Download or read book The Man in Gray written by Frances Crane and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Man in Gray was published in the United Kingdom as The Gray Stranger “ ‘Now, what’s an enologist?’ I asked the dog. In reply he began to bark furiously and rushed at the front door. He yowled as if in panic.” An enologist is one who studies wine. Daniel Vincent Willoz was one who studied wine until someone put a murderous end to his enological practices. As is often the case, Willoz spent too much time on enology and too little on toxicology. The good news is that Jean and Pat Abbott are present to solve this fiendishly complex murder puzzle set in San Francisco.

Download or read book And So to Murder written by John Dickson Carr and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on 2012-08 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: And So to Murder by John Dickson Carr (as Carter Dickson), a Sir Henry Merrivale mystery. “A first-class murder mystery [and] also a ribald satire of the motion picture industry.”—The Vancouver Sun DEATH RIDES THE TUBE... The speaking-tube whistled. Monica flew at it. “Who are you? What do you want?” She bent her cheek to the mouth of the tube to listen for an answer. Something was happening inside the tube. She jumped back. Something which looked like water, but was not water, spurted in a jet from the mouth of the tube. It splashed across the linoleum. There was a hissing, sizzling noise as half a pint of vitriol began to eat into the surface of the floor. The footsteps in the room above began to run. Monica Stanton has written a saucy best-seller that has landed her her dream job, scriptwriting for a movie studio. Things turn sour quickly as she's saddled with a mentor she despises After someone makes a gruesome attempt on her life, however, her feelings begin to change about him as they are forced together during the investigation. Theories of Nazi “heiling enthusiasts” and espionage soon take form, leading to the entrance of Sir Henry Merrivale, who now works for Britain's Military Intelligence division. Only Sir Henry can wade through the “fat-heads” and schemers to get to the bottom of this amusing and clever mystery.

Download or read book The Big Midget Murders written by Craig Rice and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Expertly timed original crime and frenzied follow-up cannily solved by lawyer-sleuth, with lavish accompaniment of good wise-cracking. Verdict: Superior.”—The Saturday Review “Fast and furious.”—Kirkus The Big Midget is the hit of the show in Jake Justus's night club, until someone puts an abrupt end to the Midget. Why were eleven unmatched silk stockings used as a noose? Who conked Jake when he got on the killer's trail? John J. Malone finds all the answers with the energetic and hilarious assistance of Jake Justus and the beautiful Helene.

Download or read book The Fourth Postman written by Craig Rice and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Fourth Postman by Craig Rice, the first mystery writer to be featured on the cover of Time magazine. “Plot and people as wacky as ever, with busted Malone and chicken-poxed Justuses supplying plenty of comedy and, surprisingly, much intriguing sleuthing. Verdict: Fun.”—The Saturday Review “Why can’t all murders be as funny as those concocted by Craig Rice?”—The New York Times 1 Postman! 2 Postmen! 3 Postmen! All murdered! John J. Malone sticks his nose into the case of the dead postmen and picks up a crack on the head, an Australian beer hound, and six redheaded twins. It all begins when he takes on a new client, Rodney Fairfaxx. Rodney was tabbed for the postmen murders because he hadn’t received a letter from a dead girl for more than 30 years. Malone doesn’t think that this is enough reason to kill, but he can’t prove it. … “A1.”—Kirkus Reviews

Download or read book The Harvest Murder written by John Rhode and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on 2013-11-18 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Harvest Murder was also published as Death in the Hopfields “The good doctor continues to be a master of the science of detection.”—The New York Times Sergeant Wragge happened to see it there, lying by the side of the road, and decided to take care of it himself. After all, a twelve-inch butcher knife is nothing to be left loose on a public highway. When he noticed those curious stains on the blade, his suspicions were more than aroused and he felt that he must be ready for trouble. The Sergeant’s forebodings were swiftly corroborated by the events that followed—robbery, a mysterious disappearance, perhaps murder; so he felt that he was justified in demanding the aid of Scotland Yard. The careful investigations of Inspector Hanslet and Jimmy Waghorn soon had them on the right track; but it was Dr. Priestley’s quiet, seemingly enigmatic suggestion that finally unearthed the solution.

Download or read book Evvie written by Vera Caspary and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evvie, by the author of Laura “Caspary is an expert at suspense and suspicion…She is also expert at evoking the flavor of a decade when martinis were drunk in coffee cups and rumbles were car seats.”—The New York Times Fanny Butcher, the literary critic for the Chicago Tribune, “came out of retirement to declare it obscene—ironic judgment from today's point of view, since there are no graphic descriptions and the most explicit allusions are in a scene in which two naked girls discuss sex.” (Caspary’s The Secrets of Grown-ups, p. 265) It was a time when skirts were short and hair was shingled. A time of speakeasies, hipflasks and bathtub gin. A time when Evvie Ashton, the beautiful society girl who modeled, danced, painted and loved promiscuously had come of age—knowing all the right people, doing all the wrong things, and sharing all of it with her roommate and confidante, Louise.

Download or read book Murder in Bright Red written by Frances Crane and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on 2013-11-14 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pat and Jean Abbott, visiting relatives in a rich oil town, are called on to clear a pretty air-line hostess, Sally Carroll, who is suspected of having murdered her old beau. By the time the Abbotts arrive on the scene, there has been a curious change of policy: nobody wants them on the case, not the cousin and heir of the dead man, not his widow, and especially not the sheriff. Perversely, they decide to stay. Pat is shot at by a man who is supposed to be helping them, and Jean is buried in an abandoned well by a woman who claims to be on their side. Then a car they think is a friend’s crashes them into a ditch. Nevertheless they stick with the job until they come up with a solution that is both surprising and satisfying—but they cannot prevent the killer from claiming a second victim. “Pro Handling”—The Saturday Review “Congenial and confiding.”—Kirkus

Download or read book Death Sits on the Board written by John Rhode and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on 2013-11-18 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The murders are most ingeniously planned and executed, and even Dr. Priestley is put to a severe test before the story is ended.” —The New York Times Constable Frean had an unpleasant sensation that he was not, as he seemed to be, patrolling a respectable London suburb, but was back at the Front in the year 1918, enduring a particularly vicious bombardment. Crash! With a roar like a bursting shell the roof of a nearby house blew off. Heading a rescue party, the constable found part of the house in ruins, and the owner, Sir Andrew Wiggenhall, missing. Eventually, his remains, or part of them, were discovered in the garden. Thus passed the Chairman of the Board of Porslin Ltd. Some months later another member of the same board of directors died in mysterious circumstances. Still another followed shortly. The reason for these apparently unrelated mysteries puzzled the police and intrigued Dr. Priestley. After a series of clever deductions, and as a result of clues which led far back into the past, he unearthed the secret of the Death that sat on the Board of Directors.

Download or read book The Farmhouse written by Helen Reilly and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Nell Shevlin’s womanly intuition works overtime after she arrives at her old homestead to rest and ponder a proposal of marriage. …Miss Reilly again reveals her artistry by producing a tale in which terror and menace are well sustained and provide a congruous background for McKee to wind up one of his best cases to date.”—The New York Times From the jacket: The shadow of a ruthless killer creeps over a quiet countryside as fear and suspense mount steadily and explode in a crashing climax. Questions abound: Why lanterns are lit each evening on the graves of the four dead Vestry sisters? Why a woman wearing black net stockings and shoes with four-inch heels walks country lanes at night? How a used bus ticket reveals an ingenious blackmail plot? What is the reason for Wick’s strange relationship with the breathtakingly beautiful Rita? Why flowers are heaped on a grave where no one is buried? You will learn the answers as you read this ingenious story of death and terror. Where will the clues and events lead you? A human hand sticking out of a puddle after a rainstorm ... An oil painting of a lady in red ... A pistol found in a pond . . . Blood seeping out from under an attic doorway . . . Lanterns, lighted each day at dusk, on four marble headstones in a quiet country graveyard ... A bullet hidden in the finger of a pigskin glove . . . Rifle shots that shatter the quiet (and a window) of a peaceful farmhouse... . A briefcase hidden among blackberry bushes . . . Oil dripping slowly from a tank that should have been empty . . . Exchange of carpets in an upstairs bedroom ... A powerful narcotic discarded for a quicker and more brutal method of committing murder . . . Filmy yellow silk knotted tightly about a shapely throat . . . murder and violence in a peaceful farming community.

Download or read book The Coral Princess Murders written by Frances Crane and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In exotic Tangier, the well-known husband and wife team of Pat and Jean Abbott discover that international drug trafficking, plus greed and intrigue, invariably spell catastrophe for those involved therein. And very bad luck for a number of free-loading beachcombers and expatriates who’d just about convinced themselves that they never had it so good.

Download or read book The Indigo Necklace written by Frances Crane and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on 2013-11-14 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Also published as The Indigo Necklace Murders “Appealing background, pleasingly described; some family skeletons; bitter-sweet romance, and customarily deft Abbott sleuthing.”—The Saturday Review Lieutenant Pat Abbott and his lovable but slightly rattle-brained wife, Jean, have become about the most popular couple in murder fiction today. In The Indigo Necklace, Frances Crane takes them to New Orleans, where a huge wartime population has overflowed into the famous French quarter, steeped in tradition and old-world ceremony. When murder is done amidst these incongruous elements, it takes ingenious sleuthing indeed to unravel the crime! Pat Abbott and his Jean are paying guests of a proud old Creole family, luxuriating in the charm of their surroundings, when Jean discovers a body at her very doorstep. Before the Lieutenant unmasks the murderer, the Abbotts meet a fascinating array of aristocrats and scoundrels, including a police chief, drawn from life, who will become a permanent member of the Abbott troupe—if Mrs. Crane's publishers and audience have anything to say. “The plot of The Indigo Necklace is good, and the writing is considerably above the average.”—The Montreal Gazette “One of the year’s best.”—The Boston Globe Included floor plans have been redrawn for improved legibility.

Download or read book The Dead Can Tell written by Helen Reilly and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Dead Can Tell, an Inspector McKee mystery "The letters forming the name 'Sara Hazard' and the word a murdered' were written large caps." The death of Sara Hazard, a Manhattan socialite, was first deemed an accidental drowning. This patch-work letter claimed otherwise and is sufficiently convincing to bring Inspector McKee on to the case. "All kinds of amorous accords and discords get in play when love lies a' bleeding in the shape of a much hated, but very beautiful wife and extortionist. Her death, believed to be accidental, is investigated by McKee--and leads him a fine whirl. Those involved--New York's rotogravure highlights, society and politicians alike, play mum...A fast paced story, handled with velvet."--Kirkus "Plenty of thrills and tense moments. Verdict: Enjoyable"--The Saturday Review

Download or read book Murder at Lilac Cottage written by John Rhode and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “One always embarks on a John Rhode book with a great sense of security. One knows that there will be a sound plot, well-knit process of reasoning, and a solidly satisfying solution with no loose ends or careless errors of fact.”—Dorothy Sayers on John Rhode From the jacket: For three years the man had lived in the little Lilac cottage on the Squire’s estate, yet apparently no one in that peaceful village knew a thing about him. The only significant clue that Superintendent Hanslet and Jimmy Waghorn found was the five pound bank note that he received on the day he died. The minute they told Dr. Priestley about it he jumped to the bait and set forth on a trail that picked up such divergent clues as dope fiends, the dismantled engine of a motor mower, and the rear view of an odd man on a bicycle. When the village good-for-nothing was found dead on the estate, it seemed to complicate the affair even more. But for Dr. Priestley it actually simplified things. He brings the case to a smashing conclusion that will leave the reader gasping at the ingenuity of the murders and the unfailing astuteness of this famous criminologist. “Convincingly worked out.”—The Saturday Review

Download or read book The Amber Eyes written by Frances Crane and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Nasty characters and clues pointing off in all directions—quite good.”—The Miami News When some new neighbors move in near the San Francisco home of Pat and Jean Abbott they seem to be a very strange family indeed, and soon they present as puzzling and as nasty a series of attempted murders and suspicious deaths as one could find in the annals of crime. First a child is found dead (suffocation? poison? or both?). Pat Abbott is engaged by one of the grown daughters to investigate, but Homicide is called in, in the person of the saturnine Inspector Sam Bradish and his imperturbable sergeant, Cohen. There are plenty of suspects, for, they find, nearly every one of the Alby family had both motive and opportunity for killing the child. There are various attempts upon the lives of the people involved, including the lovelorn Rona, second wife of Dr. Alby, she of the amber eyes, who would readily sacrifice a fortune for the sleek Don Quayle, who isn’t quite so insensible to the uses of money. Then there is the attempt to kill the elder sister and Rona’s wild swing when she takes a shot at Pat Abbott. Finally Pat uncovers the ugly story of an earlier murder, and the pattern begins to take form. In his masterly reconstruction of the series of crimes, Pat takes a knife thrust which is not serious but which puts the final confirmation on his deductions. Action, Jean’s bright chatter, interesting people—a thoroughly readable and absorbing murder mystery.

Download or read book Unexpected Night written by Elizabeth Daly and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on 2012-08 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Elizabeth Daly rose like a star on the mystery fans’ horizon with Unexpected Night.”—The New York Times “Spooky from start, with extra shivery climax at [a] theatrical performance where death plays leading role.”—The Saturday Review Amberly Cowden was staying at a Maine golf resort just as he attained the age of majority, and with it a one million dollar inheritance. “He is imagined to have celebrated his coming of age by going out and falling off a cliff. Poor old Amby.” “Poor old Amby,” indeed, but it is fine news and better timing for his relatives. Had he died before reaching the age of 21, every cent of the money would have gone to “some French connections” utterly alien to Amberly’s American relations. As luck would have it, the extra-keen sleuth Henry Gamadge is at the resort for a bit of R & R. Never one to ignore a suspicious turn of events, Gamadge vows to get to the bottom of young Amberly’s death, no matter what the cost. From the jacket: Distinguished by a delightful humor and by the freshness of its writing, this novel tells of terror and strange murder in a Maine seacoast resort. An army family, the relatives and hangers-on of a rich young invalid, a summer theater group of Irish players, an expert on documents, and the salt Maine air are the components of Miss Daly’s novel. The reasons why it was necessary for Amberley Cowden’s body to be found on the beach at the bottom of the cliff near the hotel and for his sister alma to be repeatedly frightened are part of the solution of this original and unusual plot. Young Gamadge doesn’t think it strange that Amberly Cowden has died, but he begins to worry when one of the Irish players tells him that he had the evil eye. It turns out that the actor was very nearly right. With great skill and a fine feeling for people and detail Miss Daly makes her first novel individual and vividly alive.

Download or read book Fatal Descent written by John Dickson Carr and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fatal Descent by John Dickson Carr and Cecil Street (writing as Carter Dickson and John Rhode) Carr and Street “are such expert mystery-mongers that their collaboration could scarcely fail to produce something extra special in the bafflement line. Fatal Descent is all of that.”—The New York Times “London publisher shot in automatic elevator. Dr. Horatio Glass and Insp. Hornbeam pool wits—and humor—to spot the killer. Neat variation of good old ‘hermetically sealed room’ problem, with two authors—and their sleuths—working beautifully in harness. Verdict: Top Drawer”—The Saturday Review A seemingly impossible murder in a private elevator draws two sleuths to the case. Inspector Hornbeam and Dr. Horatio Glass are at odds from the beginning, each dismissive of the other’s theories, thus creating an atmosphere as much of competition as cooperation. From the novel: The elevator was perhaps six feet square by eight feet high, with steel walls painted to imitate bronze. Sir Ernest Tallant sat very quietly in the rear right-hand corner. His legs were outthrust stiffly, his back bent a little forward; and the brim of the rakish gray hat shaded his face. He might have been a grotesque parody of Little Jack Horner, if it had not been for the widening bloodstains on the left breast of his jacket. His umbrella lay beside him, also looking oddly childish like his posture. Under each roof corner of the elevator there was a tiny electric light; these four little lights illumined even the wrinkles on the backs of the man’s hands, and glittered on the pieces of broken glass. Published in the United Kingdom as Drop to His Death

Download or read book Name Your Poison written by Helen Reilly and published by St. Swithin Press. This book was released on 2012-08 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As McKee follows the trail of a very ambitious poisoner, he finds the next victim on her way from a Connecticut mansion...stuffed in a trunk. "Svelte story...The gentle Scot, McKee, gets at the truth after many consequences. [Reilly's] smooth, romantic manner always pleases."--Kirkus Reviews "The best Inspector McKee mystery yet! Highly emotional, intricately plotted, and tough to guess."--The New York Herald "Verdict: Satisfying"--The Saturday Review From the cover: - An unwelcome box of orange blossoms...a syllable uttered by a dying woman...A leopard-skin coat worn by a messenger of death...a pearl button in a tiny pool of melted snow... A nearly empty coca-cola bottle...A blue wool thread at the bottom of a flight of stairs...A series of cork-tipped Egyptian cigarettes...A snatch of music between the gusts of a snowstorm... A golden box with very deadly contents - A shabby old trunk with very dead contents...a telephone call from a murderer...A single galosh half buried in the snow...A blank sheet of paper showing some curious embossings...a spent bullet in the fold of a shirt... Wouldn't You Like To Know-- - Why Mouse was crying dreadfully in the night? - Who sent her the box of orange blossoms? - What was on the card she tore up and burned? - What caused the peculiar gathering of forces at the Biltmore? - What was behind the four mysterious and meaningless deaths by poison? - What caused the dark fear which gnawed at Julie? - Who was in the living-room when Julie listened at the door? - What Rosetta Westing was doing in Brian's garage? - Why the elegant Conroy was stopping at a shabby roadhouse in Easton? - Who tried to climb in Julie's window? - What was the significance of Julie's sinister dream? You will learn the answers to these questions in the unfolding of one of the grimmest and most perplexing manhunts in Inspector McKee's spectacular career.