J S Fletcher: 108 books

Fun quick read of old-fashioned coming of age adventure with plenty of action, villains, high seas and Sir Francis Drake thrown in with Spanish Inquisition also in the mix. (Goodreads)

"Queer " he repeated as he marched up and down. "Perhaps he's not --" The quiet opening of a door close by made him lift his eyes from the carpet. In the dim light he saw a man looking out upon him -- a man of an unusually thick crop of hair and with a huge beard. He stared at...

An elderly sailor is found murdered. When authorities attempt to contact his brother to inform him of the bad news, they discover a shocking coincidence: he too had met his end -- the victim of foul play -- the very same night. Is there a connection between the two deaths? An intrepid detective tries his best to crack the case.

When the manager of a small bank in the English village of Scarnham failed to appear to open the bank on a Monday morning, it was assumed to be a matter of a missed train. But when the bank’s owners reported missing securities and Lady Ellersdeane’s jewels - worth a hundred thousand pounds - can’t...

At seven of the clock I turned away from the window, where, for a full hour, I had stood flattening my nose against the pane in a vain attempt to see something of interest in the dripping garden or the dank meadows outside. Sir Nicholas moved in his deep chair by the fire and then groaned, his old...

About eleven o'clock on the night of Monday, May 12, 1914, Marshall Allerdyke, a bachelor of forty, a man of great mental and physical activity, well known in Bradford as a highly successful manufacturer of dress goods, alighted at the Central Station in that city from an express which had just arrived...

London 1912: Der junge Journalist Frank Spargo kommt zufällig dazu, als die Polizei ausgerechnet im Anwaltsviertel Middle Temple die Leiche eines Mannes findet. Es gibt keinerlei Hinweise auf die Identität des Toten. Die Adresse eines frisch gebackenen Anwalts ist das Einzige, das die Polizei bei...

Excerpt: "Look here! Rothwell said. You'd better go and make inquiry at Northborough. See if you can track him. Something must be wrong -- perhaps seriously wrong. You don't quite understand, do you, Mr. Copplestone? he went on, giving the younger man a sharp glance. You see, we know Mr. Oliver...

“Another gripping novel from Classic Detective Presents”… When an elderly pawnbroker is murdered in the London parish of Paddington, a young, down on his luck writer is accused of the crime. But then it's found the pawnbroker had had in his possession an extraordinary South African diamond...

It takes place in northern England. Oliver Bassett, an acter and director of a theater company is missing. A young author Mr. Copplestone, who has come to meet with Bassett and the business manager start out to find him. They track him to Scarhaven, where Copplestone meets Audrey Greyle, the cousin...

Excerpt: "Half-way along the one straggling street of Savilestowe a narrow lane suddenly opened out between the cottages and turned abruptly towards the uplands which rose on the northern edge of the village. Its first course lay between high grey walls, overhung with ivy and snapdragon. When...

A Russian princess, a mysterious Norwegian doctor, nefarious German chemist, a disappearing Parisian maid, generous American millionaire, a smart secretary with a secret, a cache of fabulous jewels, secret poisons, multiple murders, Opera singers, lost diamond buckles - the lot. The author did not leave out a single piece of the 'thriller formula'. (Goodreads)