This is a collection of 20 classic mystery and detective stories written by various authors.

As usual, gentleman thief Arsène Lupin finds himself wrongfully accused of murder, and must find the real killer to clear his colored name.

Believed to have been written by Chicago socialite, Emma Murdock Van Deventer, this detective story set at the World's Fair follows Carl Masters as he is in pursuit of international criminals Greenback Bob and Delbras. Conmen, lost handbags, jewel robberies, an adventuress... not to mention two missing young men and a murder, all come under the detective's eye.

Ashton-Kirk, who has solved so many mysteries, is himself something of a problem even to those who know him best. Although young, wealthy, and of high social position, he is nevertheless an indefatigable worker in his chosen field. He smiles when men call him a detective. "No; only an investigator," he says.
He has never courted notoriety; indeed, his life has been more or less secluded. However, let a man do remarkable work in any line and, as Emerson has observed, "the world will make a beaten path to his door."
Those who have found their way to Ashton-Kirk's door have been of many races and interests. Men of science have often been surprised to find him in touch with the latest discoveries, scholars searching among strange tongues and dialects, and others deep in tattered scrolls, ancient tablets and forgotten books have been his frequent visitors. But among them come many who seek his help in solving problems in crime.

Johnny Liddell, the fast-moving New York private eye, is hired to investigate a murder which everyone but the client calls a suicide. The client, a beautiful heiress, unfortunately fails to appear at a rendezvous to explain matters; instead a very active tommy-gun enlivens the proceedings. Score: one gunman killed, Liddell unscathed. The gangsters turn out to be members of a syndicate run from Sing Sing, but their connection with the girl is not clear. And she, by this time, has vanished completely, leaving the detective with nothing but a $500 retainer. With his usual keenness Johnny moves from this lively beginning on a violent trail of fights and point-blank killings from Park Avenue to Broadway, leading to a very unexpected climax

It is early in the days of radio, and amateurs are using it more and more, and using it illegally. Enter Curlie Carson, who has the job of tracking down the miscreants. Sounds boring. You wouldn't expect high speed car chases, kidnapping, double dealing, and maybe even murder.

Private detective Guy Garrick is at the dawning age of modern criminal forensics in the early twentieth century. He and his friend and assistant, Tom Marshall, come to the assistance of both a police commissioner and an insurance investigator trying to solve a murder mystery tied to gambling and corruption in New York. Insightful and innovative thinking will of course rule!

Here are seven mystery stories featuring Martin Hewitt, Detective, and narrated (of course) by his (nameless) sidekick. Arthur Morrison certainly has imagination, as shown by the very wide range of situations, motivations, crimes and characters he presents in these stories. Hewitt may be after a Russian spy or a domestic animal; he investigates the burglary of documents vital to national security, but also the destruction of a work of art -- which is counterfeit.

A collection of twelve short stories featuring Conan Doyle's legendary detective, originally published as single stories in Strand Magazine and subsequently collected into a single volume.

There is not always a crime committed nor a culprit to find, and when there is, Holmes does not invariably get his man. However, his extraordinary powers of deduction generally solve the mystery, often to the discomfiture of the official police force. Holmes is a man of many facets, and I do not share the common perception of Holmes as cold and humorless: his sense of fun can be sparkling, and there are moments of rare pathos.

A new case for barrister and hobby detective Reginald Brett: The imperial diamonds were sent by the Sultan to London, to be cut in Albert Gate mansion by experts, all the while under the especial protection of the British government. One morning, however, the Turkish officials are found dead in the house, and the diamonds have vanished - despite the strict measures taken to protect them. The first suspicion falls on Jack Talbot, a young secretary at the Foreign Office, in whose charge this mission was, because he also disappeared without a trace on the same evening. Convinced that Talbot is innocent, his friend Lord Fairholme turns to Reginald Brett for help.

Herbert Wrayson, a bachelor returns to his flat one night to find a young lady rifling his desk. He questions her and finds she thought she was in the apartment of his neighbor, Morris Barnes, who lives above him. While he is on the telephone, she quietly slips out of his flat and heads to Barnes’ abode. A few hours later, she is once again at his door – this time looking scared and faint. She asks Wrayson to escort her downstairs as the hallway is unlit. As they emerge, a hansom sits at the doorway with Morris Barnes in it. But, they discover that Barnes has been strangled. Wrayson soon learns that the young lady is the estranged older daughter of a club acquaintance, retired Colonel Fitzmaurice. He also discovers that he has fallen in love with her. The big question however, has he fallen for a murderess? How can he discover the truth? In typical Oppenheim style, this “whodunit” weaves a tangled web and one must wait until the end to discover the surprising truth.

A New York corporate lawyer falls eighteen stories from the Black Eagle Building. Suicide, cops say. That Hollings Harland was part of a black organization, cornering the market on copper, and about to be exposed to the world. He had just excused himself from an acrimonious meeting with the wealthy Johnston Barker, perhaps another agent of the organization. Could Harland have defected? Spunky part-time snoop Molly Morgenthau Babbits thinks something fishy is going on. She's opening her own informal investigation into the facts with the help of a connection on the Black Eagle's staff and suspects the worst: murder most foul!

"THAT a secret society, based upon the lines of similar institutions so notorious on the Continent during the last century, could ever have existed in the London of our day may seem impossible. Such a society, however, not only did exist, but through the instrumentality of a woman of unparalleled capacity and genius, obtained a firm footing. A century ago the Brotherhood of the Seven Kings was a name hardly whispered without horror and fear in Italy, and now, by the fascinations and influence of one woman, it began to accomplish fresh deeds of unparalleled daring and subtlety in London. By the wide extent of its scientific resources, and the impregnable secrecy of its organizations, it threatened to become a formidable menace to society, as well as a source of serious anxiety to the authorities of the law." (excerpt from The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings)

In this well-plotted, character-driven mystery, Detective Gryce receives a cryptic message calling him to the scene of a “strange” crime. He soon finds that the adjective is correct, for in a quiet brownstone house in a respectable New York City neighborhood, he finds the body of a man brutally stabbed to death, yet lovingly laid out on the floor of his study. The only apparent witnesses are a deaf and dumb butler driven mad by the event, and a caged bird that sings out a vital but puzzling clue. Before he solves the crime, with the help of the redoubtable Miss Amelia Butterworth, Gryce must uncover a motive that spans generations and the passions that have kept it alive. Anna Katharine Green was a pioneering writer of detective fiction in the United States. Her first such novel, The Leavenworth Case, was published in 1878. She is credited with changing the genre by making her stories legally accurate. She invented the "girl detective." But her works remained popular because of their lively, twisting plots and the strong characters she developed.

A deserted house with a troubled past. A mysterious countess who captivates everyone with her wealth and beauty -- well, almost everyone. An equally mysterious derelict who holds a secret to the countess's past. A fresh crime that threatens to ruin a promising young doctor. A plucky young governess determined to save him. Who will prevail?

An extremely wealthy but reclusive man has died, leaving an eccentric will which hints at great riches hidden somewhere in the house. Most of the people at the reading of the will did not know the deceased in person, but had received kindnesses from him, for instance by the payment of school and university fees. The principal beneficiary, a great-nephew, also did not know him. The only two people who really knew him were the old lawyer who dealt with his affairs, and an old Indian servant. Yet when the will had been read, and they all went to where the treasure--gold, jewels and bank-notes--were supposed to be hidden, nothing could be found.
There are an unusual number of deaths, by murder and in self-defense, as the story unfolds, and we are left in total suspense until the very end of the very last chapter. The person who works out where the treasure must be, and how it got there, does not come on the scene until almost the last chapter, and even then he has to go on business to America before he can come in and explain his theory, which proves to be right.

Further adventures of Nayland Smith and Doctor Petrie as they continue their battles against the evil genius, Dr Fu-Manchu.

The baronet of Baskerville Hall is found dead, possibly a victim of a supernatural hound, the fulfillment of an old family legend. Holmes and Watson attempt to help the new baronet avoid the fate of the old, and solve the mystery of the death of Sir Charles Baskerville.

The Lost Stradivarius (1895), by J. Meade Falkner, is a short novel of ghosts and the evil that can be invested in an object, in this case an extremely fine Stradivarius violin. After finding the violin of the title in a hidden compartment in his college rooms, the protagonist, a wealthy young heir, becomes increasingly secretive as well as obsessed by a particular piece of music, which seems to have the power to call up the ghost of its previous owner. Roaming from England to Italy, the story involves family love, lordly depravity, and the tragedy of obsession.

A baffling disappearance. A bedroom door locked from the inside. A housekeeper with something to hide. Will retired policeman turned private detective, Joseph Muller, be able to sort out the clues and solve this locked room mystery?

The Three Hostages is the fourth of five Richard Hannay novels. The Richard Hannay novels are action/mystery/spy novels with a James bond feel. This book starts out with Richard Hannay married to Mary Lamington living in Fosse Manor. He is asked to work undercover and figure out who kidnapped three children of prominent people, while Scotland Yard investigate the abductions officially. Different friends help him solve the mystery. It's suspenseful and a fun action packed mystery!

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Public domain books

A public-domain book is a book with no copyright, a book that was created without a license, or a book where its copyrights expired or have been forfeited.

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