Lt. Valcour did not object to interrupting his vacation in order to help Chief Goodfriend of the Miami detective force solve the oddly similar murders of two distinctly dissimilar women. For one thing, the cases, or case as Valcour felt it to be, interested him and he felt a distinct apprehension that unless somebody solved it there would be more deaths to come. And Goodfriend appeared in desperate need of assistance. Consequently Valcour felt as though he were conducting a demonstration c...

Rufus King, master of the macabre, penned a modern Bluebeard thriller of such unbearable suspense that Hollywood jumped at the chance to produce it as a movie. MUSEUM PIECE No. 13 (later renamed to match the movie) was filmed as SECRET BEYOND THE DOOR, starring Joan Bennett and Michael Redgrave, and produced by Fritz Lang. It became an instant noir classic, as tense, shocking, and suspenseful as the original novel.Lily Rumney, lovely and in love, could see no evil in her husband. N...

Rufus King returns to the maritime mystery genre with "Murder on the Yacht." A lawyer disappears from a taxi cab on the way to join a party aboard the giant luxury yacht "The Crusader." Where did he go and what happened to him? Lt. Valcour joins the cruise to find out, mixing with a varied bunch of eccentric guests and crewmen, including a psychic. But will she provide clues or a smokescreen for the culprits? Another thrilling Lt. Valcour mystery!

The strangling of a wealthy woman at an opulent Andirondack estate brings Lt. Valcour to investigate. He knows immediately who committed the crime, but can he prove it?"Good yarn. Valcour has a hard time getting evidence against a peculiarly successful criminal, though he spots the guilty one at the start." -- Kirkus"Designedly transparent as mystery, but suspense keeps up to concert pitch all the way." -- The Saturday Review

When a wealthy New Yorker with a young bride is shot in his Manhattan mansion, then a blackmailing valet perishes in Easthampton, only Lt. Valcour can unravel the mystery."A clever solution...[the] tale has more than usual amount of chipper chatter." -- The Saturday Review

From the pen of one of America's most talented mystery writers comes a half-dozen fast-paced tales of mayhem and murder on Florida's Gold Coast -- the fabulous neon strip that stretches from Fort Lauderdale to Miami.Here, Stuff Driscoll operates out of the Sheriff's Office in Halcyon, a small fictitious resort town about twenty miles north of Miami Beach. He's one of the new breed of police officers -- well-read, sophisticated, with a wry, biting sense of humor for any situation. T...

Terror lay heavy on that strange household on the Canadian border -- but not until Lt. Valcour of the New York Police arrived did the hand of murder strike. Soundlessly, inexplicably -- and then Valcour's strangest, most perilous case began!Valcour Meets Murder is is the 6th Lt. Valcour novel. It includes a preview of #7, The Lesser Antilles Case.

Mr. and Mrs. Benson were enjoying their cruise around the world, oblivious to the criminal types around them. After all, as Americans, they had nothing to worry about. Not even in Los Angeles, last stop before the Orient. Or did they?

When the radio operator on a luxury cruise ship is murdered, Lt. Valcour takes charge. While investigating the crew and the passengers, especially a lovely but lethal man-eater, the killer strikes again -- and it's up to Valcour to solve the crimes before anyone else falls victim!Rufus King (1893-1966) was an American author of Whodunit crime novels. He created four series of detective stories: the most famous being Lieutenant Valcour. Modern critics are rediscovering Rufus King's ...

The book opens with a woman debating with herself if she should contact the police concerning her fears for the safety of her husband. She is Mrs. Herbert Endicott and is known to us only as Mrs. Endicott, no first name is ever given. She fears for her husband, but has a crime been committed? Is there a corpse? Is Herbert Endicott dead or alive?Lieutenant Valcour, who is assigned to the precinct in which the Endicotts reside, calls on Mrs. Endicott. From the outset, Valcour is fasc...

The Sturm House has an atmosphere of the unpleasant. The shooting of Alice Tribeau only adds to the that impression for Lt. Valcour, as he arrives in the midst of a storm to begin his investigation. Wealthy socialite Mrs. Sturm claims the gun was fired by someone outside the house -- but Valcour had other ideas... The second volume in the classic Lt. Valcour mystery series!

We rely on your support to help us keep producing beautiful, free, and unrestricted editions of literature for the digital age. Will you support our efforts with a donation ? When Mrs. Endicott discovers a threatening note left on her husband's desk, she summons Lieutenant Valcour to investigate. Upon his arrival, he discovers Herbert Endicott's lifeless body stuffed in a cupboard. They call for the family physician, who tries one last-ditch effort to revive him: a shot of epinephrine to t...