Crime fiction

Braille

About this list

The titles in this booklist are just a selection of the titles available for loan from the RNIB National Library Service.

Don’t forget you are allowed to have up to 6 books on loan.

If you would like to read any of these titles then please contact the Customer Services Team on 0303 123 9999 or email

If you would like further information, or help in selecting titles to read, then please contact the Reader Services Team on 01733 37 53 33 or email

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Booklist

Ackroyd, Peter

Chatterton. 1987. 7v. (Interline) UK Loan only.

What is the mystery of Thomas Chatterton? A young poet and elderly female novelist try to decode the clues found within an eighteenth-century manuscript, only to discover that their investigation is disclosing other secrets for which there is no solution.

Allingham, Margery

Police at the funeral. 1931. 5v. (Interline)

Great Aunt Caroline rules the roost in an old Cambridge residence which is riddled with mystery. Now Uncle Andre is dead, Aunt Julia is poisoned and Uncle William has been attached. To the rescue comes that hero of detective fiction, Albert Campion.

Babson, Marion

Reel murder. 1986. 3v. (Interline) UK Loan only.

Evangeline Sinclair has been a star all her life. From silent films, through talkies, down to a retrospective showing at the recently opened Cinema in the Sky, she has commanded the limelight. Never more so than when a horrendous moment from one of her old films is re-enacted in the garden of the London house where she is staying-only this time the corpse is real...

Billingham, Mark

Sleepyhead. 2001. 4v. UK Loan only.

He doesn't want you alive. He doesn't want you dead. He wants you somewhere in between. DI Thorne is after a murderer who didn't mean to murder; someone who wants to put people into a state where they can't move, can't talk, can't do anything but think; someone who won't be caught by normal means.

Black, Ethan

The broken hearts club. 1999. 4v. UK Loan only.

Detective Conrad Voort races against time to catch an elusive serial killer, an investigation that leads him to an informal group of men whose only connection lies in their unsuccessful love lives.

Braun, Lilian Jackson

The cat who talked to ghosts. 1990. 4v.

Late one night, Jim Qwilleran is disturbed by the shrill ringing of the telephone. His landlady is distraught. Qwill becomes more concerned when their connection is severed. Arriving at the museum he finds her slumped on the kitchen floor, from what looks like a natural demise from heart disease.

Brett, Simon

Mrs Pargeter’s plot. 1996. 4v. (Interline)

Melita Pargeter's plans to build her dream house are scuppered when her builder is arrested for murder. Concrete Jack is no angel, but nor is he a killer. Unfortunately, though, the evidence is piling up and Concrete is refusing to talk. So Mrs Pargeter decides to do it for him. And with the assistance of her late husband's colourful band of “ex-colleagues", she sets out to unmask the real killer.

Brookner, Anita

Fraud. 1992. 4v. (Interline)

Anna Durrant, a spinster in her fifties who has spent her life looking after her invalid mother, is missing, and her friends seem unconcerned. Her doctor, who is curiously attracted to her, has reported this to the police, who are asking questions. Trapped by the expectations of others, Anna realises she can only break away and enjoy her freedom by extraordinary vigilance and determination.

Christie, Agatha

Murder on the Orient Express. 1934. 3v.

The Orient Express is brought to a halt by snow drifts; during the night a passenger is murdered. Which of the twelve passengers still on the train can have been responsible? Poirot investigates.

Coben, Harlan

Gone for good. 2002. 7v. UK Loan only.

Will Klien lost his lover and his brother in the same moment. Julie Miller was found brutally strangled and on the same day, Will’s brother, Ken, disappeared, wanted in connection with the crime. Just when Will thought he could banish the past, history begins to repeat itself.

Cody, Liza

Under contract: an Anna Lee investigation. 1986. 4v. (Interline) UK Loan only.

An up and coming rock singer embarking on her first major tour provides Anna Lee, Brierly Security's only female agent, with one of her most frustrating cases. Few people on the tour take security seriously, but to Anna, it is more than just a PR exercise, especially when she discovers that her client needs greater protection than anyone imagined.

Cole, Martina

The ladykiller. 1993. 13v. (Interline)

Patrick Kelly is the most feared man in London. His one soft spot is his daughter, Mandy. And when she falls victim to the sadistic rapist nicknamed the Grantley Ripper, Kelly wants revenge - with or without police help. Enter DI Kate Burrows.

Conde, Nicholas

In the deep woods. 1992. 6v. (Interline)

NYPD Detective Eric Gaines has had little success tracking down a serial killer, whose victims are all smart, career women, obviously unable to recognise a madman. When her best friend becomes the latest victim, illustrator Carol Warren is thrown into a waking nightmare. She becomes drawn into the deadly web of a twisted mind, and does not know who to trust

Connelly, Michael

Blood work. 1998. 9v. (Interline)

Thanks to a heart transplant, former FBI agent Terry McCaleb is enjoying a quiet retirement on his fishing boat in Los Angeles Harbour, until he has a visit from Graciela Rivers. She tells McCaleb that the heart beating in his chest belonged to her sister, who was not killed in an accident, as he'd been told, but was murdered. And she wants him to take up the investigation!

Cooper, Natasha

Poison flowers. 1991. 6v. (Interline)

Willow King's double life as a Civil Servant and bestselling romantic novelist has given her all the skills she needs to be a successful sleuth. When there are three separate incidents of poisoning, Inspector Tom Worth is convinced that a serial killer is on the loose. His superiors disagree, so he hands the problem to Willow.

Cornwell, Patricia

Hornet’s nest. 1998. 9v. (Interline)

(Sequel 1)

Deputy Chief Virginia West has a mood to match the heat in the city of Charlotte. Another out-of-town business man has been found murdered in his hire car and West is ordered to escort Andy Brazil, a rookie reporter on the local paper. And there are other causes for her increased nicotine intake: departmental in-fighting, court appearances and a never-ending stream of burglaries, busts and bodies.

Sequels also available.

Crais, Robert

Stalking the angel. 1989. 4v. (Interline) UK Loan only.

Private eyes don't come much tougher or funnier than L.A. based sleuth, Elvis Cole. When a ruthless hotel magnate hires him to find the missing Hagakure, a priceless Japanese manuscript, Elvis and his partner, Joe Pike, are inexorable drawn into a sinister shadow game of sexual obsession, amorality and evil - a game with terrifying consequences that ignite a high-tension thriller.

Creasey, John

The toff and the deep blue sea. 1955. 3v.

Richard Rollison, alias the Toff, is in Nice engaging girls for M.Rambeau's new cabaret at the Baccarat, but an attempt on his life suggests that someone knows that the real reason for his presence is to track down a poor-little-rich-girl who's gone missing. All lines of enquiry lead to the elusive Chicot, who, like his predecessor created by Alexander Dumas, may be a clown but is certainly no fool.

Crispin, Edmund

The glimpses of the moon. 1977. 4v.

In and around a village, murder follows murder. Professor Gervase Fen is involved in the intricate puzzle, and the Rector and the Major take a hand at playing detective, until the story culminates in a chase to end all chases.

Deaver, Jeffrey

The empty chair. 2001. 9v. (Interline)

Rhyme and Amelia are drafted in as forensic experts to help find two woman kidnapped by the Insect Boy. They manage to find him, then Amelia, convinced of his innocence, breaks him out of jail. Her actions are to have disastrous consequences.

Dexter, Colin

The jewel that was ours. 1991. 5v.

Chief Inspector Morse investigates the murder of an American tourist at Oxford's Randolph Hotel. The Wolvercote Tongue, due to be handed over to the Ashmolean Museum, is missing, and a corpse is found in the Cherwell. As Morse probes for motives and opportunities, he realises that it is only by the most daring and seemingly improbable deductions that all the pieces can be made to fall into place.

Dibdin, Michael

Ratking. 1988. 6v. (Interline)

(Sequel 1)

An investigation into a kidnapping in Italy turns to murder. Police Commissioner Aurelio Zen has crossed swords with the Establishment before, and lost. From a mundane desk job in Rome, he's unexpectedly transferred to Perugia to take over a kidnapping case, involving one of Italy's most powerful families.

Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir

A study in scarlet. 1882. 2v or 3v. (Available in Interline)

The classic partnership of Holmes and Watson is created in this very first Sherlock Holmes story.

Fairstein, Linda A.

The deadhouse. 2002. 7v.

Assistant DA Alexandra Cooper's latest investigation involves the murder of a woman who was meant to be under police protection. Delving into the woman's professional life, Alex and Mike Cooper discover a university department riddled with sleaze - but who would want the woman dead?

Fraser, Anthea

The April rainers. 1991. 4v.

A local murder meant that Detective Chief Inspector Webb would miss the concert given by Shillingham born composer Felicity Harwood. But, as the days passed, it seemed that Felicity Harwood herself may be in danger. Why had she collapsed on stage? And who were the April Rainers, whose death threat seemed to have been carried out?

Fraser, Antonia

Political death: a Jemima Shore mystery. 1995. 4v. (Interline)

Lady Imogen Swain has entrusted Jemima Shore with the diaries she kept in 1964, diaries which detail her passionate affair with Burgo Smith MP, the current foreign secretary. Lady Imogen, who has become increasingly eccentric over the years, threatens to reveal details of the affair, and of the subsequent disappearance of a young journalist. And a sinister series of events lead to political scandal, blackmail and murder.

French, Nicci

Beneath the skin. 2000. 7v. (Interline)

When three women receive an anonymous note informing them they are to be killed, their lives are understandably turned upside-down. Amid fears and threats, they find themselves becoming the accused as the police search for what they have done to attract the unrelenting attention of a killer.

Grafton, Sue

‘I’ is for innocent. 1992. 3v. American braille.

UK Loan only.

Kinsey Millhone is now working with lawyers Kingman and Ives and has taken over a case handled by private investigator Morley Shine, who died of a heart attack. Kinsey's investigation leads to new evidence, suspicions about Shine's death, and threats to her own life.

Harper, Karen

The tidal poole: an Elizabeth 1 mystery. 2000. 2v. American braille. UK Loan only.

Assisted by her band of loyal courtiers and retainers, young Queen Elizabeth I spearheads the investigation into the brutal murder of a high-living lady of her court.

Heyer, Georgette

Footsteps in the dark. 1933. 6v. (Interline) UK Loan only.

The Priory may be ramshackle in appearance, but Peter, Margaret and Celia, who have inherited it from their uncle, love it for its rambling charm. But there's more to this house than is at first apparent: for years hardly a single person has set foot in the place, and even their uncle chose to live in a different house, far away from this particular property. Local wisdom says that the house is haunted. And when things start going bump in the night, it certainly seems as if something ghostly is walking the Priory's halls. Then a murder is committed. Does the key to solving the crime lie in the realm of the supernatural? Or is the explanation much more down to earth?

Hill, Reginald

Pictures of perfection. 1994. 6v. (Interline)

Developers and tourists are causing unrest in the pretty village of Enscombe. And when a policeman goes missing, DCI Peter Pascoe gets worried. Andy Dalziel thinks he's just overreacting, but over two eventful days a pattern emerges, of lust and lying, of family feuds and ancient injuries, of frustrated desires and unbalanced minds. Finally, inevitably, everything comes to a bloody climax.

Hoag, Tami

Dark horse. 2002. 6v. UK Loan only.

Elena Estes' stubborn risk-taking has cost her dearly: her confidence, her career in the narcotics division of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, and most importantly, the life of a fellow cop. Now in retreat in Florida, she seeks peace. But twelve-year-old Molly Seabright comes asking for her help - her older stepsister, Erin, eighteen and trouble, has disappeared. The general consensus is that Erin, a groom at the Wellington show grounds, has taken off on her own, Estes discovers a dark side to a glamorous sport. There are drugs, payoffs and dirty deals - and in that world stalks a killer.

Hoeg, Peter

Miss Smilla’s feeling for snow. 1994. 6v. UK Loan only.

One winter evening a neighbour's six-year-old boy falls to his death from an apartment roof in Copenhagen, accidental death, according to the police. But Smilla Jasperson, a resourceful, tenacious Greenlander, knows the boy well; moreover she has a feeling for snow - those last footprints tell her a tale. Her investigation starts in Denmark and leads to the Arctic ice cap, as Smilla doggedly homes in on her quarry.