Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns Read online

  Angel of Terror

  Jack Glover of Rennet, Glover and Simpson does not believe his cousin Meredith killed Bulford. Meredith’s father was an eccentric and unless Meredith is married by the age of thirty his sister inherits everything. She is dead and Meredith, now in prison, is thirty next Monday. Meanwhile Lydia Beale is struggling to pay her dead father’s creditors. When Glover offers her money she is shocked. However, despite the strange conditions attached, it is a proposal she cannot afford to ignore.

  Avenger

  Francis Elmer has vanished, and all that is found is a typed note signed ‘The Head Hunter’. Elmer’s niece Adele Leamington is an extra at the Knebworth Film Corporation. The actress Stella Mendoza keeps the whole set waiting to shoot, in the best Hollywood tradition, but her starring role is given to Adéle. Surprised by Mike Brixan as she is learning her lines, Adele drops the typed script. The ‘v’ letters are blurred and the ‘g’ is indistinct. Mike turns white…

  Barbara On Her Own

  A thrilling tale of commerce and intrigue starring Barbara, god-daughter and Private Secretary to Mr Maber. Unlike the old-fashioned Maber & Maber department store, the modern Atterman’s store is a successful, profitable business. At a take-over meeting Barbara gives Messers Atterman and Minkey a piece of her mind. On the evening before the deal is to be finalised something happens to Mr Maber…the police summon Barbara – now she is on her own!

  Big Foot

  Footprints and a dead woman bring together Superintendent Minton and the amateur sleuth Mr Cardew. Who is the man in the shrubbery? Who is the singer of the haunting Moorish tune? Why is Hannah Shaw so determined to go to Pawsy, ‘a dog lonely place’ she had previously detested? Death lurks in the dark and someone must solve the mystery before BIG FOOT strikes again, in a yet more fiendish manner.

  Black Abbott

  They say the ghost of the Black Abbot has been seen near the old abbey, and Cartwright the grocer claims to have seen it too. Meanwhile Harry Alford, eighteenth Earl of Chelford is engaged to Leslie Gine, sister of Arthur, solicitor and gambler with the family fortune. The Earl had originally asked his secretary Mary Wenner to be his bride, but his half brother Richard intervened to stop the marriage. Plotting revenge, Mary proposes she and Arthur marry. Her dowry, she insists, will be fifteen tons of Spanish gold – the missing Chelford treasure.

  Bones

  It is a time when the major world powers are vying for colonial honours, a time of ju-ju, witch doctors and an uneasy peace with Bosambo, impressive chief of the Ochori. When Commissioner Sanders goes on leave, the trusty Lieutenant Hamilton takes over administration of the African territories. However, yet again, the trouble-prone Bones, while meaning to assist, only manages to spread his own unique style of innocent and endearing mischief.

  Bones in London

  The new Managing Director of Schemes Ltd has an elegant London office and a theatrically dressed assistant – however Bones, as he is better known, is bored. Luckily there is a slump in the shipping market and it is not long before Joe and Fred Pole pay Bones a visit. They are totally unprepared for Bones’ unnerving style of doing business, unprepared for his unique style of innocent and endearing mischief.

  Bones of the River

  ‘Taking the little paper from the pigeon’s leg, Hamilton saw it was from Sanders and marked URGENT.

  Send Bones instantly to Lujamalababa… Arrest and bring to head-quarters the witch doctor.’

  It is a time when the world’s most powerful nations are vying for colonial honour, a time of trading steamers and tribal chiefs. In the mysterious African territories administered by Commissioner Sanders, Bones persistently manages to create his own unique style of innocent and endearing mischief.

  Clue of the New Pin

  Jesse Trasmere is a miser with a deep distrust of the bank. He has made a fortune in China, but keeps it hoarded in his prison-like house. Although his nephew, Rex Lander, receives a generous allowance from his uncle, it is not enough for his extravagant lifestyle. One day Trasmere breaks with routine and informs his valet, Walters, that he is going out of town for a while to avoid an acquaintance from his past. So how does this explain Trasmere’s body later found in a locked vault?

  Clue of the Silver Key

  This thrilling murder mystery features some veritable characters: inventor and heir-at-law Dick Allenby, and banker and speculator Leo Moran. Add Dornford, Hennessey and the actress Mary Lane, and Washington Wirth who gives parties and loves flattery. Hervey Lyne, Binny and the indomitable Surefoot Smith. Of them all only Tickler is innocent. Leaving gala night at the Litigation Club, Dick and Surefoot are discussing guns…but there before them a cab has been left in the middle of the road. The man inside has been shot.

  Clue of the Twisted Candle

  Kara hates candles. He also believes that there is a great criminal lost in John Lexman, the detective-story writer involved in a plot more fantastic than any of his own ingenious mysteries. It is no secret that Kara had hoped to marry the beautiful Grace, but she is now Lexman’s wife. But Lexman owes Vassalaro, the Greek moneylender, and Vassalaro has threatened to kill him. A tense and powerful tale that moves dramatically between London and the Balkans.

  Coat of Arms

  It is a small world and the possibility of old criminal acquaintances meeting at a Surrey roadhouse is by no means remote. Sketchley, where the Coat of Arms roadhouse stands, is a place of strange happenings. There are thefts of valuable gold plate, a suspicious old man, seen but not caught, a burglar who returns stolen valuables. When the local manor burns down the owner and guests move to the roadhouse, old vendettas intensify. Interests clash. Murder is committed.

  Council of Justice

  There are crimes for which no punishment is adequate, offences that the written law cannot efface. Herein lies the justification for The Council of Justice – a meeting of great and passionless intellects. These men are indifferent to world opinion. They relentlessly wage their wits and cunning against powerful underworld organisations, against past masters of villainy and against minds equally astute. To breakers of the unwritten laws they deal death.

  Crimson Circle

  When James Beardmore receives a letter demanding £100,000 he refuses to pay – even though it is his last warning. It is his son Jack who finds him dead. Can the amazing powers of Derrick Yale, combined with the methodical patience of Inspector Parr, discover the secret of the Crimson Circle? Who is its all-powerful head and who is the stranger who lies in wait? Twice in a lifetime a ruthless criminal faces the executioner.

  Daffodil Mystery

  When Mr Thomas Lyne, poet, poseur and owner of Lyne’s Emporium insults a cashier, Odette Rider, she resigns. Having summoned detective Jack Tarling to investigate another employee, Mr Milburgh, Lyne now changes his plans. Tarling and his Chinese companion refuse to become involved. They pay a visit to Odette’s flat. In the hall Tarling meets Sam, convicted felon and protégé of Lyne. Next morning Tarling discovers a body. The hands are crossed on the breast, adorned with a handful of daffodils.

  Dark Eyes of London

  Inspector Holt is enjoying the Café de la Paix and the Boulevard des Italiens. He and his valet Sunny are planning a visit to Monte Carlo when an urgent telegram arrives from the Chief Commissioner of Scotland Yard. Mr Gordon Stuart has been found drowned in suspicious circumstances. Holt returns on the same boat as Flash Fred Grogan, continental crook and gambler. Attempting to solve the mystery leads Holt into a string of exciting adventures – including romance.

  Daughters of the Night

  Jim Bartholomew is a young manager of a branch of the South Devon Farmers’ Bank with a love of hunting, horses and a dislike of routine. What does he have in common with Margot, the beautiful Mrs Markham and a handsome American? And what do the Daughters of the Night – the three Roman deities who brought punishment to evil-doers – have to do with this tale?

  Debt Discharged

  Thomas Maple lives on Crystal Palace Road w
ith his niece Verity. He works for a firm of bank note engravers. However, the dollar bills he shows Wentworth Gold are forgeries – perfect except for the missing Treasury sign. When Verity meets her new employer she develops serious misgivings, and arriving back home she can hear a menacing voice. What power do these men hold over her uncle? Who is the mysterious he? She hesitates, then follows them.

  Devil Man

  To whisper the name of Charles Pearce is to incite a hoard of wild imaginings, all that makes the flesh creep. Pearce is physically repulsive, tiny in stature, but a Samson in strength. He is a gifted musician, a terrible braggart – and for some reason women find him irresistible. He is also a burglar. And a murderer. There is a baffling mystery that someone urgently needs to solve…

  Door with Seven Locks

  Dick Martin is leaving Scotland Yard. His final job, investigating a stolen book, takes him via a conversation with the librarian Sybil Lansdown to Gallows Cottage and a meeting with Doctor Stalletti. Tommy Crawler, Bertram Cody’s chauffeur is also there. Arriving home, Martin finds Lew Pheeney being followed by a man for whom he recently worked. ‘Doing what?’ demands Martin. Lew finally confesses. ‘I was trying to open a dead man’s tomb!’ The telephone rings. It is Mr Havelock.

  Duke in the Suburbs

  The Duke de Montvillier and George Hankey, who discovered silver in Los Madges, have moved into Kymott Crescent. Alicia Terrill, widow and relation of Sir Harry Tanner, finds the Duke a distinctly unpleasant neighbour. Sir Harry’s son is sent to intervene. Unannounced, Sir Harry arrives with a stranger. ‘The coming of Big Bill Slewer, ripe for murder and with the hatred he had accumulated during his five years’ imprisonment’, has played splendidly into his hands.

  Face in the Night

  The green face hangs in the Room of Horror and around it grows a living, baffling legend of mystery and murder. At 2.00 a.m. the Embankment fog is thick and black. Men are gathered round a body. The dead man was clubbed and then thrown into the Thames. Dick Shannon races back to Scotland Yard, which is humming with the latest news: the Queen of Finland’s car has been held up in The Mall and her diamond chain has vanished into the fog…

  Feathered Serpent

  Reporter Peter Derwin suspects the card mysteriously left in the handbag of actress Ella Creed is a publicity stunt. But Joe Farmer, the boxing promoter, has received one too. Then, after leaving the house of millionaire philanthropist and African explorer Gregory Beale, Daphne Olroyd is followed: she is at her employers’ offices when Leicester Crewe opens the front door. A dead man falls into the hall. In his hand is the card of The Feathered Serpent.

  Flying Squad

  The creek between the canal and the river flows under Lady’s Stairs, a crazy wooden house inhabited by Li Yoseph – known to the police as a smuggler. The neighbourhood suspects he is rich, and knows he is mad. Mark McGill and the nervous Tiser arrive on the scene with Ann Perryman, sister of Ronnie. According to Mark (and confirmed by Li Yoseph), Bradly of Scotland Yard is responsible for Ronnie’s death. Then Li Yoseph disappears…

  Forger

  Forged notes have started to appear everywhere. Mr Cheyne Wells of Harley Street has been given one. So has Porter. Peter Clifton is rich, but no one is quite certain how he acquired his money – not even his new wife, the beautiful Jane Leith. One night someone puts a ladder to Jane’s window and enters her room. It is not her jewels they are after. Inspector Rouper and Superintendent Bourke are both involved in trying to solve this thrilling mystery.

  Four Just Men

  When the Foreign Secretary Sir Philip Ramon receives a threatening, greenish-grey letter signed FOUR JUST MEN, he remains determined to see his Aliens Extradition Bill made law. A device in the members’ smokeroom and a sudden magnesium flash that could easily have been nitro-glycerine leave Scotland Yard baffled. Even Fleet Street cannot identify the illusive Manfred, Gonsalez, Pioccart and Thery – FOUR JUST MEN dedicated to punishing by death those whom conventional justice can not touch.

  Four Square Jane

  Who is Four Square Jane? Although her true identity remains hidden until the end of the story, one thing is for sure: she is one of the most daring and successful crooks from the pen of Edgar Wallace. Her resourcefulness knows no bounds as she employs female cunning to get away with a series of risky crimes performed with neatness and cleverness, which cannot but evoke admiration.

  Fourth Plague

  On the Terzo de Citta stands the Palazzo Festini in gloomy, dilapidated magnificence. Here in penurian grandeur dwell the Festinis, a family not afraid to resurrect feuds first begun in the Middle Ages. This is a tale of the Red-Hand, a criminal organisation that makes Count Festini, its secret head, the most dangerous man in Europe. But for his hated eldest son, the Red-Hand’s plans for the downfall of the country may succeed…

  Frightened Lady

  Everyone tried to conceal the truth but the Frightened Lady is unable to hide her fear. Chief Inspector Tanner quickly realises that many things about the household of Lord and Lady Lebanon are not easily explained. Why are two American ‘toughs’ employed as footmen? Why is Lady Lebanon so unwilling to answer any questions? What he does know is that the only obviously innocent person is utterly consumed with terror. Here is Inspector Tanner’s first real clue.

  Good Evans

  Good Evans continues the life of Evans, Edgar Wallace’s Cockney tipster and ‘the wizard of Camden Town’. Follow the loves, predictions and calamities of this likeable hero of the Turf in the seventeen tales of this book. It is not only race-lovers who will love Evans, but lovers of life itself. From the author of More Educated Evans.

  Hand of Power

  Dr Joshua Laffin wants Betty Carew, whose childhood he tortured with fear, to advertise a desk for sale. For four hours each day she is to sit at it pretending to write, in a shop window laid out like a study. While she acts this role she is told to wait for someone to approach her. Pawter of Pawter Intensive Publicity Services wants Bill Holbrook to find out more. Bill suspects trouble. He claims someone told him that the desk was invented by a butler who was hanged for murdering his wife…

  Iron Grip

  Jack Bryce is an ordinary, well-educated man. He has no experience of criminals or the criminal mind. No longer in the army, he is having problems securing new employment. Visiting a lawyer, an old friend of his father, it looks as if he will be rejected yet again. But his luck changes. His new career as a detective creates a compelling tale of adventure. Eventually, however, he is overpowered – caught in the tender grip of love from which he has no desire to escape.

  Joker

  While the millionaire Stratford Harlow is in Princetown, not only does he meet with his lawyer Mr Ellenbury but he gets his first glimpse of the beautiful Aileen Rivers, niece of the actor and convicted felon Arthur Ingle. When Aileen is involved in a car accident on the Thames Embankment, the driver is James Carlton of Scotland Yard. Later that evening Carlton gets a call. It is Aileen. She needs help.

  Just Men of Cordova

  There are crimes for which no punishment is adequate, offences that the written law cannot redress. The three friends, Pioccart, Manfred and Gonsalez, may be enjoying the exotic, Spanish city of Cordova with its heat and Moorish influences, but they are still committed to employing their intellect and cunning to dispense justice. They use their own methods and carry out their own verdicts. They are ruthless and they deal in death.

  Keepers of the King's Peace

  ‘I want you to go up the Isango, Bones,’ said Sanders, ‘there may be some trouble there – a woman is working miracles.’

  Unexpected things happen in the territories of the Belgian Congo where Commissioner Sanders keeps an uneasy peace, aided by his trusty assistant Lieutenant Hamilton and hindered, unintentionally, by the trouble-prone Bones. He must deal with ‘ju-ju’, ‘religious-palava’, lost vials of virulent disease…and all the while Bosambo, the magnificent king of the Ochori, watches on.

  Law of the Four Just Men


  ‘Grace,’ he said, ‘I am going to apply the methods of the Four to this devil Stedland.’

  But the judge finds Jeffrey Storr guilty, not Stedland. As Storr’s wife Grace leaves the court a foreign-looking gentleman introduces himself. He and his companion are friends of her husband. Justice has failed and THE FOUR JUST MEN have stepped in. They will use their own laws to protect the innocent and will impose their own verdicts. There can be no appeal.

  Lone House Mystery

  The dead man was rich. In life he lived in a lonely house by a river. In the earth outside it is the imprint of a bare foot. His secretary, with whom he was having an affair, is locked in a room. The key is in the dead man’s pocket. Superintendent Minter considers it a most queer and unsatisfactory case. However, he is determined not to be defeated. A thrilling, thoroughly intriguing tale of double murder and love.

  Man Who Bought London

  King Kerry is going to buy London. This morning he is on his way to buy shops in Oxford Street. Elsie Marion is late for work when she falls into conversation with him. Suddenly two shots ring out. They miss, but King Kerry seems to know his attacker. From a high office window a man shakes his fist: someday, the man vows, ‘I will find a bullet that goes to its mark – and the girl from Denver City will be free!’

  Man Who Knew

  A youth is lying dead in Gray Square, Bloomsbury. Constable Wiseman is at the scene, as is the handsome Frank Merril, nephew of rich John Martin. Also there is May Nuttall, whose father was the best friend Martin ever had. A small, shabby man in an ill-fitting frock coat and large gold rimmed spectacles pulls a newspaper advertisement from the deceased’s waistcoat pocket.

  ‘At the Yard,’ whispers the constable to Frank, ‘we call him The Man who Knows.’

  Man Who Was Nobody

  Bearing a letter from her employer, Marjorie Stedman, confidential secretary and niece of Solomon Stedman, enters the drawing room of Alma Trebizond, actress and wife of Sir James Tynewood. Tynewood is unpleasantly drunk. When a second delivery is required Marjorie travels again to Tynewood Chase. Left alone by Doctor Fordham, she hears a shot. When she opens the door she discovers Sir James lying in a pool of blood. The man holding the revolver is someone Marjorie has seen before…