Zwei Gangsterbanden terrorisieren die Reichen Londons. Die „Gesellschaft zur Sicherung wohlhabender Bürger” garantiert den Reichen Londons Sicherheit – vorausgesetzt, sie bezahlen dafür. Wer der Aufforderung nicht nachkommt oder gar die Polizei verständigt, wird ermordet. Auch Elias Tanner, ein wohlhabender Bürger, wird erpresst. Seine Sekretärin Lilian Ranger findet dies heraus und verständigt die Polizei. Kurze Zeit später wird Tanner ermordet...

Edgar Wallace is continuing to introduce readers to Mr. J. G. Reeder, one of the least glamorous of all fictional detectives. Mr. J. G. Reeder is neither a police detective nor an amateur crime-fighter, nor is he a private detective. In fact he is employed by the Bank of England, and acts as a kind of consultant to Scotland Yard. This is vintage Wallace, with no great depths but a good deal of humor and plenty of engaging goings-on along Wallace’s beloved Thames. Wallace wa...

„The Council of Justice” is the sequel to much-lauded „The Four Just Men”, a novel which caused a sensation way back in 1905 by encouraging readers to guess the mystery ending. The Four Just Men, in this second of Wallace’s ingenious series of thrillers, pit themselves against The Red Hundred, an organization dedicated to international anarchy, led by the charismatic and beautiful assassin, the Woman of Gratz. As always, the avengers’ methods are meticulously planned and ru...

An excellent crime novel which contains a cunning villain, love, revenge and locked room murder by the master of British thrillers. The hero John Lexman, is a mystery writer, like the author himself, and is married to a lovely woman who hides a secret. The Greek aristocrat, Remington Kara is stunningly handsome and immensely rich and he nurses an unrequited passion for Lexman’s wife. When Lexman gets himself into financial problems with an Albanian moneylender, the plot beg...

In this 1923 mystery by Edgar Wallace, Jesse Trasmere is thrifty and does not trust banks, so he keeps all of his money in his prison-like house. Although his nephew, Rex Lander, receives a generous allowance from his uncle, it is not enough for his extravagant lifestyle. Trasmere breaks with routine and informs his valet, Walters, that he is going out of town for a while to avoid an acquaintance from his past. One day he turns up dead, in a completely locked vault, the onl...

Best remembered for penning the screenplay for the classic film „King Kong”, author Edgar Wallace was an astoundingly popular luminary in the action-adventure genre in the early twentieth century. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, joining the army at 21, he was a war correspondent during the Second Boer War for Reuters and The Daily Mail. This early work by Edgar Wallace was originally published in 1923. „The Books of Bart” is a novel of relationships and d...

Every city has its own peculiar voice. Neither the harsh roar of London, the nerve destroying staccato of sound which belongs exclusively to New York, nor the kettledrum buzz of Madrid is comparable with the voice of Paris, which is mainly vocal.""Queer thing about Paris, sir,"” said Jim Selby, „"somebody is always talking.""The staid Vice-Councillor of the British Embassy lifted his head, and, being literally-minded, listened.""I hear nobody–except you,"” he said.""The Ear...

An international criminal arrives in London. Basically there’s the typical foreign bad guy, Caesar Valentine, who is suspected of many shady things but Scotland Yard, or any other police department for that matter, can’t pin any crimes on him so they send in an undercover operative only known as Number Six to find out enough to put Valentine away for good. The thing is nobody at Scotland Yard knows who Number Six is and neither does Charles Valentine! Along the way we meet ...

The further escapades of the incorrigible Evans, Edgar Wallace’s? cockney hero of the Turf feature in these twelve tales. The Educated Evans stories combine Wallace’s 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. There are bets, bookmakers, horses, tip-offs, winners, journalists and women. There is banter, humor and much fun to be had al...

The hero, the discharged Army Captain Reginald Hex, was the prototype for Anthony Newland, whose adventures were related several years later in The Brigand (Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1927). The first two Hex stories were revised and published as Anthony Newland stories in that collection under the titles „Buried Treasure” and „A Contribution to Charity”. The stories are adventurous and well written but definitely a product of their time and place. Edgar Wallace was a ...

Colonial adventures in a 6 volume collection set on the „Dark Continent”. Sanders and Co. return to Africa (following the events in Bones in London) to bring the old Kings country under the Union Jack and to try and find what has happened to a missionary and his daughter. It is written in a delightfully humorous style. „Sandi, the King-maker” among other novels by Edgar Wallace conveys the paternal attitude that England’s officials felt toward the native tribes of Africa. P...

Edgar Wallace enjoyed writing science fiction. „Planetoid 127”, first published in 1929 but reprinted as late 1962, is a short story about an Earth scientist who communicates via wireless with his counterpart on a duplicate Earth orbiting unseen because it is on the opposite side of the Sun. The idea of a mirror Earth or mirror Universe later became a standard subgenre within science fiction. The story also bears similarities to Rudyard Kipling’s hard science fiction story ...

„There is a man in London – I guess he is still in London, though I have not had news of him in months – he’ll be useful to you, Penn, if you ever need help.” And so begins this story. It is impossible not to be thrilled by Edgar Wallace. „Penelope of the Polyantha” is a crime novel by this pioneer of detective fiction. One of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, Edgar Wallace was an immensely popular author, who created exciting thrillers spiced with tales o...

Edgar Wallace was a prolific author of crime, adventure and humorous stories, whose best known creations include „The Four Just Men”, „Sanders of the River”, and „J. G. Reeder”. In this work, the spies from Japan conspire to steal the Channing „preparedness” fortune and invade the United States, beginning in New York, then allying themselves with Mexicans across the border. They are stopped by the efforts of munitions factory heiress Patria Channing and U.S. Secret Service ...

This unique thriller collection contains the 24 short vintage crime stories – a complete series featuring Police Constable Lee of the London „D” Division, written by the great Edgar Wallace. P.-C. Lee is a typical Wallace character, full of wit and charm. A number of these were reprinted in Ideas in 1928-1929 and in other magazines. Nine of the P.-C. Lee stories were later included in the 1961 collection „The Undisclosed Client and Other Stories”. Written by prolific writer...

This collection includes 7 mystery short stories, set in Victorian England. These stories depict adventures and misadventures of Elegant Edward, a charming London crook and his attempts to commit the perfect crime. The stories are pleasant and well written and definitely a product of their time and place. Edgar Wallace was a prolific author of crime, adventure and humorous stories, whose best known creations include „The Four Just Men”, „Sanders of the River”, and „J. G. Re...

Edgar Wallace, „The Square Emerald”, originally published in 1926 and made in England. The plot involves a young gentleman, secretary to a notable politician, convicted wrongly of forging a check, now released after serving his term in prison, a group of rather sinister society ladies with their sinister butler Druze, who were involved in the check and other activities, and a beautiful young woman detective from Scotland Yard, also from a stylish society background. A femal...

Edgar Wallace was a prolific author of crime, adventure and humorous stories, whose best known creations include „The Four Just Men”, „Sanders of the River”, and „J. G. Reeder”. Although Wallace wrote many „stand alone” novels it is, perhaps, for his series based material always popular with readers that he remains best known. „The Last Adventure” is a story packed with intrigue, treachery, assassinations, and machinations, and it highlights Wallace’s unmatched skill in set...

One of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, Edgar Wallace was an immensely popular author, who created exciting thrillers spiced with tales of treacherous crooks and hard-boiled detectives. These were largely adventure narratives with elements of crime or mystery, and usually combined a bombastic sensationalism with hammy violence. In this exciting page-turner, originally published in 1929, from the undisputed „King of Thrillers”, Edgar Wallace, we see the br...

This is an enjoyable short story by Edgar Wallace, set in England during the 1920’s. „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 van Heerden. He is murdered, stabbed to death in his sick bed in the first chapter, having just left his fortune to his niece, Oliva, whom he has nev...

Ex police officer Socrates Smith and his brother Lexington, who is also an amateur sleuth, are invited to spend a weekend at Peter Mandle’s country home. Shortly after they arrive the brothers notice many precautions taken against intruders, a message flashed in Morse code, and someone skulking across the lawn. „Come three oaks”, it spells in Morse code. Early next morning the brothers take a stroll, and there, tied to an oak branch, is a body with a purple mark where the b...

Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) was a publishing phenomenon in his day, his name being synonymous with the word „thriller,” a genre some would credit him with inventing. His popularity at the time was comparable to that of Charles Dickens – one of Wallace’s publishers claimed that a quarter of all books read in England were written by him. „The Thief in the Night” is an enjoyable easy going, fast moving mystery novella, set in England during the 1928’s. Diamond plaques are being ...

The setting is Nigeria a century ago, and British District Commissioner R.G. Sanders oversees the tribes. He discovers that Bosambo has been acting as chief without approval, but is so impressed with his skills Sanders allows him to remain in place, but Sanders heads to England to marry and unrest follows. The classic Commissioner Sanders stories about Africa by Edgar Wallace. This is the second collection in the series, following „Sanders of the River”. Wallace served in A...

When millionaire Rex Walton mysteriously vanishes on the eve of his wedding, a chain of strange, violent events is set in motion. Intrepid Joan Walton assists Inspector Dicker in the search for her brother. The main suspect is notorious criminal „The Panda” („The Prince of Blackmailers”). You quickly find out that Rex has his own connection to the blackmailer. This is a great example of The Golden Age of Detection. It has many more characters than the typical mystery from t...