crime delves into the past to solve a mystery At the elegant English manor known as Snailwood, tourists come daily to hear decades-old gossip about the second wife of the sixth earl. Zena was a remarkable young woman whose scandalous reputation has been dimmed neither by time nor by her bizarre death. In the 1930s, Zena was the star of a notorious party set whose members included playwrights, politicians, and Nazi sympathizers. They passed wild weekends at Snailwood, arguing about politics and drinking until dawn. At the center of their parties was the manor’s magnificent tower clock. The clock stopped long ago, but the darkness of its legacy continues to spread. When a workman offers to fix the clock for free, the only remaining survivor of the old days is forced to revisit her memories of Zena’s last mad party, when death came to Snailwood and Britain changed forever.

Dragons aren''t real ... or are they? This carefully constructed and beautifully illustrated case for the existence of dragons will convince even the skeptics.

Originally published in three separate volumes, this breathtaking epic fantasy from an award-winning author explores the relationship between man and machine. The moment the seal of an ancient tomb in Wales is accidentally broken, the Changes begin, and a brave few must struggle to put an end to the wellspring of chaos.

Lord Berners was one of the most colourful and flamboyant personalities of his day. This title offers a new documentary approach - interviews with leading figures and contemporaries who knew him and his work, set into context and complimented with much further information.

A Greek slave, his dancing bear, and an old holy man journey from Byzantium to rescue the slave''s young mistress from the Huns.

The antics of the practical joker who has invaded Buckingham Palace cease being funny when a corpse turns up in the throne room, and the thirteen-year-old Princess begins poking around long-buried family secrets.

Two lifelong lovers sort through their shared history of secrets and suspicions, dating back to World War II, to find the truth behind a fatal weekend that became a public scandal. By the author of Play Dead. 15,000 first printing. Tour.