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Two Flights Up
by Mary Roberts RinehartA boarder comes to live with three women and finds them frighteningly strangeFrom the outside, it seems like the three women of the Bayne house are frozen in time. There is Mrs. Bayne, an aging widow obsessed with propriety; her sister, Margaret, a spinster whose desperate loneliness is eating her from the inside out; and young Holly, a beautiful creature with a vibrancy that fades a little each day. Her only hope is Furness Brooks, a playboy with an idea that he might like to marry Holly, but each day that he doesn&’t propose, she becomes more frightened that she will die an old maid.Into this steps Howard Warrington, a bond salesman who answers an advertisement to rent the Baynes&’ extra room. He finds the house to be full of old secrets and quiet grudges, and he soon grows to hate his life there. But when Margaret attempts to kill herself, he realizes how dark life is for the women Bayne—and how difficult it might be for him to escape.
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
by Dorothy L SayersLord Peter Wimsey bent down over General Fentiman and drew the Morning Post gently away from the gnarled old hands. Then, with a quick jerk, he lifted the quiet figure. It came up all of a piece, stiff as a wooden doll . . .But how did the general die? Who was the mysterious Mr X who fled when he was wanted for questioning? And which of the general's heirs, both members of the Bellona Club, is lying?'I admire her novels . . . she has great fertility of invention, ingenuity and a wonderful eye for detail' Ruth Rendell(P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery (The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries #5)
by Dorothy L. Sayers&“The special qualities of Dorothy Sayers&’ writing are seen here at their best&” as Lord Peter battles to solve the murder of a war hero (Saturday Review). Even the Bellona Club&’s most devoted members would never call it lively. Its atmosphere is that of a morgue—or, at best, a funeral parlor—and on Armistice Day the gloom is only heightened. Veterans of the Great War gather at the Bellona not to hash over old victories, but to stare into their whiskies and complain about old injuries, shrinking pensions, and the lingering effects of shell shock. Though he acts jolly, Lord Peter Wimsey finds the holiday grim. And this Armistice Day, death has come to join the festivities. The aged General Fentiman—a hero of the Crimean War—expires sitting up in his favorite chair. Across town, his sister dies on the same day, throwing the General&’s half-million-pound inheritance into turmoil. As the nation celebrates and suspicions run riot, Lord Peter must discover what kind of soldier would have the nerve to murder a general. The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club is the 5th book in the Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, but you may enjoy the series by reading the books in any order. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dorothy L. Sayers including rare images from the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College.
Will o' the Wisp: A Golden Age Mystery
by Patricia WentworthLove and deception intertwine as a man searches for a woman believed to have drowned five years earlier Seven years ago, childhood friends and distant cousins Eleanor and David Fordyce fell in love and became engaged. But their families, thinking them too young for marriage, conspired to keep them apart. David was sent to America to study architecture; Eleanor left for India, where she married Cosmo Rayne. Now a widow, Eleanor returns to England, more ravishing than ever. But rumors--of a husband's infidelity and nightly beatings--have followed her home. And David is harboring secrets of his own. When he sees a message in the newspaper, he confides in Eleanor. Is it possible? Is Erica Moore, his young wife who died at sea, still alive? And if so, why hasn't she contacted David herself? The answers may lie with Folly March, a spirited nineteen-year-old who makes up stories and takes pleasure in playing pranks. Beloved British crime writer Patricia Wentworth plunges readers into a world of lies, romance, and mystery as David's search leads him across London on a winding journey to a shocking truth.
The Ambassador's Boots
by Agatha ChristiePreviously published in the print anthology Partners in Crime. The monogrammed kit bag of the American ambassador to England, Randolph Wilmot, is switched with Senator Ralph Westermans. Wilmot hires Tommy and Tuppence to find out why. When the senators valet shows up at the embassy to exchange the bags, they discover that the senator has never heard of this valet, or of any confusion between kit bags. Who is the valet, and why did he need the bag?
The Big Shot
by Frank L. PackardWell-known gangster Shive Frank killed on Second Avenue! Murder car escapes! said the headlines of the 1929 newspaper.
The Bishop Murder Case: Philo Vance # 4 (Philo Vance #4)
by S.S. Van DinePhilo Vance unravels rhymes in a deadly key. &“Without question one of Van Dine&’s finest achievements. . . his construction of plot is really quite superb&” (Tipping My Fedora). After solving the Greene murders, Philo Vance has taken a well-earned holiday in Switzerland. Returning to New York City he finds his old chum, District Attorney Anthony Markham, up against a bizarre series of murders inspired by children&’s nursery rhymes. The first murder, involving a beautiful young woman and a private archery range, was apparently based on &“Who Killed Cock Robin?&”; it is followed by more hideous deaths referencing &“Mother Goose.&” But Philo Vance is not a man to be fobbed off with points to juvenilia. Markham and his colleagues may be worried that a certain Mr. H. Dumpty is riding for a great fall, but Philo Vance suspects a connection to a rather more sophisticated writer. In this &“classic detective novel . . . a splendid example of the form . . . the game [is] played full out and to splendid effect&” (Mystery File).Praise for the Philo Vance series &“With his highbrow manner and his parade of encyclopedic learning, Philo Vance is not only a detective; he is a god out of the machine.&” —The New York Times &“The Philo Vance novels were well-crafted puzzlers that captivated readers . . . the works of S.S. Van Dine serve to transport the reader back to a long-gone era of society and style of writing.&” —Mystery Scene &“Outrageous cleverness . . . among the finest fruits of the Golden Age.&” —Bloody Murder
Blindman's Buff
by Agatha ChristiePreviously published in the print anthology Partners in Crime. While lunching in the chic Gold Room, Tommy masquerades as a blind detective. It is then that the Beresfords are approached by the elegant Duke of Blairgowrie for help in locating his missing daughter.
Bretherton: Khaki or Field Grey? (Casemate Classic War Fiction #1)
by W. F. MorrisThis World War I novel is "a mystery as exciting as a good detective story and an extraordinarily vivid account of trench-warfare" (The Sunday Times). In November 1918, as the Germans are in their final retreat, a British raiding party under fire follows the sound of piano music and stumbles across an eerie scene in a ruined chateau. A German officer lies dead at the keys, next to a beautiful woman, also deceased, in full evening dress. But what makes their discovery especially strange is that the man is the spitting image of G. B. Bretherton, a British officer missing in action. This tale of mystery and identity, first published in 1930, is not only an authentic account of the brutal conditions at the battlefront, it's also a remarkable thriller with a twisting, unusual plot that earned it comparisons to John Buchan and the best espionage writers. The Morning Post called it "one of the best of the English war novels"--while Sir John Squire, the influential editor of the London Mercury, went a step further and labeled it "undoubtedly the best." Eric Ambler, the iconic author of such classics as A Coffin for Dimitrios and Journey into Fear, considered it one of the five best spy novels of all time. Fans of war stories and suspense novels alike--and readers of modern WWI tales like Robert Olen Butler's The Star of Istanbul--will find themselves caught up in this lost gem from the Great War era.
The Clergyman's Daughter/The Red House
by Agatha ChristiePreviously published in the print anthology Partners in Crime. A woman inherits a large house from her old aunt, but she has no means of maintaining it. She must take in lodgers to make ends meet, but, unfortunately, the house seems to be inhabited by poltergeists. This makes it rather hard to retain tenants. Tommy and Tuppence investigate.
The Complete Benbow Smith Mysteries: Fool Errant, Danger Calling, Walk with Care, and Down Under (The Benbow Smith Mysteries)
by Patricia WentworthCloak-and-dagger intrigue featuring an eccentric agent for Britain’s Foreign Office from the author of the “timelessly charming” Miss Silver mysteries (Charlotte MacLeod). Named after three naval admirals, the enigmatic gentleman spy Benbow Collingwood Horatio Smith detests the sea and loves to indulge his beloved parrot, Ananias, all while protecting the fate of the Western world. Fool Errant: Smith investigates the case of a young man whose new job with an odd inventor has him mired in governmental intrigue, industrial espionage, and stolen military secrets. Danger Calling: Smith has a proposition for a former British Secret Service agent that launches him into a web of blackmail and murder—and pits him against a master of deceit and manipulation. Walk with Care: Smith must investigate a mysterious letter and the suspicious death of the under secretary for Foreign Affairs. Down Under: The disappearance of a bride-to-be sets her fiancé and agent Benbow Smith on the trail of a notorious madman who’s no stranger to kidnapping—or murder. Every bit as entertaining as Wentworth’s long-running series featuring Maud Silver, these pre–World War II spy thrillers are taut with suspense and livened by the wit of a “first-rate storyteller” (The Daily Telegraph).
The Crackler
by Agatha ChristiePreviously published in the print anthology Partners in Crime. Tommy and Tuppence sleuth after a clever counterfeiter who has been flooding both sides of the Channel with phony bills. In a dark alley, Tommy finds chalked Xs over all the doors--but what do they mean?
The Dain Curse: Red Harvest / The Dain Curse / The Maltese Falcon / The Glass Key / The Thin Man (Murder Room #601)
by Dashiell Hammett'Not just the first of the tough school of crime-writing but the best' THE TIMESMiss Gabriel Dain Leggett is young and wealthy, with a penchant for morphine and religious cults. She also has an unfortunate effect on the people around her. They die - violently. Is she the victim of a family curse? The short, squat, utterly unsentimental Continental Op, the best private detective around, has his doubts and finds himself confronting something infinitely more dangerous.This is the Continental Op's most bizarre case and a tautly crafted masterpiece of suspense.
Death at Four Corners (Scott Egerton)
by Anthony GilbertA cliff-top house, a body on the beach, a man who suspects his best friend...Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection ClubWhen Doctor Terence Ambrose visits Gervase Blount at Four Corners he notices the body of a man low down on a cliff near the house. His enquiries into the man's death point suspicion at several people, particularly his old friend from Balliol Gervase Blount himself. As he delves into the past a complicated web of intrigue is slowly exposed...
The Duke of York's Steps (Inspector Poole Series)
by Henry WadeA wealthy banker, Sir Garth Fratten, dies suddenly from an aneurysm on the Duke of York's Steps. His doctor is satisfied that a mild shock such as being jostled would be enough to cause Sir Garth's death. It all seems so straightforward, and there is no inquest.But Fratten's daughter Inez is not satisfied. She places an advertisement in the London newspapers that comes to the attention of Scotland Yard, and Inspector John Poole is assigned to make enquiries.Poole's investigation leads him into a world of high finance where things are not as they seem; a sordid world in which rich young men make fools of themselves over chorus girls.
The Duke of York's Steps
by Henry WadeA wealthy banker, Sir Garth Fratten, dies suddenly from an aneurysm on the Duke of York's Steps. His doctor is satisfied that a mild shock such as being jostled would be enough to cause Sir Garth's death. It all seems so straightforward, and there is no inquest.But Fratten's daughter Inez is not satisfied. She places an advertisement in the London newspapers that comes to the attention of Scotland Yard, and Inspector John Poole is assigned to make enquiries.Poole's investigation leads him into a world of high finance where things are not as they seem; a sordid world in which rich young men make fools of themselves over chorus girls.
The Emperor of America
by Sax RohmerCommander Drake Roscoe stops a criminal mastermind attempting to take over America starting with the state of New York.
The Enduring Flame
by Denise RobinsA sweeping tale from the original Queen of Romance, originally published in 1929 and now available in eBook for the first time. Joanna is distraught when Richard leaves. It is difficult to be brave, knowing he is returning to his wife. The decision seemed right; but alone now, she writhes in the torment of separation. The vast wastes of snow and spruce stretch out into the black of the moonless Arctic night and Joanna loses herself in the overwhelming expanse...Suddenly, a sled pulls up to the cabin and stops. A man in furs jumps off and shakes back the hood to reveal a face that Joanna once knew... a face that now makes her heart beat faster in terror.
A Fairy in the Flat
by Agatha ChristiePreviously published in the print anthology Partners in Crime. Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are called to duty at an international detective agency. On assignment, they are told to be wary of the number sixteen. If they see it in writing or hear it in conversation with a stranger, that means they are close to finding the spy ring they seek.
Fool Errant: Fool Errant, Danger Calling, Walk With Care, And Down Under (The Benbow Smith Mysteries #1)
by Patricia WentworthPolitical intrigue and industrial espionage are brewing in Britain's Foreign Office in this thriller from the author of the Miss Silver Mysteries On a dark, foggy night, Hugo Ross encounters a beautiful woman. She claims to be running away and begs Hugo not to tell anyone that he's seen her. Before boarding her train, she warns him not to take the job he's applying for: secretary to eccentric inventor Ambrose Minstrel. The train pulls away, and the stunning stranger is gone. Desperate for employment, Hugo ignores her warning and takes the job. He's barely moved into Meade House when a message from Loveday Leigh is hand-delivered: He must leave immediately and burn the letter. When they finally meet again at Waterloo Station, Loveday is not the mysterious woman Hugo remembers. Odd happenings continue, and he enlists the help of the esteemed Benbow Smith, an enigmatic figure connected to London's Foreign Office. Soon Hugo is caught up in an undercover plot involving governmental intrigue, industrial espionage, and stolen military secrets. With his own life on the line, how much is he willing to risk for his country? Fool Errant is the 1st book in the Benbow Smith Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper
by Agatha ChristiePreviously published in the print anthology Partners in Crime. During a lull in business, Tommy and Tuppence amuse themselves by perusing the papers personal columns. One cryptic ad reads, "Three hearts . . . 12 tricks . . . Ace of Spades . . . finesse the King. " Tommy is certain it is a secret message indicating a crime about to be committed.
Grey Mask (The\miss Silver Mysteries Ser. #1)
by Patricia WentworthCLASSIC GOLDEN AGE MYSTERY PERFECT FOR FANS OF AGATHA CHRISTIEMiss Silver must foil a plot to murder a beautiful young heiress'Ranks with the best of the golden-age detectives' Daily MailFurious at being jilted at the altar by his once-fiancé Margaret Langton, Charles Moray left England behind him. Now, four years later, he returns to his family home, only to find it unlocked and with a light burning in one of its abandoned rooms. Eavesdropping, Charles soon discovers that a criminal gang has been using his house to plan a vicious crime. The target is the beautiful Margot Standing, who is due to inherit a considerable fortune. And what's more he recognises the voices of one of the conspirators - his lost love Margaret Langton.How did Margaret come to be involved? And who is the terrifying masked man who has her in his thrall? Charles contacts Miss Silver to unravel the mysteries of the case and, if she can, save Margot Standings life. 'A first-rate storyteller' Daily Telegraph'You can't go wrong with Miss Maud Silver' Observer'Miss Silver is marvellous' Daily Mail'Better than Miss Marple' Mary Stewart'A particular favourite' Andrew Taylor 'Miss Wentworth's plot is ingenious, her characterization acute, her solution satisfying' Scotsman'Miss Silver has her place in detective fiction as surely as Lord Peter Wimsey or Hercule Poirot' Manchester Evening News
Grey Mask: Grey Mask, The Case Is Closed, And Lonesome Road (Miss Silver Series)
by Patricia WentworthCLASSIC GOLDEN AGE MYSTERY PERFECT FOR FANS OF AGATHA CHRISTIEMiss Silver must foil a plot to murder a beautiful young heiress'Ranks with the best of the golden-age detectives' Daily MailFurious at being jilted at the altar by his once-fiancé Margaret Langton, Charles Moray left England behind him. Now, four years later, he returns to his family home, only to find it unlocked and with a light burning in one of its abandoned rooms. Eavesdropping, Charles soon discovers that a criminal gang has been using his house to plan a vicious crime. The target is the beautiful Margot Standing, who is due to inherit a considerable fortune. And what's more he recognises the voices of one of the conspirators - his lost love Margaret Langton.How did Margaret come to be involved? And who is the terrifying masked man who has her in his thrall? Charles contacts Miss Silver to unravel the mysteries of the case and, if she can, save Margot Standings life. 'A first-rate storyteller' Daily Telegraph'You can't go wrong with Miss Maud Silver' Observer'Miss Silver is marvellous' Daily Mail'Better than Miss Marple' Mary Stewart'A particular favourite' Andrew Taylor 'Miss Wentworth's plot is ingenious, her characterization acute, her solution satisfying' Scotsman'Miss Silver has her place in detective fiction as surely as Lord Peter Wimsey or Hercule Poirot' Manchester Evening News
Grey Mask (The Miss Silver Mysteries #1)
by Patricia WentworthGoverness-turned-detective Miss Silver investigates a deadly conspiratorial ring Charles Moray has come home to England to collect his inheritance. After four years wandering the jungles of India and South America, the hardy young man returns to the manor of his birth, where generations of Morays have lived and died. Strangely, he finds the house unlocked, and sees a light on in one of its abandoned rooms. Eavesdropping, he learns of a conspiracy to commit a fearsome crime. Never one for the heroic, Charles&’s first instinct is to let the police settle it. But then he hears her voice. Margaret, his long lost love, is part of the gang. To unravel their diabolical plot, he contacts Miss Maud Silver, a onetime governess who applies reason to solve crimes and face the dangers of London&’s underworld.
Grey Mask (The Miss Silver Mysteries #1)
by Patricia WentworthGoverness-turned-detective Miss Silver investigates a deadly conspiratorial ring Charles Moray has come home to England to collect his inheritance. After four years wandering the jungles of India and South America, the hardy young man returns to the manor of his birth, where generations of Morays have lived and died. Strangely, he finds the house unlocked, and sees a light on in one of its abandoned rooms. Eavesdropping, he learns of a conspiracy to commit a fearsome crime. Never one for the heroic, Charles&’s first instinct is to let the police settle it. But then he hears her voice. Margaret, his long lost love, is part of the gang. To unravel their diabolical plot, he contacts Miss Maud Silver, a onetime governess who applies reason to solve crimes and face the dangers of London&’s underworld.