„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...

Weil ihr seine Gedichte nicht gefallen, entläßt der Londoner Geschäftsmann Thornton Lyne seine Angestellte Odette Riders fristlos. Kurze Zeit später liegt Thornton erschossen im Gras des Hyde Parks, einen Strauß gelber Narzissen in den Händen... Das Attentat auf den millionenschweren Kaufhaus-Besitzer Thornton Lyne ist der Beginn einer Reihe von bizarren Morden. Jedes Mal hinterließ der Täter einen Strauß gelber Narzissen am Ort des schrecklichen Geschehens. Der Privatdetek...

Abraham Selim (A. S.) verleiht Geld – aber „vorsichtshalber” nur an Menschen, gegen die er Etwas in der Hand hat. Welche Verbindung hat er zu dem vermögenden Geschäftsmann Merrivan. Fast jede Nacht verließ der reiche Mr. Merrivan heimlich sein Haus. Wohin er ging, interessierte niemanden– bis er getötet wurde. Man fand seine Leiche im Arbeitszimmer. Die Pulverspuren auf der weißen Weste verrieten, dass er aus nächster Nähe erschossen wurde. Seltsamerweise trug Mr. Merrivan ...

Bis vor kurzem hat ein Schmuggler Mark McGill mit seinem Partner Ronnie Perryman erfolgreich zusammengearbeitet. Doch dieser ist nun tot. Deshalb ist seine Schwester aus Frankreich gekommen. Sie will wissen wie ihr Bruder gestorben ist. Deshalb hat Mark sie an diesem Abend nach Ladys Stairs gebracht. Dort soll sein Untergebener Li Yoseph ihr erzählen, dass die Polizei ihn umgebracht hat. „Mich kannst du nicht umbringen, Mark” sagte der alte Li Yoseph leise. „Ich werde wiede...

„The Yellow Snake” is an entertaining and breathtaking 1926 thriller by the master of mystery Edgar Wallace. Fing-Su is a graduate of Oxford and head of the dread Society of the Joyful Hands, which he leads in his quest to dominate the world. The name „Yellow Snake” was bestowed on him by his opponent, Clifford Lynne. A bit more practical than Fu Manchu, Fing-Su employs terrestrial strategies like blackmail, bribery, and kidnapping to further his own nefarious aims. Under h...

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...

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...

A series of enthralling mysteries written by Edgar Wallace. They feature the enigmatic figure of Mr. J.G. Reeder who works for the Public Prosecutor’s office and has the mind of a criminal. At first glance J. G. Reeder is an ordinary, slightly shabby little man with red hair, weak eyes, whiskers, square-toed boots and a chest protector cravat. The eight short stories in this collection deal with a disappearance at sea that is less innocent than it appears to be, with a Hind...

A slick young man buys a jewel with a cheque that bounces. Then two men are searching for James Tynewood, a young tearaway: one is a police inspector, while the other is his solicitor. But Tynewood has mysteriously disappeared... „The Man Who Was Nobody” is an enjoyable lightweight murder mystery thriller that manages to preserve at least some of the characteristic Edgar Wallace atmosphere. During the 1920’s and 30’s, it was said that one of every four books read in England...

The body of a young man is found splayed out in the middle of one of the most august public squares in England. Soon it is discovered that the dead man was at the center of a beguiling web of entanglements and intrigue. Constable Wiseman is at the scene, as is the handsome Frank Merril, nephew of rich John Martin. A small, shabby man in an ill-fitting frock coat and large gold rimmed spectacles pulls a newspaper advertisement from the deceased’s waistcoat pocket. Will the i...

This novella was created by Edgar Wallace, a famous British author of mystery genre. Best remembered for penning the screenplay for the classic film „King Kong”, he was an astoundingly popular luminary in the action-adventure genre in the early twentieth century. „The Man Who Killed „X"” is a story packed with intrigue, treachery, assassinations, and machinations, and it highlights Wallace’s unmatched skill in setting a pulse-pounding pace. It’s all great fun and Wallace ke...

Inspector Wembury’s day turns from bad to worse when a legendary assassin who was supposed dead in Australia returns to England seeking vengeance for the murder of his sister. The detective teams up with Lomond, a police doctor, to try to find „The Ringer” who is a mysterious, revenge-driven serial killer and master of disguise. When a lawyer receives a bouquet with a note informing him that he’ll be dead in forty-eight hours, Wembury and his men embark on a frantic quest t...

„The Gambling Girl”, by Edgar Wallace is a book of short story mysteries. Bill and Mary met at a gambling casino and both are imprisoned for reasons that are murky. Bill was a former detective with the American Army at G.H.Q. Mary’s past was more mysterious. From that day forward however, neither of their lives would ever be the same again. Fast-paced, with good twists and turns, an unusual mystery scheme and a little romance. It’s all great fun and Wallace keeps the action...

„The Secret House” by Edgar Wallace is a mystery set about 1920 in England. Scandalous periodical „The Gossip’s Corner” is run by a supposed blackmailer whose identity has baffled the police. Inspector T.B. Smith of Scotland Yard, a singularly acute Assistant Commissioner, has got a lot to sort out. Introduced as an „eccentric”, though there is little evidence provided for this assertion, the characterless Smith tangles with dodgy doctors, dangerous criminals and a missing ...

During 1907 Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) travelled to the Congo Free State, to report on atrocities committed against the Congolese under King Leopold II of Belgium and the Belgian rubber companies, in which up to 15 million Congolese were killed. Isabel Thorne of the Weekly Tale-Teller penny magazine, invited Wallace to serialize stories inspired by his experiences. These were published as his first collection „Sanders of the River” (1911), a best seller. This volume, grouped...

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...