Böcker i The Ludovic Travers Mysteries-serien

';Famous Spiritualist Dead . . . Gun Found in Flat'In The Case of the Happy Medium Ludovic Travers is at the top of his considerable form. When Ludovic and his wife set out to attend a seance, they are in a mood of amiable scepticism. But the atmosphere swiftly changes when Travers is plunged headlong into a case where he, and Scotland Yard supremo George Wharton, must tussle with murder, suicide and traffickers in forbidden goods. There is action, dry humour, and a more than fair chance for the armchair detective to join in the hunt.The Case of the Happy Medium was originally published in 1952. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Bush gets better and better . . . And Ludovic Travers is becoming one of our favourite sleuths' San Francisco Chronicle

He was deader than last year's hit-song. At the side of the skull was where the bullet had done its work.Four detectives? Surely things must have come to quite a pass if the well-tried team of Ludovic Travers and George Wharton has to be doubled in order to crack even the most baffling case. Yet when sudden death comes to the head of a big firm of grocers in the City, our old friends do find both help and hindrance in unexpected quarters.The Case of the Fourth Detective was originally published in 1951. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

I was thinking of offering Godfrey Prial some sort of partnership. I'm pretty sure now of at least two thingsthat he liked me, and that he'd have accepted. If he'd lived.When Ludovic Travers took over Bill Ellice's Broad Street Detective Agency, he was glad to welcome back from war service the Agency's star operative, Godfrey Prial. But when something happened to Prial whilst holidaying in an East Anglian town, Travers decided that a case was one he must tackle on his own. The trail led him to a year-old murder, the violent death of a retired jeweller, the theft of some particularly valuable diamonds, to a mad old man and to a young lady who didn't somehow ring true. The Case of the Corner Cottage shows Christopher Bush at his most astute and entertaining.The Case of the Corner Cottage was originally published in 1951. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

';At first it may seem an astounding coincidence that two members of a family should have considered it necessary to ask for the services of the same detective agency. I think I can prove otherwise, and even if I can't, the facts remain. Alice Stonhill and Peter Wesslake did precisely what I have said, and what's more . . .'So Ludovic Travers says at the opening of a case in which he joins with Bill Ellice and Superintendent George Wharton to solve the mystery of a novelist, his two wives, and a murder that happened contrary to expectationsnot to mention the identity of the Happy Warrior. This is one of Christopher Bush's crispest brain-teasers told in the smooth and friendly Travers manner loved by the author's devotees.The Case of the Happy Warrior was originally published in 1950. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Christopher Bush is one of the good ones. Although he has written so many mysteries, the strange thing is that they all sound fresh, wide-eyed and dewy, as if he had written hardly any.' New York Herald Tribune

';Murder's my job, not parish politics.'Ludovic Travers, the unofficial expert of Scotland Yard, pairs with his friend, Superintendent Wharton, to dig deeply into an East Anglian murder. Interwoven are the thefts of antique rugs and pictures from old churches, and in putting together the facts and defining the motives, Travers comes up with the answerall i's dotted and t's crossed in the solution to a diabolical and absorbing mystery.The Case of the Purloined Picture was originally published in 1949. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';First class mystery reading. A good, well planned plot and even better told.' Minneapolis Tribune

';I have an idea that a certain man is going to commit murder. He told me soin so many words.'If Ludovic Travers hadn't been so sure the man was serious, he might not have gone snooping. If he hadn't kept his eyes peeled, he might have noticed what happened to the housekeeper's hair. It is even less likely he would have uncovered those dark deeds that took place in France, deeds that led to three violent deaths.The Case of the Housekeeper's Hair was originally published in 1948. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Christopher Bush is one of the good ones. Although he has written so many mysteries, the strange thing is that they all sound fresh, wide-eyed and dewy, as if he had written hardly any.' New York Herald Tribune

It was Murder Eve, and I was the last person in Sandbeach to suspect it.Ludovic Travers certainly isn't anticipating anything remotely resembling murder, least of all his own. But when he is invited to a strange hotel, someone does turns up murdered, and in a most peculiar way. Travers, and his Scotland Yard supremo Superintendent Wharton, are not officially connected with the case, but still co-operate with the local police. The solution will be as ingenious as the mystery is baffling.The Case of the Haven Hotel was originally published in 1948. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Christopher Bush is one of the good ones. Although he has written so many mysteries, the strange thing is that they all sound fresh, wide-eyed and dewy, as if he had written hardly any.' New York Herald Tribune

An attendant had come in with the cage. He stooped and held the rope taut. The cage door was opened, Jules called from high in the roof and at once the rat began to climb. Then something went wrong. All at once Auguste scampered down and shot back into his cage.When Ludovic Travers arrives in the South of France to say a few well-chosen words to his wife's shady relative, Gustave Rionne, he finds them unnecessary: a knife-thrust a few minutes before had put an end to Rionne's career.Also down on the Riviera, on business connected with the notorious murderer Bariche, is Inspector Gallois of the Srete. Joining forces, they are soon confronted with a second even more baffling murder. What is the connection, if any, between the two crimes? Who are the masked trapezists in the circus, and what is the significance of their performing rat? The car smashwas it deliberate? Had Madame Perthus been Letoque's lover? Ludovic Travers has been involved in some curious cases but none so strange and absorbing as that of the Climbing Rat.The Case of the Climbing Rat was originally published in 1940. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

The curtain had been drawn back and there was the bed. Wharton and a stranger were standing by it, and when Wharton moved to meet me, I saw on the bed the body of Penelope Craye.';She's dead,' I said.Wharton merely nodded.Once again, we meet our old friend Ludovic Traversnow Major Travers, and commandant of Camp 55 in England during World War Two. Nearby lives the rather mysterious Colonel Brendemysterious because he is in possession of certain fact relating to aerial defence.Travers's suspicions that all is not well are intensified when Penelope, the colonel's flashy secretary, is murdered. Then George Wharton appears on the scenethe Scotland Yard man who has already solved some strange mysteries. In the rush of exciting events which follow, Travers plays a major part in solving the baffling happenings. Christopher Bush, Ludovic Travers, and George Whartonat their best!The Case of the Kidnapped Colonel was originally published in 1942. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Curiosity is whetted by the aptness and neatness of his plots. . . All kinds of whys and wherefores could plainly be devised, but it would be hard to imagine any so satisfying as Mr. Bush's.' Times Literary Supplement';Well written, supplied with good characters, its setting and military incidentals realistic . . . in short, a good specimen of detective-story fitted to war-time England.' Sunday Times';No wonder Ludovic Travers is puzzled, and so will be the reader in this amusing variety of the orthodox spy story.' Guardian

As Travers's finger touched the dead hand, he felt the warmth, and wondered if the man were still alive. Then he saw the knife that stuck sideways in the ribs.It was three years after Ludovic Travers had acquired a painting by the famous contemporary French artist, Henri Larne, that a mysterious art dealer named Braque turned up, showed great interest in the picture, and invited Travers to visit him in Paris. But all Travers saw of Braque in Paris was his dead body: a knifealmost warm from the murderer's handwas stuck in his ribs.Travers and his old friend Inspector Gallois soon found some very pertinent questions to answer. What was Braque's ';gold mine'? Why had he been so interested in paintings by Larne? What were his relations with Pierre Larne, and with Elise, the model? But not until Travers suddenly realised the significance of the flying donkey was the murderer's astonishing identity revealed.The Case of the Flying Donkey was originally published in 1939. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

The tea had brought a pleasant warmth and Travers snuggled down in bed. Once more he was busy with something that had vastly cheered him of latea perfect scheme for the murder of Stirrop.There were difficulties from the first day the blustering and objectionable Major Stirrop set foot in the Prisoner-of-War camp. Captain Ludovic Travers, his adjutant, saw troubledire troublelooming ever nearer. For there was something sinister about the camp, and there were strange happenings among the prisoners. One day, when Travers was making his count, there was one prisoner too many; the next the numbers tallied rightlyonly to be wrong again within an hour or two.An escape plan is uncovered, and then Major Stirrop was murdered. And not only the Majorfor another strange death is later brought to light. Travers will join forces once more with his old friend Superintendent George Wharton to get to the bottom of this mystery, one of Christopher Bush's most intriguing and thrilling.The Case of the Murdered Major was originally published in 1941. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Great is the gain to any tale when the author is able to provide a novel and interesting environment described with evident knowledge.' Guardian

It wasn't I who discovered the body. I want to make that perfectly clear, if only for the benefit of a couple of club acquaintances of mine.Ludovic Travers, special investigator for Scotland Yard, commits murder? Nobut at the end of this novel you will understand why he might claim to have done so.Sir William Pelle has become a missing person, and Superintendent Wharton of the Yard is prioritizing his recovery. But when Pelle is found murdered, there are serious questions to answer. Was the well-to-do jewellery-handler the victim of a well-planned robbery? And why was the corpse partly covered in sugar?Several of the enigmatic figures formerly surrounding the deceased are going to repay close scrutiny; as is the importance of the army corporal who keeps weaving in and out of the story. It will take all Travers's customary acuity to bring the case to a successful conclusionand eventually to explain his assertion of committing murder himself.The Case of the Corporal's Leave was originally published in 1945. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

What was I to be this time? A Commandant again of a Prisoner of War Camp? Was I to get a sedentary job at the War Office itself, and begin the slow process of fossilisation? Was I due for some wholly new job of which the rank and file had never even heard? As it turned out, I most certainly was.Ludovic Travers reports to room 299 of the War Office to receive new orders. He is sent up to Derbyshire to be a training officer for the local Home Guard, and to be plunged headlong into a new wartime mystery. It is not long before he meets the ';fighting soldier' of the title, a tough veteran of the Spanish Civil War and dozens of other bloody battlefields.But when chewing-gum is discovered wedged into the barrel of a bomb launcher, it is obvious there's an individualor more than onein the camp out to make sure someone doesn't live to fight another day. And it's not long before their diabolical intent leads to explosive murder. Once again, it will be down to Travers's quick wits to make sense of it and bring the guilty to justicewith able support from George Wharton of Scotland Yard.The Case of the Fighting Soldier was originally published in 1942. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

';Good God!' I was staring like a lunatic. ';Murdered, you say? When?'';Less than half an hour ago, sir.'TRAVERS: ';I don't know why I should call this case that of the Magic Mirror for there's nothing in it reminiscent of ';Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' even if the mirror did do a certain amount of magical revelation.';As a matter of fact the title is my obstinate own. In the first place, of the many murder cases with which I have been officially connected, this one which I am about to relate was easily the most unusual. On the face of it one could at first hardly call it a case at all, for its solution presented no difficulties. Then curious doubts arose, and the obvious was far from what it seemed, and finally the whole thing seemed incapable of any solution at all. Then when the solution did come, it was so absurdly simple that one doubted one's sanity for not having seen it from the very first.'The Case of the Magic Mirror was originally published in 1943. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

';';This is something desperately secret,' she said. ';Something I want you to do for me . . . But I can't tell you now. It's something I'm frightened about.'Ludovic Travers, consulting specialist for Scotland Yard, receives two invitations at once to visit Beechingford. One comes from Cuthbert Daine, his literary agent. Daine is an important and busy man, and it seems strange that he would want to see Travers personally about a matter that might have been handled by mail. The other invitation comes from Austin Chaice, the successful mystery writer. He is, he says, preparing a manual for detective story writers, and needs advice on certain points.The puzzlement aroused in Travers's mind by these two letters is crystallized by a half-hysterical telephone call from Chaice's attractive wife.Travers is prepared to find a delicate and involved situation at Beechingfordbut not prepared for the murder of his host!The Case of the Missing Men was originally published in 1946. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

';It's about a murder. . . . Here. Five Oaks, they call it. . . . A man, he's murdered. . . . Oh, no, it isn't a joke. I wish it was. . . . I said I wished it was. . . . You'll send someone at once?'Ludovic Travers, still in the army, is obliged to combine his military duties with being an invaluable private sleuth on behalf of Scotland Yard. Now Inspector Wharton has asked Ludo to track down a man in a village rife with blackmail and skulduggery. A problem soon arises howevermurder, and that of the very man Travers was sent to find. Travers eventually faces a moral quandary about what to conceal and what to reveal about his discoverieswhich could lead to someone's execution.This classic English village murder mystery involves a large number of suspects, and a breathtaking series of twists, some if not all involving the Chief Constable's wifethe novel's ';platinum blonde'.The Case of the Platinum Blonde was originally published in 1944. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Readers who have asked ';Why?' impatiently at the beginning of this book will be twice shy.' Times Literary Supplement

';Is he bad, sir?'';Worse than that,' I said. ';In fact, he's dead.'1943. Ludovic Travers, consulting specialist for Scotland Yard, is on a fortnight's well-earned leave in London from his military posting. Anticipating relaxation, he is instead thrown into a fresh mystery by a letter from one Peter Worrack, the owner of a genteel gambling club.Worrack's business partner, Georgina, has disappeared. Or has she? Ludo rapidly has doubts, but the reasons for any deception remain obscure until he takes on the case, and finds that the clues he'll need to consider include the jokes of a radio comedian, a handful of jaded club-goers, the novelty of a mouse in the wainscotingand someone desperate enough to commit murder most foul.The Case of the Running Mouse was originally published in 1944. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

';George Wharton said he hoped I'd have a nice murder for you.'Ludovic Travers and his wife choose to spend part of their honeymoon in the quiet town of Edensthorpeone place where they can be sure of peace and quiet, and where an eminent author and his famous wife might not be recognised.Unfortunately for them, however, another fugitive has sought anonymity in the nearby village of Pettistonea swindler named Brewse who has just completed a prison sentence for fraud. Brewse has made an unfortunate choice of home, because the leading citizens of Pettistone all suffered serious financial losses as a result of his fraudulent dealings, and they unite in an effort to drive him away from the village. Before they can do so, however, somebody decides upon a more permanent method of getting rid of Brewse.Ludovic Travers cannot, once again, resist the temptation to use his powers of insight and detection to discover the murderer of the man in the green hat.The Case of the Green Felt Hat was originally published in 1939. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.Travers: ';As for my methods of crime detectionwell, I haven't any. For that my only tool is a brain that has been called agile, sharpened on crosswords rather than chess.'

Palmer saw him out, and gave that little deprecatory cough.';If you'll pardon me, sir, is it another murder?'';Looks like it,' Travers told him from the door.This affair of Ludovic Travers and George ';the General' Wharton is packed full with sleuthing excitement, during which three men die, and the careers of four people are ruined before the round-up is accomplished. The leaning man, the kingpin of the plot, meets his death outside a London theatre.Travers soon finds a link between this case and the murder of a Maharajah, and is curious to know why the actor, Sir Jerome Haire, is involved. In finding out, he brings under suspicion Joy and Bernice Haire, Sir Jerome's daughters and music-hall stars in their own right. The travels of a priceless emerald ring add mystery to an already perplexing problem, elucidated by the keen deduction of Ludovic Travers.The Case of the Leaning Man was originally published in 1938. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.';Mr. Bush has produced another good detective story, this time with emotional complications such as the experts say should have no place in this type of fiction. But the experts are not always right.'--New York Times