Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Crime Fiction

"I have two proposals to make, sir, and either is fair. Take your choice. I will give you twenty-five thousand when you deliver the falcon, and another twenty-five thousand as soon as I get to New York; or I will give you one quarter—twenty-five percent—of what I realize on the falcon. There you are, sir: an almost immediate fifty thousand dollars or a vastly greater sum within, say, a couple of months."

Running away from an abusive stepmother, a little girl scrambles across London rooftops, a favorite hiding place. She peers through a window and sees a man apparently burglarizing a studio, but quickly realizes that she has witnessed the aftermath of a murder when the man puts a gun in the hand of a body on the floor. When she cries out he glimpses her and she escapes in terror. Very soon after, she is sent to live with her deceased mother’s aristocratic family and her secret is kept from the police.

According to legend, in 1910, Marie Belloc Lowndes attended a London dinner party where a guest told her that his mother’s butler and cook claimed they had once rented rooms to Jack the Ripper, the notorious mass murderer. The idea for “The Lodger” was born. Mr. and Mrs. Bunting have sunk their savings into their house with plans to let rooms. But no lodgers have materialized, and they are on the verge of penury when, one foggy night, a knock on the door brings Mr. Sleuth, an unassuming gentleman whose needs are perfectly suited to the suite of rooms the Buntings have to rent.

Dr. Strangeways meets the only woman he has ever really cared for, the hermit-like yet mysterious Angelina Frood, a striking young actress stalked by many demons. Tragedy strikes and the good doctor will do anything to solve the mystery. Following a chance encounter, he begins a correspondence with the famous Dr. Thorndyke, hoping that the medico-legal hybrid, a metaphorical centaur or merman, with a doctor's head and a lawyer's tail, can solve the case.

Dive into Marco Polo, a heart-pounding psychological thriller set in 1940s Pittsburgh, where shadows whisper secrets and heroes skirmish with personal demons. Follow Captain Wendell Lee, a dashing African American war hero turned attorney, as he battles alcoholism and the damage caused to his family and his life while racing against time to rescue his kidnapped daughter. With hard-drinking private investigator Declan “Dekker” O’Shea by his side, they face the chilling underbelly of a city entangled in racism, addiction, pedophilia, suicide, murder, and shocking betrayals.

Bound by the Mafia’s code of honor, loyalty, and silence, Maria Lombardo has always dreamed of another life. But when her father dies, she must take over from him as head of the Lombardo clan, the most powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia, La Cosa Nostra. On the other side of Palermo, the Amato family’s growing lust for power presents a dangerous problem. Maria is forced to take action that goes against every fiber of her being, or she will lose the respect of her clan. Falling for Simone complicates an already complex situation.

Escaping the mafia should have been simple. A new life with a new identity in a new location. But that plan was conceived long before Simone captured Maria’s heart. Maria’s love for Simone changes everything. When Maria receives devastating news that sends her world into turmoil, she must overcome her demons and face her toughest adversary to date.

Abraham Snow is back in action and this one starts off with a bang. It started out as a routine security job. Then, a blast from the past walked out of the shadows. When Thomas Hunt, an old friend from his Army days asks for his help in stopping a bomber from attacking a conference, Snow finds himself caught between an obligation to family, duty, and country. Which will he choose? And who is Charles Pope and what does he have planned for everyone’s favorite former undercover operative turned p.i.? The hunt is on in SNOW HUNT.

First published in 1926, The Benson Murder Case relates the murder of a wily womanizer found shot dead in his home, and behind locked doors. Amateur Detective Philo Vance makes his first appearance in this work and assists the New York District Attorney in tracking down the murderer.

Deception, mystery, romance, inheritance—this novel has it all! Written by Anna Katharine Green and published in 1923, it is one of her best. Wealthy Edgar Quenton Bartholomew has a beautiful daughter, a great estate, and vast business holdings. It is his final wish that the man who marries his daughter will inherit it all. When he dies it is thought to be of natural causes until a young woman viewing the casket cries out that he appears to be poisoned ... and the investigation begins! Where is his final will? Who poisoned him?

Trouble finds Abraham Snow, even when he’s not looking for it. When the granddaughter of a Baltic state's president needs a heart transplant, they travel to the United States under tight security. When the child becomes the plot of a terrorist’s revenge, Snow must race against time and an old enemy to save her life. Later, at a secluded mountain resort, cut off from civilization, someone is targeting one of Snow Security’s high-value clients. During a clandestine summit consisting of some of the most powerful businessmen and women in the world, can Snow stop the assassin in time?

As Christmas approaches, Mr. Percival Bland finds his criminal enterprises unraveling. Fortunately, though, his plan of escape requires little beyond a set of human bones and a quantity of shin of beef. But will his scheme deceive the great forensic investigator Dr. John Thorndyke?

Reeling from a terrible loss, Abraham Snow has no time to grieve as he finds himself the target of an old enemy. Unarmed, outgunned, cold, and outnumbered, Snow fights for survival in the middle of nowhere and there’s a cold snap closing in. It’s a fight for survival in a winter mountain wonderland where he comes face to face with his greatest foe for one last confrontation.

Short stories! Big action! Declassified at last! Snow Shorts delve into the adventures of Abraham Snow, his family, and his friends in short, bite-sized action/thriller tales. Volume 1 contains stories featuring Abraham Snow, Big John Salmon, and we’re introduced to Mama Snow herself in what was Laura Snow’s first appearance in print.

The classic horror story of dual personalities gone too far, this full-cast narration explores the attempts of Utterson, a London lawyer, to investigate the strange occurrences surrounding his friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the shocking discoveries he makes along the way. The impact of this story has been so strong that "Jekyll and Hyde" has become part of our vernacular, referring to those who are outwardly good but inwardly evil.

Before she joined the Indestructibles, Kate Miller haunted the streets of her hometown, a hero trying to drive away the ghosts of her own losses and failures. Masked and alone against the dark elements of her city, Kate became known as the Dancer, the ballerina vigilante, fighting street-level crime and trying to make the world a better place, one fight at a time. But when an early mistake leads her back to her roots, will Kate have the strength to fight on?

Stevenson's brilliantly macabre yet profound story of a man seemingly trapped in evil.

Tal Howard is trying to adjust to life after being held prisoner by the Chinese during the Korean War. During his time in camp, he befriended a dying soldier who confessed a secret about a small fortune he had stolen from his brother and hidden somewhere in his hometown. After repatriation, Tal finds it hard to settle down in his old life. He decides to visit the dying prisoner's hometown and retrieve the money, which he hopes will change his life for the better.

The dark strains of madness that permeate many of the works of Edgar Allan Poe make their way through this macabre story. This memorable short story bears a resemblance to Poe's Tell Tale Heart. In both stories guilt leaves a murderer with a singular choice.

William Hope Hodgson wrote "The Terror of the Water-Tank" in 1907 and the story has been published in several pulp magazines since then. Mike Vendetti has taken this story and turned it into an engrossing audiobook. The story takes place in England where crowning the heights on the outskirts of a certain town on the east coast is a large, iron water-tank from which an isolated row of small villas obtains its supply. The top of this tank has been cemented, and around it have been placed railings, thus making it a splendid "look-out" for townspeople who may choose to promenade upon it.