The Broken Thread

William Le Queux

On this particular morning, about ten oclock, the seafront was already full of men in flannels and lounge-suits, and women in garments of muslin and other such flimsy materials usually affected at the seaside, for stifled and jaded Londoners had flocked down there, as usual, to enjoy the sea air and all the varied attractions which Southport never fails to offer.

The Closed Book. Concerning the Secret of the Borgias

William Le Queux

These strange facts would never have been placed on record, nor would this exciting chapter of an eventful life have been written, except for two reasons: first, because the discovery I made has been declared to be of considerable importance to scientists, bibliophiles, and the world at large; and, secondly, because it is my dear wifes wish that in order to clear her in the eyes of both friends and foes nothing should be concealed, misrepresented, or withheld.

The Counts Chauffeur. Being the Confessions of George Ewart, Chauffeur to Count Bindo Di Ferraris

William Le Queux

When I was fourteen, we moved to London with my father. He became an agent on Wood Street, City, representing a large silk maker in Lyon. At the age of twenty, I worked in an office with dusty books and a large armchair that I did not really like. I was always interested in mechanics, but my father did not perceive her as a profession and wanted me to walk in his footsteps.

The Crimes Club. A Record of Secret Investigations Into Some Amazing Crimes, Mostly Withheld From the Public

William Le Queux

I sometimes despair of the country ever becoming alive to the danger of the unpreparedness of our present position until too late to prevent some fatal catastrophe. This was the keynote of a solemn warning made in the House of Lords by Earl Roberts. His lordship, whilst drawing attention to our present inadequate forces, strongly urged that action should be taken in accordance with the recommendations of the Elgin Commission that no military system could be considered satisfactory which did not contain powers of expansion outside the limit of the regular forces of the Crown.

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 Day of Temptation. A Story of Two Cities

William Le Queux

The style ofThe Day of Temptationis very melodramatic and overwritten adjectives and adverbs abound to the confusion of the reader. The book is very much set in high society and sometimes reminds me of the immortal Daisy Ashford Im sure books like this were among her inspiration.

The Death-Doctor. Being the Remarkable Confessions of Archibald More DEscombe, M.D. of Kensington, London, Selected by Laurence Lanner-Brown, M.D

William Le Queux

Some year and a half ago, my friend and erstwhile neighbour. Dr. Archibald More dEscombe, died suddenly, and shortly after his decease I received from his solicitors a sealed packet addressed to me in his handwriting, with instructions that it was not to be opened until after his death.

The Doctor of Pimlico. Being the Disclosure of a Great Crime

William Le Queux

A grey, sunless morning on the Firth of Tay. Across a wide, sandy waste stretching away to the misty sea at Budden, four men were walking. Two wore uniformone an alert, grey-haired general, sharp and brusque in manner, with many war ribbons across his tunic; the other a tall, thin-faced staff captain, who wore the tartan of the Gordon Highlanders. With them were two civilians, both in rough shooting-jackets and breeches, one about forty-five, the other a few years his junior.

The Eye of Istar. A Romance of the Land of No Return

William Le Queux

Thrice hath the Fast of Ramadan come and gone since the Granter of Requests last allowed my eyes to behold the well-remembered landscape, scarcely visible in the pale light of dawn. Hills, covered with tall feathery palms, rose abruptly from the barren, sun-scorched plain, and, at their foot, stood the dazzlingly-white city of Omdurman, the impregnable and mysterious headquarters of Mahdiism, while beyond, like a silver ribbon winding through the marshes, the Nile glided, half veiled by its thin white cloud of morning vapours.

The Four Faces. A Mystery

William Le Queux

Michael Berrington is a bachelor leading a quiet life in London. Overhearing a conversation at his club one day, he becomes interested in a discussion regarding a man named Gastrell. Gastrell is somewhat of a mystery to the club members in spite of his renting a house from one of them. Berringtons interest in Gastrell intensifies as his fiancé, Dulcie Challoner, befriends a wealthy widow, Mrs. Connie Stapleton who evidently has some type of relationship with Gastrell. As the plot progresses, Berrington finds himself involved with sensational robberies, brutal murders, coded messages, and even mind control! As in many Le Queux books, there are twists and turns as new characters and locations are introduced.

The Gay Triangle. The Romance of the First Air Adventurers

William Le Queux

From a derelict shed adjoining a lonely road which stretched for miles across the Norfolk fens, a strange shape slid silently into the night mist. It was a motor-car of an unfamiliar design. The body, of gleaming aluminium, was of unusual width, and was lifted high above the delicate chassis and spidery bicycle wheels that seemed almost too fragile to bear the weight of an engine.

The Golden Face. A Great Crook Romance

William Le Queux

Imagine an organized gang of thieves, ruthless, working together like a modern machine, run by one man referred to only as Golden Face."This tale inexorably takes you step-by-step into the organization, as we follow the main characters fall into the underworld of crime.Takes place around the 1900s, but action packed and loaded with intrigue; even room for a budding romance in with all the twists and turns of the story.Really enjoyed this story, looking for more like it.

The Great Court Scandal

William Le Queux

The Ladybird will refuse to have anything to do with the affair, my dear fellow. It touches a womans honour, and I know her too well. Bah! Well compel her to help us. She must. She wouldnt risk it, declared Harry Kinder, shaking his head. Risk it! Well, well have to risk something! Were in a nice hole just now! Our traps at the Grand, with a bill of two thousand seven hundred francs to pay, and the Ladybird coolly sends us from London a postal order for twenty-seven shillings and sixpenceall she has!

The Great War in England in 1897

William Le Queux

Though it was a gay comic opera that was being performed for the first time, entertainers and entertained lost all interest in each other. They were amazed, dismayed, awestricken. Amusement was nauseating; War, with all its attendant horrors, was actually upon them! The popular tenor, one of the idols of the hour, blundered over his lines and sang terribly out of tune, but the hypercritical first-night audience passed the defect unnoticed. They only thought of what might happen; of the dark cavernous future that lay before.

The Great White Queen. A Tale of Treasure and Treason

William Le Queux

Our hero, Richard Scarsmere, befriends an individual (Omar) at an English boarding school who turns out to be an African prince from a kingdom called Mo. Omar receives a visit from one of his mothers trusted advisers. His mother, the Great White Queen, seeks him to return home immediately. Omar convinces Scarsmere to return to Africa with him since there is little opportunity awaiting him in London. What follows is a tale of deceit, treachery, barbarity, and mystery.

The House of Whispers

William Le Queux

No second glance was needed to realise the pitiful truth. The man seated there in his fine library, with the summer sunset slanting across the red carpet from the open French windows, was blind. Since his daughter Gabrielle had been a pretty, prattling child of nine, nursing her dolly, he had never looked upon her fair face. But he was ever as devoted to her as she to him.