The Flying Death

by Samuel Hopkins Adams

The Flying Death by Samuel Hopkins Adams is a thrilling mystery novel that follows the investigation of a series of mysterious deaths in a small town in New England. The deaths are all linked to a strange and deadly disease that seems to be spreading rapidly through the community. As the death toll rises, a young doctor named Jim Shedd becomes determined to find the cause of the disease and put a stop to it before it claims any more lives.With the help of a local nurse named Louise Armstrong, Shedd begins to uncover a web of deceit and corruption that seems to be at the heart of the outbreak. As they delve deeper into the mystery, they discover that the disease may be linked to a sinister plot to control the town's water supply and that the people behind it will stop at nothing to keep their secret safe.As Shedd and Armstrong race against time to unravel the mystery and stop the spread of the disease, they find themselves facing danger at every turn. With its gripping plot, vivid characters, and suspenseful twists and turns, The Flying Death is a classic mystery novel that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very end.1908. American author, Adams was a reporter for the New York Sun, who at the urging of his friend Ray Stannard Baker, joined McClure's Magazine, where he gained a reputation as a muckraker for his articles on the conditions of public health in the United States. Adams also wrote a series of articles for Collier's Weekly, in which he exposed patent medicines; these pieces were credited with influencing the passage of the first Pure Food and Drugs Act. A prolific writer, Adams produced both fiction and nonfiction. His best-known novel, Revelry, was based on the scandals of the Harding administration. The Flying Death Stanley Richard Colton, M.D., heaved his powerful form to and fro in his bed and cursed the day he had come to Montauk Point, which chanced to be the day just ended. All the world had been open to him, and his father's yacht to bear him to whatsoever corner thereof he might elect, in search of that which, once forfeited, no mere millions may buy back, the knack of peaceful sleep. But his wise old family physician had prescribed the tip-end of Long Island. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Genres: Horror

Paperback

First published January 1, 1908

About the author

From the book jacket of "Sunrise to Sunset", (c) 1950
At seventy-nine Samuel Hopkins Adams attributes his longevity, vigor and vim to neither smoking nor drinking, except when he feels like it. This is typical of the intelligent attitude toward the vagaries of life that has maintained him through the years in which he has authored more than forty books, written countless magazine articles and, as a crusading reporter, almost single-handedly accounted for the passage of the Federal Food and Drug laws which pave protected millions of his fellow citizens.

Mr. Adams' amazing knowledge of the history of upper New York State is the result of his lifelong interest in the region in which he was born. His home is Wide Waters, on the shore of Owasco, "loveliest of the Finger Lakes." From Wide Waters he still makes forways into the surrounding countryside, attending antique-auction sales "for the purpose of sneering at the prevalent junk," which he says he wouldn't put in his open hearth Franklin stove for fear of insulting it.

A graduate of Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, class of 1891, Mr. Adams introduced football to the campus, played tackle on its first team, and won the Intercollegiate Tennis Championship. For these contributions to scholarship, his college conferred on him the degree of L.H.D. in 1926.

Adams also wrote under the pseudonym Warner Fabian.

Reviews

[Anjan Das · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average

[Perry Whitford]

- Dick Colton, a crusading doctor taking some time off by the sea to recharge his batteries, gets involved in a mysterious series of murders featuring lacerating sounds in the back and strange footprints on the sand next to the victims
- the culprit is either a knife-throwing Portuguese juggler or a pteranodon. Well, why not?
- an investigative journalist and a professor, his beautiful daughter and a local lovely with the second sight.
- all very silly, but not without a certain slipshod charm. Occasional passage of sophomoric purple prose, or lilac lyricism, e.g.

'From out the flickering
circle of light an angel came to meet him. She
seemed a thing born of the wedding of radiance
and shadows. The whiteness of her face, rich-hued
where the blood flushed the cheek, was enhanced
by the dusky masses of her hair. Her lips were
parted, and her rounded chest rose and fell palpably
with her swift breathing. Her eyes, deep, velvety
with the soft glamour of questing womanhood in
their liquid depths, looked straight into his.'

[Bill Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing about this book is frustrating because the ideal reader would be someone who knows absolutely nothing about the book, due to the sheer surprise of one of its plot elements. Contrasting to that is the likelihood that most readers ignorant of the surprising plot element would never get past the first chapter.

A fairly creaky tale of mystery, romance, and murder in Montauk, but the melodrama is tempered by the suspicion that the terrible occurrences may be the work of . . . a pterodactyl! This book was apparently considered for filming in 1925 but was beaten out by The Lost World. A pity because it would have made a terrific silent feature.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is a murderer plaguing the off-season guests and inhabitants of small sea-side community on Long Island in 1902. But, that's not the whole story, because people are also being stalked and killed by a strange, nocturnal bird-like creature. the creature turns out to be a pre-historic dinosaur that somehow lived through the ages only to be assassinated by our heroes. Does this premise remind anyone of anything? Well, I didn't read or see Jurassic Park, but it may very well be better than "The Flying Death." There's also a really crappy romantic element here, in which the main character and his brother each fall in love with one of a pair of best friends, one of whom is alluring and blond, the other alluring and dark. Practically everyone who doesn't die that weekend, end up engaged to one another. Puke! Yet, I read the entire thing and even found some pithy, clever lines to underline.