Visiting friends in London, Bencolin, an inspector of the French Surete, encounters a baffling murder, whose most important clue seems to be a small model of a gallows.

"In this follow up to It Walks by Night, Inspector Bencolin attempts to piece together a puzzle involving a disappearing street and a set of gallows that mysteriously appears through the thick London fog. And a mythical spirit, Jack Ketch, may be afoot and in the business of wanton execution, leaving Londoners on edge and in fear of the bogeyman. The Lost Gallows is an early gem from one of the great writers of the genre. This edition also includes the rare Bencolin short story "The Ends of Justice."--

"Carr (1906-1977) is at the top of his game in this taut whodunit first published in 1931."—Publishers Weekly, Starred review The British Library resurfaces an early gem from one of the great writers of the Golden Age of classic crime fiction. As the thick, autumnal fog chokes the capital, within the fire-lit lounge of London's notorious Brimstone Club a bizarre tale is being spun for Inspector Bencolin and his friend Jeff Marle. A member of the club has been sent a model of a tiny gallows, and the word is that the folkloric hangman Jack Ketch has been stalking the streets for victims by night, his gibbet in tow. The threat of this supposed bogeyman becomes thrillingly real when that same night Bencolin and Marle are almost run down by a limousine with a corpse behind the wheel. When an ominous message claims the car's passenger has been taken to the gallows at Ruination Street for hanging, the detective and his associate venture into the night to discover the truth behind the terrifying Ketch and a street which cannot be found on any map. First published in 1931 at the outset of Carr's legendary career in crime writing, this atmospheric mystery boasts all of the twists, tension, and unforgettable scenes of a young master at work. This British Library Crime Classics edition also includes the rare Inspector Bencolin short story "The Ends of Justice" and an Introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger-Award winning author Martin Edwards. Also in the British Library Crime Classics: Smallbone Deceased The Body in the Dumb River Blood on the Tracks Surfeit of Suspects Death Has Deep Roots Checkmate to Murder

1210 and a black force is sweeping England. For a vengeful King John has seized control of the Church, leaving corpses to lie in unconsecrated ground, babies unbaptized in their cradles and the people terrified of dying in sin. And in the village of Gastmere, the consequences grow darker still when Elena, a servant girl, is dragged into a conspiracy to absolve the sins of the lord of the manor. As the terrors that soon begin to plague Elena's sleep grow darker, in desperation she visits the cunning woman, who has been waiting for just such an opportunity to fulfil an ancient curse conjured at the gallows. Elena, haunted by this curse and threatened with death for a crime she didn't commit, flees the village ... only to find her nightmare has barely begun. For treachery lurks in every shadow as King John's brutal reign makes enemies of brothers, murderers of virgins and sinners of us all.

1820s Britain: after the wars with France, when unemployment was high and soldiers could be paid off, when the government was desperately afraid of social unrest, any crime was drastically punished and thousands were hung. But one could petition the King and an investigation might ensue...

Famed French detective Monsieur Bencolin comes out of retirement to solve a crime of passion in Golden Age mystery master John Dickson Carr’s sophisticated and surprising novel London lawyer Richard Curtis is sent to Paris by one of the firm’s senior partners to handle a delicate case. Revelations about playboy Ralph Douglas’s former mistress, the stunning redhead Rose Klonec, threaten Douglas’s impending marriage. But upon Curtis’s arrival in Paris, a body is discovered alongside not one but four different murder weapons. To save his client from the gallows, Curtis turns to the brilliant Monsieur Bencolin. Only this suave, devilish detective is ideally suited to unravel a case this strange with so many contradictory clues and passionately motivated suspects. The Four False Weapons is the 5th book in the Monsieur Bencolin Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.