Treasure in Oxford

It’s high summer in Oxford. The university vacation has just begun. The eight governors of the Moneybuckle Endowment (an architectural library) are assembling at All Saints College for the annual dinner before their meeting under chairman Mark Treasure, merchant banker. The talk at the table is of some pricey sketches said to be by Constable, and an offer from a dealer in the town. But the talk turns to shock when murder’s done in Walton Street with the sketches as the obvious motive. The police are quick to make an arrest, but Treasure is sure they’ve got the wrong suspect—even though all other likely culprits are Moneybuckle governors, or Moneybuckle’s custodian himself.

‘As nifty a puzzle as clever Williams has yet devised, redolent with the reddest of herrings.’ Sunday Times

‘Elegant, literate, ingenious and a joy to read.’ Birmingham Post

Stuart David Williams was a writer best known for his crime novel series featuring the banker Mark Treasure and police inspector DI Parry.

After serving as Naval officer in WWII, Williams completed a History degree at St Johns College, Oxford before embarking on a career in advertising. He became a full time fiction writer in 1978.

Williams wrote twenty-three novels, seventeen of which were part of the Mark Treasure series of whodunnits which began with Unholy Writ (1976). His experience in both the Anglican Church and the advertising world informed and inspired his work throughout his career.

Two of Williams' books were shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award, and in 1988 he was elected to the Detection Club.