The Dumb Gods Speak

E. Phillips Oppenheim

This mystery that takes place in 1947 in Nice about conflicting political goals between an American and a Chinese. Shortly thereafter, the granting of independence to the Philippine Islands by the United States, Japan attempts to seize them by force. When the Japanese attempt to invade the newly freed islands, their entire fleet is destroyed by a single battleship of the United States Navy using a weapon that concentrates and amplifies electric currents in the earths atmosphere. Much of the story concerns the current state of government of China and Russia, both of which are seen as lawless tyrannies. It is more than slightly ironic that the goal of the heroes is to use advanced technologies to restore the monarchy to these two countries, much in keeping with Oppenheims traditionalism.

The Evil Shepherd

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Welcome to 1922 and E. P. Oppenheims The Evil Shepherd. A businessman is found stabbed through the heart, the obvious suspect his partner: Oliver Hilditch, a cold-eyed fellow with a paper-thin alibi. Francis Ledsam is a defense barrister and is congratulating himself on a brilliant performance which has just seen Oliver Hilditch acquitted of murder. His ego is pricked by Margaret Hilditch confessing to him that Hilditch was guilty of crimes far more monstrous than murder. Ledsam vows never again to defend a guilty man. But when his newfound principles run up against the harsh reality of real-world justice, he finds himself trapped between his love for a beautiful woman and a powerful desire to do the right thing no matter the cost.

The Ex-Detective

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Malcolm Gossett is a Scotland Yard detective, fed up by the endless conferences and hierarchy of The Yard, he resigns his position and establishes himself as a private investigator, specializing in helping hopeless cases. Clients whom everyone believes to be guilty. There is a great sequence of mysterious cases; International commerce and politics, kidnapping and the international sex trade, Indian succession, jewel theft, and romance. Written in 1933, compounded of a series of episodes in which an ex-detective comes to the assistance of the innocent suspects. Its all great fun and Oppenheim keeps the action moving along swiftly, as he always did. Wonderful entertainment and highly entertaining.

The Exploits of Pudgy Pete

E. Phillips Oppenheim

The Exploits of Pudgy Pete story was written in 1927 by E. Phillips Oppenheim. Peter Bragg and his tormentor from school days George Angus, join forces to run a modern Enguiry Agency in London. The cases which come to them are complex, romantic, dangerous, humorous, and clever. Together the two solve social and criminal problems, and find their romantic mates. These short story collection by Mr. Oppenheim containing also: Drama in the Dolls House, A Comedy in Divorce, Lady Katherines Better Nature, Three to Four, The Ninety-Ninth Thread and others. These stories were originally written as separate magazine stories, then published together.

The Fortunate Wayfarer

E. Phillips Oppenheim

A best-selling author of novels, short stories, magazine articles, translations, and plays, Oppenheim published over 150 books. He is considered one of the originators of the thriller genre, his novels also range from spy thrillers to romance, but all have an undertone of intrigue. He was the earliest writer of spy fiction as understood today, and invented the Rogue Male school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household. This 1927 old detective story by Oppenheim revisits the plot device of a young man who comes into a large fortune suddenly and explores the class differences between the lower middle, and the upper class.

The Gallows of Chance

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Believe it or not, here is an Oppenheim story without a single scene laid in Monte Carlo. And high time, too, for that lode, profitable as it no doubt has been, has shown signs, of petering out. The entire action of this novel takes place in England, and most of the characters, with the exception of a few detectives, belong to the upper classes. Edward Phillips Oppenheim (1866-1946) was an English novelist, in his lifetime a major and successful writer of genre fiction including thrillers. He wrote more than 100 novels between 1887 and 1943. The Gallows of Chance was first published in 1933.

The Glenlitten Murder

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Glenlitten Manor is the home of Andrew, Marquis Glenlitten, and his lovely, tiny, vivacious French wife, Felice. On the night of a small game hunt, the unsavory Baron de Bresset is murdered and the priceless Glenlitten diamond is stolen. Who stole the necklace and killed de Bresset? The subplot around the origins of Felice, who was orphaned in a French chateau at a very young age, form an interesting side story. Suspects include Sir Richard Cotton, the famous London criminal lawyer, Sir Richard Haslam, the African colonial administrator, and Prince Charles de Seuss, the impoverished Russian nobleman. Very formulaic, with some interesting descriptions of English country house life just prior to the Great Depression.

The Golden Beast

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Edward Phillips Oppenheim (1866-1946) was the earliest writer of spy fiction as understood today, inventing the rogue male school of adventure thrillers and writing over 150 novels of all sorts. In The Golden Beast, a woman curses her lovers father, a baron, who had her gamekeeper father hanged. Years afterward, three of the barons descendants disappear in a manner that baffles Scotland Yard, appearing they were the victims of that ancient curse. Written in 1925, with a powerful Jewish family as the main characters, there are strong descriptions and anti-Semitic characterizations. The men are greedy, money obsessed, and unattractive. The women are beautiful, alluring, exotic, and immoral.