“The following report appeared in the Argus newspaper of Saturday, the 28th July, 18– “Truth is said to be stranger than fiction, and certainly the extraordinary murder which took place in Melbourne on Thursday night, or rather Friday morning, goes a long way towards verifying this saying. A crime has been committed by an unknown assassin, within a short distance of the principal streets of this great city, and is surrounded by an impenetrable mystery. … “On the twenty-seventh day of July, at the hour of twenty minutes to two o’clock in the morning, a hansom cab drove up to the police station in Grey Street, St...

Madame Midas is a murder mystery, In the early days of Australia, when the gold fever was at its height. Fergus Hume was born in England, the second son of Dr James Hume. At the age of three his father emigrated with his family to Dunedin, New Zealand. He was admitted to the New Zealand bar in 1885. Shortly after graduation he left for Melbourne, Australia where he obtained a post as a barristers’ clerk. He began writing plays, but found it impossible to persuade the managers of the Melbourne theatres to accept or even read them...

A mysterious woman is found murdered in a yellow boudoir. Who is she and where does she come from? Detective Absalom Gebb is on the case. (Introduction by MaryAnn)

A mystery about a “locked door” murder committed in a house that has a reputation for being haunted. In the first half of the book, the murderer appears to be easy to figure out. The second half of the book, however, is filled with plot twists and mistaken identities and thus complicates the mystery much more.

A widely publicized and unsolved murder of five and twenty years is brought to the forefront in a best-selling novel entitled “A Whim of Fate". While Spencer Tait is looking forward to reading it, his best friend Claude Larcher, learns of the tragic death of his father which mirrors every detail of the new book. Not believing it to be a coincidence the two friends resolve to discover what truly happened so many years ago and who committed the vile act. As they delve deeper into the past, the motives, the evidence, and the list of potential suspects becomes so confusing that a solution to the mystery seems impossible...

Things look bleak for Lesbia Hales. Her father does not let her marry the man she loves. Her mother is dead. She has to keep secrets in order to promote what she wants for herself. One day, her lover, George Walker, is injured in her home and someone stole the expensive amethyst cross. Who could have done that and why? - Summary by Stav Nisser.

A mysterious message on a record is found sealed in a cylinder. A heroine straight out of a fairy-tale is kept secluded by a guardian with questionable motives. Add a murder, a gallant and fearless hero to the rescue and you have all the ingredients necessary to make this a very entertaining little mystery by acclaimed British author Fergus Hume! - Summary by Celine Major

Murder and mayhem turn a quiet English village on its head. Complete with twists and turns that will keep you entertained til the very end. Fergus Hume never fails.

A rich playboy comes home from travels abroad and is bully-ragged by his eccentric aunt into finding meaning for his life. This he does by helping a school chum save his fiancée from the gallows and the playboy falls head over heels in love with the fiancée. A web of deception and lies is revealed and also a long list of who loves who filled with how much each is willing to accept. The colorful cast includes a south sea captain, a fortuneteller, and a colorful doctor who is an authority on the inhabitants and customs of Easter Island. Then, of course, there is the sacred herb!—Enjoy!!

A prolific writer of crime and detective stories Fergus Hume is known for his clever plots. The Turnpike House is another wonderful example of his many intriguing mysteries. EXCERPT: "Suddenly there was the cry of a human being in pain. The light was extinguished, and the mists closed thicker round the ruined building; it might be to hide the sight within the room. Could the walls only have spoken they would have shouted "Murder!" with most miraculous voice. But the age of miracles being past, the walls were dumb, and there was no clamour to greet the horror of this deed done in darkness." - Summary by Celine Major

Fergus Hume was a prolific writer of Victorian murder mysteries and The Clock Struck One is another great example of his inventive plots. Julian Edermont living in near seclusion for the last 20 years fearful of an unknown assailant is beaten to death in his study following an argument with his ward's fiance Dr. Allen Scott. The secret revealed to Allen during this argument is such that he breaks off his engagement to Dora refusing to reveal the cause. Since those around her seem unwilling to share what they know it is up to Dora to discover the truth and unmask the murderer of her guardian. - Summary by Celine Major

Dr. Jim Herrick and his friend Robin are on a walking tour in the English countryside when they come across a large house where all the lights in the house are on and all of the doors are open. While trying to find someone at home, they discover the body of Colonel Carr, dead from a gunshot wound. After reporting their discovery to the authorities, Dr. Jim decides he would investigate the murder. Suspects abound as the Colonel was an intensely disliked person. A classic “who done it” written by a well respected British mystery writer will hold the attention of a listener throughout the tale.

Faced with bankruptcy and trapped in an unhappy marriage, Lady Jim Kaims has to solve her problems alone. After every decent way fails her, and with no friend to assist, she resorts to committing crimes. Fergus Hume delves into the mind of an extremely clever criminal with humor, understanding and even compassion. This book is a roller coaster ride which would keep you guessing from start to finish. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

Hagar Stanley, a beautiful young Gypsy, is driven by sexual harassment to leave her tribe and seek refuge with her uncle Jacob, a miserly London pawnbroker. He dies after teaching Hagar the business, and she takes over running the popshop till the legitimate heir can be traced. In the odd assortment of objects that pass across her counter, Hagar uncovers one mystery after another. Some items are linked to actual crimes, others to iniquitous acts of human deceit and betrayal. Whether investigating independently or alongside the police, Hagar combines her native shrewdness with woman's intuition to help untangle the webs of wickedness she encounters, that justice might prevail in the end...

One evening as the P. and O.'s vessel "Neptune" steams away from Australia to Britain, Ronald Monteith, a young, wealthy Australian is taken into the confidence of a fellow-passenger Lionel Ventin who relates the story of his rather tragic life. When Ventin is found stabbed to death in his cabin the next morning Monteith vows to find the murderer, thinking it must surely be the vengeful wife of whom he spoke who is responsible. When arriving in London he immediately seeks the help of a barrister and a detective...

Two former school friends, now both military men, meet again and discover both are trying to lose themselves to public gaze. Dick West has inherited the family estate, but is out of favor. "The Red Window" was used during periods of civil unrest to warn cavaliers of danger. Now, West awaits a message in the red window from his cousin, to say his grandfather has relented and forgiven him - but a handkerchief around the old man's neck complicates matters.

New Mexico's hot, dry winds are taking their toll: cattle suffer long treks to get food and water. But it is not just a hard time for them. Lucy Bancroft has sought a milder climate so she can recover from typhoid fever. She and her father stop to see Curt Conrad, a rancher, on their way to their new home. The two men discuss politics (some of it crooked) at the state level. they also talk about an easterner, a man named Delafield, who years earlier cheated Conrad's father out of his considerable wealth. Curt has vowed to seek revenge on Delafield if he can ever find the crook. thus begins a harrowing tale of determined search and blossoming love in the hot, dry climate of New Mexico.

This is the fourth and final novel by Fanny Burney, the author of Evelina, Cecilia, and Camilla. "Who is "Miss Ellis?" Why did she board a ship from France to England at the beginning of the French revolution? Anyway, the loss of her purse made this strange "wanderer" dependent upon the charity of some good people and, of course, bad ones. But she always comforts herself by reminding herself that it's better than "what might have been..." This is not only a mystery, not at all. It's also a romance which reminds readers of novels by Jane Austen...

Mr Robert Grell, millionaire and socialite, is found murdered in his study on a stormy evening. It’s up to Heldon Foyle, the detective, to unravel the mystery.

Frank Lucius Packard (February 2, 1877 – February 17, 1942) was a Canadian novelist born in Montreal, Quebec. He worked as a civil engineer on the Canadian Pacific Railway. He later wrote a series of mystery novels, the most famous of which featured a character called Jimmie Dale. Jimmie Dale is a wealthy playboy by day, with a Harvard education and membership to New York City’s ultra-exclusive private club St. James. But at night he puts on a costume and becomes The Grey Seal, who enters businesses or homes and cracks safes, always leaving a diamond shaped, grey paper “seal” behind to mark his conquest, but never taking anything...

Frank Lucius Packard (February 2, 1877 – February 17, 1942) born in Montreal, Quebec, was a Canadian novelist. Packard is credited with bridging the gap from the “cozy” style mysteries to the more gritty, hard-boiled style of such writers as Dashiell Hammet and Raymond Chandler. Packard also wrote a series of novels, beginning in 1917, featuring Jimmie Dale. A wealthy playboy by day, at night, Jimmie becomes a crimefighter “The Gray Seal” complete with mask and secret hide-out, “The Sanctuary”...

Dyke Darrel investigates an audacious train robbery that included the murder of a friend, and embarks on a man-hunt. High Victorian serial melodrama at its best!

A fabulously rich gold mine in Mexico is known by the picturesque and mysterious name of The Four Fingers. It originally belonged to an Aztec tribe, and its location is known to one surviving descendant. Surprises, strange and startling, are concealed in every chapter of this completely engrossing detective story. And through it runs the thread of a curious love story.

The Ravenspurs have for generations resided quietly in prosperity and comfort at their seaside castle. But the clan is suddenly besieged with strange happenings which are dwindling the population of the family to only a few which remain, and those few find themselves in fear of becoming the very last of the powerful family if the cause of their untimely deaths and disappearances is not uncovered soon. It will take a great deal of detective work and a touch of travel to help unravel the mystery of the Ravenspurs.

Who is Nostalgo ? Posters with his unsettlingly grinning face are appearing on scaffolds all over London. A murdered body, horribly disfigured and bearing a striking resemblance to the man on the poster, vanishes from a police-station. Jack Masefield wants to protect his fiancée Claire from her shady guardian Anstruther, and before he knows it, he is in the thick of the mystery, unraveling a tale of greed, deception, revenge and dark deeds. - Summary by Sonia

(Written under the pseudonym, Arnold Fredericks.) Ruth Morton is a world-renowned film actress who seems to have it all: youth, beauty, wealth, and a viable career. But she soon becomes the target of a malicious stalker who begins sending her a series of cryptic threats. Dismissed at first, the stalker soon emerges as a legitimate -- and mysterious -- threat. She soon must call for the services of Richard and Grace Duvall, a husband and wife detective team who soon find themselves ensnared in a mystery where everyone soon becomes a target.

Frederick Irving Anderson was a New York newspaperman who had a second career writing mystery stories for the "slick" magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post. The Infallible Godahl is a collection of some of his first stories. Godahl is a clever gentleman thief, who might be thought of as an American version of Raffles or Arsene Lupin. - Summary by Winston Tharp

In a post-apocalyptic world where every government in the world has been overrun by its own military machinery, only to see that military machinery self-destruct, people are randomly being affected by a plague that seemingly takes over their brains and forces them to commit heinous crimes. Chandler is one of these unfortunate victims, the perpetrator of rape and murder. He is driven out of his community as a Hoaxer , branded on his forehead with the letter H. But he is not feigning. In his travels, he finds the source of the plague, and it's not what people think. It's up to him to deal with it, and he does. But to what end? - Summary by Nick Bulka

"In the whole history of man there is no chapter more instructive for the heart and mind than the annals of his errors. On the occasion of every great crime a proportionally great force was in motion. If by the pale light of ordinary emotions the play of the desiring faculty is concealed, in the situation of strong passion it becomes the more striking, the more colossal, the more audible, and the acute investigator of humanity, who knows how much may be properly set down to the account of the mechanism...

A mysterious crime is being plotted in a tiny garret above a dilapidated apartment building in St Petersburg in Russia. The plotter, Rodion Raskolinikov, is a poor student who has delusions of ridding the world of “worthless vermin” and counter balancing these crimes with good deeds. He commits a murder to test his own theories and prove that crime comes naturally to the human species. Crime and Punishment is a path-breaking novel of ideas that changed the course of novel writing in the 20th century...

Two poets in a London park at sunset, debating on the attributes of poetry and whether it's really a metaphor for anarchy. A group that meets in secret, planning to overthrow the world order. Disguises and deceptions, ideals and ideology. A medley of themes and genres makes this a great read for anyone who's a fan of Chesterton and his iconic Father Brown. The Man Who Was Thursday includes Chesterton's favorite theme of Christianity with touches of delightful humor to enliven the twists and turns that abound throughout the book...