Klub der Vier

Edgar Wallace

Es handelt sich dabei weniger um einen richtigen Roman als vielmehr einige Kurzgeschichten, die durch eine gemeinsame Rahmenhandlung verbunden sind. Die Geschichten handeln vom aufgeweckten Versicherungsdetektiv Robert Brewer, der immer dann herangeholt wird, wenn es gilt, die reichen Kunden (und damit die Versicherung selbst auch) vor Vermögensschäden jeglicher Art zu schützen. Mehrere Fälle von Betrug, Diebstahl und Einbruch, verbunden durch eine gemeinsame Rahmenhandlung, werden von dem aufgeweckten Detektiv Robert Brewer aufgedeckt oder verhindert. Dabei reicht die Bandbreite der Fälle von Bob Brewer von Diebstahl und Einbruch bis zu ehrgeizigem Betrug. Als cleveres Kerlchen durchschaut er jedoch die Tricks der Gauner im Handumdrehen und verhindert ihre Coups.

Valley Thieves

Max Brand

The outlaws chasing Silvertip were the deadliest in the West. They wanted the famous man - and the six-shooters they carried always got them what they wanted. The story relates Jim Silvers continuing battle of wills and wits with his arch-enemy Barry Christian, in the process of which Silvers wolf Frosty and his powerful horse Parade are abducted. Now, with guns drawn, Silvertip and Christian faced each other to settle their old feud once and for all! We also meet the enigmatic Harry Clonmel, another bigger-than-life character. One of the greatest Western authors of all time. Max Brand leads the reader on a very authentic tale of the old west the way it was.

The Joker

Edgar Wallace

Mr. Stratford Harlow, the colossus of British Finance, was a gentleman with no particular call to hurry. By every standard he was a member of the leisured classes, and to his opportunities for lingering, he added the desire of one who was pertinently curious. The most commonplace phenomena interested Mr. Harlow. He had all the requisite qualities of an observer; his enjoyment was without the handicap of sentimentality, a weakness which is fatal to accurate judgement. Between Stratford Harlow and James Carlton, whom Harlow described as Scotland Yards most unscrupulous man, there was never open warfare until the murder of Mrs. Gibbons...

Kądziel

Maria Rodziewiczówna

Podczas gdy w Polsce coraz głośniejsze stają się postulaty emancypacji kobiet, samotna matka Taida Skarszewska stara się pogodzić zarządzanie majątkiem z wychowywaniem dwóch synów. Według niej należy pogodzić bycie gospodynią z niezależnością.

Mr. Polton Explains

R. Austin Freeman

R. Austin Freemans character Dr. Thorndyke is considered the first modern forensic scientist in literature. This is one of the oddities of detective fiction. The first part of this story is an autobiography of Thorrndykes lab assistant Polton. Polton, Dr. Thorndykes lab assistant and a servant has graced every Thorndyke mystery with his mechanical ingenuity, his sumptuous meals and teas, and his crinkly smile. The second part is a mystery tale, which builds on some of the characters we first saw in the earlier portion. Polton and Dr. Thorndyke faced with a mystery involving a mysterious fire in a Soho house filled with supposedly inflammable objects and a body charred beyond recognition by the fire. Poltons understanding of the mechanisms of clocks leads to a breakthrough in the case.

The Illustrious Prince

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Written in 1910, The Illustrious Prince is set in England some time after the Russian-Japanese War which ended in victory for the Japanese in 1905. The Emperor of Japan, suspecting an ulterior motive in the world cruise of the American battleship fleet, dispatches his cousin, Prince Maiyo, on a mission to learn the secret if one existed. Two American spies are murdered, an intrepid detective from Scotland Yard is hard on the trail of clues that will lead him to the killer. As Scotland Yard races to solve the mystery of the murders, several highborn ladies (one of them is Penelope Morse who becomes both wary and fascinated by him) and gentlemen from the British aristocracy befriend the charming Prince and get caught up in the intrigue.

Scarhaven Keep

Joseph Smith Fletcher

This novel, first published in 1922, is a good example of J. S. Fletchers complex plots. The story starts with a famous actor gone missing in suspicious circumstances in northern England. But other dark deeds soon take our attention. Copplestone, the young dramatist, helping to solve the mystery, found himself suddenly in love; and the solution and his happiness were discovered together. In the search for Oliver, we find ourselves on a wild and lonely coast off the North Sea. The landscapes in this novel have a thrilling, threatening beauty that forms a perfect backdrop for the mysteries unfolding.

Madame de Treymes

Edith Wharton

Even a short novel like Madame de Treymes shows you what a masterful writer Edith Wharton was. It is a captivating portrait of turn-of-the-century American and French culture. Inspired by Whartons own entré into Parisian society in 1906 and reminiscent of the works of Henry James, it tells the story of two young innocents abroad: Fanny Frisbee of New York, unhappily married to the dissolute Marquis de Malrive, and John Durham, her childhood friend who arrives in Paris intent on convincing Fanny to divorce her husband and marry him instead. In hopes of finding a solution, Durham meets with Fannys sister-in-law, the enigmatic Madame de Treymes, who suggests that she might be willing to appeal to her brother on his behalf if, that is, he will help settle her illicit lovers gambling debts. Such a proposition surely wont have a catch...