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The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Burglar
Maurice Leblanc
A contemporary of Arthur Conan Doyle, Maurice Leblanc was the creator of the character of gentleman thief Arsene Lupin who, in France, has enjoyed a popularity as long-lasting and considerable as Sherlock Holmes in the English-speaking world. This is the delightful first of twenty volumes in the Arsene Lupin series written by Leblanc himself. The collection includes nine stories dealing with various complicated plots in which Lupin proves himself to be the consummate escape artist. In the first story titled The Arrest of Arsene Lupin, told by a man who comes to admire the gentleman burglar, Lupin is apprehended on board a cruise ship. The later stories deal with his prison term, escape from jail and further adventures. One of the most famous Arsene Lupin stories, The Queens Necklace is also included here. The two immortals meet in the ninth story, Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late and naturally, Lupin manages to outwit the English bloodhound!
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.
Ernest Bramah
Short mysteries involving the blind detective Carrados. Max Carrados is one of the most unusual detectives in all fiction. He is blind and yet he has developed his other faculties to such an amazing degree that they more than compensate for his lack of sight. The Eyes of Max Carrados opens with a somewhat defensive essay which chronicles astonishing feats of the blind. Carrados himself outdoes them all and perhaps combines a few too many amazing abilities for real conviction. Here is a collection of the best of Max Carrados, a set of stories featuring a series of baffling puzzles to challenge the greatest of detectives. They are written by Ernest Bramah with great wit, style and panache.
Edgar Wallace
The Face in the Night was written in the year 1924 by Edgar Wallace. Leaving her chicken farm and moving to London to seek her sister, Audrey Bedford is caught passing the Queen of Finlands stolen necklace, and allows herself to be sent to prison for a year rather than implicate her guilty sibling. Once released, she takes a position as scribe to the mysterious Mr. Malpas, who lurks in his electrically-automated apartment and only allows himself to be seen from across a darkened room. When Malpas neighbor, the Australian Mr. Marshalt is murdered in the lair, Audrey is enmeshed in a tangle of lost diamonds, a long-burning feud, the fate of her father, and the affections of Captain Dick Shannon, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard.
Wilkie Collins
Full of noble aspirations, a young graduate of the American Christian Community, Amelius Goldenhart, comes to his homeland in England. Here he falls in love with Regina, the niece of the wealthy merchant Farneby, but, having learned selfishness and cruelty, the hypocrisy of the world, he gives his heart to the destitute, lonely girl Sally one of the representatives of the fallen leaves of bourgeois society.
G.K. Chesterton
Brown is a short, inconspicuous provincial priest in a ridiculous wide-brimmed hat and an old umbrella. It is amazing how the author twisted the plot in an incredible way, fitting such a complex structure consisting of small details and nuances into such a small amount of stories. At the same time, Father Brown finds himself in the crime scene quite by accident. Either this is a social reception, then it comes back from the funeral, then by invitation. And always his figure in the crowd causes the least interest, and, more often, the bewilderment of others. And his analytical and deductive abilities forced others to drop his jaw to the floor from an incredible denouement of history.
Edgar Wallace
The Feathered Serpent is a mystery-thriller novel penned by the remarkably prolific Edgar Wallace. A number of people receive threatening cards emblazoned with the device of a feathered serpent, a device that we later find is associated with ancient Aztec religion and with a cult that still exists in Mexico and Central America. Reporter Peter Dewin suspects the card mysteriously left in the handbag of actress Ella Creed is a publicity stunt. He soon discovers that a wealthy artist, a boxing promoter and a nouveau riche stockbroker share her fear. Then, after leaving the house of millionaire philanthropist and African explorer Gregory Beale, Daphne Olroyd is followed. The Feathered Serpent case will eventually lead to murder and two kidnappings. Who is behind the crimes of The Feathered Serpent?
Edgar Wallace
The Fellowship of the Frog is a typical, fast-paced Edgar Wallace thriller. The plot centers around the identity of an arch-criminal who is using down and outs to do his dirty work. The Frog is a menace to Society. A criminal mastermind who has organized the tramps of Britain into an unlawful army. He murders, he robs, he blackmails... He must be stopped. But who is he? There is no shortage of suspects and no shortage of twists. Richard Gordon, a prosecutor, and Sgt. Elk, set out to unmask the head Frog and bring him to justice. But it seems that the Frog has some insiders at Scotland Yard, who help captured criminals escape and who help misdirect the forces of justice.