Showing results by author "E. Phillips Oppenheim" in All Categories

East Africa, 1913. The disgraced English aristocrat Everard Dominey stumbles out of the bush and comes face to face with his lookalike, the German Baron von Ragastein. Months later, Dominey returns to London and resumes his glittering social life. But is it really Dominey who has come back - or a German secret agent seeking to infiltrate English high society?

You're in luck, Alfred," he declared. "That's the most interesting man in New York - one of the most interesting in the world. That's Sanford Quest." "Who's he?" "You haven't heard of Sanford Quest?" "Never in my life." The young man whose privilege it was to have been born and lived all his days in New York, drank half a glassful of wine and leaned back in his chair. Words, for a few moments, were an impossibility. "Sanford Quest," he pronounced at last, "is the greatest master in criminology the world has ever known. He is a magician, a scientist, the Pierpont Morgan of his profession."

The Vanished Messenger is a tense and suspenseful mystery set against the backdrop of a looming European war. When an American carrying a crucial document disappears after a train wreck in England, British authorities scramble to uncover the truth before war breaks out. A thrilling tale of espionage, deception, and high-stakes diplomacy.

The Great Secret is a suspenseful espionage novel in which a wealthy English gentleman is drawn into a deadly conspiracy when he is asked to hide a fugitive. As he navigates a world of spies, secret societies, and unexpected danger, his quiet life is forever changed.

Nicholas Goade, the Scotland Yard detective, takes a well earned rest after his recent work in arresting single-handed a notorious criminal who had for five years defied the police forces of New York and London. He has been awarded a cheque for $25,000 and six months leave of absence and is enjoying a touring holiday in the West of England in his ancient Ford car with his companion Flip, a small, fat, white dog. But his holiday soon becomes “a busman's holiday”, as he himself puts it, as at each turn he is called upon to deal with crimes.

An Englishman is enjoying his dinner at Stephano's, at which he is a regular diner. A man enters quickly, sits at his table, starts eating his food, and hands him a packet underneath the table! So begins Paul Walmsley's acquaintance - and adventures - with American adventurer Joseph H. Parker and his lovely daughter, Eve.

This is a story about Jacob Pratt who "stood bond” for his brother and then lost all his money and was unable to pay his debts. Two years later his brother is finally able to restore him to an enviable financial position. Jacob rewards those who stood beside him during his time of trials and attempts to get even with those who had cast him aside. He finds that revenge is not always sweet. Even though Jacob has plenty of money, he is unable to win the girl of his dreams.

E. Phillips Oppenheim was a British writer known for his thriller novels. He is credited with writing over 100 novels including suspense, international intrigue, romance, parables, and comedies. His protagonists are known for their love of luxury, gourmet meals, and their enjoyment of criminal activities. The Great Secret a.k.a. The Secret was published in 1908. The plot involves an international conspiracy. The heroine is a beautiful American girl.

Havoc occurs when European countries are discussing covert alliances. The story revolves around the creation of a secret alliance between Germany, Russia, and Austria. The English hope to split Russia away by holding the Czar to his previous public commitments, but they need proof of what was done to create the pressure. All the pressures that lead to WWI are there, but the intrigues and secret treaties create an interesting background to the twists and turns of the plot.

"It is an easy task," Selingman declared. "This young man is your slave. Whatever your daily business may be here, some part of your time, I imagine, will be spent in his company. Let me know what manner of man he is. Is this innate corruptness which brings him so easily to the bait, or is it the stinging smart of injustice from which he may well be suffering? Or, failing these, has he dared to set his wits against mine, to play the double traitor? If even a suspicion of this should come to you, there must be an end of Mr. Francis Norgate."

Sir Wingrave Seton allowed himself to be imprisoned for nine years rather than betraying a lady's honor. He seeks revenge by acquiring immense wealth for the sole purpose of destroying the lives of others. But a new young lover slowly starts to thaw the Malefactor's icy heart, prompting him to abandon his misanthropic plans. Is it too late?

The Zeppelin’s Passenger is a tale of German espionage in England during World War I. Dreymarsh is a fictional "backwater” area in England with no apparent military value. The story begins with Dreymarsh residents discovering an observation car from a German zeppelin along with a Homburg hat near Dreymarsh. The mystery is further complicated when an Englishman, Mr. Hamar Lessingham, presents himself at Mainsail Haul which is the residence of Sir Henry Cranston.

A former defense attorney turned righteous crusader is the hero of this blockbuster novel from an early master of the thriller genre. A businessman is found stabbed through the heart, the obvious suspect his partner: Oliver Hilditch, a cold-eyed fellow with a paper-thin alibi. Hilditch seems destined for the gallows, but he is saved by brilliant defense attorney Francis Ledsam, who uses every legal trick he knows to free his client.

The setting is the years prior to the outbreak of World War I. It is a time when Germany is outwardly preparing for war, but Britain continues to believe it is invincible and that no one would challenge her. A vast German spy network flourishes in England, often in plain view. The main character is Francis Norgate, an aspiring British diplomat who falls in disfavor with his superiors for defending a woman while stationed in Berlin. The resulting scandal causes Norgate to be recalled.

A German advocate of the Kaiser discovers he is a facial/physical match for young Englishman Everard Dominey, who is near death after harrowing experiences in Africa. The remarkable doppelgänger resemblance leads Major-General Baron Leopold Von Ragastein to infiltrate the UK in perfect disguise. He wants to lead his country’s efforts as Europe is racing toward war. Part of the plan is to murder Dominey and have the Baron take his place in English society.

Herbert Wrayson, a bachelor returns to his flat one night to find a young lady rifling his desk. He questions her and finds she thought she was in the apartment of his neighbor, Morris Barnes, who lives above him. While he is on the telephone, she quietly slips out of his flat and heads to Barnes' abode. A few hours later, she is once again at his door - this time looking scared and faint. She asks Wrayson to escort her downstairs as the hallway is unlit. As they emerge, a hansom sits at the doorway with Morris Barnes in it. But, they discover that Barnes has been strangled.

E. Phillips Oppenheim, an English novelist created well in excess of 100 novels and 30 plus collections of short stories. Most of his tales are thrillers and espionage. The Great Impersonation was written following World War I and is considered by many to be perhaps his best novel. The story focuses on German espionage in England prior to the start of World War I. The tale centers on two characters that are almost identical in appearance. Indeed, while both attend the same school in England, they are often mistaken for one another.

It is during World War I. A chemist, Sandy Graham, has discovered a new powerful explosive, but he lets it slip in a London restaurant that he has made the discovery. Graham is ready to join some friends for luncheon at the restaurant but chooses to clean up before joining them. He never comes out of the restroom. Several spies from different governments set out to find him and the formula. This espionage novel is from 1918, but it could just as easily have been from today.

The mysterious Mr. Laxworthy, a fictional character created by E. Phillips Oppenheim in 1913, hires two ex-cons for a job in the south of France. But the self-described "adventurer" isn't after money. His eyes are on greater prizes - the most valuable secret of the French navy and the reputation of two very important men.

The Devil’s Paw is a gripping espionage thriller set in the aftermath of World War I. When a beautiful young woman is suspected of being a traitor, and an injured soldier hides secrets of his own, a tangled web of intrigue, patriotism, and deception unfolds.