Book excerpt: Discover the captivating treasures buried in the British Library's archives. Largely inaccessible to the public until now, these enduring classics were written in the golden age of detective fiction. "...this crime is conditioned by the place. To understand the one you've got to study the other." The Garths had farmed their fertile acres for generations, and fine land it was with the towering hills of the Lake Country on the far horizon. Here hot-tempered Robert Garth, still hale and hearty at eighty-two, ruled Garthmere Hall with a rod of iron. Until, that is, old Garth was found dead—'dead as mutton'—in the trampled mud of the ancient outhouse. Glowering clouds gather over the dramatic dales and fells as seasoned investigator Chief Inspector Macdonald arrives in the north country. Awaiting him are the reticent Garths and their guarded neighbors of the Lune Valley; and a battle of wits to unearth their murderous secrets. E.C.R Lorac was a prolific writer who penned over forty bestselling mystery books over the course of her career. First published in 1944, Fell Murder is a tightly-paced mystery with authentic depictions of its breathtaking locales and Second World War setting. Rife with detail and suspenseful historical crime, this novel earns its place among the classic British mysteries. This edition also includes the rare E.C.R. Lorac short story 'The Live Wire'. Other books in the British Library Crime Classics: Death in Fancy Dress The Body in the Dumb River It Walks by Night Measure of Malice Surfeit of Suspects Death Has Deep Roots The Notting Hill Mystery