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This page lists novels that feature the private investigator William Dougal.

Caroline Minuscule

Andrew Taylor

1982

A William Dougal novel.

"William Dougal, a post-graduate expert in the medieval script of Caroline Minuscule, stumbles on the garroted corpse of his tutor - and finds himself embroiled in a hunt for a cache of diamonds, a deadly fairy story in which no one obeys the rules, least of all Dougal's girlfriend Amanda. As the body count rises, the couple pursue both the diamonds and their doom from London, to an East Anglian cathedral close, from Cambridge to a wintry Suffolk estuary."

Waiting For The End Of The World

Andrew Taylor

1984

A William Dougal novel.

"William Dougal is blackmailed into doing a job for his old adversary James Hanbury. All he has to do is keep an eye on Dr Vertag, the leader of a lunatic fringe survival group. But he has hardly started when the barman who tried to warn him off is murdered. Suddenly, Zelda appears from Dougal's murky past, just as suddenly she is kidnapped from his flat. His natural desire to rescue her plunges him into a maelstrom of criminal activities. The shadow of James Hanbury hangs over everything. Like truth itself, Hanbury is rarely pure and never simple."

Our Fathers' Lies

Andrew Taylor

1985

A William Dougal novel.

"There's unfinished business between William Dougal and his widowed father. Part of it has to do with Celia Prentisse, William's ex-girlfriend. When her historian father is found drowned, it's declared suicide, but Celia remains unconvinced - not least because his abandoned clothes were found with a bottle of the wrong brand of gin and a slim volume of Schopenhauer's essays. It's not much evidence, but it's enough to send her godfather, retired British intelligence officer Major Ted Dougal, and his son William off on a trail that leads to a 1930s arsenic poisoning and a still-classified World War I court martial."

An Old School Tie

Andrew Taylor

1986

A William Dougal novel.

"James Hanbury is a reformed character. Or he would like to be. He plans to marry into respectability: his bride Molly is both rich and of good family. But alas, on the very day of their return from honeymoon, Molly is electrocuted. Accident or murder? The villagers of Charleston Parva believe that it's murder, and accuse her husband of having expeditiously dispatched her as soon as he had his hands on her money. Local feelings grow tense. Hanbury appeals for help to his old friend and adversary, Dougal, who is himself far from convinced of Hanbury's innocence. After all, he knows better than anyone that Hanbury is capable of murder."

Freelance Death

Andrew Taylor

1987

A William Dougal novel.

"Rod Lorton wants revenge. After his wife's death, he discovers unsavoury truths about her and her former employer, PR chief Ivor Newley. Called in to investigate Lorton's new-found enemy, private detective William Dougal uncovers a weakness to exploit: Newley's rare collection of coins, coins that would leave Newley susceptible to blackmail if the collection were to disappear . . . That was the plan. But the outcome throws up something far more sinister and infinitely more dangerous than Dougal could have expected. For instead of being met with a bundle of cash when he arrives to seal the deal, the only payment Dougal is faced with is a corpse."

Blood Relation

Andrew Taylor

1990

A William Dougal novel.

"William Dougal's life seems to be running smoothly. Now working with his old rival, Hanbury, his reputation is gaining him cases from every corner. But with every climb, there has to come a fall . . . When Dougal agrees to investigate the disappearance and suspected murder of publisher Oswald Finwood, he is faced with an array of suspects, all with the means and motive - from Finwood's estranged wife to an elusive author who had an appointment with Finwood on the day he disappeared. As Dougal probes deeper, he finds himself tangled in a complex web of greed, deceit and deadly family revenge."

The Sleeping Policeman

Andrew Taylor

1992

A William Dougal novel.

"When William Dougal is invited to the cottage of a young doctor to look into a case of blackmail, he soon discovers that the village community is not as quaint as it seems. For hostility and deception brew beneath the surface . . . As a network of corruption is gradually exposed, the village is shaken by a series of chilling incidents: from a sweep of thefts to a ruthless hit-and-run. And when tensions escalate into murder, it's up to Dougal to piece the puzzle together - before another body turns up."

Odd Man Out

Andrew Taylor

1993

A William Dougal novel.

"William Dougal is a respectable private detective, a hardworking citizen and a responsible father - and now he's also a killer. After a violent squabble takes a dangerous turn, Dougal decides to shun the police and instead take things into his own hands. He accepts the assistance of his old rival and current employer, Hanbury, to dispose of the corpse. But Dougal quickly finds that help doesn't come cheap. In fact, it's often more trouble - and danger - than it's worth."