The Croquet Player

Herbert George Wells

A soul-corrupting evil invades the remote English village of Cainsmarsh, infesting the minds of the local residents. Dark events are plaguing its people. An elderly woman stiffens in dread at her own shadow; a terrified farmer murders a scarecrow; food prepared by others is eyed with suspicion; family pets are bludgeoned to death; loving couples are devoured by rage and violence. People are becoming suspicious of every move each other makes. Children are coming to school with marks on them. A spirit-corrupting evil pervades the land, infesting the minds of those who call Cainsmarsh home... Is this vision real, or a paranoid fantasy? And is the call to resist the danger itself a danger? These are questions that disturb the calm of an indolent croquet player who happens to hear the tale of the unlucky village. H. G. Wellss ambiguous story of horror is a modern classic, a prophetic, disturbing glimpse of the primitive distrust and violence that gnaw at the heart of the modern world.

The Cross Brand

Max Brand

In "The Cross Brand", Sheriff Harry Ganton and Jack Bristol have been friends since they were young. But when Harry accuses Jack of trying to steal his girl, guns blaze and the sheriff is shot. Jack Bristol stole his horse and rode off, not into the sunset, but into the mountains. The mountain man held him captive for months and then released him. Why? And why did the girl scream with terror when she saw his face? A Western take on the story of Kane and Abel. This is Max Brand at his best. Experience the West as only Max Brand could write it!

The Crouching Beast

Valentine Williams

It is 1914, but war has not yet broken out. Olivia Dunbar, a young English woman, is working in Germany as a private secretary. She obtains secret military information, and becomes entangled in a British secret agent operation, and encounters the terrifying Dr. Grundt, head of German counter-intelligence: the crouching beast of the title. The Crouching Beast by Valentine Williams is an example of the reluctant spy sub-genre, in which an innocent civilian finds himself caught up in the dangerous game of espionage. The twist in this book is that the innocent civilian is a young woman. She is also the narrator of the tale. Third in the seven book series about the dreaded German Secret Service Chief Dr. Adolph Grundt. The Crouching Beast is an effective and enjoyable espionage thriller.

The Cruise of the Dazzler

Jack London

This is an early Jack London novel set in his hometown of San Francisco. It is considered the novel of a boys adventure. In the novel, Joe Bronson, dissatisfied with his dull life at school, runs away and joins the sloop team, he sees in San Francisco Bay. He finds that the captain is involved in criminal activity. Navigational actions on board a sailing boat are genuinely described, and there are convincing descriptions of boats that endure stormy weather at sea.

The Cruise of the Dazzler

Jack London

“The Cruise of the Dazzler” is a book by Jack London, an American novelist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.   The Cruise of the Dazzler is an early novel by Jack London, set in his home city of San Francisco. It is considered a boy's adventure novel. In the novel, Joe Bronson, dissatisfied with his dull life at school, runs away and joins the crew of a sloop he sees in San Francisco Bay. He finds the captain is involved in criminal activities.  

The Cruise of the Snark

Jack London

“The Cruise of the Snark” is a book by Jack London, an American novelist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.   The Cruise of the Snark is a non-fictional book by Jack London chronicling his sailing adventure in 1907 across the south Pacific in his ketch the Snark. Accompanying London on this voyage was his wife Charmian London and a small crew. London taught himself celestial navigation and the basics of sailing and of boats during the course of this adventure and describes these details to the reader. He visits exotic locations including the Solomon Islands and Hawaii, and his first-person accounts provide insight into these remote places at the beginning of the 20th century.  

The Crystal Stopper

Maurice Leblanc

The Crystal Stopper is a ripping tale, with non-stop intrigue, action, twists and turns, and a healthy dose of Lupin humor. The story concerns the mysterious pursuit, appearances and disappearances and reappearances of a crystal decanter stopper. Why are so many people hot to get their hands on this seemingly worthless object? In a unique twist, the villainous Arsene Lupin becomes the hero of this novel when he faces a sly and blackmailing French deputy, Daubrecq, in a nail-biting adventure that seems to spell doom to Lupin and his gang. Lupins every move seems anticipated by Daubrecq and his success in saving his followers from the guillotine remains unsure to the very end. Can his marvelous intellect really have met its match in this truly evil deputy?

The Cure of Silver Caon

Max Brand

Do you love stories about the untamed days of the Old West? In "Seor Coyote", Frank Pollard, a small-time rancher down on his luck and owing the bank $500, looks to his legendary friend, Slip Liddell, to give him the money before the banker, Foster, forecloses on his ranch. Liddell refuses to pay Foster, even for his friend. Pollard threatens to do something about it, and then the bank is robbed and Foster shot. Will Liddell help when his friend is accused of the crime? "The Cure of Silver Canyon" is a wonderful Max Brand Western short that blends plenty of drama, action, and emotion into an exciting read. Experience the West as only Max Brand could write it!

The Curious Quest

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Edward Phillips Oppenheim (1866-1946) was an English novelist, in his lifetime a major and successful writer of genre fiction. This novel is an Oppenheim classic from 1919 about a high society villain: characteristic of Oppenheims typical works, with the characters living in luxury, and a very flowing and exact story. Much of Oppenheims work possesses a unique escapist charm, featuring protagonists who delight in Epicurean meals, surroundings of intense luxury, and the relaxed pursuit of criminal practice, on either side of the law. The Curious Quest is a lovely tale of a rich man having to spend a year earning his own money because he is bored and ill. Full of action and scams.

The Curved Blades

If you like Agatha Christie, or Henry James, or simply search for an author whose writing and characters youll enjoy, look no farther than Wells Fleming Stone Mysteries. In this one, wealthy but ornery heiress Lucy Carrington is found dead in her home following a spat with her niece, one of the two heirs to her fortune. With police baffled, master criminologist Fleming Stone is called in. But in a romantic twist, the great detective loses his heart to the primary suspect. Will she reciprocate? Will he get to close to her to solve the mystery of... The Curved Blades? Will emotion blind him to the facts in this case? Curl up with this classic cozy whodunit from Carolyn Wells, author of The Clue.

The Custom of the Country

Edith Wharton

Edith Whartons 1913 novel is a devastating critique of American upward mobility, told through the journey of Undine Spragg from fictional Midwestern Apex City to New York to Paris. Undine Spragg is one of the most ruthless characters in all of literature, as selfishly unscrupulous as she is fiercely beautiful. As Undine climbs the social ladder through a series of marriages and affairs, she shows little concern for who she has to step on to get anything and everything she desires. Wharton weaves an elaborate plot that renders a detailed depiction of upper class social behavior in the early twentieth century. By utilizing a character with inexorable greed in a novel of manners, she demonstrates some of the customs of a modern age and posits a surprising explanation for divorce and the social role of women, which still resonates for the modern reader today.

The Cybersecurity Playbook for Modern Enterprises. An end-to-end guide to preventing data breaches and cyber attacks

Jeremy Wittkop

Security is everyone's responsibility and for any organization, the focus should be to educate their employees about the different types of security attacks and how to ensure that security is not compromised.This cybersecurity book starts by defining the modern security and regulatory landscape, helping you understand the challenges related to human behavior and how attacks take place. You'll then see how to build effective cybersecurity awareness and modern information security programs. Once you've learned about the challenges in securing a modern enterprise, the book will take you through solutions or alternative approaches to overcome those issues and explain the importance of technologies such as cloud access security brokers, identity and access management solutions, and endpoint security platforms. As you advance, you'll discover how automation plays an important role in solving some key challenges and controlling long-term costs while building a maturing program. Toward the end, you'll also find tips and tricks to keep yourself and your loved ones safe from an increasingly dangerous digital world.By the end of this book, you'll have gained a holistic understanding of cybersecurity and how it evolves to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

The Czars Spy. The Mystery of a Silent Love

William Le Queux

Strange is a good way to sum up the story. The refusal of our hero to get more help is, frankly, quite confusing, and hes darn lucky to survive. The ending is bad you just let the villain go? Really? Yeah, he gets his just desserts, but still, not a fan of that sort of conclusion by accident. Regardless, I do love the idea of falling love by photograph. If you like a strange, complicated mystery, give it a try.

The Daffodil Mystery

Edgar Wallace

Set in England at the turn of the 20th century, Wallaces crime novel The Daffodil Mystery follows the mysterious circumstances under which shop owner Lyne was found dead in Hyde Park, murdered undoubtedly! The clues were numerous but contradictory... The murdered man is an unsavory character who is called on the carpet by the investigator he tries to hire to frame the girl Odette Rider. Detective Jack Tarling and his trusted Chinese assistant become involved in helping the police solve the murder while also trying to protect the girl from being arrested for the murder. Moreover, the happenings within the novel are intensified by the colorful set of characters, which are marked by their plausible façade and contribute to the novels appeal.

The Dagger and Cord

Aidan de Brune

The dead body of a beautiful girl in a disused house, the secret meeting room in the cellar, a baffling murder mystery... The Dagger and Cord is another mystery by Aidan de Brune (Herbert Charles CULL). Its all great fun and the author keeps the action moving along swiftly, as he always did. Wonderful entertainment and highly entertaining. If you havent discovered the joys of Brunes mysteries there is a good place to start. Aidan De Brune was a Canadian-born writer who settled in Australia. In the 1920s and 1930s a number of his novels appeared in Australian newspapers as serials, and he also appears to have written serials specifically for publication in newspapers.

The Dancing Floor

John Buchan

Vernon Milbourne, orphaned since childhood and haunted by a recurring dream, is friends with the protective lawyer and MP Sir Edward Leithen. An Aegean cruise takes them to the mysterious island of Plakos, where Vernon is fascinated by the islands myths. Local superstitions turn to menace as Vernons encounter with a beautiful woman results in obsession and adventure. The Dancing Floor centres on a young English woman, Kore Arabin, who inherits a house on a remote Greek island. Sadly for Kore the locals regard her as a witch, responsible for the failure of their crops, and become convinced she must be sacrificed in order to ensure better harvests in the coming years. Sir Edward Leithen and Vernon Milburne must save her before the islanders sacrifice her. Sir Edward Leithen is a character that features prominently in several other John Buchan novels, including The Power-House, The Gap in the Curtain and others.