Ann Lebrick cheerfully accepted an assignment to photograph the ocelots of Miss Estelle Marlow. On arrival at the Marlow estate, Black Tor, where she was to stay for a week, she found herself in a brooding atmosphere of great wealth, guarded isolation from the rest of mankind, and black clouds of suspicion. She became uneasy at Miss Marlow's apparent lack of interest in photographs of her ocelots. She was worried when her fiance telephoned her, imploring her to leave at once. She was liter...

Rufus King (1893–1966) was an American author of Whodunit crime novels. He created four series of detective stories: the first one with Reginald De Puyster, a sophisticated detective similar to Philo Vance; the second one with his more famous character, Lieutenant Valcour; Colin Starr, who appeared in four stories in the Strand Magazine during 1940/41; and Detective Bill Duggan, who appeared in three stories in 1956/57. The Bill Duggan stories include King's most famous short work, “Malice...

Here for your reading delectation, are 25 outre tales of crime. Since history has proven that there is nothing unusual or unexpected about the human (or inhuman) drive to break the law, it should come as no surprise that the weird, the strange, the supernatural, and the just plain odd often, in fictional form, manifest themselves allayed to the criminal element. Included are:INTRODUCTION, by Shawn GarrettTHE WINDOW OF HORRORS, by H.L. MenckenTHE FOOTSTEPS ON THE STAIR...

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...

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...

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 ...

A young woman becomes sole heir to a huge fortune when her family dies in a yachting accident. When she discover she has a heart condition and only months to live, she has little to live for. Until someone decides to speed up her impending demise…

An extortionist's note, demanding $20,000 in cash and threatening the kidnapping of Kate Willett's two mentally unbalanced sons, sent Lieutenant Valcour rushing up to the Willetts' Adirondacks camp.There, death struck with slashing suddenness while Valcour was talking to young Arthur Willett, who was sprawled on a sofa smoking a cigarette. Listening to the crackling roar of flames in the fireplace, Valcour detected the odor of burning cloth. He glanced at Arthur to find the cigaret...

Welcome to our second volume of Detective stories! This is a grab-bag volume with contributions by many top mystery authors from the mid 20th Century pulp and digest magazines. There’s something to appeal to every taste, from noir to crime to even holiday capers and a Christmas tale by Johnson McCulley (creator of Zorro). Included are:DEAD MEN DON'T MOVE, by Thomas ThursdayALIBI--WITH SOUND, by Robert WallaceHOW? WHEN? WHO?, by Fletcher FloraHELL'S SIPHON, by G...

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...

Welcome to The Fourth Mystery MEGAPACK®! This time we have a stellar lineup for your reading pleasure, drawing stories from a wide variety of sources -- including not only the traditional mystery magazines (such as Ellery Queen's and Alfred Hitchcock's), but also their less-well-known rivals (remember The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine? Keyhole Detective?). Some are from science fiction magazines (mysteries can appear anywhere!) and some are from mainstream sources, by authors not normally a...

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?