Kindle Price: $9.49

Save $0.50 (5%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Christianna Brand
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

What Dread Hand?: A Collection of Short Stories (The Inspector Cockrill Mysteries) Kindle Edition

by Christianna Brand (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 20 ratings
See all formats and editions
Fifteen classic tales of murder, mayhem, and mystery from “one of the great masters of English detective fiction” (Francis M. Nevins, author of Cornell Woolrich).
  Mr. de Silva begins the day sipping his coffee, reading the Times, and trying to decide how to murder his wife. After two years of marriage, he’s simply fed up, and has decided to move on to someone younger, slimmer, and prettier. The trouble is, he wants to keep his wife’s money. Killing her is the neatest solution. So begins “The Rose,” a three-page masterpiece that was the first story Christianna Brand ever wrote for publication. Over the next half-century she would write dozens of novels and countless short stories, proving again and again her genius for crisp characterization, witty dialogue, and timely bits of violence. This collection holds some of her finest early work—tales of murders committed for money, jealousy, or simply for something to do. Though the crimes often go awry, there is nothing quite so charming as a vintage Brand homicide.    
Previous page
  1. Print length
    246 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
  5. Publication date
    March 5, 2013
  6. File size
    2733 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page

Editorial Reviews

Review

“You have to reach for the greatest of Great Names to find Brand’s rivals in the subtleties of the trade.” —The New York Times “One of the great masters of English detective fiction.” —Francis M. Nevins, author of Cornell Woolrich: First You Dream, Then You Die “[Brand] was ready to jig endlessly with her pieces, to reject and replace until there was not a single gap that her reader would detect.”  —H. R. F. Keating, author of Crime & Mystery: The 100 Best Books

About the Author

Christianna Brand (1907–1988) was one of the most popular authors of the Golden Age of British mystery writing. Born in Malaya and raised in India, Brand used her experience as a salesgirl as inspiration for her first novel, Death in High Heels (1941), which she based on a fantasy of murdering an irritating coworker. The same year, she debuted her most famous character, Inspector Cockrill, whose adventures she followed until 1957. The film version of the second Cockrill mystery, Green for Danger, is considered one of the best-ever screen adaptations of a classic English mystery.  Brand also found success writing children’s fiction. Her Nurse Matilda series, about a grotesque nanny who tames ill-behaved children, was adapted for the screen in 2005 as Nanny McPhee. Brand received Edgar Award nominations for the short stories “Twist for Twist” and “Poison in the Cup,” as well as a nomination for her nonfiction work Heaven Knows Who.  

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00BERBNP4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ MysteriousPress.com/Open Road (March 5, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 5, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2733 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 246 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Christianna Brand

Christianna Brand

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5
20 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Bracton
4.0 out of 5 stars A collection of very twisted tales
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2015
Verified Purchase
Not all of the stories involve Inspector Cockrill (notwithstanding any impression you might get from the title information provided by Amazon). Once you're past that disappointment, most of the stories are chill-inducing. A couple of the stories struck me as being too predictable (which, to my mind, warrants 4 stars instead of 5). The rest of the stories will have you sleeping with the lights on for several nights: twisted tales and twisted endings will leave you a bit jumpy at night.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Greg
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating mystery collection
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
Bright collection of short stories from a master of mystery. Witty and concise stories of crime and capture of whomever used their dread hand.
Helpful
 Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report