A case involving a dead woman with a deformed foot and a mysterious past requires all Superintendent Wycliffe's investigative skills.

The peace of the village of Kergwyns in Cornwall has been shattered by a bizarre murder. A beautiful young woman has been shot. The only thing taken from the scene is the shoe and stocking from her left leg - exposing her deformed foot.

Detective Superintendent Wycliffe uncovers evidence of an unhappy woman who routinely manipulated the men in her life. As half the men in the village have been known to visit her, and most have reason to lie about it, finding the murderer will not be easy.

Wycliffe's task is complicated by the discovery of some clues in the form of crossword puzzles left by the victim herself. If Pussy knew she was going to die why did she make no effort to save herself? When several men have been incriminated in the murder Wycliffe begins to wonder if someone very powerful is stage-managing events . . .


Wycliffe tackles a case which reaches back down the generations ...

When Cedric Tremain is charged with murdering his father by booby-trapping his fishing boat, all the locals are agreed that he is an unlikely murderer. But the case against him is strong: he has the motive, the opportunity and the know-how; not to mention the fact that there is some hard circumstantial evidence against him. So Cedric is arrested.

But Chief Superintendent Wycliffe has a strong sense that something about the case just doesn't fit. As he quietly continues his investigations a confusing picture emerges. Twenty years ago Cedric's cousin was convicted of strangling his girlfriend and served fourteen years of a commuted death sentence.

While the wheels of justice begin to grind Wycliffe searches for a link between past and present ?


Wycliffe and the Scapegoat

by W.J. Burley

Published 9 March 1978

An ancient legend, an all-too modern murder, and Chief Superintendent Wycliffe must find the link between them ...

Every year, at Halloween, high on the Cornish cliffs, a life-sized effigy of a man is strapped to a blazing wheel and run into the sea - a re-enactment of a hideous old legend where the figure had been a living sacrifice.

And now Jonathan Riddle, well-known and respected local builder and undertaker, has disappeared - and it seems all too likely that his corpse has gone the way of the historic 'scapegoat'.

As Chief Superintendent Wycliffe begins to investigate, more and more unpleasant facts emerge until he is left with an incredible, and seemingly impossible, solution . . .


Wycliffe and the Quiet Virgin

by W.J. Burley

Published 1 January 1986

Wycliffe investigates the disappearance of a young girl - and becomes involved in a major criminal investigation . . .

Chief Superintendent Wycliffe doubted whether he would enjoy his Christmas. With his wife away, he rashly accepted an invitation to stay with a Penzance lawyer and his family, but when he arrives the weather is awful, the house miles from anywhere, and the family less than welcoming.

Then a young girl goes missing. Wycliffe had seen her playing the part of the Virgin in the local nativity play, but when he asks around he discovers the girl was difficult and unpopular in the neighbourhood. Even her parents seem indifferent to their daughter's disappearance. So Wycliffe instigates a search - and soon finds himself caught up in a major criminal investigation . . .


A mysterious death in the Cornish art world - and a murder investigation for Chief Superintendent Wycliffe...

When Edwin Garland dies of a heart attack, no one outside the expectant circle of his relatives is concerned, but the situation changes dramatically when, on the evening of the funeral, his son is shot dead. Chief Superintendent Wycliffe is faced with a seemingly motiveless killing, and Edwin's will, though mischievously contrived, offers no explanation.

Garland had been friends with Gifford Tate, a well-known painter who died several years before. Now, the only clue Wycliffe has to the murder is an artists' pigment called Winsor Blue. He finally identifies the motive behind the crimes - but is it too late to prevent another death?


Wycliffe's Wild Goose Chase

by W.J. Burley

Published 1 January 1982

Chief Superintendent Wycliffe comes across evidence on his own doorstep - and it leads him into very deep water . . .

Wycliffe's home overlooks a peaceful, West Country estuary - but even here he can't get away from crime.

When he is taking a Sunday morning walk along the shore, he comes across a service revolver with one chamber recently fired. In recent years Wycliffe has often regretted the fact that his rank cuts him off from the early stages of an investigation, but here he is, in at the very start.

The case takes Wycliffe into the world of art robberies and crooked dealers, to a suicide which may be a murder, and a hunt for a missing yacht. As the investigation escalates, Wycliffe begins to wonder exactly where the clues are leading . . .


Wycliffe in Paul's Court

by W.J. Burley

Published 1 January 1980
Two violent deaths shatter a small community. And to solve the case, Wycliffe must untangle a complex network of secrecy within the quiet of Paul's Court ...

Wycliffe And The Guild Of Nine

by W.J. Burley

Published 5 October 2000
On the moor west of St Ives lies an artists' colony at the site of a disused mine working. Known as the Guild of Nine, it has been set up by Archer, who tends to run it according to astrological principles, and his wife Lina, a woman with her feet rather more firmly planted on the ground. The newest member, Francine, a beautiful if fey young woman in her mid-20s (her dramatic past is detailed in Wycliffe and the Quiet Virgin), has a legacy she is prepared to invest in the colony. Archer is against it - not least because she is a Scorpio - while Lina takes a more pragmatic view. Then Francine's suitability becomes an irrelevance when she is found dead in her bed - killed by a (deliberately) blocked gas-heater flue. All the members of the colony naturally come under suspicion, and several of them have very good reasons for not wanting the police poking around in their affairs, particularly not a copper as dogged and hard to fool as Wycliffe. And then, right under his nose, comes another death ...The hit tv series starring Jack Shepherd has made Wycliffe the Cornish detective a household name, and this latest teasing mystery will delight his many fans.

Wycliffe and the Redhead

by W.J. Burley

Published September 1997
A fracas in a gents toilet leads to a man's death. Mainly on the evidence of Simon Meagor, George Barker is convicted of manslaughter. On his release from prison, he kills himself. His daughter holds Meagor responsible, and becomes involved with a recluse who prescribes a dramatic therapy.

Wycliffe and the School Bullies

by W.J. Burley

Published 9 November 2006

Bullying and persecution among a group of schoolgirls leads to violent retribution and a race against time for Wycliffe.

Two very different young women have been murdered within the same week. One was a singer in a nightclub, the other a nurse - but both were strangled in their own homes in very similar attacks. The press are quick to assume there is a psychopath on the loose, but Wycliffe suspects the truth may be somewhat more complex than that . . .

As Wycliffe searches for a link between the victims his investigations take him back in time; to a school trip, an isolated hostel and a cruel joke on a lonely student. Wycliffe is forced into a race against time to track down the murderer before they strike again.