Detective Fiction

A suspicious accident reveals itself to be a murder! Our story is narrated by a lawyer who turns detective in order to uncover the real murderer, and leads us on a chase through Bolshevik headquarters, country clubs, and a dry creek bed, before the real clues come to light. Up-in-the-air excitement! (Summary by Brenda Price)

(Written by Charlotte M. Brame under the pen name Bertha M. Clay.) Honest Mark Brace is about to lose his farm, land of his ancestors, home to his wife, Patty, and small daughter, Mattie, when out of a dark and stormy night comes the answer to his prayers. A tiny babe, tender and fair, left on their doorstep with a note asking Mark and Patty to bring the child up as their own, to raise it to be good, like themselves, and to accept for their troubles a hundred pounds a year. The farm is saved, and all is peaceful for a while as the beautiful baby, Doris, grows into an even more beautiful child. But as she grows, so too grows her awareness of her own loveliness, of her difference from the humble farmers who raise her. Doris hungers for luxury, jewels and velvet, bright fetes and ardent admirers. Confident that her ethereal beauty and native wit will bring her everything she deserves, she focuses her energies on obtaining these things and sets in motion a chain of events that will break hearts, rip at the mystery surrounding her birth, and culminate in the greatest tragedy of them all. A story of love in many forms, A Fair Mystery is part romance, part tragedy, and part social commentary, one which asks us to pause a moment and reflect on what it is that is truly worth having in this life. (Summary by Elanor Sakamoto)

Giles Dudley is called upon by his cousin Henry Wilton to assist him in San Francisco, but the reason for the summons is not at all clear. Dudley answers the summons, only to find himself immediately wrapped in the middle of mystery and intrigue, the roots and ends of which he is utterly unaware. He has been given to care for a mysterious young boy whom he hasn’t even seen. His cousin has mysteriously disappeared. Dudley’s role in the mystery has him convinced that as he goes about trying to assist his cousin with whatever it was he wanted to accomplish, he does so completely blindfolded. (Summary by Roger Melin)

Evil lurks in the hearts and minds of men and many nefarious schemes are hatched by these gangsters, mob bosses and super villains. But thankfully, equally brave, talented detectives (some of them hooded) are there to track them down and thwart their twisted plans. These six stories, along with two “true fact detective shorts” were in the magazine Hooded Detective, January 1942. Are they well written? well, no, but they are fun. Here are a few of the blurbs: “They had expected spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner, but were served instead, hot lead, with a little bit of blood on the side….” (A Dinner Date with Murder) “Wilson Lamb cuddled his automatic to play “Mr. Death” and fingered little Louis Engel for coffin cargo. But when he pulled the trigger, Whisper the gun-cobra from Chi spilled out of Doom’s deck..” (Candidate for a Coffin). How can you top that last sentence? – Summary by Phil chenevert

A governess comes to Sherlock Holmes for advice on an offer of a excellent position with a new employer. But the conditions are odd and expectations strange. What is behind the smiling demeanor of the owner of the Copper Beeches house? Sherlock and Dr. Watson are happy to help this lady with her conundrum and save lives as a consequence.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective. They were originally published in the Strand Magazine from July 1891 to June 1892. The title character was named after famous American poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (Summary from Wikipedia)

When this was written, literary traditions still decreed beauty to be the outward sign of inner saintliness, whereas evil characters tended to be ?ugly as sin.? Jean Briggerland defies these expectations by being every bit as angelically beautiful as she is sociopathic. So lovely that all around her are blinded to her guilt no matter how blatant her crimes, only Jack Glover, best friend and lawyer of her most recent victim, is aware of her true nature. Can he stop her crime spree and bring her to justice before she murders her way to wealth and happiness? He really, really shouldn?t count on it. Despite the book?s outrageously implausible plot, it nevertheless manages to keep one in suspense from first page to last. Advisory: Antiquated attitudes and occasional profanity will add unintentional humor to the charms of the story for some listeners but might offend others. (Summary by Lee Elliot)

Mr. Philip Kirkwood, a not so successful painter, receives a visitor from his home town in America, who wants him to do him an unspecified favor, but Kirkwood doesn”t trust him and sends him away. That night, he sees the stranger dine with his beautiful daughter. In order to protect the girl, the stranger confesses to Kirkwood, that he will be arrested upon leaving the restaurant. Kirkwood agrees to take care of the girl, but when he brings her home, he knows that she is in danger and that there is a mystery attached. He decides to protect the girl? (Summary by Carolin)

The sudden death of wealthy and prominent financier, Pennington Lawton from an apparent heart attack, followed by the shocking revelation of his impending bankruptcy, leaves his sole heir and only daughter, Anita, distraught and nearly penniless. Nonetheless, she is determined to unravel the mystery surrounding her father?s death and the loss of his great fortune. To this end she engages the famous detective, Henry Blaine who is determined to unravel the tangled web of deception and restore both her father?s reputation and Anita?s inheritance. Isabel Ostrander, who also wrote under the pseudonyms Christopher B. Booth, Robert Orr Chipperfield, David Fox, and Douglas Grant, was a prolific author of early American crime fiction. In The Crevice she collaborated with coauthor, William J. Burns, who served for three years as director of the Bureau of Investigation (a predecessor of the FBI)and was also famous for his exploits as a private detective. His cases served as material for the ?true? crime stories he later wrote and published in detective magazines in the early 20th century. (summary by J. M. Smallheer)

Noted historian sets out to locate and research a rare manuscript: the French version of — “The Golden Legend” — and meets the daughter of a woman he once loved. Complications follow. – Summary by David Crosby

Young Dr Ellis, a struggling new physician, is enjoying a quiet evening smoking and enjoying conversation with his journalist friend Cass, when their mysterious neighbour, Mrs Moxton, bursts in upon them with startling news – her husband has been murdered! Rushing to the scene, the two men discover Mr Moxton, stabbed in the back. They investigate the body thoroughly, but find no real clues to his assailant except for a mysterious series of markings, scrawled in blood on the dead man’s sleeve. – Summary by Don W. Jenkins

During a burglary at the home of Deputy Daubrecq a crime is committed, and two accomplices of Ars?ne Lupin are arrested by the police. One is guilty of the crime, the other innocent, but both will be sentenced to death. Lupin seeks to deliver the victim of a miscarriage of justice, but struggles against Deputy Daubrecq’s ruthless blackmailer, who has an incriminating document hidden in a crystal stopper. (Summary by Wikipedia)

The Exploits of Elaine It tells the story of a young woman named Elaine who, with the help of a detective, tries to find the man, known only as “The Clutching Hand”, who murdered her father. (Wikipedia)