Freeman Wills Crofts
1) The Cask
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A strange container is found on the London docks, and its contents point to murder
The cask from Paris is bigger than the rest, its sides reinforced to hold the extraordinary weight within. As the longshoremen are bringing it onto the London docks, the cask slips, cracks, and spills some of its treasure: a wealth of gold sovereigns. As the workmen cram the spilled gold into their pockets, an official digs through the opened box, which...
The cask from Paris is bigger than the rest, its sides reinforced to hold the extraordinary weight within. As the longshoremen are bringing it onto the London docks, the cask slips, cracks, and spills some of its treasure: a wealth of gold sovereigns. As the workmen cram the spilled gold into their pockets, an official digs through the opened box, which...
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From the Collins Crime Club archive, the third standalone novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers'. Seymour Merriman's holiday in France comes to an abrupt halt when his motorcycle starts leaking petrol. Following a lorry to find fuel, he discovers that it belongs to an English company making timber pit-props for coal mines back home. His suspicions of illegal activity are aroused when he sees the exact same lorry...
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Considered one of Freeman Wills Crofts best works, Inspector French's Greatest Case was first published in 1925. It was selected by Howard Haycraft to be one of the works included in the ultimate mystery list: The Haycraft-Queen Definitive Library of Detective-Crime-Mystery Fiction, Two Centuries of Cornerstones 1748-1948. Unlike other mystery writers who have made the police appear to be incompetent, Crofts has given us the brilliant Inspector French,...
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Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder
"Not only is this a first-rate puzzler, but Crofts' outrage over the financial firm's betrayal of the public trust should resonate with today's readers." —Booklist STARRED review
The Chichester is making a routine journey across the English Channel on a pleasant afternoon in June, when the steamer's crew notice something strange. A yacht, bobbing
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When a dead body is found at sea, the case can only be solved by the astute Inspector French, and his most discerning readers, in this Golden Age mystery.
A mysterious shipping crate is hauled ashore off the coast of Burry Port in South Wales by two fishermen, who find a brutally murdered, decaying corpse inside. Stumped by the lack of clues, the local police call in Inspector French of Scotland Yard, one of the Criminal Investigation Department's...
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From the Collins Crime Club archive, the forgotten second novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers' and recognised as one of the 'big four' Golden Age crime authors.
When the body of Sir William Ponson is found in the Cranshaw River near his home of Luce Manor, it is assumed to be an accident - until the evidence points to murder. Inspector Tanner of Scotland Yard discovers that those who would benefit most...
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A classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television. Moneylender Albert Reeve has added blackmail to his activities. When his cottage burns down and he perishes within the flames, his death comes as a shock to one of his victims and Tony Meadows finds himself accused of murder. Luckily for him, his sister remembers Inspector French and asks him to help. French...
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In a country hotel Maxwell Cheyne sits down to lunch with the pleasant stranger he has just met. Then, as the meal ends, he sinks into a drugged sleep and, on waking, learns that his house has been burgled (though nothing is missing)... This is only the first of his encounters with a gang of very persistent criminals. But what are they after? It falls to Inspector French of Scotland Yard to expose their desperate and unguessable conspiracy.
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A classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television. When Morrison first heard of old Stott's idea to purchase an ocean liner and run her as a tourist ship in sheltered waters off the British Isles, he was most enthusiastic. In fact, he accepted a job on board. But when he discovered the true purpose of Stott's floating paradise, Morrison's delight turned to foreboding....
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The lonely old house in Starvel Hollow stands as usual one evening. The next morning it is a heap of smouldering ruins. When the almost cremated remains of its three inmates are discovered an inquest is held and a verdict of accidental death arrived at. However, some weeks later an incident occurs which arouses suspicion in a bank manager and Inspector French is called in.
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The Puzzle of the Purple Sickle The suicide of a sales clerk at the box office of a London cinema leaves another girl in fear for her life. Persuaded to seek help from Scotland Yard, Miss Darke confides in Inspector Joseph French about a gambling scam by a mysterious trio of crooks and that she believes her friend was murdered. When the girl fails to turn up the next day, and the police later find her body, French's inquiries reveal that similar girls...
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We begin with a body. Andrew Crowther, a wealthy retired manufacturer, is found dead in his seat on the 12.30 flight from Croydon to Paris. Rather less orthodox is the ensuing flashback in which we live with the killer at every stage, from the first thoughts of murder to the strains and stresses of living with its execution. Seen from the criminal's perspective, a mild-mannered Inspector by the name of French is simply another character who needs...
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From the Collins Crime Club archive, the sixth Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers'. A MURDER MYSTERY WITHOUT A CLUE. When Sir John Magill, the wealthy Irish industrialist, fails to show up at his home town on a well-publicised visit, neither his family nor the Belfast police can explain his disappearance. Foul play is suspected when his bloodstained hat is discovered, and Scotland Yard...
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The Sea Mystery is a 1928 detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the fourth in a series of novels featuring Inspector French of Scotland Yard. As with a number of his works Crofts creates a puzzling mystery which French is then able to solve using a Tide table and Bradshaw's Guide to the railways.
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This special expanded edition of Freeman Wills Crofts' classic crime novel includes a unique commentary by Superintendent Walter Hambrook of Scotland Yard, never before published in book form. The Carrington family, victims of a strange poisoning, take an Olympic cruise from Glasgow to help them recover. At Creuta one member goes ashore and does not return. Their body is next day found floating in the Straits of Gibraltar. Joining the ship at Marseilles,...
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A classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television. Julia Elton, mistress of Chalfont, is the dutiful wife of a man she does not love. Frank Cox is the man she falls in love with. Julia's husband, Richard, suspects her of an affair and has also dismissed an employee for theft. When a murderer strikes at Richard Elton, it starts a chain of events which affects...
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From the Collins Crime Club archive, the third Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers'. THREE CORPSES FOR INSPECTOR FRENCH. A chance invitation from friends saves Ruth Averill's life on the night her uncle's old house in Starvel Hollow is consumed by fire, killing him and incinerating the fortune he kept in cash. Dismissed at the inquest as a tragic accident, the case is closed - until Scotland...
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From a murder in South Africa to the tracking down of a master criminal in northern Scotland, this is a true classic of Golden Age detective fiction by one of its most accomplished champions.
When a signalman discovers a mutilated body inside a railway tunnel near Groote Park, it seems to be a straightforward case of a man struck by a passing train. But Inspector Vandam of the Middeldorp police isn't satisfied that Albert Smith's death was accidental,...
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George Surridge, director of the Birmington Zoo, is a man with many worries: his marriage is collapsing; his finances are insecure; and an outbreak of disease threatens the animals in his care. As Surridge's debts mount and the pressure on him increases, he begins to dream of miracle solutions. But is he cunning enough to turn his dreams into reality - and could he commit the most devious murder in pursuit of his goals? This ingenious crime novel,...