A fascinating installment in R. Austin Freeman's classic mystery series featuring forensic detective Dr. John Thorndyke A man falls gravely ill, but is reluctant to call a doctor. As his condition worsens, he is eventually forced to seek medical aid-but he does so only under the condition that the physician does not learn his identity or address. Dr. Jervis is therefore transported to the man's home in a 4-wheeled cab with tightly closed shutters....

This early work by Wilkie Collins was originally published in 1852. Born in Marylebone, London in 1824, Collins' family enrolled him at the Maida Hill Academy in 1835, but then took him to France and Italy with them between 1836 and 1838. Returning to England, Collins attended Cole's boarding school, and completed his education in 1841, after which he was apprenticed to the tea merchants Antrobus & Co. in the Strand. In 1846, Collins became a law...

This daring tale of revenge and exotic intrigue is demonstrative of Stevenson's broad range and unique genius. "The Master of Ballantrae", first published in 1889, follows the conflict between two Scottish brothers of noble origins during the tumultuous Jacobite Risings of 1745. Greed and envy threaten to tear the brothers apart as a race for the family inheritance intensifies. James Durie, the protagonist and Master of Ballantrae, is as charming...

Who hasn't dreamt of discovering that they're the secret heir to a great fortune? Temple Barholm, or simply T. Tembarom for short, never did. As an orphan growing up on the mean streets of early 20th century New York City he simply can't afford such foolish notions. Needless to say it comes as an unexpected surprise when Tembarom turns out to be the long forgotten heir to an old family fortune and must make the journey over to England, where unimaginable...

Stevenson’s brooding historical romance demonstrates his most abiding theme—the elemental struggle between good and evil—as it unfolds against a hauntingly beautiful Scottish landscape, amid the fierce loyalties and violent enmities that characterized Scottish history. When two brothers attempt to split their loyalties between the warring factions of the 1745 Jacobite rising, one family finds itself tragically divided. Stevenson’s...

"The Abbot's Ghost" is an 1867 novel by American author Louisa May Alcott. Maurice Treherne becomes crippled as a result of saving his cousin's life during a misadventure involving on the water. Despite being grateful for this fateful deed, his cousin Jasper isn't very good at showing his appreciation. When Treherne realises he is in love with his other cousin Octavia, her mother attempts to keep them apart until a ghostly intervention paves the way...

Ran McGhie's world has been turned upside down. A young, lonely, and frustrated writer, and suffering from mental-health problems, he discovers that his long-dead mother was related to one of Glasgow's oldest merchant families. Not only that, but Ran has inherited Newton Hall, a vast mansion that belonged to his great-uncle, who it seems has been watching from afar as his estranged great-nephew has grown up. Entering his new-found home, it seems Great-Uncle...

What makes life perfect? Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen knows the answer because he calculates everything down to the very last decimal. And then, for the first time, Henri is faced with the incalculable. After suddenly losing his job, Henri inherits an adventure park from his brother - its peculiar employees and troubling financial problems included. The worst of the financial issues appear to originate from big loans taken from criminal...

John Harmon returns to England as his father's heir. Believed drowned under suspicious circumstances--a situation convenient to his wish for anonymity--John evaluates Bella Wilfer whom he must marry to secure his inheritance. The story is filled with colorful Victorian characters and incidents -- the faded aristocrats and parvenus gathered at the Veneering's dinner table, Betty Higden and her terror of the workhouse and the greedy plottings of Silas...

Megan Melvick has spent years avoiding her inheritance, the dark and disquieting family estate Benbrae, now home only to her distant, aristocratic father, and her sister Melissa, dying quietly in an upstairs bedroom. Trapped behind her unreliable hearing aids and vulnerable to what others want her to see, Megan is unable to find the answers she wants: why is there a new woman on her father's arm? And why has their absent mother not returned to say...