Jacob Herapat, wealthy real estate developer and Member of Parliament. found dead. With a gun at my side. But, it seems, an hour later the coachman brings him home. And what according to his will, what surprises she will open. Several people, including the police, are trying to solve the mystery.
On the same night, two brothers were killed at a distance of 400 miles from each other. Their bodies were apparently searched by the killers, but money and valuables were left on the corpses. What were the killers looking for? The author unravels the complex history associated with these two brothers.
Fletcher’s understanding of human nature is evident in his writing, where his characters embody every facet of human existence in very well-written prose and dialogue. Mistress Spitfire is a simple account of some of the episodes in the history of Richard Coop, Ghent, and his cousin Mistress Alison French during the Revolution of 1642-1644.
The idea behind this book is that before going to bed, Yorkshire farmer Mr. Poskitt liked to tell a little story or „nightcap”. Thus, J.S. Fletcher recorded and collected these stories in this book. There is a hilarious story, tales of robbing money and arguing over wills, orphan pigs running around the village causing havoc, broken hearts and jealous lovers, and misers and men trying to make a fortune.
Joseph Smith Fletcher was an English journalist, writer and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He studied law before turning to journalism. This book opens with the first page of his experiences at the train station. If you love a story that sticks to the end, then this book is for you.
W jednym z londyńskich lombardów Andrew Lauriston znajduje zwłoki właściciela przybytku, starego Daniela Multeniusa. Podejrzenia policji od razu kierują się w stronę Lauristona – początkującego, wybitnie nieśmiałego literata. Tylko czy byłby on zdolny dokonać tak makabrycznej zbrodni? Na miejscu znaleziono również pozostawiony manuskrypt oraz platynową szpilkę z grawerunkiem. Do kogo należały? I czy ma to jakiś związek z morderstwem?
Ronald Camberwell zostaje zatrudniony na stanowisku sekretarza na dworze pana Christophera Nicholasa. Niebawem do majątku przybywa tajemniczy człowiek nazywany Dengo, który zachowuje się tak, jakby wszystko należało do niego. Pan Nicholas wychodzi razem z Dengo z dworu, po czym wraca bardzo późno w nocy. Niedługo potem miejscowy leśniczy znajduje zwłoki człowieka, którego rysopis zgadza się z Dengo. Człowiek ten został zabity sztyletem pochodzącym z laski pana Nicholasa. Właś...
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...
„The Talleyrand Maxim" belongs to the pen of an outstanding British journalist and writer Joseph Smith Fletcher. Linford Pratt is a suave and clever law clerk looking for a chance to better himself. Opportunity knocks when he gets possession of a rich man’s will that would mean the ruin of the present heirs. His thoughts turn to blackmail, since he assumes the wrongful heirs would pay a high price to hang onto their wealth. Pratt’s personal hero is the subtle, wily diplomat...
This novel takes place in the London parish of Paddington. The story opens with the murder of an old Jewish pawnbroker. Our Scottish hero, Andrew Lauriston, a penniless aspiring writer, has the misfortune of finding the body, and is accused of killing and robbing the old man. But then it’s found the pawnbroker had had in his possession an extraordinary South African diamond worth over eighty-thousand pounds – a diamond that’s now missing. It falls to Melky Rubenstein to unr...
Viner stumbles upon the body of a murdered man whilst just following through his ordinary day routines. Little does he know that this find would make him a key figure in solving a big mystery. Well its soon discovered that the murdered man’s name was Ashton and some important documents were stolen from him, but the true purpose for killing him and his real identity and that of his charge, make for a rather excitingly interesting murder-mystery... Nevertheless, Mr. Fletcher ...
This novel, first published in 1922, is a good example of J. S. Fletcher’s complex plots. The story starts with a famous actor gone missing in suspicious circumstances in northern England. But other dark deeds soon take our attention. Copplestone, the young dramatist, helping to solve the mystery, found himself suddenly in love; and the solution and his happiness were discovered together. In the search for Oliver, we find ourselves on a wild and lonely coast off the North S...
This is a story of graft and corruption set in one of Fletchers favoured Northern towns. The mayor who is on a clean-up campaign is found dead in his parlour and our hero, his younger cousin, is determined to find out who killed him. Was he eliminated for this reason? There are entanglements involving city officials and his proposed reforms plus jealousy related to relationships. Lots of twists with a surprise murderer. The plot is cleverly centered around the inquest, whic...
Another fast-paced murder mystery by J.S. Fletcher told in the first person. He wrote about 200 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction. He was one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the „Golden Age”. It was first published in 1920, and has just the right stock of truly good characters, balanced by a couple of nasties. A young apprentice solicitor in a rural English town bordering Scotland, is riding his bike through lonely stretches of...
A quaint and idyllic English community is rocked to its very core when a dead body of a man is found and foul play is suspected. Did he fall or was he pushed? The inquest records a verdict of death by misadventure but more than one person is dubious about the death. But with few clues to go on and no likely suspects, it appears that the brutal crime may remain unsolved. There’s another murder, lots of behind the scenes investigation into burial and marriage records, questio...
Fans of golden-era mysteries will relish the twists and turns of J. S. Fletcher’s „The Chestermarke Instinct”. This cleverly crafted mystery begins with what seems like a common enough occurrence: a bank manager is late for work one morning. But what first appears to be simply a matter of a missed train soon is revealed to be a much more vexing problem. Has the manager, formerly a pillar of honesty, absconded with the missing bank’s items, or has something more sinister occ...
„The Borough Treasurer” (1921) by J.S. Fletcher is a tale of blackmail, murder and a secret quarry. He has quite a large cast of interesting characters in this one, and manages to bring them all to life with great detail. This novel tales place in an obscure small town by the Yorkshire moors – an ideal spot for two ex-cons to start life over. Messrs. Mallalieu and Cotherstone were outsiders who had built a prosperous business in Highmarket and even been elected as Mayor and...
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 Scot...
When an elderly man’s body is found on the steps of chambers in the Midde Temple, one of the Inns of Court, it falls to newspaperman Frank Spargo and Detective-Sergeant Rathbury to solve the crime. There is no indication as to the idetity of the corpse, whose pockets are completely empty apart from a scrap of paper bearing the names and chambers address of an aspiring young barrister. Who is the victim? Why was he killed? Who is the murderer? These are the questions that Sp...
Lord Ellingshurst, bogaty właściciel wspaniałej rezydencji, wynajmuje dwóch detektywów, Camberwella i Chaneya, w celu odnalezienia rodowej biżuterii, która została skradziona żonie lorda. Na co dzień kosztowności przechowywane były w sejfie londyńskiego banku; zostały przywiezione, by lady Ellingshurst wystąpiła w nich na przyjęciu. Kasetkę z brylantami wykradziono z jej apartamentu tuż po przywiezieniu ich do Ellingshurst, lady jednak nie powiadomiła małżonka o tym incydenci...
Pewnego listopadowego wieczoru w jednym z londyńskich lombardów zostają znalezione zwłoki jego właściciela – starego Daniela Multeniusa. Pech chce, że smutnego odkrycia dokonuje Mr Andrew Lauriston i to właśnie na niego pada podejrzenie policji. Czyżby ten nieśmiały, początkujący literat mógł z zimną krwią zabić i okraść jubilera? Ale jeśli nie on, to kto? Może właściciel pozostawionego na miejscu zbrodni wartościowego hiszpańskiego manuskryptu? A może ten, kto zgubił tu plat...
Tytuł kryminału pochodzi od nazwy miejsca akcji. Markenmore to piękna posiadłość wiejska. Jednak jej właściciel, sir Anthony, leży na łożu śmierci. Czuwają przy nim młodsze dzieci: Harry i Valencia. Niespodziewanie – po siedmiu latach nieobecności i braku jakiegokolwiek kontaktu z rodziną – we dworze pojawia się Guy, pierworodny syn Anthony’ego i dziedzic jego majątku. Nie chce jednak spotkać się z umierającym ojcem ani przyjąć spadku. Ale to nie dlatego Markenmore traci teg...