The Root of All Evil

Joseph Smith Fletcher

Joseph Smith Fletcher (7 February 1863 30 January 1935) was a British journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction. Jackie Farnish has grown up in a grindingly poor household, and as she reaches adulthood she resolves to do whatever is necessary to claw her way out of poverty. She is loved by her childhood playmate Joe Bartle, but takes him for granted and feels that he lacks the spark or ambition to match her determination to make something of herself. Instead she pursues Albert Grice, son of a wealthy grocery store owner, and believes they have an understanding. She is horrified when Albert goes on holiday, and returns newly married to another woman.

The Winter Murder Case

S.S. Van Dine

This is the last Filo Vance novel, and it is actually not finished. Vance possessed a surprisingly vast and accurate knowledge of thousands of Willards arts and objects, and was also skeptical of life and society. But in reality, only those who superficially know Willard Huntington Wright will have this similarity. Vance as much as he was Wright.

The Call of the Canyon

Zane Grey

From the master of the western novel comes a tale full of romance and adventure. This is the story of Carley Burch, a young wealthy socialite living in New York City. As the story begins soldiers are coming home from the trenches of WWI, many of them damaged physically and emotionally. Among them is Carleys fiancé, Glenn Kilbourne. He goes West to find his health and himself, with the idea that hell return when all is well. They correspond until she eventually heads West to find and woo him, in the process realizing that she too has changed. How can she reconcile the love for this man and her love for this place he has gone so far away from? Their fate together remains in doubt until the end.

The Father Brown Stories

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.

The Chief Legatee

Anna Katharine Green

A wealthy young couple very much in love get married. Then she disappears on their wedding day. He is confused as would be expected, and seeks some help in finding her. She was an only child as her older brother disappeared at sea, and her twin sister was killed at age 5 in a fire at school. Lots of twists and turns, as well as a secret society, all show up during the search. Green, as always, holds attention and carries the reader along. Anna Katharine Green Rohlfs (1846-1935) wrote detective fiction and was instrumental in helping shape the genre into its current form by introducing a series detective with an amateur sidekick, as well as a young girl detective. She was one of a handful of women writing detective stories at the time.

The Unwilling Vestal. A Tale of Rome Under the Caesars

Edward Lucas White

The Unwilling Vestalm, written by Edward Lucas White, tells the story of the difficult choice of the main character. Young girl in imperial Rome. She is in love with a young nobleman, but her father insists that she marry another man, Kalvaster, or becomea Vestal virgin. The woman becomes Vestal, one of the six virgin priestesses of the goddess Vesta, whose duty was to protect the sacred flame in the Temple of Vesta. If the flame ever goes out, it will have dire consequences for Rome.

Good Evans

Edgar Wallace

One of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, Edgar Wallace was an immensely popular author. The Educated Evans stories combine Wallaces talent for humor with his hallmark detective story themes. His story of Evans is full of amusing incidents of love and adventure set amidst the bustle and excitement of the racecourse. This continues the life of Evans, Edgar Wallaces? cockney tipster and "the wizard of Camden Town". Follow the loves, predictions and calamities of this likeable hero of the Turf in the seventeen tales of this book. It is not only race-lovers who will love Evans, but lovers of life itself.

One Nights Mystery. A Novel

May Agnes Fleming

The Secret of One Night tells about the life and love of three young women: Cyril Hendrick, daughter of a handsome, beggar, bastard; her best friend Sidney Owenson, a naive heiress; and Dolly De Courcy, an energetic actress. Both Cyril and Sidney are engaged, although everything is not as it seems in any case. Sydneys gold miner is stupefied by Dolly, and Cyril is satisfied with her aunt, whom Cyril calls the most humble, vicious old woman on earth. The Secret of One Night in the title refers to the disappearance of the groom Sidney the day before her wedding, but did he run away with Dolly or was he killed?