18 books like The tightrope men
The Man Who Knew
John Minute, formerly an unscrupulous African mining magnate, has flown to England, but can’t escape his past. Constantly threatened by blackmailers, he fears death and financial ruin. At the suggestion of the commissioner of police, “The Man Who Knows” is hired to assist in determining the source of these threats. But after John is murdered, suspicion is cast on his nephew, who calls on The Man…
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The Square Emerald
Leslie Maughan, recognized for her keen mind, has unofficially been promoted to Scotland Yard’s first female investigator. Chancing upon a book of poetry once owned by a Peter Dawlish, convicted forger, Leslie delves into the details of the convict’s case and becomes convinced of Peter’s innocence. Befriending Peter after his release from prison, Leslie discovers a link between him, a lady of…
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Running blind
"It'll be simple", they said at the Department. "You'll just be a messenger boy". But to Alan Stewart, on a deserted road in Iceland with a murdered man at his feet, it looks anything but simple. Someone very ruthless is after the innocent-looking parcel he carries, and Kenniken, a Russian agent with the best of reasons for hating him, has followed him to Iceland.
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Room 13
After having spent almost three years in prison Johnny Gray is released, only to be dismayed to find that his ladylove has been pressured by her father, an old friend of his, into marrying another man. Soon after, Johnny discovers that the bridegroom is actually a suspected counterfeiter and the son of a notorious criminal plotting to ruin his friend by exposing his nefarious past. Johnny is…
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The door with seven locks
As a practical joke, Sub-Inspector Dick Martin, about to retire, is asked to find a stolen library book. Before long, Dick finds himself intrigued by the nature of the book—and the attractiveness of Sybil, the librarian. Now in private practice, Dick accepts a job that requires him to chase an elusive nobleman, Lord Selford, across the world and is subsequently surprised to find that his favorite…
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The avenger
When a severed head is discovered, Mike Brixan of the Foreign Office is asked to return from Europe and assist in apprehending the murderer, known as “The Headhunter.” The trail leads to Chichester and the set of a motion picture crew located on an English manor. Brixan discovers that the scriptwriter has a connection with both The Headhunter and an unscrupulous neighbor with a history of…
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The Council of Justice
The Red Hundred, an anarchist organization led by a woman of unmatched oratorical skill known as the Woman of Gratz, has set its sight on the destruction of several British institutions. The Four Just Men, a band of wealthy gentlemen notorious for punishing those unreachable by conventional justice, appear to be the only group capable of opposing them. After thwarting The Red Hundred’s plans by…
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The secret house
A stranger and foreigner arrives at the offices of a small publication in London only to be faced by the “editor” whose face is completely swathed in a veil. Nothing is as it seems, and it quickly becomes evident that both are bent on more than lively gossip about the elite. Blackmail and opportunism is the order of the day. When two men are found shot to death outside the door of Mr. Farrington…
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Terror Keep
Mr. J. G. Reeder, employed by the Department of Public Prosecutions, has developed a reputation for solving difficult criminal cases using his unique understanding of human nature, which he calls his “criminal mind.” After a notorious bank robber and murderer escapes from prison, Mr. Reeder must match wits with Crazy John Flack, the “cleverest crook in the world,” who previously vowed to kill the…
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The three just men
Having recently been pardoned by the British government, the Just Men continue their mission to bring criminals to justice, but now by employing mostly legal means. London has been terrorized with the death of several men connected with Doktor Oberzohn, the head of an international cartel, with the deaths thought to have been caused by an escaped venomous snake. After forming a detective agency,…
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Fifty Candles
Biggers had always been interested in mystery fiction, but his interest in Hawaii clearly stems from a 1919 vacation in Honolulu. While there, he read a newspaper article on a Chinese detective named Chang Apana. Apana would become the model for Charlie Chan in Biggers' 1925 novel, House Without a Key, and there quickly followed five more Charlie Chan novels. Fifty Candles -- first published in…
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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…
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A Bullet For Cinderella
Her veneer was big city ... But one look and you knew that Toni Raselle's instincts were straight out of the river shack she came from. I watched her as she toyed with the man, laughing, her tumbled hair like raw blue-black silk, her brown shoulders bare. Eyes deep-set, a girl with a gypsy look. So this was the girl I had risked my life to find. This was the girl who was going to lead me to a…
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Claudius Bombarnac
Reporter Claudius Bombarnac, is assigned by the "Twentieth Century " to cover the travels of the Grand Transasiatic Railway which runs between Uzun Ada, Turkestan and Peking, China.
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Blue Hand
Jim Steele, a clerk for a prominent London attorney, has the distasteful task of assisting a notorious client, Digby Groat, who stands to inherit the Jonathan Danton fortune. Danton’s infant daughter and closest heir, Dorothy, was thought to have died in a boating accident twenty years ago. Adding to the mystery, Dorothy’s mother, Lady Mary Danton, also disappeared around the same time. Jim…
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The House Without a Key
Published in 1925, The House Without a Key introduces the kindly detective Charlie Chan, conceived by Earl Derr Biggers as a counter to the “Yellow Peril” stereotypes common in the era’s society. John Quincy Winterslip, having been sent by his family to convince his aunt to return to Boston, arrives in Honolulu to find that a rich family member with a shady past has been murdered. Detective…
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The Emperor's candlesticks
The Emperor's Candlesticks (1899) is a historical novel by Baroness Orczy and was her first book as an author.
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The melody of death
Gilbert Standerton learns that he has been disinherited by his cantankerous uncle, and is forced to find a way to provide for his newly-wedded high-society wife. After quitting his appointment at the Foreign Office, he develops a new interest in the stock market, and takes an avid interest in the antics of a gang of safe-cracking burglars. His wife becomes concerned as he frequently begins…
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