My Cousin Rachel


Daphne du Maurier - 1951
    Resolutely single, Ambrose delights in Philip as his heir, a man who will love his grand home as much as he does himself. But the cosy world the two construct is shattered when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries - and there he dies suddenly. Jealous of his marriage, racked by suspicion at the hints in Ambrose's letters, and grief-stricken by his death, Philip prepares to meet his cousin's widow with hatred in his heart. Despite himself, Philip is drawn to this beautiful, sophisticated, mysterious Rachel like a moth to the flame. And yet... might she have had a hand in Ambrose's death?

Black Coffee


Charles Osborne - 1998
    But darkness brings death and Hercule Poirot has to untangle family strife, love and suspicious visitors tangle in order to clarify the murderer and prevent disaster.

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)

The Moonstone


Wilkie Collins - 1868
    "It catches one up and unfolds its amazing story through the recountings of its several narrators, all of them enticing and singular." Wilkie Collins’s spellbinding tale of romance, theft, and murder inspired a hugely popular genre–the detective mystery. Hinging on the theft of an enormous diamond originally stolen from an Indian shrine, this riveting novel features the innovative Sergeant Cuff, the hilarious house steward Gabriel Betteridge, a lovesick housemaid, and a mysterious band of Indian jugglers.This Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the definitive 1871 edition.

The Daffodil Mystery


Edgar Wallace - 1920
    Jack Tarling, a detective who has been working in China and just returned to London, visits his cousin Thorton Lyne at his store to discuss his cashier Milburgh's embezzlement. In his anger with Odette, Lyne decides to try to blame her for the embezzlement instead. Tarling immediately falls in love with Odette. Lyne is found dead in the park with one of Odette's nightgowns wrapped around his gunshot wound and it doesn't look good for Odette. However, Tarling is determined to prove her innocent.

Tutt and Mr. Tutt


Arthur Cheney Train - 1919
    The rare lawyer happy to forego his fee, Tutt specializes in defending the downtrodden against the powerful and the corrupt. In Manhattan and his hometown of Pottsville, New York, he argues cases involving murder, forgery, and theft, always finding some arcane legal point to save the day—much to the chagrin of the prosecution. In this delightful collection, Tutt brings his sharp mind and genial wit to bear on the cases of the “Mock Hen and Mock Turtle,” the “Hepplewhite Tramp,” the “Lallapaloosa Limited,” and many others.   Based on author Arthur Train’s experiences working in the offices of the New York District Attorney, Tutt and Mr. Tutt is a must-read for fans of legal mysteries.   This ebook features a new introduction by Otto Penzler and has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

The Grand Babylon Hotel


Arnold Bennett - 1902
    What he hasn't counted on is having to deal with a criminal conspiracy whose purposes are not at all clear, and events take an unexpected turn as Theodore and Nella play detective. Replete with evil villains, physical dangers, and secret passages, The Grand Babylon Hotel is a mesmerizing thriller that will be enjoyed by mystery lovers everywhere. Newly designed and typeset in a modern 6-by-9-inch format by Waking Lion Press.

The Uttermost Farthing (a Savant's Vendetta)


R. Austin Freeman - 1914
    Austin Freeman was an early 20th century British writer of detective stories. . Freeman first used the inverted detective plot in which the commission of the crime is described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator, with the story then describing the detective's attempt to solve the mystery. Many of these stories include arcane scientific knowledge on such topics as tropical medicine, toxicology and metallurgy. The Red Thumb Mark, written in 1907 is the first of the Dr Throndkye novels. Dr Thorndyke was a medical/legal forensic investigator. The Uttermost Farthing, an unusual tale begins, "It is not without some misgivings that I at length make public the strange history communicated to me by my lamented friend Humphrey Challoner. The outlook of the narrator is so evidently abnormal, his ethical standards are so remote from those ordinarily current, that the chronicle of his life and actions may not only fail to secure the sympathy of the reader but may even excite a certain amount of moral repulsion. But by those who knew him, his generosity to the poor, and especially to those who struggled against undeserved misfortune, will be an ample set-off to his severity and even ferocity towards the enemies of society.'

The Girl on the Boat


P.G. Wodehouse - 1922
    All four find themselves on an ocean liner headed for England together, and typically Wodehousian romantic shenanigans ensue.

The Metropolis


Upton Sinclair - 1908
    But as he continues his lawsuit, he begins to realize that the very people he's fighting with are the very people who rule New York. He must be wily and careful if he is to survive this pursuit of justice.

The Lodger


Marie Belloc Lowndes - 1913
    And then one night there came a knock at the door of a quiet lodging house in the Marylebone Road. . . . This novel, based on the Jack the Ripper murders, was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock.

The Murder at Sissingham Hall


Clara Benson - 2013
    But in the dead of night Sir Neville is murdered. Who did it? As suspicion falls on each of the house guests in turn, Knox finds himself faced with deception and betrayal on all sides, and only the enigmatic Angela Marchmont seems to offer a solution to the mystery. This 1920s whodunit will delight all fans of traditional country house murder stories.

Whose Body?


Dorothy L. Sayers - 1923
    Not unusual for a proper bath, but highly irregular for murder -- especially with a pair of gold pince-nez deliberately perched before the sightless eyes. What's more, the face appeared to have been shaved after death. The police assumed that the victim was a prominent financier, but Lord Peter Wimsey, who dabbled in mystery detection as a hobby, knew better. In this, his first murder case, Lord Peter untangles the ghastly mystery of the corpse in the bath.

The Mask of Dimitrios


Eric Ambler - 1939
    At first merely curious to reconstruct the career of the notorious Dimitrios, whose body has been identified in an Istanbul morgue, Latimer soon finds himself caught up in a shadowy web of assassination, espionage, drugs, and treachery that spans the Balkans. The classic story of an ordinary man seemingly out of his depth, A Coffin for Dimitrios remains Eric Ambler's most widely acclaimed novel.

The 39 Steps


John Buchan - 1915
    Initially sceptical, Hannay nonetheless harbours the man—but one day returns home to find him murdered... An obvious suspect, Hannay flees to his native Scotland, pursued by both the police and a cunning, ruthless enemy. His life and the security of Britain are in grave peril, and everything rests on the solution to a baffling enigma: what are the 'thirty nine steps?'