Gwendoline Butler

Set in St. Petersburg, Russia, this novel won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award (1981) by the Romantic Novelists' Association.St Petersburg, 1912. Rose Gowrie is a Scottish girl with a mysterious gift for healing who is hired into the aristocratic household of Dolly Denisov, supposedly as a companion for the youthful Ariadne Denisov. But Rose gets more than she bargains for when she is called upon to cure the aged Princess who lives at the top of the Red Staircase, and the frail young...

Commander John Coffin investigates the deaths of two policemen, and the apparent suicide of a police officer’s wife. A darkly authentic crime novel from one of the most highly praised English mystery writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.The Coffin Tree grew in a garden in London. It had been struck by lightning, which would have killed most trees – but not this one. Near it, a shrouded body has been burnt. Had the victim voluntarily climbed on to the fire, as one eyewitness reports?That...

Scotland Yard Inspector John Coffin must track down a murderer whose double life threatens to claim many more victims. A darkly authentic novel from one of the most universally admired English crime writers. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.Dr. Marion Manning is being watched. The man watching her is quiet, determined, curious even – and always in his spot across the street from her home. Sometimes he follows her when she leaves town on lectures or other scholarly occasions.What obsession...

Two women are brutally murdered within a year of each other. John Coffin, Commander of the Police, investigates. From one of the most highly praised English crime writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.Student Amy Dean has disappeared with her boyfriend Martin – a year after Martin's former girlfriend Virginia was found beaten to death. Then Amy’s body is found, encased in a crude wooden box. The connection between the two incidents seems clear – but John Coffin, Commander of the Police,...

When a parcel containing dismembered limbs is found outside a women’s refuge with the initials J.C., Chief Commander John Coffin is forced to confront the ghosts of his past. A gripping crime novel from one of the most universally admired English mystery writers.Everyone has a few ghosts in their lives, especially John Coffin, Chief Commander of the Second City of London’s Police. He had thought all his were laid to rest though, and, newly recovered from a gunshot wound, is hoping for a calmer...

‘[Gwendoline Butler’s] inventiveness never seems to flag; and the singular atmosphere of her books, compounded of jauntiness and menace, remains undiminished’ Patricia Craig, TLSIn the aftermath of a terrorist explosion in London’s Second City, a woman’s battered corpse is found in a damaged building. But it is soon evident that this is no bomb victim. A sadistic killer has mutilated the remains, removing the fingertips and leaving the face unrecognizable. The only clue to the dead person’s...

Three little girls are reported missing in the same district of South London and Superintendent John Coffin suspects there could be more. A gripping crime novel from one of the most universally praised English mystery writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers.Three little girls have been reported missing recently in the same district of South London and Superintendent John Coffin believes there might be others.The area has more than its fair share of cranks, and Tony...

Scotland Yard Chief Superintendent John Coffin investigates a spate of killings at the notoriously evil No.22 Church Row. But he suspects there’s more to it than just a haunted house…From one of the most universally praised English crime writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.Scotland Yard Chief Superintendent John Coffin is openly sceptical of the evil reputation of the house at No. 22 Church Row. True, the house has seen violent death over the centuries. But none of it suspicious. Until...

Detective Constable John Coffin investigates the murder of a young woman, whose body is found floating in the Thames with a sinister note attached to her. A gripping crime novel from one of the most universally praised English mystery writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.In 1946, newly promoted detective-constable John Coffin arrives in Greenwich to take up his post. Soon after, the body of a young woman floats down the Thames to South London.It quickly becomes clear that this is no...

When a small boy disappears from the notorious Regina Street in the Second City of London, Chief Commander John Coffin takes on the case. From one of the most universally praised English mystery authors.Regina Street, nicknamed Murder Street, has known more than its fair share of murders and violent deaths – and one inhabitant predicts that worse is yet to come. The local police dismiss him as an eccentric, but then a small boy disappears.Chief Commander John Coffin takes on the case, and...

The first John Coffin story with a contemporary setting. A recently-promoted John Coffin soon has his hands full when a severed human head turns up the steps of his new home. From one of the most appraised English mystery authors, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.John Coffin now commands his own force in the newly created second city of London, established on the site of the old Docklands.Life is good for Coffin – he's earned a promotion and has just moved into a new home in the tower of a...

A corpse in his new house leads detective John Coffin on the trail of a murderer… A dark, gripping crime novel from one of the most appraised English mystery writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.The body of an adolescent boy is found by workmen under the floor of detective John Coffin’s house – and though it's not his case, Coffin keeps up with an investigation that comes to centre on his own neighbours.Attracted to Rose Hilaire, the sergeant learns that her son was a friend of the...

A young girl's body is discovered in an alleyway in London's Docklands, brutally murdered. Police chief commander John Coffin investigates. From one of the most universally praised English crime writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.A young girl's body is discovered in an alleyway in London's Docklands. The brutal murder polarizes the inhabitants of the newly gentrified neighbourhood under the jurisdiction of police chief commander John Coffin.Coffin receives a series of notes from ‘the...

The Second City is gripped by the tragic murder of four boys, each connected to the police force in some way. Commander John Coffin investigates, simultaneously dealing with a different horror closer to home. From one of the most highly appraised English mystery writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.The discovery of the mutilated body of Harry Seton shouldn’t have concerned John Coffin, Commander of London’s Second City. But the victim, a detective doing undercover work on the sale of...

John Coffin is left reeling after the former Prime Minister makes a shocking confession. A dark and gripping crime novel from one of the most appraised English mystery writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.A visit to the riverside apartment of the long retired former prime minister, Richard Lavender, is to have startling consequences for John Coffin. For it transpires that the old man, nearing the end of his life, has a confession to make: he is the son of a serial killer. He tells Coffin...

A man from John Coffin’s past is looking for his identical twin brother – a dangerous man, capable of murder. But are their identities one and the same? From one of the most appraised English crime writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.Sad, savage and bitter is what Stella Pinero says to her husband John Coffin, Commander of London's Second City, of the murder case which cuts into both their lives.Coffin is at the height of his powers when he is surprised by a visit from the past:...

The discovery of a pile of infant skulls and a grisly triple murder are just the start of Chief Commander Coffin’s worries in this gripping crime novel from one of the most universally admired English mystery writers.London’s Second City has been the scene of many a terrifying crime, but the discovery of a pile of infant skulls unearthed near police headquarters is particularly horrifying. Another major worry for John Coffin, Chief Commander, is a triple murder on his patch, that of a midwife...

When three young women are murdered, Inspector John Coffin must investigate the past to unravel the present. From one of the most universally praised English crime writers, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.Annie Briggs, whose evidence as a child was responsible for convicting two killers, feels a sense of unease and fears she is being watched. She then discovers that the murderers have been released and are living nearby. Annie is terrified and dreads the revenge she knows will come. When...