Death in the House
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"Detection and crime at its wittiest—all Berkeley's stories are amusing, intriguing and he is a master of the final twist." —Agatha Christie In this classic Golden Age British mystery, Anthony Berkeley—the renowned author of the Roger Sheringham series—delivers a tense political thriller that starts with a shocking assassination . . . The House of Commons has been breached in the most unthinkable manner. In the middle of his speech introducing a controversial bill, the Secretary of State for India collapses and dies. What is thought to be a stroke turns out to be a murder by poison—administered in the House itself. The ghastly tragedy is a shot right at the heart of the British Empire. No one is more outraged than Lord Arthur Linton, who must gather his wits about him to uncover who killed his boss. His first course of action is to investigate a threatening letter sent before the speech. Initially considered a prank, it's found to be an all-too-real warning from violent terrorists who will stop at nothing to free India from British rule. With every member of Parliament now under suspicion, Linton must root out treason in high places to stop a killing spree that could reach the Prime Minister himself, and throw the entire country into chaos . . . "Anthony Berkeley is the supreme master not of the 'twist' but of the 'double-twist.'" —The Sunday Times
Anthony Berkeley
Anthony Berkeley (1893-1971) was one of the most influential figures of the Golden Age of detective fiction. A founding member of the Detection Club, Berkeley helped shape the modern mystery novel through his inventive plotting, psychological insight, and willingness to challenge genre conventions.Best known for his Roger Sheringham novels and short stories, Berkeley brought a distinctly ironic, intellectually playful voice to crime fiction. His work often subverted reader expectations, exploring the moral ambiguity of crime and the fallibility of the amateur detective-an approach that set him apart from many of his contemporaries.Berkeley also wrote under the pseudonym A. Monmouth Platts, most notably for The Francis Iles novels, which are now recognized as early masterpieces of the psychological crime novel. These works shifted the focus from "whodunit" to "why it was done," exerting a lasting influence on later writers of noir and psychological suspense.Admired by peers and successors alike, Anthony Berkeley's fiction remains strikingly modern in its wit, structure, and psychological depth. His novels and stories continue to reward readers who appreciate clever construction, sharp observation, and mysteries that dare to be different.
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