New Releases by John Dickson

Lady Betty Calder is a prostitute and a blackmailer - or is it her sister, Glynis, using her name? Dr David Garth, her fiancé, knows he must find out the truth - especially when he blunders across Glynis'' strangled body on Betty''s property. The police know she did it, but David knows she didn''t, and he must outwit a cunning murderer and a hostile detective-inspector to prove it. What he discovers - about his best friend''s wife, his medical assistant, and even his fiancée - make him wish the blackmailing Glynis had never lived. ''John Dickson Carr''s flair for the impossible crime shows through at its very best in this historical puzzler'' The Times

This original digital short by scholar and cultural commentator John Dickson presents an entirely new and convincing biblical argument for allowing women to preach freely in churches.

The most famous of all locked-room mysteries - a classic in the crime genre. ''The first deadly walking of the hollow man took place when the side streets of London were quiet with snow and the three coffins of the prophecy were filled at last...'' The murderer of Dr Grimauld walked through a locked door, shot his victim and vanished. He killed his second victim in the middle of an empty street, with watchers at each end, yet nobody saw him, and he left no footprints in the snow. And so it is up to the irrepressible, larger-than-life Dr Gideon Fell to solve this most famous and taxing of locked-room mysteries.

It is no ordinary murder case that brings the famed French detective Monsieur Bencolin out of retirement, but one that involves a midnight rendezvous on a steamy Paris night, a broken love affair, and four different murder weapons found in the secret villa where the body is discovered. Rose Klonec, whose corpse bears the mark of a particularly horrible wound, had connections - and old lovers - throughout Paris, and soon the number of suspects grows to match the number of possible weapons ...

Christopher Kent, worth a quarter of a million pounds yet without a penny in his pocket, stands hungrily in Piccadilly one snowy morning, looking up at the huge hotel, when a piece of card bearing a number floats down to him. He enters and is served with breakfast, giving the waiter the room number. Then an unlucky chance compels him to go up to room 707. Inside a woman lies murdered in a trunk. Kent needs to prove his innocence fast, and calls in Dr Gideon Fell to investigate - but there''s been another murder, and Dr Fell must figure out what connects them in order to find the guilty party.

Three guests at Martin Clarke''s weekend party swore they saw the pistol lifted from the wall, levelled and shot. Yet no hand held it. It couldn''t have happened ... but there was a dead body on the floor to prove that it had. For the victim, it was far too late for a doctor. To unmask the clever murderer, however, a house visit by Dr Gideon Fell is just what the doctor ordered. But the killer still somehow avoids taking his medicine - until Fell vows to prescribe his own remedy for bringing the murderer to justice.

A thief is loose aboard HMS Queen Victoria, and four amateur detectives are hell-bent on tracking him down. Unprepared for the evidence that their sleuthing activities will uncover - a reel of compromising film, a blood-soaked stateroom bunk, a lethally sharp razor and an emerald elephant - they find themselves sinking deeper into misadventure and pandemonium. But when the boat arrives in Southampton harbour, another passenger, mystery writer Henry Morgan, calls in the famous Dr Gideon Fell - who identifies sixteen clues that lead him to the murderer.

And So to Murder by John Dickson Carr (as Carter Dickson), a Sir Henry Merrivale mystery. “A first-class murder mystery [and] also a ribald satire of the motion picture industry.”—The Vancouver Sun DEATH RIDES THE TUBE... The speaking-tube whistled. Monica flew at it. “Who are you? What do you want?” She bent her cheek to the mouth of the tube to listen for an answer. Something was happening inside the tube. She jumped back. Something which looked like water, but was not water, spurted in a jet from the mouth of the tube. It splashed across the linoleum. There was a hissing, sizzling noise as half a pint of vitriol began to eat into the surface of the floor. The footsteps in the room above began to run. Monica Stanton has written a saucy best-seller that has landed her her dream job, scriptwriting for a movie studio. Things turn sour quickly as she''s saddled with a mentor she despises After someone makes a gruesome attempt on her life, however, her feelings begin to change about him as they are forced together during the investigation. Theories of Nazi “heiling enthusiasts” and espionage soon take form, leading to the entrance of Sir Henry Merrivale, who now works for Britain''s Military Intelligence division. Only Sir Henry can wade through the “fat-heads” and schemers to get to the bottom of this amusing and clever mystery.

The Judas Window by John Dickson Carr (as Carter Dickson), a Sir Henry Merrivale mystery. One of the five best locked room mysteries, as selected by 14 established mystery authors and critics (All But Impossible!, 1981. ed. E. Hoch). The Case: Avory Hume is found dead with an arrow through his heart--in a study with bolted steel shutters and a heavy door locked from the inside. In the same room James Caplon Answell lies unconscious, his clothes disordered as though from a struggle. The Attorney for the Defense: That gruff and grumbling old sleuth, Sir Henry Merrivale, who proves himself superb in court--even though his gown does tear with a rending noise as he rises majestically to open the case. The Action: Before H.M. can begin his defense, Answell, his client, rises and cries out that he is guilty. Sir Henry doesn''t believe it. But proof, circumstantial evidence, and the man''s own confession point to his guilt. So the great, explosive detective gets down to serious sleuthing and at last startles the crowd in the Old Bailey with a reconstruction of the crime along logical, convincing lines. The Judas Window. Also published as The Crossbow Murder. Included is the floor plan found in the print version, redrawn for better legibility specifically for this edition.

"The last few years have witnessed an unprecedented stream of blockbuster-style claims about the man from Nazareth. Believers and sceptics alike have hardly had time to process one controversial theory before the next one hits the market." Recent claims about the life of Jesus have raised many questions about the historicity of the man from Nazareth. In this accessible book, John Dickson addresses such issues as: When and where was Jesus born? Did he marry? What should we make of the ''miracles'' he is reported to have performed? How should we treat the claim that he rose from the dead? And can we be sure that he even existed? In eleven chapters - covering the historical reliability of the New Testament, Jesus'' birth and family, his historical context, his teachings, miracles, death, resurrection and subsequent appearances - Dickson clears away the mists of speculation, revealing the founder of Christianity in sharp focus. This is a must-read for anyone wanting a lucid response to the controversial conspiracy theories of the post-modern age.

Humility, or holding power loosely for the sake of others, is sorely lacking in today’s world. Without it, many people fail to develop their true leadership potential and miss out on genuine fulfillment in their lives and their relationships. Humilitas: A Lost Key to Life, Love, and Leadership shows how the virtue of humility can turn your strengths into true greatness in all areas of life. Through the lessons of history, business, and the social sciences, author John Dickson shows that humility is not low self-esteem, groveling, or losing our distinct gifts. Instead, humility both recognizes our inherent worth and seeks to use whatever power we have at our disposal on behalf of others. Some of the world’s most inspiring and influential players have been people of immense humility. The more we learn about humility, the more we understand how essential it is to a satisfying career and personal life. By embracing this virtue, we will transform for good the unique contributions we each make to the world.

John Dickson, through his four-session small group Bible study, The Christ Files, provides an accessible explanation of - and answers to - the hot issues regarding the historical reliability of Jesus.

This book comes out of years of reflection, failures, and some successes in the task of reaching out to others with the gospel. Many Christians think of the task of mission as an entirely verbal activity, when perhaps the best kept secret of New Testament teaching about mission is that it involves a whole range of activities that explicitly promote Christ to the world and draw others to him, and only a few of them involve speaking. Without diminishing or downplaying the importance of speaking the gospel, John Dickson shows that, on the other hand, downplaying the range of activities that promote Christ to the world has its own set of problems. It can make those who are not confident about speaking--of anything, let alone Jesus--feel inadequate and self-conscious in the task of reaching out to others. Equally, it can make those who do have a flair for speaking feel as though they are fulfilling Christ''s mission just by talking. But the reality is that the Lord wants our whole life, not just our lips, in the task of bringing the gospel to the world. Every facet of our lives can be used by God to promote the news of his power and mercy. In this practical guide to the biblical art of sharing your faith, John Dickson offers refreshing insight into the ways that all Christians can and should be involved in spreading the good news of Jesus. While not all Christians are called and gifted to become evangelists, we are all called to promote the gospel through a wide range of activities--prayer, financial partnership, good deeds, godly lives, public worship, daily conversation, etc.--with and without our lips. As readers engage with this book, grapple with its arguments and hear the stories of people coming to faith, they will be inspired to see the whole of life as significant for bringing the gospel to the world, and they will be liberated out of guilt and self-consciousness in evangelism into becoming perfectly natural promoters of Jesus Christ.

A BLACK DAGGER CRIME edition of a novel in which someone is murdering Napoleon''s personal enemies and is spreading terror through the army poised to invade England, and a Briton, forced to discover the identity of the killer, pits his wits against Napoleon himself.

When Dr. Gideon Fell finds himself at a party where guests are in a state of deep agitation, all the faculties of his detective genius are called into play. Why is the host of the party, southern aristocrat Henry Maynard, so cryptic about the strange goings-on in the mansion? And how is the theft of the scarecrow linked to a diabolical and ingenious murder?

Jeff Marle tries to decide which member of Judge Matthew Quayle''s unhappy household put poison in the judge''s brandy

When Pennington Barclay is found murdered in a locked room, his sister claims that he was killed by a ghost and Dr. Fell is called to investigate

Rose Lestrange is discovered stabbed to death inside a locked room and Dr. Gideon Fell is determined to prove that it was murder, not suicide

When the fake defense Patrick Butler used to clear Joyce Ellis is used to prove Lucia Renshaw is guilty of murder, he turns to Dr. Gideon Fell for help

The story of a baffling murder takes place in London and at the BBC studios and the home of Sherlock Holmes.

"The old man had died quite naturally although they did find an oddly knotted piece of string next to his pillow. Still, they dismissed it until the normally sensible housekeeper told an incredible story of the beautiful woman who had walked through a wall, through a door where no door was, to get into the old man''s room. None of this bothered Edward Stevens. He was too busy editing a book on nineteenth century murders. That was until he came to a photograph of a murderess, who was guillotined in 1861. It was a clear picture of a beautiful woman, whom Stevens immediately recognized. She was his wife!"--BOOK COVER

Dr. Gideon Fell investigates a series of strange deaths in the Scottish Highlands.

Returning from the war, Don Holden discovers that his best friend''s wife has died under mysterious circumstances

Dr. Gideon Fell solves the dagger murder of a frock-coated, false-whiskered man whose corpse is discovered in the great black carriage of the eerie Wade Museum of Oriental Art