On this page

This page lists crime novels and short story collections set wholly or partly in Cambridge.

Police at the Funeral

Margery Allingham

1931

"The tranquility of Cambridge is punctured when Cousin Andrew of the illustrious Faraday family disappears without a trace. No time is wasted in summoning Albert Campion and his sleuthing skills away from the bustle of Piccadilly to investigate – but little does he expect to be greeted by a band of eccentric relatives all at daggers with each other. Soon there are as many dead bodies as there are red herrings, and Campion must uncover the secrets of the Faraday dynasty before another victim falls."

Darkness at Pemberley

T.H. WHite

1932

"Police Inspector Buller is called upon to investigate two mysterious deaths in a Cambridge College. The Inspector is able to solve the mystery, but cannot find sufficient evidence to convict the clever murderer. The murderer and Buller are reunited when an attempt is made on the life of Inspector Buller’s host Charles Darcy at the country retreat of Pemberley. The story climaxes when it is discovered that the killer is hiding within the network of large chimneys—and he has abducted the hostess into the gloom with him."

Murder At Cambridge

Q. Patrick

1932

First published in the UK by Longmans in 1933 as Murder At The Varsity.

"Hilary Fenton an American student at Cambridge is overawed by the traditions and history of the University and instantly besotted with a fellow student Camilla Lathrop. He also befriends another student, Julius Baumann, who is murdered just after having asked Hilary to post an ‘important’ letter for him. After another murder someone tries to poison Camilla. Hilary must try to establish what in the past could link the murders and who could the murderer possibly be."

The Boat Race Murder

R.E. Swartwout

1933

"The Cambridge eight are in record-breaking form just ten days before the Boat Race when one of the crew is found dead in baffling circumstances. A bizarre suicide, or murder, and who had any motive for the latter? A place in the final eight might have been the reason but could it be as simple as that?"

The Cambridge Murders

Adam Broome

1936

"Two African undergraduates are found murdered in Cambridge. Professor Sir Wedgwood Camberley renowned for his robust views on matters African must surely be above suspicion. Chief Inspector Bramley of Scotland Yard is called in when the Cambridgeshire Constabulary find themselves, tragically, out of their depth. Fortunately little goes un-noticed by Cambridge College Porters."

The Punt Murder

Aceituna Griffin

1936

"Daria Lane returns to England from Italy to stay with her old school friend Merle, an heiress trapped in a loveless marriage who lives at Wissingham Abbey with her husband Leonard and his austere family. Merle is in love with the local Member of Parliament, an ambitious politician, and wishes to leave Leonard. At the local river regatta the plot takes a sombre turn. Is there, as the Chief Constable believes, a mundane explanation for the tragedy or could it possibly be more complicated? Daria is determined to establish the truth behind the events of that night, whatever the risks involved."

Trouble In College

F.J. Whaley

1936

"A group of undergraduates form a club for the purpose of committing crimes which cause no permanent harm to persons or property; but when an unexplained robbery is followed by a sudden death they feel they are getting more than they bargained for. You are invited to spend a week at St Chad’s, Cambridge, and meet an amusing yet typical group of dons and junior members who become involved in a succession of baffling mysteries."

The May Week Murders

Douglas G. Browne

1937

Subsequently published by Ostara Publishing in 2007.

"A dinner at the ‘Eagle’ followed by the Trinity May Ball ends in tragedy when Sir Vyvyan Rowsell-Hogg is found stabbed to death in King’s Lane. Major Maurice Hemyock has to keep his wits about him as he investigates blue murder most foul within the world of academe and with those connected to the ‘Nine Bright Shiners’."

The Cambridge Murders: A Detective Story

Dilwyn Rees / Glyn Daniels

1945

Originally published as by Dilwyn Rees, a pseudonym used by Glyn Daniels. Later editions used the Glyn Daniels name.

"Fisher College at Cambridge lies between St John's and Trinity Colleges, a fact which may escape those who visit Cambridge trusting only to the official guide books and seeing no more than a gap of twenty feet between those two great houses of learning. Here one morning the bedmakers and gyps, clamouring for admission on the last day of term were admitted to find, lying across their path, the body of one of the College porters. The murder of the porter begins a mystery which is deepend when it is found that the unpopular Dean of the college is missing. The search for the murderer is conducted in part by the police and partly by the Vice-President of Fisher College Sir Richard Cherrington, an eminent but slightly eccentric archaeologist with a penchant for amateur detection. The Cambridge Murders is a story of murder at high table, of death and detection amid good living and scholarship."

Death's Bright Dart

V.C. Clinton-Baddeley

1967

Uncertain about original publication year.

"It was just another conference in a Cambridge College during the vacation – or so it seemed. But there were some disturbing features about it. For one thing rather too many people there knew rather too much about some very nasty poisons. Then someone stole a lethal blow-pipe from a local exhibition. So elderly but spry Dr Davie turned detective."

My Foe Outstretched Beneath the Tree

V.C. Clinton-Baddeley

1968

"To enter this world is like settling into a beautiful house, all discreet order and comfort. But a walk outside in the lovely maze might disclose a body, done to death mysteriously and brutally. It is then that Dr. Davie really comes to life."

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

P.D. James

1972

A Cordelia Gray novel.

"Meet Cordelia Gray: twenty-two, tough, intelligent and now sole inheritor of the Pryde Detective Agency. Her first assignment finds her hired by Sir Ronald Callender to investigate the death of his son Mark, a young Cambridge student found hanged in mysterious circumstances. Cordelia is required to delve into the hidden secrets of the Callender family and soon realizes it is not a case of suicide, and that the truth is entirely more sinister."

The Case of the Philosophers' Ring by Dr John H. Watson

Unearthed by Randall Collins

1978

Also published by Branch Line (1980), The Harvester Press (1980).

"It is the summer before the outbreak of World War I. Holmes, at his Baker Street flat, receives a telegram from the brilliant young philosopher, Bertrand Russell, begging him to come to Cambridge to investigate the theft of a uniquely precious treasure - the mind of Ludwig Wittgenstein."

Buy from amazon.co.uk

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."

The Secret Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes

June Thomson

1992

"Thrilling and cryptic cases meticulously chronicled by Dr Watson are published for the first time. Crimes of intrigue and suspense: Marguerite Rossignol, the French Nightingale, is found backstage of the Cambridge music hall strangled with one of her own stockings; the British Prime Minister is sent a dead rat and a threatening letter; and a girl drugged on morphine is somehow linked to a Californian goldmine. Across the lights of London and up to Scotland, Holmes and Watson must encounter a Russian agent provocateur, the ghost of a woman who drowned in a boating accident and a blackmailer who calls himself the Pied Piper in their endeavour to solve this series of chilling mysteries."

Buy from amazon.co.uk

The Wyndham Case

Jill Paton Walsh

1993

An Imogen Quy novel.

"The locked library of St Agatha's College, Cambridge houses an unrivalled, and according to certain scholars, deeply uninteresting collection of seventeenth century volumes. It also contains one dead student. Tragic and accidental, of course, even if malicious gossip hints that Philip Skellow had been engaged in stealing books rather than acquiring knowledge when he'd slipped, banged his head, and bled to death overnight. Only Imogen Quy, the college nurse, has her doubts - until another student is found, drowned in an ornamental fountain."

SeaFire

John Gardner

1994

A James Bond novel.

"James Bond is back in action, with the stunning Flicka von Grusse at his side and his licence to kill renewed once more. His target is Sir Maxwell Tarn: a businessman whose legitimate empire spans the globe, whose wealth is uncountable, who also deals in illegal weapons on a breathtaking scale. But even Bond is unprepared for the speed of events, as a sting operation in a Cambridge hotel leads rapidly to an assassination in Spain, a fugitive in Israel and neo-Nazi plotters in Germany. Bond finally catches up with Tarn in Puerto Rico where his prey becomes his captor. Can he escape in time to stop Tarn?."

A Piece Of Justice

Jill Paton Walsh

1995

An Imogen Quy novel.

"Biography is usually a safe profession. Even rather sedate. But more than one biographer has found that writing about the late great mathematician Gideon Summerfield leads to a hasty retreat. Or something more deadly... Imogen Quy, the coolly competent college nurse at St. Agatha's College, Cambridge, first notices the pattern when her enthusiastic lodger Fran becomes the latest Summerfield biographer. Before she realises how deadly the Summerfield secret is, Fran's life is in danger. And Imogen may be next."

A Plague on Both Your Houses

Susanna Gregory

1996

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"Matthew Bartholomew, unorthodox but effective physician to Michaelhouse college in medieval Cambridge, is as worried as anyone about the pestilence that is ravaging Europe and seems to be approaching England. But he is distracted by the sudden and inexplicable death of the Master of Michaelhouse - a death the University authorities do not want investigated. But Matt is determined to get to the truth, leading him into a tangle of lies and intrigue that cause him to question the innocence of his closest friends - and even his family - just as the Black Death finally arrives."

An Unholy Alliance

Susanna Gregory

1996

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"In 1350, the people of Cambridge are struggling to overcome the effects of the Black Death - and with a high mortality rate among priests and monks, the townsfolk are vulnerable to sinister cults that have sprung up. At Michaelhouse, Matthew Bartholomew is training new physicians when the body of a friar is found in the massive chest that the University uses to store precious documents. While investigating, Bartholomew stumbles across a derelict church being used as a meeting place for the mysterious sect he believes is at the heart of a web of blackmail and deceit - with intention to overthrow the established religion."

A Bone of Contention

Susanna Gregory

1997

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"Cambridge in 1352 is rife with terrible clashes between the fledgling University and the townspeople. Matthew Bartholomew, physician and teacher at Michaelhouse college, is trying to keep the peace when a student is murdered and the town plunges into chaos. At the same time a skeleton is discovered that is rumoured to belong to a local martyr, and Bartholomew has his hands full investigating both deaths while the rioting intensifies."

A Deadly Brew

Susanna Gregory

1998

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"The winter of 1353 has been appallingly wet, there is a fever outbreak amongst the poorer townspeople and the country is not yet fully recovered from the aftermath of the plague. The increasing reputation and wealth of the Cambridge colleges are causing dangerous tensions between the town, Church and University. Matthew Bartholomew is called to look into the deaths of three members of the University of who died from drinking poisoned wine, and soon he stumbles upon criminal activities that implicate his relatives, friends and colleagues - so he must solve the case before matters in the town get out of hand."

A Wicked Deed

Susanna Gregory

1999

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"Matthew Bartholomew, doctor of medicine and fellow of Michaelhouse, Cambridge, is travelling with a party from the college to accept the gift of the living of a parish in Grundisburgh, Suffolk. One of his companions, Unwin, an unworldly scholar, is to be installed as priest. When they arrive, they are immediately thrust into the machinations of local boundary disputes between three landowners, but all such squabbles seem mere trivia when Unwin is murdered in the very church which was to have been his home. While trying to investigate a possible motive for his killing, Bartholomew discovers that this is not the first unnatural death in the village - deaths which everyone has put down to the curse of the plague-dead village. He is of too practical a mind to believe the superstitions, but is he wily enough to work out the real motive behind the murders and who will gain from them?"

Nights In White Satin

Michele Spring

1999

"It's May Week in Cambridge, a time of wild excess following the end of exams. Private investigator Laura Principal is asked to provide security for the St John's College annual May Ball, but for Laura, the May Ball turns sour when Katie Arkwright, a student guest from Anglia University, disappears. In her white satin dress, and with her halo of blonde curls, Katie looked angelic, but Laura discovers that her past was anything but. Could Katie's earlier experiences in Cambridge be relevant and what really happened at the Dorics private dinner?"

A Masterly Murder

Susanna Gregory

2000

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"The Cambridge college of Michaelhouse is in uproar in the November of 1353: Kenyngham the saintly but ageing Master has announced his retirement and with unseemly haste a Michaelhouse Fellow named Runham arranges his own 'election' as his successor. Within days he has dismissed several members of staff, including the redoubtable laundress Agatha, and is making life so unpleasant for the scholars that even Matthew Bartholomew believes his future as physician and teacher at the college is untenable. While Matthew is helping Brother Michael, Proctor of the fledgling university, investigate some suspicious deaths, Runham himself is murdered and, although mourned by none, Matthew and Michael know they have to solve the mystery before any more damage is done to their beloved Michaelhouse."

An Order for Death

Susanna Gregory

2001

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"In medieval Cambridge, believers in the theory of nominalism have set some colleges at the throats of those who believe them to be heretics, and Brother Michael, the Senior Proctor, has his work cut out to keep the peace. When a nominalist is murdered during a riot Michael is certain he will easily find the killer amongst the Dominicans, but before he can get any sense out of them his junior proctor, Walcote, is found hanged. Matthew Bartholomew starts to investigate, delving into a case involving nuns and rivalry with Oxford, and finds that the murders are less to do with high-minded principles than they are with baser instincts."

A Summer of Discontent

Susanna Gregory

2002

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"It's August, 1354, and physician-monk Matthew Bartholomew jumps at the chance to travel to Ely with his friend and colleague Brother Michael, as it will give him a unique opportunity to study in the richly stocked library of the Benedictine priory. Michael has been summoned to the city by his bishop, but it isn't until they arrive that they discover the reason - the bishop has been accused of murder. The charge seems ludicrous, but Michael takes the investigation seriously and energetically sets about his task. At the same time Bartholomew comes across an underground movement of rebellion against the church and the tithes they demand from the laity, and the two men also learn that there has been a spate of burglaries which are being blamed on a band of travellers. Then a fellow of the priory is murdered almost under their noses. Can this death be connected to the others? Are all the killings linked to the burgeoning rebellion in the city?"

Dead Letters

(Murder Is Academic: A Cambridge Mystery)

Christine Poulson

2002

Originally published by Robert Hale with the title Dead Letters.

Subsequently published by Minotaur and then Ostara with the title Murder Is Academic.

"A painful divorce brings Cassandra James to Cambridge, where she takes up a lectureship in a women's college and moves into her new home, an isolated house deep in the Fens. Suddenly her quiet life is shattered when she discovers the body of her head of department, Margaret, floating in a swimming pool. This death triggers a series of events that threatens everything Cassandra values: her job, her integrity, and her independence. She suspects that Margaret might have been murdered, and she is fearful that she herself might be the killer's next target. Will her skills in solving literary puzzles help her to unmask the assassin? She now has more to lose than she could ever have dreamt: it is her own life she must protect."

Buy from amazon.co.uk

A Killer in Winter

Susanna Gregory

2003

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"As Christmas of 1354 approaches, the town is gripped by the worst blizzards in living memory. As physician of Michaelhouse, Matthew Bartholomew struggles to help the poorer citizens cope with freezing temperatures while his colleagues prepare for the festivities. The weather has trapped many travellers in the town, including Matthew's erstwhile love, Philippa. She and her wealthy husband, Walter, are invited to Michaelhouse for the main feast, and Matthew hopes their stay will be brief - but a man found dead in a nearby church turns out to be Walter's servant. And then events conspire to ensure that Walter will never leave Cambridge again."

The Hand of Justice

Susanna Gregory

2004

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"In February 1355, amid the worst snows in living memory, two well-born murderers return to Cambridge after receiving the King's pardon - but they show no remorse, and are in fact ready to confront those who helped convict them. When Matthew Bartholomew is called to the local mill to examine two corpses, he and Brother Michael know who to question, but in the fledgling university city, nothing is ever as straightforward as it seems."

The Tainted Relic

The Medieval Murderers

2005

Medieval Murderers: Simon Beaufort, Bernard Knight, Ian Morson, Michael Jecks, Susanna Gregory, Philip Gooden

"July, 1100. Jerusalem lies ransacked. Amidst the chaos, an English knight is entrusted with a valuable religious relic: a fragment of the True Cross, allegedly stained with the blood of Christ. The relic is said to be cursed: anyone who touches it will meet an untimely and gruesome end. Several decades later, the Cross turns up in the possession of a dealer, robbed and murdered en route to Glastonbury. Investigating the death, Bernard Knight's protagonist, Crowner John learns of its dark history. In Oxford in 1269, the discovery of a decapitated monk leads Ian Morson's academic sleuth William Falconer to uncover a link to the relic. In 1323, in Exeter, Michael Jecks' Sir Baldwin has reason to suspect its involvement in at least five violent deaths. Thirty years later, several suspicious deaths occur in Cambridge - and, once again, the tainted relic has a crucial part to play. Finally, it's despatched to London, where Philip Gooden's Nick Revill will determine its ultimate fate."

Stage Fright: A Cambridge Mystery

Christine Poulson

2005

"During maternity leave Cassandra decides to join the theater and soon discovers that there is as much drama off stage as on. The director is desperate to revive his career and a documentary film maker is eager to start his, but when the lead of the play disappears, Cassandra suspects that it is more than just stage fright."

Footfall

Christine Poulson

2006

"Cambridge academic, Cassandra James, is shocked when her friend, Una, is found dead. It looks like a burglary gone wrong. But as more details emerge, Cass begins to wonder. Why did Una try to ring Cass in the moments before she died? Why did she change her will and deprive the Cambridge Literary and Philosphical Institute of her library of Victorian literature? And that’s not all that’s troubling Cass. Strange things are happening at her daughter’s nursery. And who’s this other Cassandra James who’s running around Cambridge, getting the real Cass into trouble? The line between appearance and reality begins to blur..."

The Mark of a Murderer

Susanna Gregory

2006

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"On St Scholastica's Day in February 1355, Oxford explodes in one of the most serious riots of its turbulent history. Fearing for their lives, the scholars flee the city, and some choose the University at Cambridge as their temporary refuge. However, they don't remain safe for long. Within hours of their arrival, the first of their number dies, followed quickly by a second. When Bartholomew and Brother Michael begin to investigate the deaths, they uncover evidence that the Oxford riot was not a case of random violence, but part of a carefully orchestrated plot. With the Archbishop of Canterbury about to honour Cambridge with a Visitation, and a close colleague accused of a series of murders Bartholomew is certain he didn't commit, the race is on to solve the riddles and bring a ruthless killer to justice."

Debts Of Dishonour

Jill Paton Walsh

2006

An Imogen Quy novel.

"Hoping to attract a generous endowment, St Agatha's College, Cambridge, invites fabulously wealthy Sir Julius Farran to dine. The evening is a disaster for everyone but Imogen Quy: Farran asks her to come and work for him. She declines, but when Farran dies, suddenly and shockingly, she has to look into it. His death left a large hole in his company accounts that could mean financial ruin for St Agatha's. To save her college, Imogen starts to cast her cool eye over the financier's heirs, employees and enemies. What is right about the death of Sir Julius? What is wrong about it? And why did it happen? After all, her name rhymes with 'why'."

The Bad Quarto

Jill Paton Walsh

2007

An Imogen Quy novel.

"Another foolhardy Cambridge college-climber has died attempting Harding's Folly. This time it's John Talentire, one of the brightest young dons at St Agatha's, and the verdict is accident, compounded by idiocy. But Imogen Quy - her name rhymes with 'why' - can't help wondering how such a clever young man died so stupidly. And when a wildly eccentric production of Hamlet is interrupted by a murder accusation, Imogen has to look into it, uncovering more crime than she expected."

To Kill or Cure

Susanna Gregory

2007

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"In the year 1357, Cambridge University is in dire financial straits: the town's landlords are demanding an extortionate rent rise for the students' hostels and the plague years have left the colleges with scant resources. Tension between town and gown is at boiling point and soon explodes into violence and death. Into this maelstrom comes a charismatic physician whose healing methods owe more to magic than medicine - but his success threatens Matthew Bartholomew's professional reputation, and his life."

Mistress of the Art of Death

Ariana Franklin

2007

An Adelia Aguilar novel.

"Adelia Aguilar is a rare thing in medieval Europe - a woman who has trained as a doctor. Her speciality is the study of corpses, a skill that must be concealed if she is to avoid accusations of witchcraft. But in Cambridge a child has been murdered, others are disappearing, and King Henry has called upon a renowned Italian investigator to find the killer - fast. What the king gets is Adelia, his very own Mistress of the Art of Death. The investigation takes Adelia deep into Cambridge; its castle and convents, and streets teeming with life. And it is here that she attracts the attention of a murderer who is prepared to kill again."

Gone to Ground

John Harvey

2007

"When police detective Will Grayson and his partner, Helen Walker, are called upon to investigate the violent death of Stephen Bryan, a gay Cambridge academic, their first thoughts are off an ill-judged sexual encounter, of rough trade gone wrong. But as their investigation widens, their attention focusses on the biography Bryan was writing about the life and death of fifties film star, Stella Leonard, whose death from drowning, when the car she was driving skidded mysteriously off a lonely Fenland road, uncannily echoed the climax of her most notorious film, Shattered Glass. With Bryan's journalist sister egging them on, and bringing herself into mortal danger as she conducts her own investigation, Will and Helen gradually peel away the secrets of a family blighted by a lust for wealth and power and its own perverted sexuality."

The Devil's Disciples

Susanna Gregory

2008

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"Rumours of plague threaten Cambridge again, ten years after the Black Death had almost laid waste to the town. Neither the church nor its priests had defended people from the disease and now they turn elsewhere for protection, to pagan ritual and magical potions. It is a ripe atmosphere to be exploited by the mysterious 'Sorcerer', an anonymous magician whose increasing influence seems certain to oust both civil and church leaders from power. One murder, another unexplained death, a font filled with blood, a desecreated grave - all bear the hallmarks of the Sorcerer's hand, only the identity of the magician remains a mystery. One which Matthew Barthlomew must quickly get to the bottom of in order for he and his University collegues to be free from danger."

A Vein of Deceit

Susanna Gregory

2009

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"There is something very amiss in the finances of Michaelhouse. Despite a new influx of well-heeled students, there is an acute lack of funds for the upkeep of the buildings, even for decent provisions. It is only when the Brother in charge of the account books dies unexpectedly that some sort of explanation is revealed: he has been paying large amounts of money for goods the college itself has never received. Although shocked by this evidence of fraud, Matthew is more concerned with the disappearance from his herbarium of a quantity of pennyroyal, a preparation known to cause a woman to miscarry, and a pregant visitor to his sister's household has died from an overdose of pennyroyal. Had she meant to abort her child or had someone else wanted to ensure she was unable to provide an heir to her husband's wealthy estates? When Matthew learns that it was her husband who had received Michaelhouse's money for undelivered goods he begins to search for other connections and exposes a very treacherous vein of deceit."

The Killer of Pilgrims

Susanna Gregory

2010

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"When a wealthy benefactor is found dead in Michaelhouse, Brother Michael and Matthew Bartholomew must find the culprit before the College is accused of foul play. At the same time, Cambridge is plagued by a mystery thief, who is targeting rich pilgrims. Moreover, pranksters are at large in the University, staging a series of practical jokes that are growing increasingly dangerous, and that are dividing scholars into bitterly opposed factions. Bartholomew and Michael soon learn that their various mysteries are connected, and it becomes a race against time to catch the killer-thief before the University explodes into a violent conflict that could destroy it forever."

The Anatomy Of Ghosts

Andrew Taylor

2010

"1786, Jerusalem College, Cambridge. The ghost of murdered Sylvia Whichcote is sighted prowling the grounds by commoner Frank Oldershaw. Worried her son is descending into madness, Frank's anxious mother employs rationalist John Holdsworth to investigate the sighting, throwing the uneasy status quo at the college into chaos. For the sinister Holy Ghost Club governs the privileged life at Jerusalem. Pursued by the ghost of his dead wife, Maria, and Elinor, the very-much-alive Master's wife, Holdsworth must unravel the circumstances surrounding Sylvia's death or succumb to the hauntings himself."

Mystery in the Minster

Susanna Gregory

2011

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"In 1358 the fledging college of Michaelhouse in Cambridge is in need of extra funds. A legacy from the Archbishop of York of a parish close to that city promises a welcome source of income. However, there has been another claim to its ownership and it seems the only way to settle the dispute is for a deputation from Michaelhouse to travel north. Matthew Bartholomew is among the small party which arrives in the bustling city, where the increasing wealth of the merchants is unsettling the established order, and where a French invasion is an ever-present threat to its port. But soon he and his colleagues learn that many of the Archbishop's executors have died in unexplained circumstances and that the codicil naming Michaelhouse as a beneficiary cannot be found."

A Lesson in Secrets

Jacqueline Winspear

2011

"In the summer of 1932, Maisie Dobbs's career takes an exciting new turn when she accepts an undercover assignment directed by Scotland Yard's Special Branch and the Secret Service. Posing as a junior lecturer, she is sent to a private college in Cambridge to monitor any activities, "not in the interests of His Majesty's Government." When the college's controversial pacifist founder and principal, Greville Liddicote, is murdered, Maisie is directed to stand back as Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane and Detective Chief Inspector Richard Stratton spearhead the investigation. She soon discovers, however, that the circumstances of Liddicote's death appear inextricably linked to the suspicious comings and goings of faculty and students under her surveillance. To unravel this web, Maisie must overcome a reluctant Secret Service, discover shameful hidden truths about Britain's conduct during the Great War, and face off against the rising powers of the Nazi Party in Britain."

Murder by the Book

Susanna Gregory

2012

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"It is drawing near to the end of term, and the University at Cambridge is in turmoil over the opening of a new Common Library. There is an attack on one of the masters at a meeting to discuss the matter, and a body is found floating in the pond in the library's garden on the eve of its opening. Meanwhile, there are rumours of a large force of dangerous smugglers lurking in the Fens. Aided by their friend Sheriff Tulyet, Bartholomew and Michael must thwart the invaders before the Feast of Corpus Christi the following week. To fail might mean the destruction of the town."

The Lost Abbot

Susanna Gregory

2013

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"n the summer of 1358 Matthew Bartholomew finds himself one of a party of Bishop's Commissioners, sent north to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the Abbot of Peterborough. He and his colleagues quickly learn that behind the beautiful façade of the Benedictine monastery there is a vicious struggle for power, and that not everyone would be happy to see the prelate's safe return. This unrest and discontent seems to have spread throughout the town, and there are bitter rivalries between competing shrines and the financial benefits of the relics they hold. One of these shrines is dedicated to Lawrence de Oxforde, a robber and murderer who was executed for his crimes, but who has been venerated ever since miracles started occurring at his grave. But when Bartholomew and his friend Brother Michael go to investigate, they find murder instead."

The Cambridge Mysteries

Barbara Cleverly

2013

"Four short murder mysteries, three featuring Detective Sergeant Christina Kenton, set in the Cambridgeshire countryside."

• No Picnic For Teddy Bears
• In A Dark Issue
• The place: All Hallows church. The time: Halloween night
• And in Sweet Alison

Death of a Scholar

Susanna Gregory

2014

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"As well as the theft of irreplaceable items from Michaelhouse, which threatens its very survival, a new foundation, Winwick Hall, is causing consternation amongst Matthew's colleagues. The founder is an impatient man determined that his name will grace the University's most prestigious college. He has used his wealth to rush the construction of the hall, and his appointed Fellows have infiltrated the charitable Guild founded by Stanmore, in order to gain the support of Cambridge's most influential citizens on Winwick's behalf. A perfect storm between the older establishments and the brash newcomers is brewing when the murder of a leading member of the Guild is soon followed by the death of one of Winwick's senior Fellows. Assisting Brother Michael in investigating these fatalities leads Matthew into a web of suspicion, where conspiracy theories are rife but facts are scarce and where the pressure from the problems of his college and his family sets him on a path that could endanger his own future."

Blood of the South

Alys Clare

2014

An Aelf Fen novel

" When Lassair encounters a veiled noblewoman on the quay at Cambridge one morning, set on by an angry mob, she assumes involvement with her will be brief. She has no idea that the woman, alone but for her infant child, brings both mystery and peril. Then a devastating flood hits the fens, and among the wreckage and debris washed up at Aelf Fen is a body; Lassair, in the company of a sheriff's officer, wonders if she is dealing with murder . . . Meanwhile, in the south, Lassair's partner Rollo is moving with relief towards the conclusion of his mission for King William in the Holy Land. But then disaster strikes, and, with the mighty forces of an emperor on his heels, abruptly he turns from hunter to hunted. In order to escape alive, he risks help from a stranger, and embarks on a voyage that turns out to be far more dangerous than he could ever have imagined."

Bodies in the Bookshop

Editor: L.C. Tyler & Ayo Onatade

2014

"Investigate the killer plots of twenty mysteries - nearly all specially commissioned and all with a literary flavour - published in honour of Heffers and independent bookshops everywhere. …. The brief to the contributors was for a story based on any or all of four themes: bookshops, Cambridge, books and libraries. We succeeded with the first three, but, in the absence of any library-based offering, two stories on other themes have sneaked in, though not undetected!"

• Foreword (Richard Reynolds)
• Introduction (Ayo Onatade)
• The Body In The Bookshop (Simon Brett)
• Death Of The Author (Alison Bruce)
• The Best Revenge (Kate Charles)
• Killing Your Darlings (Ann Cleeves)
• Brought To Book (Judith Cutler)
• The Strange Affair At Sheepwash (Ruth Downie)
• The Guest List (Stella Duffy)
• Lucky Liam (Martin Edwards)
• The Good Theif's Guide To Bookselling (Chris Ewan)
• Remember My Name (Christopher Fowler)
• Flotsam And Jetsam (Michael Gregorio)
• The Photocopier Murders (Susanna Gregory and Simon Beaufort)
• Castles In The Air (Elly Griffiths)
• The Stain (Jenna Hawkins)
• The Storyteller (Suzette A. Hill)
• The Problems Of Staterrom 10 (Peter Lovesey)
• Closure (Michele Spring)
• Waiting For Mr Right (Andrew Taylor)
• Murder in Trumpington (L.C. Tyler)

A Poisonous Plot

Susanna Gregory

2015

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"In 1358, over a century after its foundation in Cambridge, the college of Michaelhouse is facing a serious shortfall of funds and competition from upstarts rivals such as Zachary Hostel. Their problems are made no easier by the hostility of the town's inhabitants who favour the university moving away to the Fens. This simmering tension threatens to break into violence when a well-known tradesman is found dead in one of the colleges. Matthew Bartholomew knows he was poisoned but cannot identify the actual substance, never mind the killer. He also worries that other illnesses and deaths may have been caused by the effluent from his sister's dye works. Torn between loyalties to his kin and to his college, he fears the truth may destroy both his personal and professional life, but he knows he must use his skills as a physician to discover the truth before many more lose their lives entirely."

The New Cambridge Mysteries

Barbara Cleverly

2015

"A collection of mystery stories set in and around Cambridge - past, present and future - including cases for Great War veteran Inspector John Redfyre in 1922, contemporary investigations for the feisty Detective Constable Stella Kenton and a disturbing, dystopian view of Cambridge (and policing) in the year 2022."

• A Night Climber
• The Cantaber Common Horror
• Kill Me Tomorrow
• No Picnic For Teddy Bears
• In A Dark Issue
• And in Sweet Alison

A Grave Concern

Susanna Gregory

2016

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"Identifying the murderer of the Chancellor of the University is not the only challenge facing physician Matthew Bartholomew. Many of his patients have been made worse by the ministrations of a 'surgeon' recently arrived from Nottingham, his sister is being rooked by the mason she has commissioned to build her husband's tomb, and his friend, Brother Michael, has been offered a Bishopric which will cause him to leave Cambridge. Brother Michael, keen to leave the University in good order, is determined that the new Chancellor will be a man of his choosing. The number of contenders putting themselves forward for election threatens to get out of control, then more deaths in mysterious circumstances make it appear that someone is taking extreme measures to manipulate the competition. With passions running high and a bold killer at large, both Bartholomew and Brother Michael fear the very future of the University is at stake."

Diana's Altar

Barbara Cleverly

2016

A Detective Joe Sandilands novel.

"Cambridge, October 1933. Inside the old All Hallows Church on All Hallows' Eve, Doctor Adelaide Hartest bears witness to the final moments of a dying stranger. Despite the dagger plunged into the stranger's chest, the death is ruled a suicide, compounded by a formal confession before death. The victim, it is revealed, is known to Scotland Yard, and Assistant Commissioner Joe Sandilands is sent all the way from London to investigate. Thrown into a deadly ring of cloak-and-dagger politics and high-society hedonism, Sandilands must uncover the truth before the Hellfire Club, an elite society composed of intelligentsia and aristocrats, topples the institutions and harms the people he has sworn to protect - especially one he has come to truly love."

The Habit of Murder

Susanna Gregory

2017

A Matthew Bartholomew novel.

"In 1360 a deputation from Cambridge ventures to the Suffolk town of Clare in the hope that the wealthy Elizabeth de Burgh has left a legacy to Michaelhouse. Yet when they arrive they discover that the report of her death is false and that the college seems destined for bankruptcy. Determined to see if some of its well-heeled citizens can be persuaded to sponsor Michaelhouse, Matthew Bartholomew, Brother Michael and Master Langelee become enmeshed in the town's politics. They quickly discover that a great many other people in Clare have recently met untimely deaths. These killings, combined with the arrogance Lady de Burgh has shown over the refurbishment of the church and the grotesque behaviour of some of her entourage, have created a dangerous restlessness in the town: an atmosphere intensified when yet more murders occur. One of the victims is a fellow traveller of the Michaelhouse contingent, and Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael feel honour-bound to identify his killer. It is a hunt which takes them deep into Clare's murky foundations and which threatens their own survival as well as that of their beloved college."

Nine Lessons

Nicola Upson

2017

A Josephine Tey novel.

"Called to the peaceful wooded churchyard of St-John's-at-Hampstead, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose faces one of the most audacious and unusual murders of his career. The body of the church's organist is found in an opened grave, together with a photograph of a manor house and a cryptic note. The image leads Archie to Cambridge, where the crisp autumn air has brought with it bustling life to the ancient university and town. Both Josephine Tey and Archie's lover Bridget have recently settled in Cambridge, though both women are not equally happy to see him. One has concealed an important secret from Archie which now threatens to come to light. Meanwhile, the change of seasons has also brought with it a series of vicious attacks against women in town, spreading fear and suspicion through the community. Soon, another body is revealed, and in the shadow of King's College Chapel, Archie uncovers a connection twenty-five years old which haunted both victims--as well as some of their living companions. As Archie and Josephine each grapple with savage malefactors intent on making their victims pay, they must race to stop another attack."

Fall of Angels

Barbara Cleverly

2018

A Detective John Redfyre novel.

"Great Britain, 1923: Detective Inspector John Redfyre is a godsend to the Cambridge CID. A handsome young veteran bred among the city’s educated elite, he is no stranger to the set running its esteemed colleges and universities—a society that previously seemed impenetrable to even those at the top of local law enforcement, especially with the force plagued by its own history of corruption. When Redfyre is invited to attend the annual St. Barnabas College Christmas concert in his Aunt Henrietta’s stead, he is expecting a quiet evening, though perhaps a bit of matchmaking mischief on his aunt’s part. But he arrives to witness a minor scandal: Juno Proudfoot, the trumpeter of the headlining musical duo, is a woman, and a young one at that—practically unheard of in conservative academic circles. When she suffers a near-fatal fall after the close of the show, Redfyre must consider whether someone was trying to kill her."

The Great Darkness

Jim Kelly

2018

"1939, Cambridge: The opening weeks of the Second World War, and the first blackout - The Great Darkness - covers southern England, enveloping the city. Detective Inspector Eden Brooke, a wounded hero of the Great War, takes his nightly dip in the cool waters of the Cam. Daylight reveals a corpse on the riverside, the body torn apart by some unspeakable force. Brooke investigates, calling on the expertise and inspiration of a faithful group of fellow `nighthawks' across the city, all condemned, like the detective, to a life lived away from the light. Within hours The Great Darkness has claimed a second victim. War, it seems, has many victims, but what links these crimes of the night?"