This image is the cover for the book Kill or Be Killed, The Patrick Dawlish Mysteries

Kill or Be Killed, The Patrick Dawlish Mysteries

Murder on a fruit farmer’s property forces him to hunt for a killer in this classic English crime novel by the author of the Department Z series.

With his apple harvest finally complete, Patrick Dawlish is resting at his Surrey country house and itching for excitement. An evening stroll with his pipe quickly delivers just that when he discovers intruders on his property. Two men speed away into the night as a scream erupts in the darkness . . .

Dawlish spots a girl standing beside a body just before she collapses. Who is she? Who is the dead man savagely murdered on his doorstep? A war hero and natural-born detective, Dawlish isn’t about to leave this up to the police. Springing into action, risking the trust of his friends and the love of his wife, Dawlish searches for a killer who isn’t afraid to strike again . . .

John Creasey

John Creasey, born in 1908, was a paramount English crime and science fiction writer who used myriad pseudonyms for more than six hundred novels. He founded the UK Crime Writers’ Association in 1953. In 1962, his book Gideon’s Fire received the Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. Many of the characters featured in Creasey’s titles became popular, including George Gideon of Scotland Yard, who was the basis for a subsequent television series and film. Creasey died in Salisbury, UK, in 1973.