Classic Detective

An elderly couple living in Victorian London struggle against despair as their small resources dwindle. When an eccentric and mysterious gentleman answers their advertisement for a lodger, they celebrate. But as women begin dying at the hands of "The Avenger", they start to suspect something too horrific for words.

First published in 1911, The Innocence of Father Brown contains stories involving one of the greatest characters in the history of detective fiction: Father Brown. He is a Roman Catholic priest who has an uncanny insight into human evil. Rather than the large serial villains in, for example, Sherlock Holmes stories, the mysteries Father Brown solved were more local murders by small-town crooks, narrowing the suspect list down to those in the area of the crime.

Over a 25-year period, author Maurice Leblanc wrote of the exploits of gentleman thief and master of disguise Arsène Lupin, to the delight of readers on the continent and elsewhere. Often referred to as France's version of Sherlock Holmes, Lupin in this early appearance is wrongfully accused of the death of a prominent German millionaire with nefarious plans. The thief and the mysterious killer find themselves in a race to find an incriminating bundle of letters that, in the wrong hands, could change the political map of the world.

Captain Jack Aubrey, R.N., arrives in the Dutch East Indies to find himself appointed to the command of the fastest and best-armed frigate in the navy. He and his friend Stephen Maturin take passage for England in a dispatch vessel. But the War of 1812 breaks out while they are en route. Bloody...

The 11th installment in the Aubrey/Maturin series. Captain Jack Aubrey, R.N., ashore after a successful cruise, is persuaded by a casual acquaintance to make certain investments in the City. This innocent decision ensnares him in the London criminal underground and in government espionage--the...

A Study in Scarlet is an 1887 detective novel by British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become the most famous detective duo in literature.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. The Affair at the Semiramis Hotel sees A .E. W. Mason's famous detective, Inspector Hanaud, and amateur detective Ricardo investigate the theft of a pearl necklace and the murder of its owner, set within the world of opera.

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly remastered stories are now available to download for the first time. Is the...

In Poirot Investigates, Agatha Christie presents eleven riveting short stories featuring the famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. From high-stakes jewel thefts to baffling murders, Poirot faces a variety of complex and puzzling cases that challenge his remarkable intellect and investigative prowess. In these tales, Poirot must unravel a web of deception involving missing persons, secret identities, and shocking crimes, using his keen observation and logical deductions to reveal the truth.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigate the legend of a supernatural hound, a beast that may be stalking a young heir on the fog-shrouded moorland that makes up his estate. The best of the Holmes novels!

La porte de la chambre fermée à clef " de l'intérieur ", les volets de l'unique fenêtre fermés, eux aussi, " de l'intérieur ", pas de cheminée... Qui a tenté de tuer Mlle Stangerson et, surtout, par où l'assassin a-t-il pu quitter la chambre jaune ? C'est le jeune reporter Rouletabille, limier surdoué et raisonnant par " le bon bout de la raison, ce bon bout que l'on reconnait à ce que rien ne peut le faire craquer ", qui va trouver la solution de cet affolant problème, au terme d'une enquête fertile en aventures et en rebondissements.

“Simenon was fascinated by peculiarities of human personality, which he described in elegant, simple prose . . . as pure as running water.” —Roger Ebert It’s the height of spring, and Maigret is grappling with doubly unfamiliar circumstances. He’s in the surreal new village of...

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. Detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers presents a look at morality and motive as playwright John Scales grows angrier and more resentful towards the actor who reinvented his script, and must decide how far he will allow his hatred to take him.

“You will all remain seated. Anyone who tries to get up, or even moves, will be shot. There will be no further warning. If you move you will be killed…” Four men seize a New York City subway train, and hold its passengers hostage. The identities of the hijackers are unknown. Their demands...

Miles Flint is a government spy who has been making some serious mistakes. His last assignment led to the death of a foreign official in London, and after getting too close to his current subject, he wound up in police custody. But something is wrong at the agency that has nothing to do with...

两桩悬案，阳案阴审，真相大明。富家女，新婚之夜暴毙身亡，新郎不知所踪。狄仁杰顺着这个案子查下去，发现竟然有人暗中阴谋造反……兩樁懸案，陽案陰審，真相大明。富家女，新婚之夜暴斃身亡，新郎不知所踪。狄仁傑順著這個案子查下去，發現竟然有人暗中陰謀造反……

Helen Eustis’s The Horizontal Man (1946) won an Edgar Award for best first novel and continues to fascinate as a singular mixture of detection, satire, and psychological portraiture. A poet on the faculty of an Ivy League school is found murdered, setting off ripple effects of anxiety...

Ce recueil de 12 nouvelles captivantes dévoile les exploits inégalés du génie de la déduction, Sherlock Holmes, et de son fidèle compagnon, le Dr John Watson. Ensemble, ils se lancent dans une série de mystères intrigants et de crimes apparemment insolubles, naviguant à travers les rues sombres et les somptueuses demeures de l'Angleterre victorienne.

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 16 tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form. The Golden Age of detective fiction had begun inauspiciously with the publication of E.C. Bentley’s schismatic Trent’s Last Case in 1913...

The Beati Paoli’s unrelenting campaign to restore justice is compromised by an act of betrayal and a plot that threatens its very existence. Set against the backdrop of the island’s increasing disillusionment with its new rulers from Savoy and a yearning for the return of the formerly...