Calleshire Chronicles Volume Five

A must-have collection of British whodunits featuring Detective Inspector Sloan—from a CWA Diamond Dagger winner and “most ingenious” author (The New Yorker).   Over the course of twenty-four crime novels set in the fictional County of Calleshire, England, and featuring the sleuthing team of shrewd Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan and his less-than-shrewd sidekick, Detective Constable William Crosby, award-winning author Catherine Aird maintained the perfect balance between cozy village mystery and police procedural. These entertaining puzzlers offer “the very best in British mystery” (The New Yorker).  The Body Politic: A British-based mineral company finds itself in hot water when one of its engineers kills a pedestrian while driving in a foreign country. The engineer is whisked back to Calleshire, but the foreign government is threatening to strip the mining company of its most valuable contract. When the engineer dies suddenly in a war reenactment, it seems a little too convenient a solution. Enter Detective Inspector Sloan.  A Going Concern: In this “intricate, witty and thoroughly delightful” mystery, a bizarre clause in an elderly woman’s will that the police must be present at her funeral and the coroner should be exceptionally thorough exposes a dirty secret—and a murder for Sloan to solve (Publishers Weekly).  After Effects: Dozens of elderly patients suffering from heart disease have been “gently pushed” toward taking part in a double-blind drug trial from a powerful pharmaceutical company. Now there’s been a string of eerily similar deaths. Malpractice or foul play? When the doctor in charge is found dead as well, it’s up to Sloan to see who really needs to be brought to trial.  Injury Time: These sixteen “clever” short stories feature mysteries solved by Detective Inspector Sloan as well as Henry Tyler of the Foreign Office, and “serve as an excellent introduction to new readers and . . . a sure delight to fans” (Publishers Weekly).