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Crime, Thrillers and Mystery — page 9
514 public-domain crime, thrillers and mystery books, summarised. Page 9 of 11.
Jim Hanvey, detective
Octavus Roy Cohen
HOOK A massive, slow-moving detective with fish-like eyes outwits the most sophisticated criminals not through force, but through a patient, disarming, and relentless psychological game.
Missing at Marshlands: Arden Blake Mystery Series #3
Cleo F. Garis
Three college friends look forward to a peaceful summer by the ocean, only to find themselves entangled in a web of suspicious characters, a missing Russian artist, and a priceless golden snuffbox.
The Cool War
Andrew Fetler
The Cold War is a hall of mirrors where no one is quite who they claim to be. In this world of shifting faces, the most dangerous weapon is not a bomb, but a well-placed impersonation.
Nor Iron Bars a Cage
Randall Garrett
HOOK A seasoned New York detective manages a secret, borderline-magical psychiatric program to neutralize repeat offenders, only to discover that the "cure" he oversees hides a deeply personal and tragic burden.
The Undetected
George O. (George Oliver) Smith
A police detective tracking a murderer who possesses impossible psychic powers must bait a trap that forces the killer to reveal himself, even if it risks his own life.
A Capillary Crime, and Other Stories
Francis Davis Millet
This collection of tales captures the transient, often shadowed lives of expatriate artists in the late nineteenth century, mapping the fine line between bohemian romance and genuine psychological unease.
Dalrymple's Equation
Paul W. Fairman
A brilliant, misanthropic visitor from another galaxy arrives on Earth, armed with a mathematical formula that can solve any crime—or engineer the perfect heist.
New Nick Carter weekly no. 197: The little glass vial
Nicholas (House name) Carter
This mystery is a brisk, turn-of-the-century puzzle featuring a cool-headed operative navigating a web of blackmail, bigamy, and suspected murder. It offers a glimpse into a time when detectives relied on logic, disguise, and telegrams to solve crimes.
Scientific Sprague
Francis Lynde
A jovial, unassuming chemistry expert wanders into a turbulent railroad office and applies the cool precision of science to solve a series of increasingly dangerous corporate sabotage plots.
The Case and Exceptions: Stories of Counsel and Clients
Frederick Trevor Hill
The courtroom is a theater where the lines between justice and performance blur, leaving those who inhabit its halls to reckon with the moral residue of their work. These stories peel back the layers of legal practice to expose the human cost hidden within the record.
Come into my parlor
Charles E. Fritch
This story follows a man driven to the brink of insanity by the terrifying, invisible truth he believes he has uncovered about the nature of our reality. It is a chilling exploration of paranoia, perception, and the fatal consequences of knowing too much.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, February 23, 1916
Various
A sharp-witted chronicle of life on the home front and the trenches, capturing the absurdity, anxiety, and stoic humor of a nation deep in the struggle of the Great War.
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.
The Scarlet Bat: A Detective Story
Fergus Hume
A young man framed for murder must navigate a web of greed and long-buried secrets to clear his name. This mystery turns on a deadly symbol and the desperate machinations of those hunting for hidden treasure.
Thieves' Wit: An Everyday Detective Story
Hulbert Footner
The narrator, a self-described "ordinary fellow" who stumbles into his first case, finds that navigating the real-world underworld is far more complex and dangerous than any detective story he has ever read.
Death Walks on Mars
Alan J. Ramm
The unforgiving Martian landscape becomes a stage for a slow, agonizing retribution after a prospector’s husband is murdered. A grieving widow lures his killers into a deadly, circuitous journey across the red desert, weaponizing the environment itself to exact her revenge.
Out of Death's Shadow
Nicholas (House name) Carter
A master of deduction confronts a web of deception, navigating elaborate disguises and cold-blooded schemes to unmask a killer hiding in plain sight.
The Deaves Affair
Hulbert Footner
A struggling artist becomes entangled in a high-stakes extortion scheme after accepting a job guarding a wealthy, eccentric recluse. He soon finds himself caught between a bizarre criminal syndicate and a woman who holds his heart hostage.
The Four-Fingered Glove
Nicholas (House name) Carter
HOOK A master detective descends into a web of familial secrets, lethal poisons, and high-stakes impersonation to protect a wealthy household from a shadowy, long-festering vengeance.
The twenty-six clues
Isabel Ostrander
A wealthy collector’s museum becomes the site of a gruesome murder, pulling an observant amateur investigator into a web of blackmail, hidden histories, and a trail of letters composed from pasta.
Nick Carter Stories No. 152, August 7, 1915: The Forced Crime
Nicholas (House name) Carter
A brilliant detective uncovers a sinister plot involving hypnotism, stolen state papers, and a mysterious cult leader masquerading as an East Indian scholar in early twentieth-century Brooklyn.
Earth Is Missing!
Carl Selwyn
In the frozen, subterranean cities of the 87th century, a relentless detective races to stop a shadowy criminal mastermind from hijacking the planet itself. This fast-paced science fiction thriller explores the desperate intersection of corporate greed, human ingenuity, and the hope for a warmer world.
Fatal fingers
William Le Queux
A reclusive collector of antiquities holds a secret so profound that his mock death triggers a deadly game of cat and mouse among London’s elite. This gripping mystery peels back the veneer of Edwardian respectability to reveal how easily a life—and a reputation—can be erased.
The Power of Conscience, exemplified in the genuine and extraordinary confession of Thomas Bedworth: delivered to one of the principal officers of Newgate, the night before his execution on September 18, 1815, for the murder of Elizabeth Beesmore in Drury lane. Relating his horrible sufferings until compelled to surrender to public justice by the constant supernatural visitations of the murdered woman, and the frequent appearance of her apparition. From the original paper now in the possession of the publisher. Including interesting particulars of Bedworth's former life, his behaviour before execution, and an original and full report of the Common Serjeant's address on passing sentence
Thomas Bedworth
This document preserves the final confession of an 18th-century tradesman turned murderer, tracing his descent from a life of military service and industry to a state of absolute moral and psychological ruin.
Double Identity
Henry Farrell
A hardboiled detective suddenly realizes he is only a fictional character, setting off a bizarre battle of wills with his own creator.
Lord of the Silent Death
Robert Moore Williams
An ancient metal box from a Sumerian tomb unleashes a silent, devastating weapon of unimaginable power in the heart of Chicago.
The sting
William Le Queux
A web of aristocratic blackmail, hidden crypts, and sudden murder shatters the peace of an English country estate, drawing a shrewd old lawyer and a psycho-analyst into a desperate quest for truth.
Nick Carter Stories No. 141, May 22, 1915: The duplicate night
Nicholas (House name) Carter
Amid a glittering New York society ball, a titled young Englishman vanishes, drawing a master detective into a labyrinth of impersonation and betrayal.
Secret of the Earth Star
Henry Kuttner
A priceless jewel stolen in an Indian palace pulls three brothers into an ancient, terrifying underworld beneath the Sahara.
Stroke of Genius
Randall Garrett
BEHIND AN IMPASSIVE FACE AND A HEAVY MUSTACHE, A METHODICAL INDUSTRIAL PLANNER PLOTS THE FLAWLESS MURDER OF HIS SUPERIOR TO SECURE A LIFETIME OF PERMANENT POWER.
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.
Asteroid H277—Plus
Harry Walton
A petty officer commits mutiny and mass murder for a stash of rare space metal, only to be undone by his own ignorance of stellar physics.
Josie O'Gorman and the Meddlesome Major
Emma Speed Sampson
Posing as an unassuming sales clerk, a sharp-witted young detective sets out to outsmart a pompous store sleuth and unmask a disguised thief.
Stellar Showboat
Malcolm Jameson
When an interplanetary theater troupe arrives on a quiet asteroid, a disguised special investigator uncovers a sinister blackmail ring using high-tech stagecraft and memory-draining hypnosis to plunder the system's elite.
The Cry at Midnight
Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
A late-night ski run near a spooky old monastery leads a courageous teenage reporter into a web of counterfeit piety, hidden rooms, and a high-stakes hunt for a stolen star sapphire.
The Third Little Green Man
Damon Knight
Stranded on a miserable, sulfurous Venus, a hard-drinking mechanic finds his grip on reality tested when a succession of fourteen-inch green men pay him unexpected visits.
Dick Kent on Special Duty
M. M. (Milo Milton) Oblinger
A young man’s obsession with a hidden treasure triggers a deadly pursuit across the Canadian wilderness. Three friends must unravel a web of deceit to bring a ruthless murderer to justice.
Mr. Justice Maxell
Edgar Wallace
A high-stakes game of shadows unfolds as a principled judge faces his past, while a clever young drifter navigates the thin line between crime and fortune.
Nick Carter Stories No. 137, April 24, 1915: The Seal of Gijon
Nicholas (House name) Carter
A master detective must navigate the treacherous marshes of New Jersey and the schemes of international conspirators to rescue his kidnapped assistant and a displaced prince.
Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 26, September 24, 1870
Various
This nineteenth-century satirical weekly captures the frantic, biting energy of post-Civil War New York with a mix of sharp political commentary and absurd, performative wit.
The master criminal
G. Sidney Paternoster
This story explores the moral disintegration of a man who turns to a life of crime as a calculated act of revenge against a hypocritical society. It remains a compelling study of how bitterness, once nurtured, can consume both the culprit and those he seeks to corrupt.
Charred Wood
Francis Clement Kelley
This drama explores the hidden depths of a man who has traded worldly authority for a quiet life in a small coastal town. It is a contemplative study of reputation, secret loyalties, and the cost of integrity.
Dorcas Dene, detective
George R. (George Robert) Sims
A former actress discovers her true calling as a brilliant private investigator, navigating the shadows of Victorian London to solve cases that baffle the police and restore justice to the innocent.
The Answer
Emil Petaja
This psychological fantasy short story explores the obsessive nature of grief and guilt, following a man caught in a recurring, nightmare-like loop of violence and unanswered questions.
The Desert Moon mystery
Kay Cleaver Strahan
A peaceful Nevada ranch descends into a nightmare of paranoia and violence when an unexpected reunion triggers a series of brutal, interconnected murders.
The Detective's Clew
O. S. Adams
HOOK A young man is wrongly accused of murdering his uncle, forcing his cousin and a clever detective to infiltrate a smuggling ring to uncover the true culprit.
The Mansion of Mystery: Being a Certain Case of Importance, Taken from the Note-book of Adam Adams, Investigator and Detective
Chester K. Steele
A frantic young man races to a master detective to save his accused fiancée from the shadow of a double murder.
The passionate pitchman
Stephen Marlowe
A mediocre salesman gains the impossible power to teleport, only to find himself trapped in a high-stakes criminal enterprise where his only way out is to sell his way to redemption.