But Was it Murder? - Jania Barrell (Level 4)

Award-winning original fiction for learners of English. At seven levels, from Starter to Advanced, this impressive selection of carefully graded readers offers exciting reading for every student's capabilities.

Alex Forley had everything: good looks, money, a beautiful house in London, an attractive girlfriend and a close group of friends. But now he is dead - an apparent case of suicide. Detective Inspector Rod Eliot isn't sure Alex killed himself and he wants the answers to two simple questions. Was it murder? And if so, who did it? Paperback-only version. Also available with Audio CDs including complete text recordings from the book.

'What distinguishes the series from all the others is the zest and freshness of the text. Where the emphasis in other series is on plain and straightforward language, Cambridge English Reading texts typically use very modern expressions and the dialogue is faster moving. This has an impact on the quality of the audio cassettes, which make for very enjoyable listening.' David R. Hill, Survey Review: Readers, ELT Journal

'It was only a matter of time before a major ELT publisher set out to challenge the market dominance of Penguin Classics in the area of readers... CUP have hit back admirably. With something for everyone in your classes, this series is well worth investing in. In fact, it's going to be a difficult act to follow by other publishers.' IATEFL Issues

'The series breaks new ground in two respects. The first is the light and informal style of writing. It is notoriously difficult to write fluent prose using restricted lexis and syntax. Part of the secret is to use word and grammar lists flexibly; but it requires flair and a good ear to produce prose and dialogue that read so well and give such a genuine flavour of modern idiom.' English Teaching Professional

'These were a very good read: exciting fast-moving stories at all levels, and a good mixture of subjects. Most touched on up-to-date themes, such as corruption, refugees, psychology, hunger, feminism, or ecology without being prosy, or moralising.' BaNina Vivanco, SATEFL Newsletter Vol 19 No 3

'This is a well presented, authentic looking series of readers that students should enjoy. They are graded into five levels, and the accompanying cassette will be useful, especially for pronunciation - audio versions are very popular with students.' Josephine Caruana, Network News, Issue 34