Masterpieces of Mystery

Anna Katharine Green

Masterpieces of Mystery is a scintillating collection of suspenseful stories of murder and mayhem from pioneering American detective-story writer Anna Katharine Green, one of the first female writers of detective fiction. Greens many thrillers were characterized by logical construction and a knowledge of criminal law. Her stories are full of mystery and written in an elegant manner, true to the time period in which the story is set. This collection includes the classic stories Room No. 3, The Staircase at Hearts Delight, The Grey Lady, The House in the Mist and more. Tantalizingly tangled plots and unpredictable revelations abound. The collection is highly recommended for people who like to treat a mystery story as a solvable riddle.

The Pigeon House

Valentine Williams

The novel begins in Paris on the wedding night of Sally and Rex Garrett. A former member of the French Foreign Legion Rex mysteriously disappears on the night of his wedding. At The Pigeon House, a lonely inn, a band of conspirators await the arrival of a deserter from the Foreign Legion, who is their key man in their plan to start an uprising in French Morocco. The conspirators have also driven the bridegrooms closest friend into exile and a shameful death, which means he must hunt them down and destroy them. Williams spy story, The Pigeon Man (1927), presents us with a character whose motivations are as obscure as any in modernist literature. Why is the hero doing what he is doing? Why, for that matter, are the other characters? George Valentine Williams never says explicitly, leaving readers to puzzle this out for themselves.

The Island of Shadows

Fred M. White

Tom Armstrong, commonly known by the common name of Captain Armstrong, could boast the amount of knowledge that he had or the discoveries he made. However, he is already 5 years retired. Armstrongs companion, named Harold Coventry, was a young man of about six-and-twenty years. Like his companion, the sea was his passion, and although he was not a very wealthy man, he managed to explore every sea. Old friends decided to get together again and go on adventures, but this time they are waiting for a very mysterious island.

Points West

B.M. Bower

B.M Bower had a gift for writing Westerns, weaving tales of adventure, intrigue, mystery, and romance often with surprise endings. They are historical reminiscences of pioneers among the sage and bush, clearing the way for a new America. She wrote about working cowboys usually on western ranches, with the occasional visit of an eastern types. Her books were known for their factual attention to detail such as cattle branding. Cole is the son of wealth, but through no fault of his own this wealth has disappeared. The plot is well constructed with well drawn subsidiary characters and provides a number of interesting twists. Highly recommended, especially for those who love the Old Western genre.

The Prince of Peril

Otis Adelbert Kline

The second of the three Grandon of Venus novels. When the man who was Harry Thorne on Earth offered to swap bodies with a native of Venus, it was because he was bored with comfort and security, and craved excitement. And that was what he got more than he would have bargained for when he found that he had taken over the assassin-haunted role of a prince of a beleaguered throne in a land of ferocious beasts and inhuman foemen. With the help of the fellow interplanetary traveler Vorn Vangal he got to know the planet and the rules of it. Otis Adelbert Kline, whose work is often compared to that of Edgar Rice Burroughs, has created in The Prince of Peril another interplanetary swordplay and fantastic adventure to stand alongside his fast-selling The Planet of Peril and The Swordsman of Mars.

The Country of the Knife

Robert E. Howard

This early work by Robert E. Howard was originally published in 1936. Knife Country is a novel from the El Borak series of Texans in the early 20th century in Afghanistan. Very interesting book.

Jądro ciemności

Joseph Conrad

Marynarz Charles Marlow opowiada towarzyszom rejsu historię, gdy jako kapitan małego statku płynął rzeką Kongo do serca afrykańskiej dżungli z misją odnalezienia zaginionego poszukiwacza cennych afrykańskich towarów. Z jego opowieści wyłania się obraz okrucieństw epoki kolonializmu. Rajska kraina okazuje się zdominowana żądzą władzy i zysku, które budzą w ludziach najgorsze instynkty.

An Act in a Backwater

E.F. Benson

The brother and sister of the poor nobleman settle in a simple town and bring a new element to the quiet life of this place, which gives many opportunities for comedy. Ginny Avesham is an attractive heroine, but the author tries so hard to show her kindness to the reader that she overdoes her and makes her a little theatrical. A simple story, with many good characters, but also with life features. Benson gave us a small but pleasant exploration of life in a small town.