Short Mystery Collection

In these five unabridged short stories, Stephen Crane masterfully depicts the human condition. Through his keen observations of the simple, unnoticed aspects of life, he deftly describes man’s relationship to society, human nature, and the power of transformation. In each of the stories, he creatively reveals the internal battles, conflicts, and awakening that man collectively experiences. Grab your copy today to discover how he reveals man’s sense of dignity, optimism, grit, courage, and greed.

After the last shots of World War II were fired and the process of rebuilding Germany and Europe began, the Western Allies and the Soviet Union each tried to obtain the services of the Third Reich's leading scientists, especially those involved in rocketry, missile technology, and aerospace research. Naturally, this was a delicate affair due to the fact many of the German scientists were not only active Nazis but had helped the Nazi war machine terrorize the world. At the same time, near the end of the war, the Anglo-American Allies formed a clear picture of the Soviet state.

"Till death us do part." Those words she’d sworn never to break. Jill didn’t want a divorce, but the violence had to stop. One way or another, her marriage was going to end. "How to Get Away with Murder" is one of seven sinister tales featured in this genre-hopping collection of short fiction from Frank J. Thomas.

Love remembered...life honored...our lives are memory...our loves are our only hope to be, and all that hope adored and lost has melted into memory. 

Fighter pilot Gary Forsythe is a man on fire. He’s tough, steely-eyed, hunted by many and feared by all. He’s British Secret Service - a striking predecessor to James Bond - with a chip on his shoulder and a .50 caliber machinegun in his flying killing machine. He is the devil - with wings. The Japanese have invaded Manchuria, and Forsythe has made it his mission to stop them. Japanese Military Intelligence has made it their mission to knock the Devil out of the skies.

He’s a handsome American Lieutenant in the French Foreign Legion. She’s a beautiful woman who’s as fiery as the North African sun...and as mysterious as the far side of the moon. And she’s all his - bought and paid for in the village square. Put them together, and you’re sure to get fireworks.

He’s a lady’s man, a man’s man—and a wanted man, on the run in 1930s Europe.... Meet Blacky Lee, ruggedly handsome with a quick wit and a roguish charm—with larceny in his heart and a price on his head. A price put there by the German Gestapo. But Blacky’s always got an angle, and this time it’s as audacious as they come. He’ll hide in plain sight, impersonating the crowned head of a Balkan kingdom. He’ll become The Iron Duke.

American Ann Halliday is as fiery as the Sahara sun. And now she’s feeling some real heat, as the prize captive of the Berber leader Abd el Malek also known as “The Killer”. But Abd el Malek wants Ann alive - and in chains - subject to his every whim and fantasy. Dusty Colton, however, an American deserter from the French Foreign Legion, has a different idea, and he’s determined to give “The Killer” a taste of his own bloody medicine. The only problem is Dusty himself is wanted for murder.

Tom Christian is on the trail of revenge and a fortune in gold. Square-jawed and rugged, Tom is headed deep into the jungles of the Solomon Islands to find Punjo Charlie—the ruthless criminal who killed his partner. But these jungles are thick with danger ... as greed, temptation and sudden violence threaten to draw Tom into the heart of darkness. There’s a pile of gold.... There’s a beautiful blonde.... And there’s a bloodthirsty tribe of headhunters who have fallen under the spell of Punjo Charlie. The trap has been set.

Meet Lieutenant Flint: hard-edged and muscle-bound, radiating machismo - a bull of a soldier. In the opposite corner stands Captain Turner: with his pencil mustache and tailored shirts, he’s a Trick Soldier - smart, crisply-dressed, and always at attention. They’re fire and ice, oil and water. Ten years ago and a thousand miles away, they attended boot camp together. They didn’t get along then...and they don’t get along now. Reunited in the Haitian jungles, in the midst of a fierce rebel uprising, they confront the most dangerous enemy of all - each other.

Running off to join the French Foreign Legion used to be every boy's dream of action and adventure. But for Lieutenant Bill Reilly - half Irish, half American, and like Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia, a Westerner at war in the desert - the dream has turned into a nightmare. And it all begins with the gruesome delivery of a severed hand…

The Caribbean is a fortune hunter’s dream, salted with the gold of galleons long ago claimed by the deep. Now Hawk’s headed for the Windward Passage of Haiti to stake his claim. But a rival team has also picked up the scent, and they’re willing to turn the sea red with blood to get to the gold first.

Embittered by past failures and broken dreams, American fighter pilot David Duane believes in but one cause - his own. Europe is at war, and he’ll fight it for a price, selling his deadly flying skills to the highest bidder. Duane has come to the icy white wastes of Scandinavia to wage a private war in the skies. But he’s about to take off on a flight and undertake an unforgettable journey - On Blazing Wings - to a place beyond the imagination...leading to a revelation that will open his eyes and his heart.

Caution is a second-generation ace pilot desperately trying to bury his past and the memories of his father - a daredevil barnstormer who perished trying to wow crowds and killed Caution's mother from the shock. Now Caution has worked his way up the ladder as an ultra-conservative general manager of a small airline. But against his better judgement, Caution must risk the hazards of a round-world air race. Joined by a fiery blonde stunt flyer as his female co-pilot, he begins the journey only to discover that a rival airline is trying to sabotage their every move.

It is one of the greatest conflicts - and a pivotal turning point - in history...the Chinese civil war. On one side stands Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalists. On the other, Mao Zedong and the Communists. And their forces are about to meet in a decisive battle...the outcome of which is in the hands of one American pilot, John Hampton, a man who couldn’t care less....

A blind obsession. A driving ambition. A relentless, unrestrained, single-minded pursuit of a shiny metal. These are the symptoms of a condition known as gold fever, and, like Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, American mining engineer Captain Humbert Reynolds has got it bad. Possible side effects include: temporary insanity, a propensity for violence, and death.

Meet Eddie Moran, a slightly disreputable American cooling his heels in French Morocco. He's as smooth as they come, one step ahead of the game...and of the police. Who's after him? Just about everybody. What's he done? A bit of everything - smuggler, revolutionary, whatever crooked little scheme will pay for his next meal or next drink. But Eddie's latest caper is one he may not be able to escape....even if he wants to.

Mart Kincaid may be the fastest gun in the state, but it does him no good - because his gun and his life are not his own. They belong to Gar Malone, the King of Concha Basin, a ruthless rancher driven by his thirst for power, wealth, and conquest. Now Gar has set his sights on the Singing Canyon spread - the richest land in the basin - and he commands Kincaid to run its true owners off. If not, he threatens to reveal a dark secret that could ruin Kincaid's brother.

Saddle tramp Petey McGuire doesn’t have much to live for. The trail in front of him stretches out long and hot, and there’s no end in sight. He’s been beaten down, beaten up, and kicked around so long, he’d run away from his own shadow if he could. But there’s one fight he can’t run from - the fight against hunger. Petey needs a job quick, before he drops dead in the dust. But the only way to get one is to act cool and talk tough - in other words, become the exact opposite of Petey McGuire.

As a lieutenant in the US Marine Corps, Michael Stuart was once considered an officer and a gentleman. But that’s all changed. Now he’s seen as a renegade, a traitor, and a thief. Stuart is a man without a country...and perhaps without a prayer. Why? Because in a daring plot to foil the Japanese puppet regime in China, he set out to reinstate the country’s true emperor. Known now as The Red Dragon, Stuart is a soldier of fortune in war-torn Manchuria - and a man of honor in a world of treachery.