The River of Stars

Edgar Wallace

During 1907 Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) travelled to the Congo Free State, to report on atrocities committed against the Congolese under King Leopold II of Belgium and the Belgian rubber companies, in which up to 15 million Congolese were killed. Isabel Thorne of the Weekly Tale-Teller penny magazine, invited Wallace to serialize stories inspired by his experiences. These were published as his first collection Sanders of the River (1911), a best seller. This volume, grouped with the Sanders Africa books of Wallace does not contain the usual Sanders-short stories, but is a novel, Sanders is only a minor character on the edge of the proceedings. Small-time crooks go to Africa to find a diamond river, but before and after this journey, they constantly get in their own way, with sometimes fatal consequences...

The Road to London

Edgar Wallace

Best remembered for penning the screenplay for the classic film King Kong, author Edgar Wallace was an astoundingly popular luminary in the action-adventure genre in the early twentieth century. Wallace was a very prolific writer despite his sudden death at age 56. In total Wallace is credited with over 170 novels, almost 1,000 short stories, and 18 stage plays. Wallaces works have been turned into well over 100 films. This traditional mystery features a girl with an unusual name, some mysterious tramps, gangsters and villainous members of British upper class. The Road to London is a story packed with intrigue, treachery, assassinations, and machinations, and it highlights Wallaces unmatched skill in setting a pulse-pounding pace. Highly recommended!

The Secret House

Edgar Wallace

The Secret House by Edgar Wallace is a mystery set about 1920 in England. Scandalous periodical The Gossips Corner is run by a supposed blackmailer whose identity has baffled the police. Inspector T.B. Smith of Scotland Yard, a singularly acute Assistant Commissioner, has got a lot to sort out. Introduced as an eccentric, though there is little evidence provided for this assertion, the characterless Smith tangles with dodgy doctors, dangerous criminals and a missing millionaire, as well as the traps and puzzles of the mysterious house, in a frankly barmy plot. A delicious mystery with twists and turns that intrigue, slowly unveiling the Victorian era characters as the indomitable Scotland Yard detective overcomes the evil protagonists.

The Sign of the Black Ace

Edgar Wallace

The Companions of the Ace High are a group of aviators, each of whom has his own reason to hate Germans. The groups founder, Dexter, whose wife was driven mad when a German submarine attacked a liner on which she was travelling, dedicates himself to the destruction of Germany. He uses his wealth to establish a base of operations in the small republic of San Romino on the northern border of Italy. From this base the Companions of the Ace High pursue and kill Germans, their spies and sympathizers. Another breathtaking work by the master of mystery Edgar Wallace. As the novel is rather short and quite fast-paced with a lot of scenery-changes and adventures, this nice.

The Sinister Man

Edgar Wallace

A mystery novel classic by Edgar Wallace with so many twists and turns it becomes utterly baffling by the end. Superintendent Wills investigates the murder of a man found floating in the River Thames, it appears the victim was a archeology Oxford professor, murdered over three small fragments of an ancient text, working on the deciphering of some very rare tablets which if they fall into the wrong hands could cause major problems for one Asian country. He had previously been studying an archeological artefact known as the Kytang Wafers, and this is now missing. Highly recommended for people who like to treat a mystery story as a solvable riddle!

The Square Emerald

Edgar Wallace

Edgar Wallace, The Square Emerald, originally published in 1926 and made in England. The plot involves a young gentleman, secretary to a notable politician, convicted wrongly of forging a check, now released after serving his term in prison, a group of rather sinister society ladies with their sinister butler Druze, who were involved in the check and other activities, and a beautiful young woman detective from Scotland Yard, also from a stylish society background. A female sleuth is one step ahead of everyone, including the reader, and generally has jolly good fun solving the case. A mysteriously complicated plot make this Edgar Wallace book great fun with the twists coming thick and fast.

The Squeaker

Edgar Wallace

The Squeaker is a piece of early crime writing by author Edgar Wallace, first published in 1927. This novel is a traditional mystery, featuring some crooks and some policemen, a mysterious villain, a lovely girl and a plot with many twists. It is the thrilling story of a group of London jewel thieves and the company they keep. The title character is an omnipotent fence who has cornered the diamond-smuggling racket. The fence travels in polite society under the guise of a wealthy philanthropist. A Scotland Yard detective pretends to be an ex-convict in order to infiltrate the Squeakers gang and to track down the stolen gems. An entertaining tale of mystery and intrigue in Londons underworld, this volume constitutes a must-read for lovers of crime fiction.

The Steward

Edgar Wallace

This early work by Edgar Wallace was originally published in 1932. Wallace was an extremely prolific writer who wrote over 175 novels, plus numerous plays, essays and journalistic articles. During the peak of his success during the 1920s, it was said that a quarter of all books read in England were written by him. In England, in the 1920s, Wallace was said to be the second biggest seller after the Bible. Many of his novels were made into films and TV dramas. The Steward is a collection of short stories that include The left Pass, The Little Baroness, Solo and the Lady, and many more. The stories are fast-paced with some surprising twists, well written and great to read and definitely a product of their time and place.