Kenneth Giles (1922–1974) was a British crime writer. Giles wrote books under his own name, as well as the pseudonyms Charles DrummondGiles, Kenneth, Virtual International Authority File (accessed 19 November 2024) and Edmund McGirr.
Giles started as a sporting journalist, and used what he learned there as background for the Drummond novels. The Drummond books star Sgt. Reed, while the McGirr books star a private detective.
In a New York Times review of Death among the Stars, the American crime fiction critic Allen J. Hubin writes "It will be a long while before I have had enough of Mr. Giles." The American critic Anthony Boucher, in a New York Times review of A Provenance of Death, Giles' first novel to be published in the United States, describes the author as "promising", and the novel's detective as a "real working pro".
Incomplete bibliography Some Beasts No More (1965)Allen J. Hubin (27 October 1968). Criminals At Large. The New York Times, p. BR54 The Big Greed (1966) A Provenance of Death (1966)Anthony Boucher (12 November 1967). Criminals At Large. The New York Times, p. 364 The Funeral Was in Spain (1966) (as Edmund McGirr) Death at the Furlong Post (1967) (as Charles Drummond) Death in Diamonds (1967)Allen J. Hubin (19 January 1969). Criminals At Large. The New York Times, p. BR16 Death and Mr. Prettyman (1967)Allen J. Hubin (16 March 1969). Criminals At Large. The New York Times, p. BR62 The Lead-Lined Coffin (1968) (as Edmund McGirr) The Odds on Death (1969) (as Charles Drummond) Here Lies My Wife (1967) (as Edmund McGirr) A Hearse with Horses (1967) (as Edmund McGirr) Death among the Stars (1968)Allen J. Hubin (21 December 1969). Criminals At Large. The New York Times, p. BR15 Death Cracks a Bottle (1969)Allen J. Hubin (10 May 1970). Criminals At Large. The New York Times, p. 279 Death and the Leaping Ladies (1969) (as Charles Drummond) An Entry of Death (1969) (as Edmund McGirr) A Death in the Church (1970) Stab in the Back (1970) (as Charles Drummond) Murder Pluperfect (1970) No Better Fiend (1971) (as Edmund McGirr) A Death at the Bar (1972) (as Charles Drummond) The Lead-Lined Coffin (?) (as Edmund McGirr) An Entry of Death (?) (as Edmund McGirr) Death Pays the Wages (as Edmund McGirr) A File on Death (1973)Anatole Broyard (1 August 1973). Reading Between the Murders. The New York Times, p. 37Newgate Callendar (1 July 1973). Criminals At Large. The New York Times, p. 238 Bardel's Murder (1973) (as Edmund McGirr) A Murderous Journey (1974) (as Edmund McGirr)
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