Sweet Poison

A murder mystery featuring Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne.

August 1935. The Duke of Mersham's exclusive party ends in tragedy as General Sir Alistair Craig VC collapses, victim of a poisoned glass of port, just as Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne join the soiree.

The unlikely pair - the younger son of a duke and a journalist committed to the Communist Party - find common ground as they seek the truth and discover that everyone present that evening, including the Duke of Mersham himself, had motive for wanting Sir Alistair out of the picture.

But more deaths will follow before Lord Edward and Verity can get to the bottom of this intriguing mystery...

Praise for David Roberts:

'A classic murder mystery [...] and a most engaging pair of amateur sleuths' Charles Osborne, author of The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie

'A gripping, richly satisfying whodunit with finely observed characters, sparkling with insouciance and stinging menace' Peter James

'A really well-crafted and charming mystery story' Daily Mail

'A perfect example of golden-age mystery traditions with the cobwebs swept away' Guardian

“A really well-crafted and charming mystery story”

Readers waiting for another Christie redux will find great pleasure in this thoroughly enjoyable first novel - Booklist

A classic murder mystery with as complex a plot as one could hope for and a most engaging pair of amateur sleuths whom I look forward to encountering again in future novels

Roberts is convincing on period detail and crafts prickly characters...while in fact the period parallels Dorothy L.Sayers, Roberts goes his own way to create - or rather, recreate - a vision of those troubled times - Poisoned Pen

A fine roman a clef homage to the period country house mystery - Reviewing the Evidence

David Roberts worked in publishing for over thirty years, most recently as a director, before devoting his energies to writing full time. He is married and divides his time between London and Wiltshire.

It is August 1935 and the Duke of Mersham is hosting one of his influential parties, bringing together public figures interested in improving Anglo-German relations. One of his guests is General Sir Alistair Craig VC, who swallows poison in the duke's excellent port and dies just as latecomer Lord Edward Corinth and journalist Verity Browne arrive on the scene. The unlikely pair - the younger son of a duke and a journalist committed to the Communist Party find common ground as they seek for the truth behind the general's murder and discover that everyone present, including the duke himself, had a motive for wanting Sir Alistair out of the way. But more deaths will follow before Verity and Lord Edward get to the bottom of this singular mystery... 'A classic murder mystery' Charles Osborne, author of The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie 'Readers waiting for another Christie redux will find great pleasure in this thoroughly enjoyable first novel' Booklist

A murder mystery featuring Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne. August 1935. The Duke of Mersham's exclusive party ends in tragedy as General Sir Alistair Craig VC collapses, victim of a poisoned glass of port, just as Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne join the soiree. The unlikely pair - the younger son of a duke and a journalist committed to the Communist Party - find common ground as they seek the truth and discover that everyone present that evening, including the Duke of Mersham himself, had motive for wanting Sir Alistair out of the picture.But more deaths will follow before Lord Edward and Verity can get to the bottom of this intriguing mystery... Praise for David Roberts: 'A classic murder mystery [...] and a most engaging pair of amateur sleuths' Charles Osborne, author of The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie 'A gripping, richly satisfying whodunit with finely observed characters, sparkling with insouciance and stinging menace' Peter James'A really well-crafted and charming mystery story' Daily Mail 'A perfect example of golden-age mystery traditions with the cobwebs swept away' Guardian

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