Margery Allingham - Six Against the Yard

Lying idly in his bath, the instigator of this unique volume contemplated murder. There existed one whom he wished dead, and it occurred to him that most people, however Christian, knew of one for whom they desired a similar fate.

Thus it was that this book, with its brilliant band of contributors, grew into being. We wrote to each of them and suggested, quite casually, that they might like to commit, upon paper, a murder which they felt to be as perfect in its execution as they could conceive. With enthusiasm they entered into the idea, and each of them has produced in the form of a short novel an exact description of the circumstances and perpetration of their crime. From its instigation to its final act they have, in their own way, perfected their plans, lured their victims, dispatched them from life and covered their tracks.

But have their plans been as fool-proof as they believe? Have they made, as so many, criminals do make, that tiny slip which will lead to their detection? Is Dorothy Sayers quite certain that she will not hang from the neck until she is dead? Is Father Knox convinced that the jury will acquit him, if he finds himself in the dock? Is Anthony Berkeley prepared to withstand the searching questions of the police?

And it is here that Ex-Superintendent Cornish of the C.I.D. comes along with his vast experience of crime in real life. At the conclusion of each short novel Mr. Cornish deals with the case from the police point of view. He visits the scene of the crime and, with the facts in his possession which he has culled from the story, sets to work to find that flaw in the execution which will enable him to bring about the arrest of Margery Allingham or Russell Thorndike. Is he successful? Has he found those tell-tale clues, and if he hasn’t, can you?

Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

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London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by Selwyn & Blount 1936

Copyright © The Detection Club 1936, 2013

The Tragic Family of Croydon

Copyright © Christie Archive Trust 1929, 2013

Cover design © Bold&Noble.com 2013

Cover layout design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2013

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

Source ISBN: 9780007513918

Ebook Edition © September 2013 ISBN: 9780007513901

Version: 2018-07-30

SIX AGAINST THE YARD

Copyright Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain by Selwyn & Blount 1936 Copyright © The Detection Club 1936, 2013 The Tragic Family of Croydon Copyright © Christie Archive Trust 1929, 2013 Cover design © Bold&Noble.com 2013 Cover layout design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2013 A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication Source ISBN: 9780007513918 Ebook Edition © September 2013 ISBN: 9780007513901 Version: 2018-07-30

IT DIDN’T WORK OUT

WOULD THE MURDERESS TELL?

THE FALLEN IDOL

MURDER IN UNIFORM

THE POLICEMAN ONLY TAPS ONCE

… AND THEN COME THE HANDCUFFS!

STRANGE DEATH OF MAJOR SCALLION

DETECTIVES SOMETIMES READ

BLOOD SACRIFICE

THEY WOULDN’T BELIEVE HIM!

THE PARCEL

THE MOTIVE SHOWS THE MAN

AFTERWORD: THE ARSENIC POISON MYSTERY

THE TRAGIC FAMILY OF CROYDON

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