Richard Goulbourn, a humble clerk, comes into a fortune that enables him to start courting the beautiful and rich Moira. He and his sister move into the house next to the black house in Harley Street where Moira lives with her uncle, Dr. van Mildert, her uncle's assistant, Miss Lamotte, and some very sinister servants. But there are undercurrents of evil. Soon the young people find themselves embroiled with an evil mastermind. Kidnappings, ransoms, stolen diamonds, a booby-trapped house, hypnotism, escapees from Sing-Sing... all the elements for a ripping good mystery are present!

''The Death That Lurks Unseen'' is Fletcher's early masterpiece in the mystery and crime fiction genre. At this stage in his career, Fletcher was blending his journalistic precision with a flair for atmospheric, psychological narrative, featuring enigmatic protagonists and exploring dark human impulses, hidden truths, and moral ambiguity. Notable characters in this tale include a "strange creature"-a gaunt, middle-aged man with fierce eyes and a long black beard-who is desperately searching for something he lost. The reader gets a sense from reading ''The Death That Lurks Unseen'' that it is one of J. S. Fletcher's best mystery thrillers-so tightly written, not overly long, yet it feels complete and satisfying.

"The Mantle of Ishmael" (1933) by J. S. Fletcher features impersonation and hidden identities, involving a mysterious, wealthy stranger named James Gilverthwaite. The plot centers on a man hiring a local to keep a dangerous, clandestine appointment on his behalf. Gilverthwaite takes lodgings with a widow, Mrs. Moneylaws, while researching family graves. When Gilverthwaite falls ill, he hires Hugh Moneylaws to deliver a message in a lonely location, putting Hugh in danger. The novel heavily features impersonation of powerful figures, a family with striking physical resemblances, and ingenious, tightly plotted mystery elements. |This is a quintessential, well-conceived British mystery solved in an ingenious manner. Back in print for the first time since its initial publication in 1933. A must-read for Fletcher fans!

A maid is murdered, and there are numerous other shootings and deaths, as well as a couple of car crashes, on the way to the solution. ''Murder of the Only Witness'' by J. S. Fletcher is a classic Golden Age mystery featuring a complex, fast-paced plot revolving around the murder of a maid who is the "only witness" to a crucial crime. The story involves multiple deaths, secret passages, and a clever, dangerous woman, with investigators pursuing criminals through twists, turns, and shocking developments. The story showcases Fletcher's trademark style with intricate clues and a compelling narrative. This novel is considered a strong example of J. S. Fletcher's work in the mystery genre.

Killed by blows over the head with a champagne bottle, the body of the disreputable heir to a great fortune is unexpectedly found within ancestral walls. The entire countryside appears to be implicated. But suspicion falls more strongly upon a certain farmer, once deeply wronged by the murdered man. When the farmer himself is killed there seems to be no way out, until JS Fletcher's crafty hand finally brings the tangle into logical unravelling. A riveting mystery filled with hatred and revenge.

"Mr. Pontifex, I am one of three men who hold the safety of London in their hands. I speak no idle words when I say this. If it is our will, we can sweep away the seven million inhabitants of your great city as easily as I blow away the ashes from this cigarette, and no man can either prevent us or know how our work is accomplished. Accordingly, London must be ransomed. Our price is ten million pounds sterling-." The man had ambushed the Prime Minister of England on his own property and made his demands, warning that two demonstrations of his power would be forthcoming were the ransom not paid. The next morning, the Prime Minister awoke to find his prize cattle, all twenty-two of them, lay dead in their stalls with no apparent cause of death. Was there no way to stop these men, or would the ransom have to be paid? And what of the second demonstration? How much time did they have to prepare the ransom money? Master of the mystery genre, J. S. Fletcher, has crafted an edge-of-your-seat thriller, where the stakes couldn't be higher, and millions of lives hang in the balance!

With 'Murder at Wrides Park' this famous author begins a new series of detective novels, all of which will be taken from the 'case-book' of Ronald Camberwell, the young resourceful detective who appears for the first time in this volume. Ronald Camberwell is thrown into his first case by the hazard of events, quite soon after he became companion to the wealthy Mr. Nicholas. He is initiated into the methods of crime detection by the experienced Chaney, that old and trusted ex-C.I.D. man. But though still an amateur, Camberwell is no mere Dr. Watson; he promises to become an accomplished sleuth in due time. The Wrides case at the outset is as plain as a pikestaff: no police detective and no coroner's jury--however strong their loyalty--could have any doubt that Mr. Nicholas murdered his blackmailer. Then Chaney is called in by the defence, and even the hardened reader of detective fiction can have no suspicion of where the trail will take him.

Prepare to be enthralled by the captivating tales of Paul Campenhaye, a brilliant specialist in criminology. Campenhaye's wit, charm, and unparalleled deductive skills shine as he outwits even the cleverest of adversaries. From the theft of priceless jewels to the hunt for a mysterious magician, these thrilling stories will keep you on the edge of your seat. This collection of short stories is a must-read for anyone who loves a classic mystery!

A lonely countryside under heavy white drifts of snow, and a even lonelier young artist lost in it - then suddenly, blacker than the night, a queer turreted old house appears before his eyes, a door opens and the prettiest girl the artist has ever seen asks him to come in for the night... This is merely the fist chapter of the COPPER BOX with Parnlewe, the brilliantly sardonic guardian of the girl, and the copper box of the title, and all the adventure still to come. J.S. Fletcher writes a mystery story with the light hand of humour. His characters are most blissfully good-humoured in the face of intrigue, danger and rather overwhelming odds.

First published in 1928, public domain. J. S. Fletcher (b. 1863, d. 1935) was a prolific British author and journalist. He wrote over 230 titles, both fiction and non fiction. He was one of foremost writers of detective fiction during the Golden Age of murder mystery novels.

First published in the US in 1938 by Hillman-Curl Inc.: New York, now public domain. Was Richard Malvery really dead, or had he for some sinister purpose merely disappeared under mysteriously suspicious circumstances which pointed an accusing finger at his brother, Boyce? Just what did the Clents-that wild, exotic family-know? Against a bleak, desolate background, the master mystery writer of them all weaves an unforgettable tale of passion, horror, and murder.

The private eye Ronald Camberwell and his associate Chaney are called to investigate about the mysterious disappearance of 15th century gold chalice and paten and of two priceless books. These precious antiques have been stolen from a county church's vestry - but this is not all. As soon as the two detectives start exploring the old building, they discover the murdered body of a man, lying within the squire's large wooden pew. Carson Effingham, the scholarly rector of the church, his wife, his secretary and his domestics all play important parts in this mystery which only the combined efforts of Camberwell and Chaney, the local police and Scotland Yard can unravel.

In the quaint town of Market Basing, a sinister secret lurks within the Mayor's Parlour. When the esteemed Mayor, Sir George Banning, is found murdered, the peaceful facade of the community shatters. Enter Superintendent Meredith, a seasoned detective known for his sharp wit and unwavering determination. As he delves into the investigation, he uncovers a web of hidden motives, long-held grudges, and a chilling connection to a past tragedy. With each step closer to the truth, Meredith faces danger and deception. The Mayor's Parlour becomes a stage for a deadly game, where the line between justice and vengeance blurs. Will Meredith unravel the twisted threads of this enigmatic crime before another life is claimed?

First published in the US in 1930 by Alfred A. Knopf: New York, public domain. A famous American book collector is found dead, at the bottom of Herlesdem Scar on the lonley Yorshire moors, his body a mass of battered flesh. Was it just a terrible accident, as all evidences seem to suggest? His nephiew and captain Mannering think not - they understand that a sinister and mysterious murder has just taken place when they realise that the acquisition, by the victim, of a certain neglected volume, had some strange bearing on his death. And a breathtaking chase begins... J. S. Fletcher weaves the storylines of this riveting mystery with great dexeterity - a true page-turner.

After seven years of silence, Guy Markenmore returns to his family home at Markenmore Court. Knowing his father Sir Anthony to be close to death, he is anxious to reassure his younger siblings that he will not make any claim to the family money even if he can't help inheriting the old man's title. Sir Anthony dies later that evening, but the question of the inheritance becomes academic when Guy is murdered whilst crossing the downs. It is now up to detective Blick to track down the person responsible for Sir Anthony's death.

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?

Here's another intriguing mystery by J. S. Fletcher, centering on why a former high-level police official was murdered, and on whether - and if so how - the murder was linked to two glamorous and high-profile sisters, one of whose photo was found in the dead man's pocket. As usual, Fletcher creates a number of different detectives -- a lawyer, his assistant, several policemen, a police spy, and even the dead man's granddaughter -- following various lines of inquiry. These lines converge rapidly in the last few chapters, when the author lets the reader weave them together into a coherent whole: the solution to the mystery.

Jacob Herapath, a wealthy property developer and member of Parliament, is found dead in his office, a revolver at his side and a bullet wound to the head. An allegedly forged Will deepens the mystery. An intriguing puzzle with plenty of twists and turns.

Exterior to the Evidence is a mystery novel by J. S. Fletcher originally published in The Black Mask, a magazine of mystery and detective stories, in April 1922. A death on the moors, a missing will and a number of possible suspects will keep the listener guessing right through the final chapters.

Please note: This audiobook has been created using AI voice. In Scarhaven Keep, the playwright Richard Copplestone is pulled into a search for a missing actor which leads him to the town of Scarhaven on the northern English sea coast. As he slowly uncovers the secrets of the residents of Scarhaven, the mystery deepens and reveals much more than a simple missing person.

Please note: This audiobook has been created using AI voice. Spargo, reporter extraordinaire for the Watchman, stumbles over a murdered man in London's Middle Temple Lane, and, based on a journalistic hunch, decides to investigate. As the circle of interest widens, strange connections start to emerge; connections that lead towards an unsuspected conspiracy of twenty years before. The Middle Temple Murder is one of the prolific J. S. Fletcher's most popular works. It builds on his earlier short story "The Contents of the Coffin," and was published in 1919 as one of three novels he wrote that year. President Woodrow Wilson publicly praised the work, which helped Fletcher earn U.S. acclaim and eventually a publishing deal.

It tells of the murder of James Martenroyde, a Yorkshire mill-owner who is about to marry for the second time. His body is found one night near his own home. Suspicion falls on his nephew and the latter's mother. Certainly there was something very strange about their house. Why was it so carefully locked up and what did the detective find there when he broke in? Above all, why was the old woman servant of that house found murdered in exactly the same manner as Mr. Martenroyde? The solution of this ingenious mystery is startling and exciting, satisfactorily completing a singularly well-written thriller in which all the characters are interesting and colorful.

A man is charged with murder and his life is threatened with death if he does not confess. But he causes bewilderment by choosing not to speak. What's behind it? Is he guilty?

When John Linthwaite goes missing from the Mitre Hotel, the landlord informs the missing man's uncle, Richard Brixey. As a journalist, Brixey is no stranger to unearthing clues and sniffing out scandal. So when he goes to discover what has become of the missing man, he is certain that his Fleet Street experiences will stand him in good stead. But in the face of increasing opposition from potential witnesses, and in the complete absence of any sign as to Linthwaite's fate, Brixey becomes increasingly desperate. Has Linthwaite met with some accident? Or is something more sinister afoot?

Henry Marchmont is a prosperous and respectable solicitor with an uneventful past. However, one night he is found murdered in his London home. The scanty clues seem to poin to a mysterious Mr Landale, who has met the solicitor on the very day of his death, for the first time in twenty-five years. But the detective and young Richard Marchmont soon discover that there is a triangle of financial intrigue to unravel before the truth can be learned, and that not one suspicious character, but several, have been lurking near Mr Marchmont's home at the hour of the crime! Slowly the police start to wring startling and incriminating confessions from a cold-hearted assistant clerk, from another lawyer, from a woman, and from a millionaire recluse, until amazing facts eventually emerge...

When Detective-Sergeant Charlesworth of Scotland Yard was sent down to Aldersyke Manor to investigate the sudden mysterious death of Sir Charles Stanmore, he determined that, no matter what happened, if it proved to be a case of murder, he would find the culprit; for on this, his first big case, his whole future depended. Yet when he arrived on the scene there was very little on which to make a start. Sir Charles, according to the doctor, had died from poisoning, though whether it was self-administered or not he was unable to say on his first examination. He hinted at murder. So Charlesworth set about solving one of the most amazing mysteries ever recorded in the annals of crime, thus adding another tremendous thriller to Mr. Fletcher's long list of successes.

The Cartwright Gardens Murder is another one of those stories of crime which made Mr. Fletcher one of the most popular writers of the Golden Era of detective crime fiction. There is a great deal of character study in it, as well as a baffling plot, and, at the end, a striking surprise. The characters who move in this drama, which is concerned with the murder by unusually subtle means and under extraordinary circumstances, of one Alfred Jakyn, are distinctly clever and original. And as is also usual in Mr. Fletcher's novels, there is swift movement all through the story, no deviation from the main thread, and not a dull page from the exciting first chapter to the still more sensational last one. A first-class crime novel, which shows off all of J.S. Fletcher's superlative talent for mystery.

Elderly John Marbury, who came from faraway Australia the day before, was killed in central London. But who could wish death to a man who had not been in England for a long time? Investigation investigator Detective Rasbery turns for help to his friend, crime reporter Frank Spargo. Soon they learn that shortly before the death of Marbury, he met with MP Aylmore.

Elderly John Marbury, who came from faraway Australia the day before, was killed in central London. But who could wish death to a man who had not been in England for a long time? Investigation investigator Detective Rasbery turns for help to his friend, crime reporter Frank Spargo. Soon they learn that shortly before the death of Marbury, he met with MP Aylmore.

Leonard Middlebrook, a young attorney with, among other things, a bibliographical interest, accepts an invitation to lonely Ravensdene Court on the Northumbrian coast. There, Francis Raven, the owner, recently retired to the family property after an Indian career, finds himself in possession of an enormous number of old books and other items, and needs help in evaluating them. The attorney, though a man of quiet life -- even dull, as he puts it -- finds himself suddenly at the center of a darkening mystery that stretches from the British Isles to the Far East, and eventually threatens not only him but also the young and spirited Miss Raven, Francis's niece. ( Nicholas Clifford)

"Rotten borough" is a term that goes back to the 18th century, and it used to mean a parliamentary constituency in which a few property owners, or sometimes a single one, could choose the local member of parliament. The three Reform Acts of 1832, 1857 and 1884 brought that system to an end and by the time this book begins, a rotten borough has taken on its more modern meaning of a constituency whos rules allow a handful of people to profit secretly from the borough's finances. In one such borough a new mayor, victor by a margin of single vote, has been working on a reform program and is found mysteriously murdered in his office -- the Mayor's Parlour. As it happens, his young nephew is visiting from London, and is determined to find the killer. It's no easy task, and the final discovery leaves him, as well as many others, surprised.( Nicholas Clifford)

"Marshall Allerdyke is driving through the night from London to Hull in response to an urgent telegram from his cousin. As he nears Hull, a beautiful woman stops his car to ask for directions to Scotland. Odd time to be traveling so far and in such a hurry, but Allerdyke's mind is elsewhere. When he finally arrives in Hull, he finds his cousin dead in his hotel room and a valuable consignment of jewels missing. Allerdyke's only clue rests with that woman hurrying off to Scotland.(Summary by MaryAnn)"