Margery Allingham was born in London in 1904. She sold her first story at age 8 and published her first novel before turning 20. She married the artist, journalist and editor Philip Youngman Carter in 1927.

In 1928 Allingham published her first detective story, The White Cottage Mystery, and the following year, in The Crime at Black Dudley, she introduced the detective who was to become the hallmark of her sophisticated crime novels and murder mysteries - Albert Campion.

Famous for her London thrillers, such as Hide My Eyes and The Tiger in the Smoke, Margery Allingham has been compared to Dickens in her evocation of the city's shady underworld. Acclaimed by crime novelists such as P.D. James, Allingham is counted alongside Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie and Gladys Mitchell as a pre-eminent Golden Age crime writer. Margery Allingham died in 1966.

Ruth Rendell was one of the great crime writers.

Her books -notable for their careful psychological observation, as well as their gripping plots - have sold over 20 million copies worldwide, and she won numerous awards, including the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing.

In 1996 she was awarded the CBE and in 1997 became a Life Peer. Ruth Rendell died in May 2015

Colin Dexter has won many awards for his novels including the CWA Gold Dagger and Silver Dagger awards.

In 1997 he was presented with the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for outstanding services to crime literature.

Colin's thirteenth and final Inspector Morse novel, The Remorseful Day, was published in 1999. He lives in Oxford.

Includes writing from various well-loved authors including Dorothy L Sayers, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ngaio Marsh, Anthony Berkeley, Ruth Rendell, John Dickson Carr, Simon Brett, and more...