Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime"—a moniker which is now trademarked by her estate—or the "Queen of Mystery". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
Marion Gibbons was a Scottish writer of romance and mystery novels, whose career as a published author began in 1979. She wrote numerous successful historical romance novels under a form of her maiden name, Marion Chesney, including the "Travelling Matchmaker" and "Daughters of Mannerling" series.
Eva Maria Charlotte Michelle Ibbotson was an Austrian-born British novelist, known for her children's literature. Some of her novels for adults have been reissued for the young adult market. The historical novel Journey to the River Sea won her the Smarties Prize in category 9–11 years, garnered an unusual commendation as runner-up for the Guardian Prize, and made the Carnegie, Whitbread, and Blue Peter shortlists. She was a finalist for the 2010 Guardian Prize at the time of her death. Her last book, The Abominables, was among four finalists for the same award in 2012.
Barbara Louise Mertz was an American author who wrote under her own name as well as under the pseudonyms Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels. In 1952, she received a PhD in Egyptology from the University of Chicago. She was best known for her mystery and suspense novels, including the Amelia Peabody book series.
Anna Maxwell Martin, sometimes credited as Anna Maxwell-Martin, is a British actress. She won two British Academy Television Awards, for her portrayals of Esther Summerson in the BBC adaptation of Bleak House (2005) and N in the Channel 4 adaptation of Poppy Shakespeare (2008). She is also known for her roles as DCS Patricia Carmichael in BBC One crime drama Line of Duty (2019–2021) and Kelly Major in Code 404 (2020–present). From 2016-2022, Martin starred in the BBC comedy Motherland, for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance.
Ruth Alexandra Elisabeth Jones is a Welsh actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She co-wrote and co-starred in the award-winning BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey. She later co-wrote and starred in the Sky One comedy-drama Stella (2012–2017), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance and won the BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Screenwriter.
The Devil's Arithmetic is a historical fiction time slip novel written by American author Jane Yolen and published in 1988. The book is about Hannah Stern, a Jewish girl who lives in New Rochelle, New York, and is sent back in time to experience the Holocaust. During a Passover Seder, Hannah is transported back in time to 1941 Poland, during World War II, where she is sent to a concentration camp and learns the importance of knowing about the past.
Malcolm Charles Peet was an English writer and illustrator best known for young adult fiction. He has won several honours including the Brandford Boase, the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize, British children's literature awards that recognise "year's best" books. Three of his novels feature football and the fictional South American sports journalist Paul Faustino. The Murdstone Trilogy (2014) and "Mr Godley's Phantom" were his first works aimed at adult readers.
Keeper is a sports novel for young adults by Mal Peet, published by Walker Books in 2003. It was Peet's first novel and the first of three football stories featuring South American sports journalist Paul Faustino. Cast as an interview with Faustino, the world's best goalkeeper, El Gato, tells his life story. Peet won the Branford Boase Award, recognising the year's best debut novel for children.
Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal is a young-adult novel by Mal Peet, published by Walker Books in 2005. Within a 1995 frame story, where a 15-year-old girl inherits papers and other mementos from her deceased grandfather, it is set in the occupied Netherlands near the end of the Second World War; there it features two British-trained Dutch agents and the resistance to German occupation of the Netherlands. The novel interweaves past and present to show the lasting effects of war and the passions it arouses.
The Penalty is a sports novel for young adults by Mal Peet, published by Walker Books in 2006. It is the second football stories featuring South American sports journalist Paul Faustino. The teen football prodigy El Brujito disappears without a trace and Faustino is drawn to find the summer valentines in the night of October when the mother where it is. He unfolds the story behind the disappearance.
A Song for Summer is a romance novel by British author Eva Ibbotson, first published in 1997. Eva Ibbotson is possibly best known as an award-winning and prolific author of children's books, but she also wrote many beloved romance novels for the adult market, of which A Song for Summer was the last. This novel and four others were reissued between 2007 and 2009 for the young adult market.
The Killings at Badger's Drift is a mystery novel by English writer Caroline Graham and published by Century in 1987. The story follows Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby investigating the murder of an elderly spinster in a rural village. It is the first volume in Graham's Chief Inspector Barnaby series, followed by Death of a Hollow Man. In 1997, it was adapted as the pilot of Midsomer Murders, a popular ITV television series based on Graham's books.
Exposure is a sports novel for young adults by English writer Mal Peet, published by Walker Books in 2008. Inspired by William Shakespeare's Othello, the story follows Otello, a black association football player and his high-profile relationship with Desmerelda, a white celebrity. It also has a parallel plot about three street kids trying to live life in abject poverty.
Quarry is a novel by Ally Kennen published in February 2011. Until the delivery date, the book was planned to be called "Rites", but on 27 February 2010, the name was officially changed to "Quarry".
Anna Wilhelmine Gmeyner was an Austrian-born Jewish writer, playwright, and screenwriter who was exiled from Germany and Austria, best known for her novel Manja (1938). She also wrote under the names Anna Reiner and Anna Morduch. Her daughter was the children's writer Eva Ibbotson.
The Murdstone Trilogy is a novel by Mal Peet. It was the final novel completed by Peet before his death in 2015. The Murdstone Trilogy is one of only two novels by Peet that targets adult readers, the other being Mr Godley's Phantom —the majority of the author's work was in children's literature.
The Children of the King is a 2012 children's novel by Sonya Hartnett. It is about the adventures of a mother and her two children who have been evacuated from London to the country side during World War II.
Edith Maxwell is an Agatha Award-winning American mystery author also currently writing as Maddie Day. She writes cozy, traditional, and historical mysteries set in the United States.
The Craft Sequence is a series of urban fantasy novels by American author Max Gladstone. It currently consists of six novels, beginning with Three Parts Dead (2012). The sequence received critical acclaim. It was nominated for the 2017 Hugo Award for Best Series.
