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 ? The Murders in Praed Street features Dr. Lancelot Priestley, an eccentric scientist and mathematician. The novel's first part introduces the neighborhood of Praed Street, its shopkeepers, and their families. Among these characters are the first victims of a series of shocking murders that terrorize London and baffle t...

The Murders in Praed Street features Dr. Lancelot Priestley, an eccentric scientist and mathematician. The novel's first part introduces the neighborhood of Praed Street, its shopkeepers, and their families. Among these characters are the first victims of a series of shocking murders that terrorize London and baffle the police. In the second part, Scotland Yard seeks the help of Dr. Priestley, who is eager for "some enticing problem, mathematical or human." To confirm his theory o...

''The Figure of Eight'' (1931) by Cecil Waye (John Rhode/Miles Burton) is a 1930s thriller featuring private investigator Christopher Perrin. It focuses on international intrigue, starting with the mysterious, non-violent death of a woman on a London bus, which leads to a plot involving murdered diplomats, stolen documents, and a sinister secret society. A woman, later identified as Lola Martinaes, is found in an unshakeable, fatal sleep on a bus. Christopher Perrin, a private investigator...

''The Prime Minister's Pencil'' (1933) by Cecil Waye (John Rhode/Miles Burton) as always features private investigator Christopher Perrin. Perrin investigates the disappearance of Cuthbert Solway, a politician's secretary who is later found dead, leading to a complex murder case. Miss Millicent Rushburton hires Perrin to find her father's (Sir Ethelred) missing secretary, Solway. Solway is found dead in the grounds of Oldwick Manor by Inspector Philpott. The death seems mysterious and is i...

''The End of the Chase'' (1932) by Cecil Waye ((John Rhode/Miles Burton) ) follows private investigator Christopher Perrin as he tracks a thief across Europe, uncovering an international criminal network involving a forger and a countess, leading to a high-stakes, deadly conclusion. The chase involves Perrin, accompanied by his friend and former Vienna police chief Johann Berndt, who investigate "Duggie the Locksmith," a suspect in a major robbery. The investigation reveals a wider conspir...

The discovery of a seemingly unidentifiable corpse in a shabby block of offices off the Gray's Inn Road in central London inexplicably proves to be linked to the assassination of a member of parliament with secret communist ties on an express train heading northwards.

''Murder at Monk's Barn'' (1931) by Cecil Waye (John Rhode/Miles Burton) is a classic Golden Age mystery featuring detectives Christopher and Vivienne Perrins. They investigate the shooting of businessman Gilbert Wynter, killed through locked curtains in his home, tackling a baffling "impossible" scenario, a second poisoning, and a limited suspect pool. Gilbert Wynter is shot through thick, drawn curtains while shaving in his home, Monk's Barn Local police suspect a former servant, but Aus...

In the market town of Patham, Doctor Greenwood takes his annual August holiday with his wife and hires a locum to take over the practice while he is away. But his replacement Stephen Thornhill goes missing after just a few days, and when a body is discovered Scotland Yard are called in to investigate with the assistance of Priestley.

The true motive for the murder is introduced very late on, so as to conceal the identity of the killer. Gangland elements in the plot. The method of murder is very clever and there are a few genuine suspects.

“Dead of the Night” (1942) is a mystery by John Rhode (Miles Burton) featuring his recurring investigator Dr. Priestley. Written during WWII, the plot reflects the atmosphere of the British Home Guard preparing for a potential invasion. The story involves a murder that occurs during a Home Guard training exercise (a "night exercise").

The next time you visit Olympia, take a good look around and see if you think it would be possible to murder someone in the middle of the crowd there without being seen.The new Comet was fully expected to be the sensation of the annual Motor Show at Olympia. Suddenly, in the middle of the dense crowd of eager spectators, an elderly man lurched forward and collapsed in a dead faint. But Nahum Pershore had not fainted. He was dead, and it was his death that was to provide the real se...

The "astute and sharp-spoken" crime-solving professor must find out if a missing man got away with murder ( The New York Times).After some initial suspicion, the death of Ernest Venner's wealthy uncle was attributed to natural causes—a simple infection. But Dr. Lancelot Priestley and his crime-solving companions find it intriguing, to say the least, that as soon as Venner collected his much-needed inheritance, he vanished into the wind.Digging into...