Kryminał
E. Phillips Oppenheim
Lord Evelyn and a group of seven like-minded esthetes make up The Ghosts a cabal of social arbiters, of whom the mere mention is regarded as a faux pas. They are imbued with almost mystical power in setting tastes and trends and behavior for the members of Society in London in 1908. Desperate for stimulation The Ghosts embark on a risky program of wealth redistribution... other peoples wealth. Meanwhile, a spurned aspirant to their club, the American debutante Sophy Van Heldt, seeks revenge against them. Originally published in 1908 as The Ghosts of Society this intriguing novel carries the theme of social boredom, ennui, and sensation craving which entranced late Victorian Europe in the pre-war period.
The Doctor, His Wife and the Clock
Anna Katharine Green
A mystery filled with guilt, love and anger led to death. The story is about Ebenezer Gryce, a young, energetic and determined police detective who is entrusted with the investigation of the high-profile murder of Mr. Hasbrouck, a wealthy and influential resident of the Colonnade in Lafayette Place. The only real clue is provided by the victims wife. She woke from a deep sleep and thought she was dreaming. She soon realized that her husband wasnt next to her in bed. While she was looking for him, she heard a voice say from across the dark room, God! What have I done! , which was quickly followed by footsteps and the front door closing. Enjoy this 7th Mr. Gryce book.
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.
Hulbert Footner
As well as penning some of the most popular detective fiction, Conan Doyle also wrote thrilling adventure stories. Rodney Stone is a combination of both. Nelson, Beau Brummell, Fox and King George III himself appear in a tale at the heart of which is, as one character says, a pretty conspiracy a criminal, an actress and a prize-fighter, all playing their parts. The book is narrated by Rodney, in 1851 thinking back over the events 1803, when Rodney was 17 and his best friend, Boy Jim, was 19. This is the year Rodneys uncle comes to introduce the boy to London society. Sir Charles is a dandy, and a friend of Beau Brummell and the Prince of Wales. But Rodneys father has hopes for his son going into the Royal Navy. Boy Jim also has a life decision to make. He has been raised by Champion Harrison as a blacksmith, but after befriending an alcoholic ex-actress, he yearns to see more of the world, at least London.
Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Isabelle Sliford is a young girl who dreams of the books she reads and lives to read them. She sees life through the eyes of Brion, Shelley, Shakespeare and Dickens. George Gilbert, a handsome young doctor, sees that she and she are so different from the girls he knows, falling in love with her. He is pragmatic, and she is a dreamer of all that is beautiful, which causes the gulf between them.
Edgar Wallace
A short but interesting detective story. Dick Martin plans for an early retirement from the police force seeking a quite life. His final job is to bring in Lew Pheeney, wanted in connection with a bank robbery. When Lew confesses to trying to open a dead mans tomb, however, Martin has a mystery he must unravel. He races to find the connection between an attractive young librarian, a mad scientist and the vanished heir to a vast fortune, as everyone becomes entangled in a web of fraud, deceit, torture and murder. What dangers did he face in understanding the mystery behind the door with seven locks? Combines a mystery thriller plot with considerable dashes of gothic horror, and just the faintest hint of science fiction.
Arthur Morrison
English writer Morrison chronicles the exploits of Horace Dorrington, a raconteur and scoundrel who hails from a very different social strata than the typical Victorian detective. Mr. Dorrington himself is a marvelous creation, charming and with no moral scruples whatsoever, clever, and entirely devoted to achieving as great a profit for himself as possible if this involves doing some honest detection, that is fine if it involved extorting the criminal instead of turning him over to the police, no problem, if it involves having the client murdered well, some things cant be helped. There are six short stories in this collection which begins with The Narrative of Mr. James Rigby. Definitely fun and recommended for readers who want to explore the darker side of Victorian detective stories.
Edgar Wallace
One of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, Edgar Wallace was an immensely popular author, who created exciting thrillers spiced with tales of treacherous crooks and hard-boiled detectives. The Double is a story about a man who encounters his unknown double and the trouble that arises. When Dick Staines joined the police force the big case of the day had been the Staines murder. The only clue was an unknown thumb-print, the case was never solved. Ten years later and Detective Inspector Staines investigating a curious burglary in fashionable Belgravia finds a thumb-print on a glass. The strangest of murders with surgical overtones confronts Dick Staines our Cambridge educated detective.