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 ...
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...
A man ends up stabbed to death on a street in London’s Tidal Basin, victim of the almost mythical murderer roaming the streets of London, the Devil of Tidal Basin. But why is another bandit suddenly sighted in Tidal Basin as well? What connection had the Devil with White Face? Superintendent Mason, one of the Yard’s Big Five wanted to know, and what Superintendent Mason wanted to know he generally found out. Criminals knew him as „Sympathetic” Mason, because of his curious ...
„The Undisclosed Client” is a collection of short stories published between 1904 and 1929 from the British Mysteries’ master Edgar Wallace, directly from the Golden Era of the genre. Edgar Wallace was an English novelist, journalist and playwright, who was an enormously popular writer of detective, suspense stories, and practically invented the modern „thriller”. His popularity at the time was comparable to that of Charles Dickens. The stories are fast-paced, with good twis...
Edgar Wallace’s „The Twister”, published in 1928, is a tale of murder, high finance, and intrigue. Lord Frensham knows exactly who’s swindling him in the stock market – Anthony „Tony” Braid, who many call The Twister. And he’s not about to believe Braid’s crazy notion that his own nephew, his flesh and blood, is behind the embezzlement... Then Frensham is found dead in his office, but Inspector Elk of the Scotland Yard knows it’s not suicide, no matter the elaborate scheme ...
If you like a villain to be a proper villain then Oberzhon is the genuine article. What a villain! What an adventure! There are crimes for which no punishment is adequate, offences that the written law cannot efface. When conventional justice fails The Three Just Men employ their great intellect and cunning. They use their own methods, carry out their own verdicts which the police were unable or unwilling to carry out. There can be no compromise. Each of the ten chapters in...
The master mystery-story teller presents a collection of short stories that include „The Terror” and many more. A group of criminals carry out a daring robbery of an armored van. Two of the criminals are betrayed by the mastermind of the operation. After ten years in prison they come out and search for the man behind the crimes who betrayed them. This genuine mystery story takes the reader from one exciting adventure to another with all the adroitness and ingenuity of Mr. W...
This early work by Edgar Wallace was originally published in 1930. „The Stretelli Case and Other Mystery Stories” is a collection of short stories, some also published in other collections of Wallace’s works. This volume includes: „Code No. 2”, „Red Beard”, „The Man Who Killed Himself”, „The Mediaeval Mind”, and many more. This is a nice collection of eleven short stories loosely classified as „mysteries”; while thriller elements are certainly present in most of them, the s...
Rather different from the usual Wallace plot, here we have a tramp heading for the Canadian border who marries a girl while in a drunken stupor. Her wedding day was so fraught with danger that she and her husband were forced to flee from the deadly menace that ruthlessly dogged their every move. She learned to avoid the man with the red beard and his swarthy knife-juggling companion. Above all, she feared and avoided Gussie, whose drawl and monocle gave him a deceptive appe...
With the stealing of the fat Englishman’s wallet by Gregory Silinski, commences this extraordinary story of crime. Who are the Nine Bears? Who is Hyatt and the Man of the Eiffel Tower? And where is „LOLO” the secret rendezvous of the Nine? These are only a few of the facers that confront T. B. Smith, Assistant Commissioner from Scotland Yard, until the final dramatic scene aboard the „mad battleship”. This book is one of the most popular novels of Edgar Wallace, and has bee...
The Companions of the Ace High are a group of aviators, each of whom has his own reason to hate Germans. The group’s founder, Dexter, whose wife was driven mad when a German submarine attacked a liner on which she was travelling, dedicates himself to the destruction of Germany. He uses his wealth to establish a base of operations in the small republic of San Romino on the northern border of Italy. From this base the Companions of the Ace High pursue and kill Germans, their ...
A collection of short stories from the British Mysteries’ master Edgar Wallace, directly from the Golden Era of the genre. This includes the following „The Prison-Breakers”, „Findings Are Keepings”, „The Jewel Box”, „The Undisclosed Client”, „Via Madeira”, „The Complete Criminal”, „Red Beard”, „Bulfox Asleep”. Have a lot of fun! Edgar Wallace was a British novelist, playwright, and journalist who produced popular detective and suspense stories and was in his time „the king”...
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...
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...
„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 ...
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...
„The Squeaker” is a piece of early crime writing by author Edgar Wallace, first published in 1927. This novel is a traditional mystery, featuring some crooks and some policemen, a mysterious villain, a lovely girl and a plot with many twists. It is the thrilling story of a group of London jewel thieves and the company they keep. The title character is an omnipotent „fence” who has cornered the diamond-smuggling racket. The fence travels in polite society under the guise of ...
In 1919-1920 Edgar Wallace wrote a series of ten short stories featuring the investigative reporter York Symon for publication in the British monthly „The Novel Magazine”. In 1928 the series was reprinted in „Pearson’s Weekly”. In the following year Edgar Wallace collected nine of the stories in a book entitled „The Reporter”. „The Reporter” is a detective story about a police reporter named „Wise” Symon and his tricks of the trade. A collection presents 9 short stories tha...
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. Wallace was a very prolific writer despite his sudden death at age 56. In total Wallace is credited with over 170 novels, almost 1,000 short stories, and 18 stage plays. Wallace’s works have been turned into well over 100 films. This traditional mystery features a girl with an unu...
Dr. Beechington knew how difficult it was to live in genteel poverty. He was determined his daughter Mary should marry a wealthy man but Mary wasn’t so sure. Should she obey her father or follow her heart? 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. „The Price a Woman Pays” is a story packed with great fun and Wallace keeps...
