The Dragon Murder CaseS. S. Van Dine
A guest at Inwood Hill Park, an estate in northern Manhattan, dives into the swimming pool and disappears. Has a mythological dragon which is said to prey on the imprudent anythin g to do with the murder? Philo Vance uses his knowledge of both dragons and criminals to demonstrate and solve the case. read more »
LandfallNevil Shute
A romantic World War II adventure about the strength of true love and how it can overcome any obstacle. A British air reconnaissance officer falls for a pub waitress, but finds his lift in chaos when he accidentally bombs a British submarine, mistaking it for a German U-boat. What begins as a romantic fling develops... read more »
The Exile of TimeRay Cummings
When a girl who said she had been kidnapped from the year 1777 appeared in modern New York, she was either deluded or the victim of an incredible time-spanning plot. And when it turned out the strange man with a mechanical servant who had kidnapped her had been seen in other centuries, it became clear that a... read more »
The Vanishing AmericanZane Grey
Romance of the American Indian--the tragedy and glory of the race. Considered one of Zane Grey's best novels, it reveals Grey's empathy for the Native American and his deep concern for the future survival of that culture. It is the story of Nophaie, a young Navajo, who is picked up by a party of whites at the age of... read more »
The TyrantRafael Sabatini
Adapted from Sabatini's long story, The Lust of Conquest, which appeared in the collection The Justice of the Duke. Like Sabatini's other work on Cesare Borgia this is a defense of the man who would serve as Macchiavelli's model for The Prince. The Tyrant is very evidently the work of a writer more familiar with the... read more »
Sir Percy Leads the BandEmma Orczy
The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel has disguised themselves as a group of shabby second-rate musicians, in order to save an innocent family from death. But Citizen Chauvelin is hot on their heels, and still looking for revenge against his bitter enemy. The Pimpernel's plans are, however, complicated by betrayal of... read more »
Apache DevilEdgar Rice Burroughs
Shoz-Dijiji, or Black Bear, kidnapped by the Apaches from his white pioneer family as an infant and raised by Geronimo, is now a brave and accomplished Apache War Chief. In addition to the skills of hunting and warfare he has learned to hate violently the pin-dah-lickoyee ('white eyes') from witnessing their... read more »
The House in Lordship LaneA. E. W. Mason
Enter Bryan Devisher, over the side of the ketch in which Mordaunt was taking Mr. Julius Ricardo home to London on the summons of his old friend, Inspector Hanaud of the Paris Surete and the English 'idioms.' Exit, Devisher and Mordaunt. Enter Daniel Horbury. Exit Daniel Horbury-violently, with his throat slit in... read more »
From Russia With LoveIan Fleming
SMERSH, the Soviet counterintelligence agency, plans to commit a grand act of terrorism in the intelligence field. For this, it targets British secret service agent James Bond. Due in part to his role in the defeat of Le Chiffre, Mr. Big and Hugo Drax, Bond has been listed as an enemy of the Soviet state and a... read more »
The Fugitive TrailZane Grey
Zane Grey's bestselling novels have thrilled generations of readers with heart-and-guts characters, hard-shooting action, and high-plains panoramas. To save his cowboy gambler brother, Bruce Lockheart takes to the fugitive trail for a crime he didn't commit, and is hotly pursued by a relentless ranger and the woman... read more »
Tarrano the ConquerorRay Cummings
In a tale of the year 2430 A.D. -- a time somewhat farther beyond our present-day era than we are beyond Columbus' discovery of America. My desire has been to create for you the impression that you have suddenly been plunged forward into that time -- to give you the feeling Columbus might have had could he have read... read more »
MarazanNevil Shute
A story of flying, drug smuggling and murder in the 1920s. Pilot Philip Stenning crashes his aircraft while flying from London to Devon. He is rescued by escaped prisoner Denis Compton, who claims he was sent to prison for embezzlement after being framed by his half-brother, Italian baron Rodrigo Mattani. Owing... read more »
The War ChiefEdgar Rice Burroughs
Arizona Territory...the country of red deserts, rocks, high buttes and mountains--a harsh land but still a land, the Apaches had chosen for their own. The land made the men, and the Indiands were trained from infancy to match their strength, their cunning, their hunting ability against the rigors and pitiless... read more »
Casanova: Part 19 - Back Again To ParisGiacomo Casanova
My stay at Paris and my departure for Strasburg, where I find the Renaud. My misfortunes at Munich and my sad visit to Augsburg. The girl from Strasburg, the female Count, and before my return to Paris I go to Metz. I returned to Paris with the Corticelli, now Countess Lascaris. I had two objects in speaking thus: I... read more »
Have His CarcaseDorothy L. Sayers
When Harriet Vane finds a dead body on the beach, she and Lord Peter Wimsey must solve a murder when all the evidence has washed out to sea Harriet Vane has gone on vacation to forget her recent murder trial and, more importantly, to forget the man who cleared her name—the dapper, handsome, and maddening Lord... read more »
Richard IIWilliam Shakespeare
Richard II is one of Shakespeare’s finest works: lucid, eloquent, and boldly structured. It can be seen as a tragedy, or a historical play, or a political drama, or as one part of a vast dramatic cycle which helped to generate England’s national identity. Today, to some of us, Richard II may appear conservative... read more »
Fear CayLester Dent
It was all a great mystery. Who was this man called Dan Thunden who claimed he was one hundred and thirty years old? Did he really have the secret of the fountain of youth? What was this island called Fear Cay that spelled horror and death? What was the strange thing that turned men to bone? These were the mysteries... read more »
Arizona AmesZane Grey
Not all outlaws are bad mend. Rich Ames didn’t set out to be a gunslinger--it was forced on him. When two men roughed up his sweet sister, Rich reached for his trusty Colt and let loose on them. When the smoke cleared, Rich was the only one standing, now a fugitive of the law and forced to abandon his quaint home... read more »
The Scarab Murder CaseS. S. Van Dine
Philo Vance was drawn into the Scarab murder case by sheer coincidence, although there is little doubt that John F.-X. Markham—New York's District Attorney—would sooner or later have enlisted his services. But it is problematic if even Vance, with his fine analytic mind and his remarkable flair for the... read more »
What Happened to the CorbettsNevil Shute
Set in 1938, this novel tells the story of the Corbetts, a family preparing for the coming war. As the world begins to collapse around them, they decide to chance their one means of escape and take to their small yacht on the Solent. Peter Corbett, a local lawyer, his wife, Joan, and their three children make the... read more »
Pirate CinemaCory Doctorow
When Trent McCauley's obsession for making movies by reassembling footage from popular films causes his home's internet to be cut off, it nearly destroys his family. Shamed, Trent runs away to London. A new bill threatens to criminalize even harmless internet creativity. Things look bad, but the powers-that-be... read more »
Beyond the StarsRay Cummings
Is the entire universe just one of the atoms of some even greater cosmos? Such was the conception of one scientist - and his effort to prove this theory was to take a party of Americans on an expdition to a place that was literally Beyond the Stars. Racing through the vast depths of space in a vehicle larger than... read more »
The Taming of the ShrewWilliam Shakespeare
Renowned as Shakespeare's most boisterous comedy, The Taming of the Shrew is the tale of two young men, the hopeful Lucentio and the worldly Petruchio, and the two sisters they meet in Padua. Lucentio falls in love with Bianca, the apparently ideal younger daughter of the wealthy Baptista Minola. But before they can... read more »
Casanova: Part 18 - Return To NaplesGiacomo Casanova
I Arrive At Naples, and the telling of my Short But Happy Stay at Naples. The Duke de Matalone and My Daughter. My Departure and Return to Florence, and My Departure with the Corticelli. My Arrival at Bologna and where I Am Expelled from Modena. I Visit Parma and Turin. My Victory Over the Deputy Chief of Police... read more »
The King's MinionRafael Sabatini
King James I, narrowly escaping assassination in the infamous Gunpowder Plot, has reason to suspect all around him. But surely he can trust members of his Privvy Council - and especially Robert Carr of Ferniehurst, Earl of Somerset and Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter? The Minion traces Carr's meteoric... read more »
The Celestial CityEmma Orczy
Historical adventure novel set during the French Revolution On the rare occasions when Lady Chartley was “at home,” the whole of the élite of Cannes society and of the neighbourhood got into its motors and drove over to the beautiful Château de Pertuis. These were memorable afternoons. There had only been... read more »
Live and Let DieIan Fleming
Her hair was black and fell to her shoulders. She had high cheekbones and a sensual mouth, and wore a dress of white silk. Her eyes were blue, alight and disdainful, but, as they gazed into his with a touch of humour, Bond realized that they contained a message. Solitaire watched his eyes on her and nonchalantly... read more »
A Quiet RevolutionVarious
The past few years have seen a quiet, relatively well behaved, and entirely legal revolution in Aotearoa: the growth of a thriving Commons of works made available under Creative Commons open copyright licences. A Quiet Revolution tells Kiwi stories as diverse as open source houses, teachers banding together to share... read more »
Antony and CleopatraWilliam Shakespeare
A magnificent drama of love and war, this riveting tragedy presents one of Shakespeare's greatest female characters--the seductive, cunning Egyptian queen Cleopatra. The Roman leader Mark Antony, a virtual prisoner of his passion for her, is a man torn between pleasure and virtue, between sensual indolence and duty... read more »
Casanova: Part 17 - Return To ItalyGiacomo Casanova
Rich and profound, Casanova's memoirs are a complete depiction of life. He recounts his expeditions in Italy and his meetings with the elite of the society. He has also included his personal relationships and the ups and downs of that era of his life. The work is truly riveting and monopolizes the reader's... read more »