Inspector French
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Inspector French's Greatest Case
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 1 of the Inspector French series
From the Collins Crime Club archive, the first Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers'. THE FIRST INSPECTOR FRENCH MYSTERY At the offices of the Hatton Garden diamond merchant Duke and Peabody, the body of old Mr. Gething is discovered beside a now-empty safe. With multiple suspects, the robbery and murder is clearly the work of a master criminal, and requires a master detective to solve it. Meticulous as ever, Inspector Joseph French of Scotland Yard embarks on an investigation that takes him from the streets of London to Holland, France and Spain, and finally to a ship bound for South America ... • The Detective Club is a series of inexpensive hardcover reissues of classic crime and mystery stories from the Golden Age.
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Inspector French and the Cheyne Mystery
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 2 of the Inspector French series
From the Collins Crime Club archive, the second Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers'.
THE RETURN OF INSPECTOR FRENCH
When young Maxwell Cheyne discovers that a series of mishaps are the result of unwelcome attention from a dangerous gang of criminals, he teams up with a young woman who is determined to help him outwit them. But when she disappears, he finally decides to go to Scotland Yard for help. Concerned by the developing situation, Inspector Joseph French takes charge of the investigation and applies his trademark methods to track down the kidnappers and thwart their intentions . . .
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Inspector French and the Starvel Hollow Tragedy
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 3 of the Inspector French series
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 Yard is alerted to the circulation of bank-notes supposedly destroyed in the inferno. Inspector Joseph French suspects that dark deeds were done in the Hollow that night and begins to uncover a brutal crime involving arson, murder and body snatching . . .
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Inspector French and the Sea Mystery
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 4 of the Inspector French series
The Body That Came from Nowhere Off the coast of Burry Port in south Wales, two fishermen discover a shipping crate and manage to haul it ashore. Inside is the decomposing body of a brutally murdered man. With nothing to indicate who he is or where it came from, the local police decide to call in Scotland Yard. Fortunately, Inspector Joseph French does not believe in insoluble cases - there are always clues to be found if you know what to look for. Testing his theories with his accustomed thoroughness, French's ingenuity sets him off on another investigation...
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Inspector French and the Box Office Murders
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 5 of the Inspector French series
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 have also been murdered, all linked by their jobs and by a sinister stranger with a purple scar...
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Sir John Magill's Last Journey
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 6 of the Inspector French series
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 is called in. With his characteristic genius for reconstruction, Inspector French evolves a gruesome theory about what happened to the elderly man, but his reputation - and that of Scotland Yard - will depend on finding out who was responsible . . .
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Mystery in the Channel
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 7 of the Inspector French series
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 about in the water ahead of them, appears to have been abandoned, and there is a dark red stain on the deck... Two bodies later, with no sign of a gun, there certainly is a mystery in the channel. Inspector French soon discovers a world of high-powered banking, luxury yachts and international double-dealing. British and French coastal towns, harbours-and of course the Channel itself-provide an alluring backdrop to this nautical adventure, along with a cast of shady characters.
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Sudden Death
by Freeman Willis Crofts
Part 8 of the Inspector French series
ONE INVESTIGATION,TWO POINTS OF VIEW
Anne Day is the new housekeeper at Frayle, the home of Mr. Grinsmead and his invalid wife. To Anne's horror, her intuition that something is very wrong in the house culminates in an unexpected death. With the police jumping to devastating conclusions, Inspector French arrives to investigate. With the narrative switching between Anne's and French's perspectives, giving alternately the outside and inside track of an ingenious and elaborate investigation, will tragedy strike a second time before the mystery is solved?
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Death on the Way
by Freeman Willis Crofts
Part 9 of the Inspector French series
'THERE'S SOMETHINGON THE ROAD!'
Work on the widening of the Southern Railway's route along the Dorset coast is halted when a man is hit in the path of a train. At the inquest, the tragedy becomes a dark and sinister mystery when a witness swears to seeing a man running away from the scene of the accident - a statement that results in the intervention of Inspector French. But when the apparent solution to the case turns into an even deeper mystery, French faces the most complex problem he has ever encountered.
Work on the widening of the Southern Railway's route along the Dorset coast is halted when a man is hit in the path of a train. At the inquest, the tragedy becomes a dark and sinister mystery when a witness swears to seeing a man running away from the scene of the accident - a statement that results in the intervention of Inspector French. But when the apparent solution to the case turns into an even deeper mystery, French faces the most complex problem he has ever encountered.
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The Hog's Back Mystery
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 10 of the Inspector French series
Dr. James Earle and his wife live in comfortable seclusion near the Hog's Back, a ridge in the North Downs in the beautiful Surrey countryside. When Dr. Earle disappears from his cottage, Inspector French is called in to investigate. At first he suspects a simple domestic intrigue…and begins to uncover a web of romantic entanglements beneath the couple's peaceful rural life. The case soon takes a more complex turn. Other people vanish mysteriously, one of Dr. Earle's house guests among them. What is the explanation for the disappearances? If the missing people have been murdered, what can be the motive? This fiendishly complicated puzzle is one that only Inspector French can solve. Freeman Wills Crofts was a master of the intricately and ingeniously plotted detective novel, and The Hog's Back Mystery shows him at the height of his powers. This new edition of a classic mystery is introduced by the crime fiction expert Martin Edwards.
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The 12.30 From Croydon
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 11 of the Inspector French series
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 to be dealt with. This is an unconventional yet gripping story of intrigue, betrayal, obsession, justification and self-delusion. And will the killer get away with it?
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Inspector French and the Mystery on Southampton Water
by Freeman Willis Crofts
Part 12 of the Inspector French series
BLACKMAIL, THEFTAND MURDER
The Joymount Rapid Hardening Cement Manufacturing Company on the Solent is in serious financial trouble. Its rival, Chayle on the Isle of Wight, has a secret new manufacturing process and is underselling them. Having failed to crack the secret legitimately, two employees hatch a plot to break in and steal it. But the scheme does not go according to plan, resulting in damage and death, and Inspector French is brought in to solve one of the most dramatic and labyrinthine cases of his entire career.
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Inspector French and the Crime at Guildford
by Freeman Willis Crofts
Part 13 of the Inspector French series
A MASTERLY EXERCISEIN INGENUITY
A weekend board meeting brings a jewellery firm's accountant to the managing director's impressive Guildford home. On the Sunday morning, he is found dead and is soon the subject of a murder inquiry by the local police. Meanwhile, Chief Inspector French is investigating the sensational burglary of half a million pounds' worth of jewels from the safe of an office in London's Kingsway. French must determine the connection between the theft and the murder as he embarks on a perilous chase to track down the criminals.
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Inspector French and the Loss of the 'Jane Vosper'
by Freeman Willis Crofts
Part 14 of the Inspector French series
TWO MYSTERIES FORINSPECTOR FRENCH
The Jane Vosper is plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic by a series of explosions in her hold. With no innocent explanation of the cause, it appears that someone must have sunk the ship for the insurance money. When The Land and Sea Insurance Company's official investigator then disappears, Inspector French is called in from Scotland Yard to find him. French decides that the only way to find his missing person is to solve the baffling mystery of the sinking of the Jane Vosper first...
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Fatal Venture
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 15 of the Inspector French series
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. And when murder struck the vessel, he wasn't alone. A certain Inspector from Scotland Yard had been travelling incognito, almost as if a nasty spot of trouble had been expected...
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Man Overboard!
by Freeman Willis Crofts
Part 15 of the Inspector French series
ACCIDENT, SUICIDEOR MURDER?
When the Ulster Sovereign docks in Liverpool, one of its passengers from Belfast is missing. Jack Penrose had everything to live for, but his body is later picked up by fishermen off the Irish coast. Dismissing any suggestion of foul play, the coroner's verdict is suicide. But why? In desperation, Jack's partner calls Chief-Inspector French back to Northern Ireland, where he guides Superintendent Rainey and Sergeant McClung through a maze of startling developments and nebulous clues to a thrilling solution to a very unusual crime.
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Golden Ashes
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 16 of the Inspector French series
A classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television. The new Sir Geoffrey Buller is earning his living in Chicago when he unexpectedly inherits his title, an English baronetcy, and Forde Manor in Surrey, complete with its vast collection of priceless works of art. His widowed housekeeper, who knows a thing or two, is surprised to discover that Sir Geoffrey is having his pictures cleaned. But then disaster strikes! A devastating fire, a missing artist and a lot of insurance money—from a mosaic of detail, Inspector French must reconstruct the pattern of a most cunning and complex crime...
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Found Floating
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 16 of the Inspector French series
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, can Inspector French solve the mystery before they reach Athens? Introduced by Tony Medawar, editor of Bodies from the Library, this classic Inspector French novel includes unique interludes by Superintendent Walter Hambrook of Scotland Yard, who provides a real-life detective commentary on the case as the mystery unfolds.
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James Tarrant, Adventurer
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 17 of the Inspector French series
A classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television. James Tarrant's position as an assistant chemist in a sleepy village backwater does not satisfy his craving for wealth. The infatuated Merle Weir, a nurse at a local convalescent home, agrees to help him in a not-quite-legal scheme to sell their own indigestion remedy on the back of another's reputation. When Tarrant breaks his promise and becomes engaged to another, Merle talks of revenge. Could she really have murdered her partner in crime? Inspector French investigates.
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Antidote to Venom
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 17 of the Inspector French series
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, with its unusual 'inverted' structure and sympathetic portrait of a man on the edge, is one of the greatest works by this highly respected author. The elaborate means of murder devised by Crofts's characters is perhaps unsurpassed in English crime fiction for its ostentatious intricacy. This new edition is the first in several decades and includes an introduction by the award-winning novelist and crime fiction expert Martin Edwards.
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A Losing Game
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 18 of the Inspector French series
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 fears a miscarriage of justice and agrees to commence one of his most challenging investigations.
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Inspector French: The End of Andrew Harrison
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 18 of the Inspector French series
A classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television. Becoming the social secretary for millionaire financier Andrew Harrison sounded like the dream job: just writing a few letters and making amiable conversation, with luxurious accommodation thrown in. But Markham Crewe had not reckoned on the unpopularity of his employer, especially within his own household, where animosity bordered on sheer hatred. When Harrison is found dead on his Henley houseboat, Crewe is not the only one to doubt the verdict of suicide. Inspector French is another...
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Fear Comes to Chalfont
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 19 of the Inspector French series
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 the lives of many. And one of these is Inspector French.
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The Affair at Little Wokeham
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part 20 of the Inspector French series
A classic crime novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, 'The King of Detective Story Writers', featuring Inspector French, coming soon to television. Money – or lack of it – can be, to certain members of society, a powerful motive for murder. Two sisters and a brother who were to share equally in their uncle's fortune had, each in their own way, urgent reasons for wanting money. But it was a comparative outsider – who also stood to benefit from the estate through his wife's inheritance – who contemplates the murder of their uncle. In great financial difficulty, his desperation urges him on to plan the crime with infinite care. An unexpected chance leads to an accomplice who provides a sound alibi, upon whose silence he can rely. As The Affair at Little Wokeham unfolds, Chief Inspector French enters upon the scene and, through his painstaking investigation, the mystery is unravelled.
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Inspector French and the Starvel Hollow Tragedy
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part of the Inspector French series
A deadly house fire causes a fortune to go up in smoke in this classic mystery novel by the author of The Cask.
A tragic fire in Starvel Hollow has left behind a heap of smoldering ruins. An old man and two of his servants were lost in the flames-along with the fortune he kept in cash. With the bodies charred beyond recognition, there's no reason to suspect foul play . . . until the supposedly incinerated banknotes are discovered in circulation. Scotland Yard Insp. Joseph French has some questions for Ruth Averill, the elderly man's niece. Ruth's life was saved on the night of the fire by a chance invitation from friends. But could she have set her uncle's house aflame? As French peels back the layers of deceit, he uncovers a twisting case of arson, murder, and body snatching . . .
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Inspector French and the Sea Mystery
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part of the Inspector French series
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 finest detectives. With his meticulous pursuit of leads, it's only a matter of time until Inspector French finds the killer.
Praise for the writing of Freeman Wills Crofts:
"One of the classics of modern crime fiction." -The New York Times
"The soundest builder of them all." -Raymond Chandler
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Inspector French and the Cheyne Mystery
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part of the Inspector French series
A deadly secret from World War I sends the Scotland Yard inspector across Europe in this classic detective mystery.
After surviving the Great War, Maxwell Cheyne hoped to resume a peaceful life in England, but danger has followed him home. A ruthless gang will stop at nothing to retrieve a letter from his possession which holds a mysterious code. Cheyne is no stranger to violent confrontation, and he's prepared to fight back. But when an innocent woman is kidnapped, he turns to Scotland Yard for help.
Insp. Joseph French will stop at nothing to bring the woman to safety, following the trail of clues from London to Bruges to Antwerp. But it soon becomes clear that to solve the case he must crack the letter's code . . . for the criminals have set sail on an expedition with their captive in tow. Originally published in 1926, Inspector French and the Cheyne Mystery is the second novel to feature Freeman Wills Croft's famous detective, following Inspector French's Greatest Case.
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Inspector French's Greatest Case
by Freeman Wills Crofts
Part of the Inspector French series
The Scotland Yard inspector is on the trail of a murderous jewel thief in this classic detective novel from the Golden Age of Mystery.
Duke and Peabody is one of the most prestigious diamond merchants in Hatton Garden, London's famous jewelry district. But now the illustrious shop is showcasing a frightful scene. The body of one Mr. Gething has been discovered beside an empty safe. With numerous potential suspects, and little evidence left behind, it appears that a master criminal has gotten away with murder. Insp. Joseph French of Scotland Yard will not rest until he has cracked the case. Embarking on an investigation that takes him from London to Holland, France to Spain, French's meticulous logic and dogged sleuthing eventually leads him aboard a ship bound for South America . . .
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