Book picks similar to
The Buckled Bag and Locked Doors by Mary Roberts Rinehart


mystery
near-completion
nurse-stuff
mystery-suspense-thriller

The World of Tim Frazer


Francis Durbridge - 1962
    Tim keeps the rendezvous but there is no sign of Harry.A series of strange happenings, including a Russian shipwreck and a dying secret agent, pulls him into the murky world of international espionage and leads him to uncover the truth behind Harry's disappearance.

Sinner, Saint or Serpent


John Anthony Miller - 2021
    Especially when there’s a murderer in their midst.Investigative reporter, ‘Justice’ Harper stumbles into a fresh murder scene of a hated businessman. Justice’s mere presence at the scene soon adds him to the list of suspects. Along with three other local citizens. Each one with a unique motive. Blaze Barbeau, a wealthy woman, married to a local business man and rumoured to be having an affair with the victim. Lucinda Boyd, a generous widow, heavily involved in charity events, whose business was recently conned out of her control by the victim obtaining majority shares by dubious means. And Belladonna Dede, a Voodoo Queen whose wares were found at the crime scene. Justice is determined to find out the truth regarding the demise of this wealthy man which leads him into some uncertain situations. He must be getting close when the threats start arriving. He will not stop. He’s close. Who committed this crime? The Sinner? The Saint? Or the Serpent? Fast paced, with plot twists bursting from every page, Sinner, Saint or Serpent will keep you on the edge of your seat until the shocking end.

The Four Faces: A Mystery


William Le Queux - 1914
    Overhearing a conversation at his club one day, he becomes interested in a discussion regarding a man named Gastrell. Gastrell is somewhat of a mystery to the club members in spite of his renting a house from one of them. Berrington’s interest in Gastrell intensifies as his fiancé, Dulcie Challoner, befriends a wealthy widow, Mrs. Connie Stapleton who evidently has some type of relationship with Gastrell. As the plot progresses, Berrington finds himself involved with sensational robberies, brutal murders, coded messages, and even mind control! As in many Le Queux books, there are twists and turns as new characters and locations are introduced. When you are sure you know the ending, something new occurs and you wonder how it will affect the conclusion of the book.Excerpt:"I confess I'd like to know somethin' more about him." "Where did you run across him first?" "I didn't run across him; he ran across me, and in rather a curious way. We live in Linden Gardens now, you know. Several of the houses there are almost exactly alike, and about a month ago, at a dinner party we were givin', a young man was shown in. His name was unknown to me, so I supposed that he must be some friend of my wife's. Then I saw that he was a stranger to her too, and then all at once he became very confused, inquired if he were in Sir Harry Dawson's house - Sir Harry lives in the house next to ours - and, findin' he was not, apologized profusely for his mistake, and left hurriedly."

Listen for the Whisperer


Phyllis A. Whitney - 1971
    She found her all right, but it was not a happy reunion. For Laura was being haunted by the murderer who had killed the director of one of her movies twenty years earlier. Laura was being stalked, harrassed, and frightened near to death. And because Leigh was her daughter, someone would try to kill her too....From the Paperback edition.

Deep Water


Patricia Highsmith - 1957
    Vic and Melinda Van Allen's loveless marriage is held together only by a precarious arrangement whereby, in order to avoid the messiness of divorce, Melinda is allowed to take any number of lovers as long as she does not desert her family. Eventually, Vic can no longer suppress his jealousy and tries to win back his wife by asserting himself through a tall tale of murder—one that soon comes true. In this complex portrayal of a dangerous psychosis emerging in the most unlikely of places, Highsmith examines the chilling reality behind the idyllic facade of American suburban life.

The Monkey's Paw The Lady of the Barge and Others Part 2


W.W. Jacobs - 2012
    

Bloodline; Master Of The Game; Rage Of Angels


Sidney Sheldon - 1993
    

Shoofly Pie & Chop Shop: 2 Bugman Novels in 1


Tim Downs - 2009
    So popular did Polchak become that author Tim Downs has now published five Bug Man novels. And now for the first time: the first two Bug Man novels under one cover.Shoofly PieWithin minutes of a murder, the first fly arrives at the scene. Soon there are hundreds, then thousands, and each one knows the victim's story...Thirty-year-old Kathryn Guilford turns to Dr. Nick Polchak, the Bug Man, to help her learn the truth about the apparent suicide of her longtime friend and onetime suitor. Polchak introduces her to a mysterious world of blood-seeking flies and flesh-eating beetles. But there's a problem...Kathryn Guilford has a pathological fear of insects.Now she must confront her darkest fears to unearth a decade-long conspiracy that threatens to turn her entire world upside down.Chop ShopYoung Dr. Riley McKay has worked hard toward her career in pathology. But her promising future is threatened when suspicious activities -- bungled autopsies, concealed evidence, and unexplained wounds -- incriminate her supervising pathologist at the Allegheny County Coroner's Office in Pittsburgh, Dr. Nathan Lassiter. When Riley is ignored by her seniors and threatened by Dr. Lassiter, she turns in desperation to Dr. Nick Polchak, the Bug Man, to help her uncover the truth.From a handful of tiny maggots, Nick and Riley begin to unearth the facts...The flies on the wall can talk.Forensic entomologist Nick Polchak is listening.

The Mystery of the Hidden Room


Marion Harvey - 1922
    Written in the first person, the husband of his (Carlton Davies) former lover is found dead one night at the stroke of midnight, and Davies finds his ex-lover standing over the dead body immediately after the shot was fired, with a gun in her hand. It was no secret that she never truly loved her husband, who had blackmailed her into marrying him. The jury ships Ruth to prison, and the stage is set for Davies to locate the right detective for the case, and for a series of events with twists and turns and surprises that will keep the reader guessing who was responsible for this murder. (Summary by Roger Melin)

Best Detective Stories of Cyril Hare


Cyril Hare - 1959
    Among them, The Story of Hermione, in which the eponymous character grows rich from the all too convenient deaths of several relatives, has been called one of the most chilling short stories ever written. Sister Bessie describes vividly the agonies of a blackmail victim and the desperate crimes he commits in the hope of freeing himself from his tormentor. Miss Burnside's Dilemma describes the predicament of a person who uncovers a piece of unscrupulous, but entirely legal chicanery by someone she had previously admired. A Life for a Life explores the possibility of atonement for one's earthly sins after death.

O is for Outlaw & P is for Peril


Sue Grafton - 2008
    Two absolutely cracking books tokeep you reading until all hours. The onlydownside is you get to the end and wantmore. Fortunately there is more.

Slip and Go Die


Sharon Rose - 2012
    A terrible accident say the local police. But why did Beulah leave her cabin without a coat? It was thirty below in Parson's Cove. Someone must have forced her, amateur sleuth, Mabel Wickles suggests to her friend, Flori. Nobody seems to know anything, and Mabel is becoming frustrated.When Mabel witnesses some strange goings-on one night in the vacant house next door, she perks up. A person or persons unknown appear to be using the empty house for nefarious purposes. Could they be connected to Beulah's death? Mabel suspects they might and she sets out to investigate.But Mabel should be cautious. One unsuspecting resident of Parson's Cove has already slipped and died. She might be next.

Vertigo


Boileau-Narcejac - 1954
    from the French "D'entre les Morts" by Geoffrey Sainsbury. First published as "The Living and the Dead" in Great Britain in 1956.

Dead on Account


Mariah Kingdom - 2015
    For Rose Bennett, banking consultant turned private investigator, the event shouldn’t be more than a headline in a newspaper. Except that Rose is investigating a bank fraud at the East & Northern Bank, and Pandora Mitchell’s evidence is the key to her enquiries. As Rose begins to uncover evidence of Pandora’s involvement in the fraud, her colleagues at the bank begin to close ranks. Soon old acquaintances from the past begin to look more like enemies than friends, and as word spreads that Rose is assisting DI George Mulligan to investigate Pandora’s disappearance, someone makes it pretty clear that her presence in the town isn’t welcome.But as the days pass, and fears for the missing girl grow, there’s more at stake than a bank’s reputation, and Rose doesn’t scare that easily …*Previously published under the title Collusion

Madam, Will You Talk?


Mary Stewart - 1955
    But when Charity arrived at their hotel in the picturesque French town of Avignon, she had no way of knowing that she was to become the principal player in the last act of a strange and brutal tragedy. Most of it had already been played. There had been love--and lust--and revenge and fear and murder.Very soon her dreams turn into a nightmare, when by befriending a terrified boy and catching the attention of his enigmatic, possibly murderous father, Charity has inadvertently placed herself center stage. She becomes enmeshed in the schemes of a gang of murderers. And now the killer, with blood enough on his hands, is waiting in the wings.