The Nicholas Blake Treasury: Thou shell of death

"In THOU SHELL OF DEATH, Nigel is summoned to the country home of legendary World War I flying ace Fergus O'Brien. O'Brien is planning a house party over the Christmas holidays-when he believes one of his guests will try to kill him. O'Brien has received anonymous letters threatening his murder the day after Christmas, so Nigel joins the party to try to thwart the tragedy. Despite every precaution, the pilot is found slain right on cue-in his own office, with his own gun. The only clues the chagrined detective has to go on are a faded photograph of a pretty girl and a set of footprints in the snow. As Nigel interviews the guests, from Lucilla Thrale, O'Brien's histrionic discarded mistress, to Georgia Cavendish, his present love, an intrepid African explorer, it soon becomes clear that the answer lies in O'Brien's clouded past, but it takes a second death-by poisoned walnut-before he uncovers the astonishing truth! THE BEAST MUST DIE is frequently ranked as the best mystery of all time. When little Martin Cairnes is killed by a hit-and-run driver, his anguished father vows to track down the driver and extract his revenge. Unexpectedly, he finds himself living under the same roof as his intended victim ... with plenty of opportunity for murder. But this explosive story of bitter hate has a brilliant plot twist that will astound you! Nigel Strangeways tackles one of the most devilish-and heartrending-causes of his career. In THE CORPSE IN THE SNOWMAN, Nigel and his wife, Georgia, are called to Easterham Manor to investigate the strange behavior of the family cat! Pretending to be an expert in psychic phenomena, Strangeways joins the Restoricks' house party only to be confronted by a corpse when lusty daughter Elizabeth is found dead, an apparent suicide. The discovery that illicit drugs were involved soon leads to a second death-but Nigel doesn't uncover the murderer until the spring thaw, when the children's snowman reveals its grisly secret!"--BOOK COVER