The Legendary Detectives

There are hours of e-reading pleasure in The Legendary Detectives: 9 Classic Novelettes Starring the World's Greatest Super-Sleuths. You'll find gathered together a clutch of classic mysteries starring nine of the world's most famous fictional sleuths: The Thinking Machine, the Old Man in the Corner, Max Carrados, Morris Klaw, Sanders of the River, Reggie Fortune, Father Brown, Craig Kennedy, and, of course, the greatest and most famous of them all – Sherlock Holmes. Max Carrados, hailed as the first and best blind detective, investigates an apparent haunting in "The Ghost at Messingham Mansions." The Thinking Machine (Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, Ph.D., LL.D., F. R. S., M.D.), protagonist of the most anthologized mystery story of all time, "The Problem of Cell 13," here tackles the murder of a maid, which has unexpected repercussions in "The Scarlet Thread." The Old Man in the Corner, who solves the most baffling mysteries without ever leaving his comfortable chair in the corner of his local tea shop, finds even his wits challenged by "The Fenchurch Street Mystery." That seemingly innocuous cleric, Father Brown, whose fame is second only to that of the wizard of Baker Street himself, is on the spot when murder strikes a sinister cult in, "The Eye of Apollo." Craig Kennedy, scientific detective, is asked to take charge when devilish doings in a crypt suggest there is more to a heart attack than first met the eye, in "The Ghouls." Then Moris Klaw, who visits the scene of a crime, absorbs the clues and atmosphere, then literally sleeps on the matter (a sound psychological technique, according to contemporary researchers), investigates the case of a statue that disappeared in full sight of witnesses, in "The Ivory Statue." Mr. Commissioner Sanders (AKA Sanders of the River), appointed to administer justice for the British crown during South Africa's colonial years, finds himself challenged by both murder and race prejudice in "The Magic of Fear." Sherlock Holmes himself narrates the solving of a baffling crime himself in "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane." Finally, aristocratic sleuth Reggie Fortune unravels the mysterious doings at an ancient burial mound, in "The Long Barrow." The authors represented are equally legendary for their contributions to detective history: Edgar Wallace, Baroness Orczy, Jacques Futrelle, Arthur B. Reeve, Sax Rohmer, G. K. Chesterton, H. C. Bailey, Ernest Bramah, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Once the top-selling detective characters of mystery's Golden Age, the adventures of these legendary detectives have for the most part sadly lapsed out of print – yet, their names still echo as legends among mystery fans! This exclusive e-book anthology edited by Jean Marie Stine and J. L. "Frankie" Hill brings a sampler of their adventures back into print for modern mystery readers. [Cover design: J. L "Frankie" Hill]