Classic Mystery Short Stories

In Agatha Christie’s short story, “The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim,” to win a bet with Inspector Japp, Poirot solves the mysterious robbery and disappearance of a banker from his home, all without leaving his seat. Is the culprit the businessman Mr. Davenheim was supposed to meet? Or is the situation more complicated? This short story originally appeared in the March 28, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

This is an audio-enhanced version (with music and sound effects) of the third of Edgar Allan Poe's early detective stories featuring his classic character C. Auguste Dupin. It is a celebrated tale of intrigue, blackmail, and mystery as only the master could tell it and a forerunner to the creation of the character of Sherlock Holmes. When a member of the royal house has a sensitive document stolen, the police department turns in desperation to C. Auguste Dupin, amateur sleuth and renowned logician.

A young London engineer, contracted to service a hydraulic press at a country house, discovers that the owner is using the machine for illegal purposes. After confronting the owner, the engineer narrowly escapes death and loses a thumb when the owner turns on him. Sherlock Holmes deduces the actual use of the machine and sets off to bring the evildoers to justice.

In "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches", Violet Hunter asks Sherlock Holmes whether she should accept a job with very strange conditions. She has been offered £120 per year as a governess, but only if she will cut her long hair short. This is only one of many peculiar conditions to which she must agree. The employer, Jephro Rucastle, seems pleasant enough, yet Miss Hunter obviously has her suspicions. After a fortnight, Miss Hunter beseeches Holmes to come and see her in Winchester, as the situation has become even stranger. This is the last of the 12 stories collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

"The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was the second tale published in The Return of Sherlock Holmes in 1903.

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842 - 1914) was an American writer famous for his dark and cynical writings, which earned him the nickname Bitter Bierce. He is famous also for his mysterious demise. He wrote a letter to a friend, which he closed by saying, "As to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination," and then he vanished without a trace, his disappearance becoming one of the most famous in American literary history.

When a letter of great significance is stolen from the royal palace in Paris, the prefect of police is at great pains to discover its whereabouts. The identity of the thief is known, but try as the detectives will, they are unable to pinpoint the hiding place where the incriminating letter is secreted. When the Prefect approaches Dupin for his advice on the matter, the latter sees the solution immediately. An insight from which he is able to profit handsomely. Poe at his most ingenious!

Professor Van Dusen solves a variety of different mysteries together with his friend, Hutchinson Hatch, a reporter for a fictional newspaper called The Daily New Yorker. The professor is known as the "Thinking Machine", and he solves problems by the remorseless application of logic. In this story, he thinks his way out of a maximum-security prison.

Possibly the scariest horror story of all time. Captured and condemned to death by the Inquisition at Toledo, the narrator finds that his captors have devised a dungeon for him which exposes him to the most dreadful and drawn out psychological terror before certain death finally catches him. Every time he manages to escape one of their petrifying devices, another even more gruesome mode of execution is deployed.

This is a story from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes II collection. In this collection are four of the finest cases of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, narrated by his faithful friend and admirer Dr. Watson. What was the mystery of the engineer's thumb? What was behind the disappearance of the race horse? Why did masked royalty walk up to see Holmes in Baker Street? These and other puzzles are solved in this collection by this bloodhound of a genius.

A man convicted of being a saboteur for the Confederacy during the American Civil War stands on Owl Creek Bridge with a noose around his neck. As the procedures for his hanging are carried out, he seizes an opportunity to escape.

This is a story from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes II collection. In this collection are four of the finest cases of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, narrated by his faithful friend and admirer Dr. Watson. What was the mystery of the engineer's thumb? What was behind the disappearance of the race horse? Why did masked royalty walk up to see Holmes in Baker Street? These and other puzzles are solved in this collection by this bloodhound of a genius.

Three short detective anecdotes by one of the key founding fathers of the detective genre, Charles Dickens. The Pair of Gloves, The Artful Touch, The Sofa.....

Ambrose Bierce's collection of short stories of the supernatural and macabre Can Such Things Be? was first published in 1893 and republished in a revised edition in 1910. One of its most notable inclusions is "The Death of Halpin Frayser" a gothic tale of the murder of the fated hero by the reanimated corpse of his beloved mother.

'The Man in the Fur Coat' is a fast-paced adventure in which a young journalist on the verge of destitution is picked out of the crowd by a well-dressed stranger in a fur coat. The wealthy man has a very strange proposition for the young writer. But first he must perform a bizarre treasure hunt through London collecting clues from mysterious strangers. Eventually he finds the meaning of the whole weird tale...and it is stranger than he could ever have imagined.

Con ánimo de vengarse de una pasada humillación, Montresor busca a Fortunato en plenos carnavales de alguna ciudad italiana (al parecer, Venecia) del siglo XIX. Ambos van disfrazados y gracias a que Fortunato está ebrio, el narrador logra convencerlo de que lo acompañe a la cueva de su palacio, las catacumbas de los Montresor, con el pretexto de probar un nuevo vino amontillado. Anímate a descubrir cómo el vengativo narrador, con una notable maligna inteligencia, humor negro, ironía y sadismo, consuma la más horrible venganza.

In Agatha Christie’s short story, “The Lost Mine,” Poirot investigates the suspicious disappearance of a Chinese businessman in London. Suspicion is focused on two Englishman, one of whom has an alibi and another who was in an opium den the night of the disappearance. A clear-cut case for Poirot soon becomes murky however. This short story originally appeared in the November 21, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

In Agatha Christie’s short story, “The Adventure of the Clapham Cook,” Poirot is asked by a Mrs. Todd to investigate the sudden departure of her cook, Eliza. When elements of the case seem to correspond to miscellaneous articles read aloud from yesterday’s paper to him by Hastings, Poirot begins to unravel a devilishly complex plot. This short story originally appeared in the November 14, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

In Agatha Christie's short story, "The Submarine Plans," Poirot is summoned to the home of Lord Alloway, head of the Ministry of Defense, to investigate the theft of top-secret plans for a new submarine. With the First Sea Lord and his wife, and a mysterious Mrs. Conroy all staying the night, the suspects are numerous. This short story originally appeared in the November 7, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

In Agatha Christie’s short story, “The Chocolate Box,” Poirot describes a case he was unable to solve. Investigating the apparent poisoning of a popular Belgian civil servant, Poirot goes undercover to expose the murderer, only to discover the case is not so tidy as he thinks. But who could have wanted the man dead? This short story originally appeared in the May 23, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.