The Solitary Farm

      Fergus Hume
     The Solitary Farm

Fergusson Wright Hume, known as Fergus Hume (8 July 1859 – 12 July 1932) was a prolific English novelist. Finding that the novels of Émile Gaboriau were then very popular in Melbourne, he obtained and read a set of them and determined to write a novel of a similar kind. The result was the self-published novel The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886), which became a great success. Hume based his descriptions of poor urban life on his knowledge of Little Bourke Street. He sold the English and United States rights to the novel for 50 pounds, and thus derived little benefit from its success. It eventually became the best selling mystery novel of the Victorian era, author John Sutherland terming it the "most sensationally popular crime and detective novel of the century". This novel inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write A Study in Scarlet, which introduced the character Sherlock Holmes. Doyle remarked, "Hansom Cab was a slight tale, mostly sold by 'puffing'." After the success of his first novel and the publication of another, Professor Brankel's Secret (c.1886), Hume returned to England in 1888. He resided in London for few years and then he moved to the Essex countryside where he lived in Thundersley for 30 years, eventually producing more than 100 novels and short stories. He continued to be anxious for success as a dramatist, and at one time Henry Irving was favourably considering one of his plays, but he died before it could be produced.

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    The Divorce Club

      Jayde Scott
     The Divorce Club

Out of Print A bitter divorce from a two-timing husband leaves Sarah with no money to fend for her daughter, but she won't be beaten, so she opens The Divorce Club, a meeting place for women who want to divorce their cheating husbands, but don't know how. Soon things start to go seriously wrong. A fake client and her rising interest in him isn't Sarah's only worry; there's also the moody teenager, a stalker, and the club's personalized battle plans that start to involve more than flashing a confident smile and running a 24/7 hotline. When Sarah's ex-husband moves in without her permission in the hope to patch things up, chaos seems complete. Full-length novel. Approx. 360pp

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    Lady Killer

      Lisa Scottoline
     Lady Killer

Mary DiNunzio is a trademark Lisa Scottoline heroine—she's strong, she's smart, and she's got plenty of attitude. In recent years, she's become a big-time business-getter at Rosato & Associates, but the last person she expects to walk into her office one morning—in mile-high stilettos—is super sexy Trish Gambone, her high school rival. Back then, while Mary was becoming the straight-A president of the Latin Club and Most Likely to Achieve Sainthood, Trish was the head Mean Girl, who flunked religion and excelled at smoking in the bathroom. As it turns out, however, Trish's life has taken a horrifying turn. She's terrified of her live-in boyfriend, who's an abusive, gun-toting drug dealer for the South Philly mob. There's only one problem—Mary remembers the guy from high school too. Unbeknownst to Trish, Mary had a major crush on him. Then Trish vanishes, a dead body turns up in an alley, and Mary is plunged into a nightmare, one that threatens her job, her family, and even her life. She goes on a one-woman crusade to unmask the killer, and on the way, finds new love in a very unexpected place. But before the novel's shocking surprise ending, Mary is forced to confront some very uncomfortable truths about her own past, and the profound effects of lifelong love—and hate.

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  • 280

    The Garret and the Garden; Or, Low Life High Up

      R. M. Ballantyne
     The Garret and the Garden; Or, Low Life High Up

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

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  • 279

    Flying the Coast Skyways; Or, Jack Ralston's Swift Patrol

      Ambrose Newcomb
     Flying the Coast Skyways; Or, Jack Ralston's Swift Patrol

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. 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 the original work.

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  • 279

    The Stuffed Bear Mystery

      Gertrude Chandler Warner
     The Stuffed Bear Mystery

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live alone in a boxcar. Now they have a home with their grandfather, and they’re going to a teddy bear jamboree! When the Aldens visit Peggy and Doc Firmin’s sheep farm, they’re in for a teddy treats: a behind-the-scenes look at a real teddy bear workshop! Soon, the children are learning everything there is to know about teddy bears. From patching up old bears in the toy hospital to marching in the big bear parade, this vacation is stuffed full of bears! But the Aldens soon encounter an unbearable mystery: a very rare and valuable bear has disappeared from the toy hospital. Now its up to the children to track down the teddy thief!

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  • 279

    The Professor's Assassin

      Matthew Pearl
     The Professor's Assassin

Matthew Pearl’s upcoming novel, The Technologists, is a stunning historical thriller based on the early days of America’s great institution of learning, MIT—and a depraved killer teaching Boston to fear its own shadow. In this original eBook short story, Pearl delves further into the turbulent world of nineteenth-century academia to re-create a shocking, real-life, and all-but-forgotten crime. William Barton Rogers will one day become MIT’s founder and president. But in 1840 he is still a science professor at the University of Virginia. A tall and commanding intellectual, he epitomizes the strong and liberal ways of “Mr. Jefferson’s University,” a controversial experiment in progressive thought and laissez-faire governance. Then a startling event rocks the school to its foundation. Riots led by masked “volunteers” have begun roiling the campus, exploiting its attitude toward discipline. When one of his colleagues is brutally slain during the unrest, Rogers must become a man of both words and deeds to capture the killer—and keep an essential institution from collapsing around him. Includes a preview of Matthew Pearl’s forthcoming novel, The Technologists, which Joseph Finder calls “the best yet from a true master of the historical thriller.”

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  • 279

    The Crimson Blind

      Fred M. White
     The Crimson Blind

Frederick Merrick White (1859-1935) wrote a number of novels and short stories under the name "Fred M. White" including the six 'Doom of London' science-fiction stories, in which various catastrophes beset London. These include The Four Days' Night (1903), in which London is beset by a massive killer smog; The Dust of Death (1903), in which diphtheria infects the city, spreading from refuse tips and sewers; and The Four White Days (1903), in which a sudden and deep winter paralyses the city under snow and ice. These six stories all first appeared in Pearson's Magazine, and were illustrated by Warwick Goble.

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  • 278

    The Mysterious Mr. Miller

      William Le Queux
     The Mysterious Mr. Miller

“Why! Look! he’s dead, doctor!” I gasped, standing aghast. The sudden change in the thin sallow face, the lack of expression in the brilliant eyes, and the dropping of the jaw were sufficient to convince me that the stranger’s life had ebbed away. The doctor bent, placed his hand upon the prostrate man’s breast for a moment, and then, straightening himself, he turned to me and answered gravely:— “Yes, Godfrey; it is as I feared from the first. Nothing could save him. Remember what I told you this morning—it was simply a matter of hours.”

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  • 278

    Hot Pursuit

      Carolyn Keene
     Hot Pursuit

While vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Nancy, Bess, and George learn that one of the hottest rock groups around is filming a music video at their resort. But something sinister is brewing beneath the palm trees, turning the island retreat into a danger zone.

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  • 278

    Fatal Ransom

      Carolyn Keene
     Fatal Ransom

Teenage heir Hal Colson has been kidnapped, and Nancy knows it will take $475,000 to get him back. Lance Colson, Hal’s handsome uncle and guardian, is convinced that the punk rockers Hal hangs out with are responsible. Nancy gets nervous when she and George are caught casing one of the punk rockers and taken to their hideout—especially when one pulls a gun. But are the punk rockers to blame?

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  • 278

    The Ruined Map

      Kōbō Abe
     The Ruined Map

Of all the great Japanese novelists, Kobe Abe was indubitably the most versatile. With The Ruined Map, he crafted a mesmerizing literary crime novel that combines the narrative suspense of Chandler with the psychological depth of Dostoevsky. Mr. Nemuro, a respected salesman, disappeared over half a year ago, but only now does his alluring yet alcoholic wife hire a private eye. The nameless detective has but two clues: a photo and a matchbook. With these he embarks upon an ever more puzzling pursuit that leads him into the depths of Tokyo's dangerous underworld, where he begins to lose the boundaries of his own identity. Surreal, fast-paced, and hauntingly dreamlike, Abe’s masterly novel delves into the unknowable mysteries of the human mind. Translated from the Japanese by E. Dale Saunders. From the Trade Paperback edition.

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  • 278

    Listening for Lucca

      Suzanne LaFleur
     Listening for Lucca

"I'm obsessed with abandoned things." Siena's obsession began a year and a half ago, around the time her two-year-old brother Lucca stopped talking. Now Mom and Dad are moving the family from Brooklyn to Maine hoping that it will mean a  whole new start for Lucca and Siena. She soon realizes that their wonderful old house on the beach holds secrets. When Siena writes in her diary with an old pen she found in her closet, the pen writes its own story, of Sarah and Joshua, a brother and sister who lived in the same house during World War II. As the two stories unfold, amazing parallels begin to appear, and Siena senses that Sarah and Joshua's story might contain the key to unlocking Lucca's voice.

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