Published Bestsellers

The Wichenford Court Murder A sophisticated and stylish fictional detective page-turner guaranteed to entertain and stimulate jaded brain-cells, with a deftly crafted plot that will keep you guessing till the end. Looking for sophisticated and stylish entertainment to stimulate jaded brain-cells? LOOK NO FURTHER! Falconer has shown yet again that he can produce a top-rate whodunnit in the finest British traditions: urbane, cultured and witty.  A suicide before the First World War, a university career cut short by drink and debt, a missed business opportunity, family antagonisms, a threat to jobs on the estate, all give the inspector and his sergeant food for thought – not to mention a headache – until the inspector rumbles the one tiny mistake that leads to the unmasking of the killer. A triumph of literary sophistication! Find out more… The Wichenford Court Murder Compelling detective thriller loaded with twists and turns… publishedbestsellers.com

Treachery and Triumph - An Anthology of World War II Stories Editor Jeremy Moiser   Murder WAR? DEATH AND DESTRUCTION? VIOLENCE, HATRED, INEXPRESSIBLE GRIEF? PEOPLES PITTED AGAINST EACH OTHER, TO THE DEATH? WHY ON EARTH SHOULD I WANT TO READ ABOUT IT? THERE’S ENOUGH IN THE MEDIA EVERY DAY, SURELY? YES: BUT THIS IS DIFFERENT. In these pages, there is violence – impossible to avoid in an anthology dedicated to the memory of war – but there is also humour and romance, suspense and emotion, heroism and daring. The action is set variously in France, Britain, Eire, Kenya, Russia, Poland ... You are guaranteed hours of stimulation, enjoyment and fruitful relaxation with a book devoted to one of the defining events of our times. STARE INTO THE PAST WITH THE EYES OF THOSE GRIPPED BY ITS DRAMA. ... .. Find out more “ Exhilarating - be blown away ” …publishedbestsellers.com What is unique about the book? Treachery and Triumph - An Anthology of World War II

If you think that religion, sex, the aristocracy and mystery might make a good crime novel, TRY THIS ONE! A police investigation into the violent death of a part-time cathedral verger stalls for lack of incriminating evidence. However, three people have a close interest in clearing the matter up where the police have failed: the dead man’s sister, anxious to see justice done, and two of the police suspects, both released without charge but keen to clear their names... Author Julius Falconer says  “Whodunnits these days come in enough different forms to suit every reader’s taste: enormous variety has been introduced since the ‘golden age’ of British crime-writing of the 1920s and 1930s. There has arguably, however, been a tendency to ‘tell a good story’ at the expense of the wider richness of the genre. So with Falconer the reader gets added value – resonances in all sorts of areas of human experience, including philosophy, music, mathematical codes, politics, poetry, travel, reli

"Imagine, for a moment, Thomas Hardy writing crime, and you have a close approximation to Julius Falconer’s descriptive talents in ‘The Waif’. Ally that to a style reminiscent of Edgar Wallace in ‘The Four Just Men’, and you have all of the necessary ingredients for a fascinating detective story. Now throw in, for good measure, ‘Bradshaw’s Guide’, and you are off on a journey filled with wonderful scenery as we traverse Europe in search of a miscreant so cunning, that DI Moat seems foiled at each and every turn. ‘The Waif’ sets Moat and his assistant, DS Stockwell, a seemingly unsolvable mystery going back three centuries, and culminating in what appears, on the face of it, to be a simple case of murder. Falconer’s depth of knowledge of the environs, not just of Yorkshire, but also of several European locales, reveals a commitment to a level of research essential for a good detective thriller. Moat’s almost ‘Poirot’ characterization, and his invitations to ‘you dear reader’

Here is another gripping page-turner from a master storyteller. The chapters simply roll by, as you follow ace sleuth, Detective Inspector Wickfield and Sergeant Hewitt, through a myriad of possible theories about a fatality: each one having to be diligently considered, before filing, and moving on to the next. The story breaks with the sudden death of the Bishop of Worcester in 1966. His body being found in his official castle study, with the doors and windows locked from the inside. It could have been a perfectly straightforward accident and to another, less efficient and inexperienced officer, it might have been, but Wickfield is immediately suspicious; something doesn’t smell right. Looking around the room he sees things that others might have missed, and like a dog with a bone he gnaws and nags away at the problem, leaving no stone unturned until he’s interviewed everyone with the slightest connection to the high churchman. In a few short days following the death, and toge

An Anthology of Christmas Murders - Terror, Tinsel and Turkey Editor Jeremy Moiser Murder comes in all shapes and sizes. It also comes at inconvenient times. Christmas, for example. Season of goodwill, peace to all men (and women too, of course), homely jollity round the turkey and mince-pies. A time of family reunion and celebration, of good cheer, recollection and renewal. And of unexpected death. Lock the doors. Draw the curtains. Settle down in your armchair and enjoy ten stories by masters of the genre. Georgian England. 1960s and 1980s England. Twenty-first-century Africa, Canada, the USA. Murder by meat-hook, piano-wire, scarf, knife, hammer, golf-club, bullet, syringe …  And naturally all the classic motives: blackmail, revenge, disappointment, greed, anger, a perverted sense of duty ... Murders committed on impulse and murders carefully planned. A catalogue of weakness, hatred and villainy. It’s all here, at your elbow. And there’s more! Humour, intrig

This seemingly unfathomable case tests Worcestershire’s finest: Detective Inspector Stan Wickfield, and his appointed assistant: Sergeant Hewitt, to the limit. Author Julius Falconer takes a back seat and graciously allows the inspector, freedom to tell the story in his own inimitable fashion, (a bit like Conan Doyle letting Sherlock Holmes off the leash.) I must confess, I do enjoy the policeman’s own, man of the people style. With Wickfield, what you see is what you get. He is a no-nonsense, detective who knows how to call a spade a spade. However, I think Julius ought to be aware; there are occasional hints for the reader, that Wickfield could have his own literary aspirations.  In The Longdon Murders, an old couple are found dead in their daughter’s, Worcestershire-village cottage, both slumped over a table and poisoned by a contaminated bottle of wine. Their daughter is nowhere to be seen. Then shortly after, a young man’s body is discovered in a London bed-sit. He’s been

This is a fascinating Inspector Wickfield murder mystery. By this time the Police detective has much more experience under his belt. He is called upon to use his undoubted skills and thus provide the answer to another Worcestershire riddle. His co-partner in this tale is Sergeant Spooner and together they set about the enormous task of bringing the perpetrator/s to justice. This case would be tricky enough, if it wasn’t for the fact that, as their work progresses, it becomes abundantly clear, a recent murder has definite links to a very cold crime, of some twenty years earlier. It seems shocking to me, that amongst the glories of Worcestershire apples and pears, there could be some very odd fruit, lurking under the stairs! However this tale soon gets under your own skin, so to speak, and the book becomes another un-put-down-able, labour of love.

For me, one of the main attractions of the: Who done it ; is to pit my wits against the criminal investigators and attempt to anticipate who the perpetrator is, before they do. Author Julius Falconer allows Police Inspector Stan Wickfield to tell the story in his own way, warts and all, even to the point of interacting directly with the reader, right through the story. I find this very appealing, especially as the inspector is not some soulless, over-promoted wonder-boy, but a conscientious thief-taker who expresses his own self-doubts and is not frightened or ashamed to seek advice from his sergeant. As we proceed through the book, I get the impression we are all in it together, almost as if we were trying to interpret the clues to a complicated crossword puzzle. We understand the policeman’s frustrations, as he encounters each dead end and has to rethink his strategy. Some crime, novelists work on a totally different level, with convoluted sentences and padded chapters, which

Entitled 'The Wichenford Court Murder,' the story is written in the classic tradition of British detective fiction. As the story unfold, the novel's narrator shares with the reader all the information available to the investigating detectives. Readers can race against the detectives to figure out 'whodunit.' "My novels are mostly set in the county of Worchester, which provides just the sort of rural environment suitable for intellectual games in the mould of the classics of British crime fiction: country houses, quaint villages, gentle hills, calm rivers,  tranquil country lanes, views across farm-speckled valleys, and plentiful woodland ringing with the sound of bird-song. In a way my novels attempt to capture a more gracious age than our own, when the countryside was inhabited by farm-workers, when the roads were not so noisy and before the age of mass entertainment," said Julius Falconer.

The Trials of Thomas Roxby - A Country Parson’s Rum Tale By  Julius Falconer We are in the sleepy village of Sherburn in Elmete, Yorkshire, in the year of grace 1729. When George Bywater, the vicar’s servant, is clubbed to death as he collects the parish tithes, the vicar undertakes to track his killer. Unfortunately, his efforts are thwarted at every turn. Threatened with violence, arrested and tried on three separate occasions, on charges that include murder, harbouring a felon and poaching, he is saved from transportation – or worse! – only by an act of God (naturally). He is hauled before the archdeacon and then the archbishop himself for carrying out his investigation at the expense of his pastoral duties. Forbidden to proceed as he wishes, he yet takes advantage of a tip-off from a local magistrate and a chance encounter with a reformed footpad to pursue his inquiries - in a pure spirit of duty, of course – and comes up with a peculiarly delicate challenge to his co

 FIVE STAR Review As a river springs from a mountainside, the author Julius Falconer – himself a fountain of knowledge – spurts out amazing stories which keep his reader spellbound. And like a meandering river finding its way through uneven landscapes, the chronicler appears to ramble through intricately woven cases without overlooking even the tinniest detail. Quite often he is able to show that a tiny speck of information which the un-initiated investigator would happily have discarded turns out to be the key to unravelling a case. The chronicler has a penchant for information gathering which is the greatest tool in investigating any crime as evidenced by cases handled in all of Julius Falconer’s novels. Hence, with an incredibly high degree of perseverance, resilience, and patience he squeezes out information ‘in dribs and drabs' from reluctant informants. With these bits and pieces, he believes he will in the end get to the root of the matter. Like a rive

Death by Aloe-Seed: A Country Parson’s Singular Tale By  Julius Falconer Thrilling novel about a hapless vicar saddled with a mind-boggling murder inquiry dumped on him by the less than capable officers of the law. Time: the autumn of 1728.  Place: the usually tranquil Yorkshire village of Sherburn in Elmete.  Except that it finds itself the scene of an increasingly sinister chain of events: theft, robbery on the king’s highway, arson. And finally murder.  Expertly edited for modern readers, this second chronicle of the doings of the vicar of Sherburn draws the reader cosily into eighteenth-century village life where, travel arduous and time-consuming, curses feared and officers of the law less than eager to pursue their functions. .. .. Find out more

The Bite of a Mad Dog: A Country Parson’s Curious Tale By  Julius Falconer     It is the summer of 1728, and we are in the village of Sherburn, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. A conspiracy is in the wings, this has worrying, and sometimes hilarious, consequences for the hapless vicar, whose meagre detective skills are stretched to their limit. Both the squire and Sir Ralph are only too happy to leave it all to the vicar – until, that is, the vicar is arrested for gun-smuggling and the squire disappears. This neat tale both faithfully recreates the atmosphere of an eighteenth-century Yorkshire village and offers the modern reader rare entertainment .. .. Find out more  

Style is often a matter of taste. I daresay that the Falconer style, for reasons that are beyond me, is not to everyone’s taste, but at least his writing: is clear and unambiguous is grammatically, syntactically and orthographically correct in every detail has (I like to think) a certain elegance evinces an old-world charm too often lacking in today’s writing springs no surprises (no sex, profanities or violence) in short, provides good, wholesome, family entertainment!

The Review Julius Falconer uses language in a more formal way than many other modern authors. His sentences are carefully punctuated, his vocabulary is extensive (meaning there are some words I had to check in the dictionary – and one or two weren’t in my dictionary) and he uses many literary references and illusions. I like his style of writing, although in parts it does tend to be long-winded. It’s a complex book, following each of the three investigations – some of which seem highly unlikely, but then they do say that truth is stranger than fiction.Two people had been suspected of murdering James Thwaites, the verger, but the police were unable to produce any evidence and the cases against them were dropped. It appeared he had been stealing rare and valuable books from the cathedral and selling them on the black market. I was intrigued by the book-trafficking business which on the one hand was highly organised involving the use of white van drivers, and on the other seemed rema

We have 5 review copies of The Longdon Murders* in eBook to giveaway on Apple iBookstore. If you would like to review a copy, send a request via facebook or email bookreviews@pneumasprings.co.uk When you send your request please tell us a bit about yourself e.g. profession/vocation, blog, website etc. * http://www.pneumasprings.co.uk/TheLongdonMurders.htm  Read Excerpt:   http://www.readandsoar.com/2013/01/the-longdon-murders-chapter-1.html  FB Page:   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pneuma-Springs-Publishing/135001099857077 

Monk Fryston Author Julius Falconer's 14th crime detective novel featured in the local press, where the novel was set. 'The Alkan Murder', is set at Scarthingwell Hall, a large country house outside of Tadcaster, where the murder occurs. ...A resoundingly engaging detective murder mystery in the finest British traditions: suave, sophisticated and sharp. Newspaper cut out   The Alkan Murder is available in eBook. The Alkan Murder - Kobo ePub The Alkan Murder - Tesco PDF and ePub eBooks The Alkan Murder - Amazon Kindle The Alkan Murder - Google Play The Alkan Murder - Apple iBook

The Alkan Murder By  Julius Falconer A notably intriguing murder mystery–will you identify the murderer before the detectives do? Another crime novel from the inimitable Julius Falconer, written in the finest British traditions: suave, sophisticated and sharp. The wealthy and reclusive Harry Quirke, misanthropist and student of the piano works of Alkan, is stabbed to death in his country house outside Tadcaster. Only one of the obvious suspects seems to have much of a motive: his alibi is shaky, it is true, but there is no proof of his involvement. DI Moat and his assistant DS Stockwell follow one false lead after another in an exasperating investigation that seems to be getting nowhere: a gypsy caravan, an old murder in Kansas, the hurried will of a dying man, a golf-course green and an unfinished catalogue of Alkan’s works – none of it seems to make sense. Finally, the murderer makes the smallest of slips, and the penny drops - but it’s a close thing! Find out more “Res

Spring Leaf Books has announced that the e-book edition of 'The Waif' by Julius Falconer is free on Amazon from 14 - 16 August, 2012. If you haven't picked up any of Julius Falconer's publications yet, this is a great opportunity to try one of them for free. "An engaging and wonderfully entertaining detective mystery novel." The Plot The discovery of the body of a petty criminal one winter’s night in 2011, in a quiet Yorkshire hamlet, sets in train a series of events which stretches Inspector Walter Moat’s capabilities to the utmost. His wily opponent, as he eventually discovers, is an elusive master-criminal called Lomax, who weaves a devious and ruthless path to achieve his goals. Moat and his sergeant find themselves attempting to nail a crook intent on thwarting the resolve of a friendless waif. Follow the inspector in an intricate and baffling investigation in which only a brainwave saves his reputation. Gracious English, dry wit, learned asides, w