Free summaries
Crime, Thrillers and Mystery — page 8
362 public-domain crime, thrillers and mystery books, summarised. Page 8 of 8.
The Hollow of Her Hand
George Barr McCutcheon
Trapped between grief and vengeance, a young widow shields the woman who killed her husband, turning a dark secret into a web of absolute control.
The Mystery Queen
Fergus Hume
When a wealthy man is found murdered with a mysterious insect left at the scene, an amateur sleuth must infiltrate a lethal secret society to save his reputation and his beloved.
We're Friends, Now
Henry Hasse
A retired homicide detective uses his knowledge of classic whodunits to outwit a supercomputer in a murder investigation, risking his own sanity and freedom.
Ashton-Kirk, Investigator
John T. (John Thomas) McIntyre
Ashton-Kirk, a man of wealth and intellect, operates not as a common detective, but as an investigator who finds the unraveling of complex human puzzles to be his primary joy.
Dorothy Dixon and the Double Cousin
Dorothy Wayne
A bold young sleuth trades places with her cousin to foil an international plot, proving that quick wits and a steady hand can outsmart the most dangerous of foes.
Out of a Labyrinth
Lawrence L. Lynch
A seasoned operative arrives in the small town of Trafton to solve a series of baffling crimes, only to find that the heart of the conspiracy beats hidden in plain sight.
The history of the London Burkers: Containing a faithful and authentic account of the horrid acts of the noted Resurrectionists, Bishop, Williams, May, etc., etc., and their trial and condemnation at the Old Bailey for the wilful murder of Carlo Ferrari, with the criminals' confessions after trial. Including also the life, character, and behaviour of the atrocious Eliza Ross, the murderer of Mrs. Walsh, etc., etc
Anonymous
The gallows-tree and the dissecting table collide in this grim chronicle of London’s illicit trade in human remains. It documents the desperate, bloody era when the demand for anatomical subjects fueled a series of cold-blooded murders.
Awdeley's Fraternitye of Vacabondes, Harman's Caueat, Haben's Sermon, &c
Awdelay, John, active 1559-1577
A sharp-eyed justice of the peace documents the elaborate deceits of Elizabethan vagabonds, revealing a hidden underworld of professional beggars, thieves, and masters of manufactured pity.
Guy Garrick
Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve
A brilliant investigator uses cutting-edge early 20th-century technology to dismantle a web of corruption, kidnapping, and high-stakes gambling threatening a young heiress.
The Great Secret
E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim
A quiet night at a London hotel spirals into a desperate international conspiracy when a stranger collapses in a traveler’s room, pulling an unsuspecting sportsman into a high-stakes game of shadows and statecraft.
Ghost Beyond the Gate
Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The frozen river holds a secret, and the girl who masters the ice is the only one who can navigate the dark currents of a local mystery. When an ordinary winter outing turns into a search for her missing father, nothing is as it seems.
The Cab of the Sleeping Horse
John Reed Scott
A high-stakes game of international espionage unfolds in Washington, D.C., where a mysterious cipher letter and a beautiful woman place a diplomat in the center of a dangerous, shifting web of secrets.
The Childerbridge Mystery
Guy Boothby
The Childerbridge Mystery is a classic Edwardian puzzle, blending the rugged frontier spirit of colonial Australia with the suffocating, tradition-bound atmosphere of an English country estate. It explores how deep-seated secrets and personal vendettas can reach across oceans to destroy the peace of an unsuspecting…
A Bottle of Old Wine
Richard O. Lewis
In a future defined by radical escapism, a man plots to murder his wife to fund his secret, high-rolling double life, only to find that his own hidden reality is far more fragile than he suspects.
Jewel Mysteries, from a Dealer's Note Book
Max Pemberton
A professional gem dealer navigates a world of high-stakes theft, where precious stones are not merely commodities but catalysts for obsession, danger, and social ruin. These tales map the intersection of criminal intrigue and the rigid vanity of the Edwardian elite.
The Rat Racket
David H. (David Henry) Keller
A wealthy financier takes on a criminal empire by weaponizing the very terror they use to extort the city. This dark, inventive thriller explores the intersection of myth, science, and cold-blooded justice.
The Exploits of Elaine
Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve
HOOK A master criminal stalks New York’s elite, leaving only a chilling calling card: a clutching hand. A brilliant scientist must master the latest technology to save a young woman from this relentless web of terror.
The skeleton key
Bernard Capes
An enigmatic traveler and a local detective collide in a Hampshire country house, where a murder mystery unfolds beneath the veneer of polite society and chess games.
Gunman's bluff
Edgar Wallace
A wealthy London banker vanishes into the underworld, leaving his bride, a relentless detective, and a suave jewel thief to untangle a web of forgery and betrayal.
Old Broadbrim Into the Heart of Australia
St. George Rathborne
HOOK A determined Quaker detective pursues a cold-blooded murderer from the elegant parlors of Fifth Avenue into the rugged, dangerous heart of the Australian outback.
The Midnight Guest: A Detective Story
Fred M. (Fred Merrick) White
A mysterious kidnapping and a trail of stolen portraits unravel a decades-old vendetta, forcing a young man to confront the dark history of his guardian.
Constance Dunlap
Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve
A desperate woman turns her sharp intelligence against a dishonest world, using her mastery of forgery, disguise, and criminal psychology to save doomed men and outwit the relentless detective who pursues her.
Mrs Peixada
Henry Harland
A young attorney takes on a mysterious inheritance case and unwittingly falls in love with the woman he is hired to track down.
Penny Nichols and the Black Imp
Joan Clark
An art competition turns into a high-stakes investigation when a priceless Rembrandt vanishes and an ambitious teenage amateur detective steps in to clear an innocent friend's name.
Police Operation
H. Beam Piper
A lethal alien predator stalks the Pennsylvania hills, leaving livestock mutilated and local authorities bewildered, while a cross-dimensional lawman works to eliminate the creature before humanity discovers the truth about alternate timelines.
Mask of Death
Paul Ernst
A mysterious figure calling himself Doctor Satan threatens a lavish Maine resort with a weapon that distorts the flow of time itself.