British Library Mysteries

A new breed of villain has risen, possessed of extraordinary intellect and violence. Only the brilliant mind and courage of Sexton Blake, scourge of the criminal world, can stop them, in these three classic stories, collected together in one volume for the first time. From the streets of London to the catacombs of Paris, join Blake as he pits his wits against bank robbers, impostors and kidnappers, duels with swords and pursues his foes by any means necessary.

When a petrol yacht catches fire in the South Atlantic, its lone survivor, Patterson, swims to safety. He is relieved when he washes up on a tropical island inhabited by four other ship-wrecked characters. But when he discovers one of the men was cast adrift by the Titanic, he is forced to question where he really is and if he will be able to escape.

Writer Cyril Glendinning is waiting for his big break. He is well reviewed by cultured newspapers, but he makes very little money. Then he is commissioned to write a novel for a big publisher, but before he is able to finish, disaster strikes. His wife, Gertrude, is left penniless and alone, until she is awoken one night by a mysterious clicking metallic sound....

When Carstone visits his old friend, Brendan, one night, he is intrigued by the empty house next door, which is said to be haunted. Despite his host telling him many of the spooky tales that surround the old house, he accepts a dare to spend the night at The Gables, but his bravado soon falters....

Former Crime detective and University Professor, Claire Lane has joined the SOE – Special Operations Executive. Has she intentionally run away from Daroonga Castle and Lord Ralph McGinniss? In France, Aunt Avery is running a successful brothel in Saint Brieuc, next door to the German Radar Station. Ralph mounts an operation to rescue his wife from the beaches of Brittany. Have the commandos made a mistake and who have they brought back to England? Claire or a German informant. And what are those two children doing in the Library at Daroonga? Will the Lady Margarethe welcome them with open...

Josef Vadassy, a Hungarian refugee and language teacher living in France, is enjoying his first break for years in a small hotel on the Riviera. But when he takes his holiday photographs to be developed at a local chemists, he suddenly finds himself mistaken for a Gestapo agent, and a charge of espionage is levelled at him. To prove himself innocent to the French police, he must discover which one of his fellow guests at his pension is the real spy. As he desperately tries to uncover the true culprit's identity, Vadassy must risk his job, his safety and everything he holds dear.

In un pacifico villaggio della costa della Cornovaglia, un magistrato viene ucciso con una pallottola in testa. Nessun indizio, una sola sospettata, la nipote del morto. Ma in aiuto della polizia giunge il più sorprendente degli investigatori... Il reverendo Dodd, vicario di Boscawen, tranquillo villaggio sulla costa della Cornovaglia, trascorre le sue serate leggendo storie poliziesche davanti al focolare – ma non sia mai che anche solo l’ombra di un vero crimine possa venire a turbare la serena routine della sua parrocchia sul mare!

When a Londoner retreats to the Cornish Coast for a break, he encounters a veiled woman. Could it be the ghost of intrepid explorer Miss Alice Trellings, who disappeared whilst staying at the hotel?

In un antico castello delle Highlands scozzesi, la nobile Mary Gregor viene ritrovata barbaramente uccisa. La porta della stanza è chiusa dall’interno, le finestre sono sbarrate. Sul cadavere l’unico indizio: una lucente scaglia di pesce. Quello di Duchlan è il classico castello tetro e minaccioso delle Highlands scozzesi. Una notte vi viene ritrovata uccisa Mary Gregor, sorella del Laird di Duchlan, un membro della piccola nobiltà locale. La donna è stata pugnalata a morte nella sua camera da letto, ma la stanza è chiusa dall'interno e le finestre sono sbarrate.

Ernest Roydon is distressed by a mysterious apparition that appears around his house. What he initially thinks is a trick of the light soon starts taking on a more human form, until he’s too scared to stay in the house on his own and must enlist the help of a friend.

Henry Grimshaw prides himself on his dual personality. By night, he is a socialite and eligible bachelor; by day, he is a clothing factory tyrant, with fugitives working for him who he hands over to the authorities if they step out of line. When Cyrus Sabinette meets Grimshaw at a party, he initially wants in on the operation, but when Grimshaw refuses to be blackmailed, he devises a cunning plan to get back at the factory owner. Is he just a master of illusion, or can he conjure the dead?

There have been reports of a phantom ship attempting to run down other vessels on the waters. It is said to be a cutter that went missing, along with its crew. A ship eventually stumbles across the missing cutter, a final log from those on board shedding light on the fate of the cutter.

Phantom Death is an imaginative story about a painting that has perplexed crowds across Europe. The painting must be viewed in solitude and is presented in a dark room, draped in black silken rope. When the unnamed narrator views the painting for himself, though, he is interrupted by another, setting off an unexpected chain of events.

An adventure ideally suited to Indiana Jones, ‘The Treasure of the Tombs’ sees three WW1 veterans return to a remote cave to recover hidden gold, but the tomb is cursed.

Two friends embark on a walking tour of northern France, but they encounter a strange fellow traveller who they struggle to shake off on their journey.

When a collector acquires an old Spanish rapier cheap from an antiques dealer, he thinks he’s got himself a bargain. But he soon realises why the dealer wanted a quick sale.

Amateur violinist and collector Herman Yorke is overjoyed when he is chosen to play first violin in the Amateur Orchestral Society. In the audience, however, he is distracted by a beautiful woman that is watching him. After several concerts, he decides to approach the woman, but Herman soon discovers that he is the only person who can see her.

One of the author’s earliest pieces of short horror fiction, ‘On the Embankment’ introduces us to London’s homeless population as they fight for space on seats to sleep each night. However, no matter how busy it is or desperate the sleepers are, there’s always one seat that is mysteriously left empty....

A postman encounters a strange letterbox in this spooky story. He’s never seen the occupants of the house, the windows and doors are shuttered and any letters posted through the mysterious letterbox disappear into a void of black. It isn’t long before the postman and the local community must investigate.