The Peter Blair Mysteries
8 total works
Old Mr Quenenden seems not to have an enemy in the world: having retired to a cottage in Berkshire, he leads an idyllic life breeding tropical plants. Which is why it comes as a complete shock when his body is discovered in his greenhouse - murdered. In London, Peter Blair is hard at work on his own investigation into top-level blackmail in the City, but he quickly realises that the two cases have more in common than meets the eye. A complex botanical clue means Peter must dig deep to stand a chance of solving the crime - but do the answers lie on home soil after all? Wonderfully crafted yet grippingly tense, Death in the Greenhouse is a vintage J.R.L. Anderson mystery.
When the deputy chairman of a world-leading oil company gets kidnapped in Hamburg, Peter Blair is urgently called in to lead the rescue mission. The captured Dr Braunschweig is a wealthy and powerful man, and a sizeable ransom demand seems certain. So it seems very strange when all the kidnappers desire in exchange for their hostage is a certain 17th Century Arctic map. But when the map is suddenly reported missing from its museum in Cambridge, it becomes clear there is much more at stake than a valuable relic. And with news that an oil expert has been murdered in the Arctic, an old map from the past threatens to have global consequences for the future... Death in a High Latitude is the final mystery starring the marvellous Peter Blair - and J.R.L. Anderson has saved his best investigation till last.
When a man's body is found on the banks of the Thames with no means of identification, the police enquiry quickly stalls. But Peter Blair has never been one for leaving a case unsolved. And when the wealthy chairman of a London shipping company mysteriously goes missing - along with an enormous unauthorised loan - Peter realises that there's more to this death than meets the eye.All the clues point towards some deeply suspect shipping activity, sending Peter running to the Essex coast - but can he solve the mystery before it's too late?With the brilliant Peter Blair at the heart of a richly-woven story, J.R.L. Anderson's Death in the City is a must-read for lovers of classic English crime.
A routine commercial voyage into Scarborough takes a horrific turn when the crew stumbles across a booby-trapped corpse afloat on a life raft - and the resulting explosion has fatal consequences.Shocked by the news, the Home Office urgently calls for their trusted detective, Peter Blair, who quickly sets sail into dangerous and unchartered waters.But with the freighter and its crew in desperate danger, Peter may have to risk everything to find the solution - and hope that his detective instincts and years of sailing experience are enough to bring him back alive.Brimming with mystery and steeped in suspense, J.R.L. Anderson's Death in the North Sea is an essential read for fans of classic English crime.
When a Cambridge undergraduate room is broken into, the police's firm belief is that it's mere petty theft. But this is no ordinary student - Mike Rawlinson has recently hit the headlines for surviving a near-death experience in the Carminian desert. When poison is found in the burgled room, Colonel Peter Blair realises the two incidents might share a common villain. Rawlinson has been working for a Carminian mining consortium, and Blair suspects there is more to their activities than meets the eye. And with rumours of gold and uranium both being discovered in the desert, the stakes are rising - fast. Only Rawlinson's knowledge and Blair's ingenuity can prevent catastrophe - but amidst international conspiracy and double-dealing, this might be the colonel's hardest case yet.
Vital information is being leaked from top British companies, and with the Cold War intensifying, the Home Office suspects it is travelling east. The leak is traced to the Oxfordshire headquarters of a large scientific engineering group. Thanks to his new-found reputation as an amateur sleuth, Peter Blair is called to investigate. Peter travels undercover as a river-bound holidaymaker. But this is no pleasure cruise - before long Peter finds himself face-to-face with murder. Death in the Thames, the second mystery featuring Peter Blair, and following on from Death on the Rocks, is not to be missed. Conspiracy and intrigue, corrupt politicians and devious businessmen - this is J.R.L. Anderson at his best.
When the Caribbean island of Nueva is struck by an earthquake - with near fatal consequences - Peter Blair is suspicious that this supposedly natural disaster might have a very unnatural origin - especially when the body of a government scientist is discovered in caves underneath the island.Joined by the beautiful and intelligent Ruth Caval, Peter is determined to dig up the root of the mystery. But this is no ordinary murder case: devious political forces are at play, and as the Prime Minister himself gets involved, Peter is shocked to discover the identity of the authorities' number one suspect: him.Can Peter solve the mystery as a wanted man - or will this case prove a step too far?Featuring murder, corruption and a dazzling setting, J.R.L. Anderson's Death in the Caribbean is a gem of 1970s English crime.