Fans of British Mysteries are in for a treat with Volume 4 of British Mystery Megapacks.
Our biggest selection yet! Fourteen mystery classics from maestros of mystery Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Sax Rohmer, Kate Chopin and A. E. W. Mason plus 21 audio books. 35 BOOKS TOTAL!
THE SECRET ADVERSARY by Agatha Christie
Jobless and penniless, Thomas Beresford and Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley place an ad in the paper marketing themselves as adventurers, leading to an encounter that starts their career as spies for an unnamed British intelligence agency.
TALES OF CHINATOWN by Sax Rohmer
All ten stories are presented here:
THE DAUGHTER OF HUANG CHOW KERRY’S KID THE PIGTAIL OF HI WING HO THE HOUSE OF GOLDEN JOSS MAN WITH THE SHAVEN SKULL THE WHITE HAT TCHERIAPIN THE DANCE OF THE VEILS THE HAND OF THE MANDARIN QUONG THE KEY OF THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
AT THE VILLA ROSE by A. E. W. Mason
A heinous crime has been committed at the Villa Rose in Aix-les-Bains, France. A wealthy woman has been savagely murdered and the young Englishwoman who was her companion has disappeared. Authorities suspect that the Englishwoman played a role in the crime, but her fiancé, Harry Wethermill, is unconvinced and hires a private French detective in an attempt to prove her innocence.
From the author of The Four Feathers.
“A real page turner - One of the best 'fair play' detective novels of all time.”
AN EGYPTIAN CIGARETTE by Kate Chopin
This short but haunting short story is included as a divertissement. It is a superb example of fin de siecle despair and a favorite of mystery anthologies.
A STUDY IN SCARLET by Arthur Conan Doyle
The first Sherlock Holmes story!
Dr. Watson, a military surgeon lately returned from the Afghan War, needs a flat-mate and a diversion. Holmes needs a foil. And thus a great collaboration begins. Watson and Holmes move to a now-famous address, 221B Baker Street, where Watson is introduced to Holmes's eccentricities as well as his ability to deduce information about his fellow beings. Somewhat shaken by Holmes's egotism, Watson is nonetheless dazzled by his seemingly magical recall skills. Then murder. Facing a deserted house, a twisted corpse with no wounds, a mysterious phrase drawn in blood on the wall, and the buffoons of Scotland Yard--Lestrade and Gregson--Holmes measures, observes, picks up a pinch of this and a pinch of that, and generally baffles his faithful Watson. Later, Holmes explains: "In solving a problem of this sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason backward.... There are few people who, if you told them a result, would be able to evolve from their own inner consciousness what the steps were which led up to that result." Holmes is in that elite group.
AUDIO BOOKS
Also included are links to free full-length audio recordings of the following 21 mystery classics:
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Borough Treasurer by J. S. Fletcher I Say No by Wilkie Collins The Mystery of Mary by Grace Livingston Hill The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Bishop’s Secret by Fergus Hume The Bronze Hand by Anna Katharine Green
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
These stories have fascinating plotting but are burdened by old fashioned attitudes and prejudices. Good Victorian and Edwardian examples of the genre.
This was a wonderful book with stories from some of Britain's most talented Mystery writers of the past. I have seen movies or programs developed from the works of these authors but this was my first real reading. My favorites were Agatha Christie, A.E.W. Mason and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I found there books very easy to read and exciting. I had a few problems with the works of Sak Rohner and Kate Chopin. The Tales of Chinatown by Sak Rohner were very hard for me to get into although I do remember seeing old movies that were made from his books. This is a great set to introduce the reader to the greats!