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The crime seemed to have lost itself in the sleety cold of the December midnight upon which it was committed. The trails were not blind--there were simply no trails. The circumstances baffled explanation--a lone woman entering an empty taxicab; a run to a distant point in the city; the discovery of the woman's disappearance, and in her stead the sight of the dead body of a prominent society man--that, and the further blind information that the suit-case which the woman had carried was the property of the man whose body was huddled horribly in the taxicab. (Summary from the text)...

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Mystery, Fiction

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Fun stories of Miss Lois Cayley, independent young woman, as she, beginning with only twopence in her pocket, travels the world. (Summary by kristin) Miss Lois Cayley, a smart, strong and independent woman, is traveling around the world. However, her beloved is in trouble. He is accused of a crime which he didn't commit. But who did? And would she be able to save him from 14 years in prison? And would an independent woman let herself, finally, fall in love and live quietly? (Summary by Stav Nisser)....

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Fiction, Adventure

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A murder whodunit... Location: Hampstead, England. Victim: Sir Horace Fewbanks, a distinguished High Court judge. Cause of death: gun shot wound. Investigator: Private Detective Crewe, a wealthy bachelor who has taken up crime detection as a hobby, because it provides intellectual challenges more satisfying even than playing twelve simultaneous boards against Russian chess champion Turgieff. His sidekick Joe is a fourteen year old Cockney boy, whom Crewe saved from a life of crime by hiring him as a messenger-boy and shadower. Other whodunit elements: clues galore, suspects in abundance, an inquest, a trial, and an elegant resolution. (Summary by Maikki)...

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Mystery

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The story concerns a young woman called Rachel Verinder who inherits a large Indian diamond, the Moonstone, on her eighteenth birthday. The book is widely regarded as the precursor of the modern mystery and suspense novels. T. S. Eliot called it 'the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels'. It contains a number of ideas which became common tropes of the genre: a large number of suspects, red herrings, a crime being investigated by talented amateurs who happen to be present when it is committed, and two police officers who exemplify respectively the 'local bungler' and the skilled, professional, Scotland Yard detective. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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Mystery, Fiction

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A true “whodunit” with as many twists and turns as an English country road. Old man Courtenay is found murdered in his bed. Dr. Ralph Boyd is summoned to Courtenay Manor to examine the slain man and discovers a clue that might solve the case. But, he decides to keep the clue private for personal reasons. In the meantime, Scotland Yard has no clues as the culprits or the motive. Dr. Boyd, because of his new found clue, is sure he knows who is the murderer. Or, is it a murderess? His intimate acquaintance, Ambler Jevons, is also investigating the crime but Dr. Boyd does not share his discoveries with him. Sure of his findings, a bizarre midnight encounter turns all Boyd's judgments upside down and the case becomes more peculiar than when it started. What are the seven secrets needed to decode this murder, or is it a conspiracy? One needs to listen to the end to discover the truth. (Summary by Tom Weiss)...

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Fiction, Mystery

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Edgar Wallace, perhaps best known for creating King Kong, wrote dozens of novels. The Green Rust, his twelfth crime novel, is one of three books he published in 1919. It begins at the English home of the severely ill American millionaire, John Millinborn. With him are his best friend, Kitson, and a local doctor, the Dutch (or is he?) van Heerden. He is murdered in the first chapter, having just left his fortune to his niece, Oliva, whom he has never met. Before he dies, he asks Kitson to find and watch over Oliva. (Introduction by Kirsten Wever)...

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Mystery, Fiction

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In this anthology of true crime tales, editor Walter Wood interviews those who were touched by the crimes recounted, sometimes as an acquaintance of the deceased or criminal or in the course of their professional duties. This work provides a personal look at some of the most sensational crimes and scandals of late 19th and early 20th century Britain. (Summary by Nullifidian)...

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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)...

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Mystery

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Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly criminal trainer Fagin, naively unaware of their unlawful activities....

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Fiction, Literature

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Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by Charles Dickens. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly criminal trainer Fagin, naively unaware of their unlawful activities. Packed with a host of unforgettable characters this story will have you laughing and crying in turn(but mostly laughing).A must for any booklover. ( Summary by Wiki and T.Hynes )...

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Fiction, Literature

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One of the great literary tragedies of all time, The Hunchback of Notre Dame features some of the most well-known characters in all of fiction - Quasimodo, the hideously deformed bellringer of Notre-Dame de Paris, his master the evil priest Claude Frollo, and Esmeralda, the beautiful gypsy condemned for a crime she did not commit. (Summary by Mark Nelson)...

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Fiction

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The small town of Shelby is shaken by a brutal murder. A man by the name of Etheridge was found beaten to death. A local inn-keeper, is convicted and executed for the crime. Many years later, a woman in purple shows up at the house of Ostrander, the respected judge who had sentenced the inn-keeper to be executed. This mysterious woman turns out to be the wife of the convicted man, but she does not believe he was guilty. She visits the Judge, to challenge him on his verdict. He listens to her plea, but reaffirms his belief in her husbands guilt. Having nowhere to go, Deborah is given the position of maid, which she secretly uses to obtain proof of her husband's innocence and the identity of the real killer. However, the initial evidence that Deborah collects points in troubling new directions. (Summary by Elaine Webb)...

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Mystery

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Manfred is a dramatic poem in three acts by Lord Byron, and possibly a self confessional work. A noble, Manfred, is haunted by the memory of some unspeakable crime. In seeking for forgetfulness and oblivion, he wanders between his castle and the mountains. He has several encounters with the people who try to assist him, as well as spirits that rule nature and human destiny. The poem explores themes of morality, religion, guilt and the human condition. (Summary by TimSC)...

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Poetry, Horror/Ghost stories, Literature, Play

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A habitual late night stroll down Markendale Square plunges Viner into the middle of things most mysterious and most perplexing. A murder, an imposter, secret papers, all combine to mystify even the police themselves. Is Hyde as innocent of the crime as he claims? What is the clue of the veiled woman and the diamond ring? Things are not what they seem to be and how can Viner prove the man's innocence? (Summary by Kehinde)...

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Mystery

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Ill feelings exist between the Meadowcroft sons and John Jago, the foreman of the Meadowcroft estate. Then, John Jago disappears, and a body is found in a kiln. The Meadowcroft brothers stand accused of the crime, but are they guilty? The Dead Alive is a novel written by Wilkie Collins based on the true-life Boorn Brothers murder conviction case of 1819. Jesse and Stephen Boorn were sentenced to death for the murder of their brother-in-law, but were they wrongly convicted? (Summary by M Z Spark, Phil, and Barry)...

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Fiction, Tragedy

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Frank Lucius Packard (February 2, 1877 – February 17, 1942) born in Montreal, Quebec, was a Canadian novelist. Packard is credited with bridging the gap from the “cozy” style mysteries to the more gritty, hard-boiled style of such writers as Dashiell Hammet and Raymond Chandler. Packard also wrote a series of novels, beginning in 1917, featuring Jimmie Dale. A wealthy playboy by day, at night, Jimmie becomes a crimefighter “The Gray Seal” complete with mask and secret hide-out, “The Sanctuary”. This character certainly influenced later crimefighting characters such as Batman and The Shadow. In The White Moll (1920) Rhoda Gray, “The White Moll”, an angel of mercy who spends her time helping the poor in the slums of New York City, is drawn into the criminal world when she attempts to help Gypsy Nan, who is not what she seems. Accused of a crime and on the run from the police, she must battle the most nefarious criminal gang in the New York underworld to prove her innocence. Populated by such characters as Pierre Dangler, the Pug, Pinkie Bonn, Skeeny, the Sparrow and above all “the Adventurer”, this story contains shoot-outs, car chase...

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Adventure, Mystery

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The Pagan Madonna, one of Harold MacGrath's numerous novels, set in Shanghai, tells a story of intrigue, murder, and illicit art “collecting.” The paths of Jean Norman, a Red Cross nurse from the United States, Ling Foo, a shifty pawn shop keeper, and Anthony Cleigh, millionaire art collector, cross and recross in growing intrigue over a string of beads. It is a world where “. . . every move you make is governed by Chance--the Blind Madonna of the Pagan . . . .” (Introduction by Don Jenkins)...

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Mystery

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“No Clue! A Mystery Story” finds detective Jefferson Hastings at the home of wealthy but eccentric Arthur Sloane one hot summer night, when two other guests at Sloanehurst stumble across the body of young Mildred Brace lying dead on the lawn. Sloane’s daughter Lucille asks Hastings to help solve the crime, but Hastings gets surprisingly little help from anybody he interviews, including Mr. Sloane himself and even the mother of the victim. With few clues to aid him and nobody beyond suspicion, including himself, seemingly rock solid alibis begin to fall apart, expanding the list of potential suspects, and Hastings must rely on subtle expressions and the scant evidence at hand to try to solve the murder. (Summary by Roger Melin)...

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Mystery

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Reputed as Eliot’s favourite novel Silas Marner is set in the early years of the 19th century. Marner, a weaver, is a member of a small congregation in Lantern Yard. Falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he leaves his home and lives a solitary life near the village of Raveloe. Dedicating his life to weaving and hoarding gold for the next fifteen years, circumstances beyond his control shape his destiny and help to restore his faith in humanity.(Summary by T.Hynes)...

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Literature, Religion, Fiction

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When tragedy hits his family, in the form of a sudden illness to his father, young Teddy Thornton is forced to leave school and find work to help support his family. Without his realization he is thrown into a world of crime and counterfeiting. Will he do the right thing, or will he unwittingly be drawn down the wrong path? And will the mystery of Heron Hall be solved? Mary T. Waggaman was a prolific Catholic writer of juvenile fiction in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. (Introduction by Maria Therese)...

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Fiction, Teen/Young adult, Children, Mystery