John Blackburn

Mary Irwin was crushed by a truck. The police ruled it an accidental death, but her husband Bill isn't so sure: his own memory of the night is clouded by amnesia-could he have pushed her himself? His investigations uncover an affair between Mary and her boss, a murderous blackmail conspiracy, the identity of a 'missing' Nazi war criminal, and a ruthless killer whose only weakness is his horror of rats . . . The eighth novel by the prolific John Blackburn (1923-1993), one of the most popular British thriller and horror writers of his day, The Winds of Midnight (1964) features a whirlwind plot that proceeds at breakneck pace towards an explosive conclusion.

The Russians want Peter Carlin for his top secret weapons plans. The British want him for the murder of his wife - a crime he didn't commit. Now he must find a way to flee Soviet Russia and return home to find the real killer - without being killed or arrested on the way. But he may not be prepared for the shocking truth he will discover about his wife's tragic demise ... John Blackburn's fourth novel, Dead Man Running (1960), is a gripping Cold War thriller that will have readers on the edge of their seats." Swift, sure, and exciting ... harrowing escapes, devious characters, black villainy and a friend in need make an absorbing book." - Boston Sunday Herald"A neat little package of horror - beautifully sustained ... frighteningly realistic. Don't start reading too late in the evening, especially if you're alone." - San Francisco Examiner"Blackburn's choicest work of contemporary horror ... a frontrunner in the mystery field and well worth the hour or two it takes to read it." - Pensacola News Journal

'We daren't go a-hunting for fear of little men' - words from an old children's song, but to the residents of one Welsh village it's more than just a nursery rhyme. A legend has been handed down through the ages, telling of an ancient mountain people, dedicated to evil, who were massacred by the villagers' ancestors three thousand years ago. No animals ever graze on the northern slope of the mountain where the bloodshed took place and strange incidents befall anyone who wanders there. What does this folktale have to do with a man's recurring nightmares, the murder of a High Court judge, an outbreak of food poisoning, a strange road accident, and the death of a rock climber? Sir Marcus Levin is determined to find out, but he may not be prepared for the truth that will be revealed in a horrifying ceremony at the heart of the mountain. One of the finest novels by John Blackburn (1923-1993), known in his time as 'today's master of horror' (The Times Literary Supplement), For Fear of Little Men (1972) is a classic of folk horror, back in print at last to chill a new generation of readers.'He is certainly the best British novelist in his field and deserves the widest recognition.' - Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural'A stylish, genuinely chilling author . . . undoubtedly one of England's best practicing novelists in the tradition of the thriller novel.' - St James Guide to Crime & Mystery Writers

The year is 1969, and in the British city of Randelwyck, racial tensions are simmering, the situation made worse by an acute housing shortage. Legendary architect Sir George Strand has a solution: two new state-of-the-art high-rise apartment towers linked by walkway bridges, symbolizing the bridging of differences and a closer link between the divided citizenry. But when a professor hints there may be a dangerous flaw in the blueprints, he quickly winds up dead. What is Sir George's real agenda, and how is it connected to the centuries-old legend of the Skulda? John Blackburn (1923-1993) was regarded as one of the great British mystery and thriller writers of his time. This first-ever reprint of Blow the House Down (1970), one of his scarcest books, includes a new introduction by Adrian Schober. Sixteen other thrillers, mysteries, and horror novels by Blackburn are also available from Valancourt.'He can be depended upon to sustain swift, sure, exciting, and absorbing stories ... undoubtedly one of England's best practicing novelists in the tradition of the thriller novel.' - St. James Guide to Crime & Mystery Writers'A macabre entertainment by an accomplished writer.' - The Spectator

Teenager Elsie Kerr is hospitalized with a high fever after being found raped and beaten. When eminent bacteriologist Sir Marcus Levin is asked to consult on the case, Elsie accuses him of the crime, pointing at him and screaming "Devil Daddy " Then things really start to get weird: Elsie ages eighty years in a matter of hours, and Sir Marcus finds himself racing to stop whatever killed her from spreading while at the same time trying to clear his name. But the trail will take some unexpected and sinister turns: a grisly corpse half-eaten by pigs, a coven of madmen with a diabolical plot, a grotesque and sacrilegious ritual, and an enigmatic old man who may be unable to die John Blackburn (1923-1993) was a master at reworking ancient and medieval legends into chilling tales of modern-day horror, and in Devil Daddy (1972), one of his most bizarre novels, he is at his most inventive. This new edition is the first in over four decades and joins fourteen of Blackburn's other classic thrillers also published by Valancourt Books. 'Even on the warmest night of the year, Mr Blackburn knows how to chill our marrow.' - Scotsman 'A flesh creeper ... Blackburn has few superiors in this genre ... Black magic, satanism, bacteriology, murder, rape ... the required gasp of horror.' - Spectator 'An uncanny thriller. Fiendish ... A] horrendous mix of modern technology and medieval hocus pocus.' - The Observer

'Our only current writer who can induce such terror as the Grimm brothers did, and some of the Grimm characters are among the ingredients in this hellbrew of the return of the Black Death.' - Times Literary Supplement 'A splendid example of a gripping narrative that also connects to a real intelligence . . . has an] original vitality.' - David Hare, Spectator 'A violently exciting modern suspense story.' - St. Louis Post-Dispatch 'Best of recent intrigue-thrillers' - Anthony Boucher, New York Times When nine-year-old Billy Fenwick goes missing on a train journey through East Germany, British authorities suspect a kidnapping for ransom, or, worse, a Communist conspiracy. But after Billy returns home safely, it appears his parents' fears were unfounded . . . until a 107-degree fever sets in and the buboes begin to appear on his body. Famed bacteriologist Sir Marcus Levin immediately recognizes the signs of bubonic plague, the first outbreak in England since the Black Death of the fourteenth century. But is it a freak occurrence caused by a natural mutation, or Soviet germ warfare, or something far more sinister? The trail leads Sir Marcus and General Kirk of British Intelligence to an ancient German crypt, where a macabre relic from 600 years ago will provide the crucial clue in unravelling the diabolical plot of a madman hellbent on wiping out the human race One of the prolific John Blackburn's most effective thrillers, A Ring of Roses (1965) updates medieval legends and the tales of the Grimm brothers into a chilling modern-day horror story. This edition, the first in decades, features a new introduction by Adrian Schober.

'John Blackburn is today's master of horror, and this latest novel, about a village gripped by the culmination of ancient vileness, induces proper shivers.' - Times Literary Supplement 'He is certainly the best British novelist in his field and deserves the widest recognition.' - Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural ' A] stylish, genuinely chilling author . . . undoubtedly one of England's best practicing novelists in the tradition of the thriller novel.' - St. James Guide to Crime & Mystery Writers For centuries, the small English village of Dunstonholme has been the scene of mysterious tragedies. Local lore traces these strange events back to the year 1300, when a sect of Christian heretics known as the Children of Paul were involved in a bloody massacre. Since that time, there have been railway disasters, mining accidents, shipwrecks, and other terrible happenings. Now a wave of suspicious deaths has the locals on edge and looking for explanations. Dr. Tom Allen and adventurer J. Moldon Mott think they know what is behind the killings: an ancient evil, dating back seven hundred years, lies hidden underground . . . and it is preparing to emerge to the surface . . . John Blackburn (1923-1993), the author of twenty-eight bestselling thrillers, has been hailed by The Times Literary Supplement as 'today's master of horror.' In his classic Children of the Night (1966), reprinted here for the first time in 40 years, Blackburn updates medieval legends and folklore to create a bone-chilling tale of modern-day horror that is among his very best.

"The story has a nightmarish excitement and maintains a brilliant pace . . . the best of its kind this season." - Detroit News " S]pine-chilling . . . a far-reaching plot linking the horror camps of the Nazis, the frozen wastes of Russia and the work of British Secret Intelligence. . . . T]his is 'must' reading for horror fans." - Calgary Herald "I began to read: and then read and read and read." - John Creasey, Books of the Month "Good, insomniac science-fiction." - Listener With a plot featuring Cold War intrigue, Nazi mad scientists, and a pandemic that threatens to destroy humanity by mutating people into fungoid monsters, it is not hard to see why A Scent of New-Mown Hay (1958) became a bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic and an instant science-fiction classic. After a British ship's crew and a remote Russian village are wiped out in mysterious and horrible fashion, General Charles Kirk of British Foreign Intelligence sets out to investigate. As the plague spreads to England, Kirk's frantic search leads him from the desolate tundra of Russia to the ruins of a Nazi camp, the site of unthinkable wartime atrocities. But who is responsible? Is it a Soviet experiment gone horribly wrong, the work of a depraved madman, or something else entirely? And can it be stopped? In this, his first and still best-known novel, the prolific John Blackburn (1923-1993) introduced the formula he was to employ so successfully in his career, seamlessly blending mystery, horror, and science fiction to create a thrilling bestseller that readers found impossible to put down. This edition, the first in more than thirty years, includes a new introduction by Prof. Darren Harris-Fain and a reproduction of the scarce original jacket art by Peter Curl.