Short Story Collections

Sixteen stories deal with a grieving widower, murder, revenge, and a jealous wife

Prize-winning author Robert Barnard presents seventeen witty mystery stories featuring everyday characters who discover their potential for murder, including a young woman who weds a string of old men and develops a penchant for widowhood.

How far would a child go to rid himself of a despised parent? Or a man of the cloth to be elected pope? From murderous ministers and conniving cardinals to the dark imagination of a schoolboy and the suspicions of an ageing Mr Mozart, this unique collection of Robert Barnard's short stories takes you on a trail of murder, mystery and intrigue with some of his finest - and darkest - literary creations. Including the prizewinning "Rogues' Gallery", the haunting tale of a devilish portrait, and "Sins of Scarlet", a story of sudden death in the Vatican, this eclectic collection proves that, whether reimagining the life of cultural icons or spying opportunity for morbid crimes amidst events grand and domestic, novelist Robert Barnard is the master of the short story mystery.