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This page lists novels and short story collections that feature the policeman Chief Inspector Hazlerigg.

Close Quarters

Michael Gilbert

1947

A Chief Inspector Hazlerigg novel.

"Although it was first published in 1947, Gilbert began this novel in the years immediately before World War II and didn't finish it until he returned from active duty. Set behind the walls of the residential Close of Melchester Cathedral, it's a classic British mystery in which a young Scotland Yard detective is asked to interrupt his holiday to find out if the accidental death of Canon Whyte was indeed an accident."

They Never Looked Inside

Michael Gilbert

1948

A Chief Inspector Hazlerigg novel.

Published in the US as He Didn't Mind Danger.

"After six years of soldiering in occupied Austria, Major Angus McCann spends his second day back in London hunting for a quiet pub in which to sip a few beers. But on his third day out of the army, he is called into the ongoing investigation of a crime wave when an Inspector Hazlerigg of Scotland Yard questions him about a young man nicknamed "Gunner" from his military command. A few days after this conversation McCann begins his own investigation into the rash of criminal activity in London. And although inexperienced at his task, he has the good luck of a man who doesn't know in what sort of danger he has placed himself."

The Doors Open

Michael Gilbert

1949

Chief Inspector Hazlerigg appears in this novel but not as a major character.

"One night on a commuter train, Paddy Yeatman-Carter sees a man attempting suicide. Intervening, he prevents the man from going through with it. However, the very next day the same man is found dead, and Paddy believes the circumstances to be extremely suspicious. Roping in his friend and lawyer, Nap Rumbold, he determines to discover the truth. They become increasingly suspicious of the dead man’s employers: the Stalagmite Insurance Company, who appear to hire some very dangerous staff."

Smallbone Deceased

Michael Gilbert

1950

A Chief Inspector Hazlerigg novel.

"Horniman, Birley and Craine are a highly respected legal firm with clients reaching to the highest in the land. They use a system of keeping important documents in deed-boxes and when one of them is found to contain the remains of a certain Mr. Smallbone, the threat of scandal reaches their innermost psyche. Even worse, the police now suspect that the murder was an inside job. Suspicion falls on everyone and each member of staff keeps a wary eye open."

Death Has Deep Roots

Michael Gilbert

1951

Chief Inspector Hazlerigg appears in this novel but not as a major character.

"The woman was young, French, and on trial for murdering a man said to be her ex-lover and the father of her dead child: an English major who had been one of the great heroes of the French Underground Resistance. during the war. Mr. Macrea, hired to be her attorney on the first day of the trial, must find a way to prove her innocence in only one week. And he must dig deeply into the past to prove it."

Fear to Tread

Michael Gilbert

1953

Chief Inspector Hazlerigg appears in this novel.

"The story of how Mr. Weatherall, the headmaster of a school, but otherwise an ordinary man, was introduced to a huge nationwide black market operation. It seems that anything goes so as to ensure profits and the continuance of the fraud in what amounts to crime on a vast and organised scale. Moreover, was the victim run over by a train before, or after, he died? And can Mr. Weatherall succeed in getting to the heart of the matter in a one man battle against such odds?"

Stay of Execution

Michael Gilbert

1971

A short story collection that includes stories that feature Chief Inspector Hazlerigg and Peter Petrella. The contents are:

• Back on the Shelf
• The Blackmailing of Mr. Justice Ball
• Murder by Jury
• Xinia Florata
• Weekend at Wapentake
• The System
• Cousin Once Removed,
• Modus Operandi
• The King in Pawn
• The Rich Man in His Castle
• Where There's a Will
• Mr. Portway's Practice
• Stay of Execution

The Curious Conspiracy

Michael Gilbert

2002

A collection of 20 previously uncollected short stories published in honour of Michael Gilbert's 90th birthday. Includes stories featuring Inspector Hazlerigg, Patrick Petrella and others. The contents are:

• Introduction by Michael Gilbert
• Audited and Found Correct
• Friends of the Groom
• The Blackmailer
• Squeeze Play
• Under the Last Scuttleful
• Scream in A Soundproofed Room
• The Sheik Goes Shopping
• Clos Carmine
• The Curious Conspiracy
• Blood Match
• The Seventh Musket
• The Inside Pocket
• Freedom of the Press
• Miss Bell's Stocking
• Five on the Gun
• The Jackal and the Tiger
• Judith
• Verdict of Three
• Decoy
• Dead Reckoning

Even Murderers Take Holidays and Other Mysteries

Michael Gilbert

2007

25 previously uncollected short stories featuring Inspector Petrella, Mr. Calder & Mr. Behrens, and Inspector Hazlerigg. The contents are:

• Introduction by John Cooper
• The Girl Who Moved
• Somebody
• Amateur Detective
• Counter Attack
• Deep and Crisp and Even
• It Never Pays to be Too Clever
• Kendrew's Private War
• The White Slaves
• A Real Born Killer
• Old Mr Martin
• The Facts of Life
• The Battle of Bank Street
• Double, Double
• Death Duties
• A Nose in a Million
• Snuffy
• Death Money
• Even Murderers Take Holidays
• The Drop Shot
• Cumberland v Cumberland
• The Indifferent Shot
• Hangover
• When A Girl Moves Among Diplomats
• Twm Carney
• A Very Special Relationship
• The Smiler
• Mrs Haslet's Gone