William
Tufnell Le Queux was an Anglo-French journalist and writer. He was also
a diplomat (honorary consul for San Marino), a traveller (in Europe,
the Balkans and North Africa), a flying buff who officiated at the first
British air meeting at Doncaster in 1909, and a wireless pioneer who
broadcast music from his own station long before radio was generally
available; his claims regarding his own abilities and exploits, however,
were usually exaggerated. His best-known works are the anti-French and
anti-Russian invasion fantasy The Great War in England in 1897 (1894)
and the anti-German invasion fantasy The Invasion of 1910 (1906), the
latter becoming a bestseller.
An Eye For An Eye
Read by Tom Weiss
Running Time:7:25:19 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Frank
Urwin and Richard Cleugh are two bachelor journalists sharing a flat in
London. One evening while chatting, Urwin receives a telegram from a
police acquaintance to come to the local police station at once. Urwin
visits Inspector Patterson who is greatly agitated. Patterson invites
Urwin for a drink and tells him of a strange occurrence at a local
house. The two visit the house where they discover a dead young male and
attractive young female. For some reason, Patterson is reluctant to
report the apparent murders. While at the house, the telephone rings and
Urwin answers it. A strange voice asks if the deed has been done? Urwin
indicates it has and agrees to meet the caller at St. James’s Park.
Urwin finally convinces Patterson to report the crime and a second visit
occurs with additional police. This time however, the dead female is
not the same person.
As We Forgive Them
Read by Tom Weiss
Running Time:6:50:26 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Gilbert
Greenwood and Reginald Seton are bachelors who share a flat on Great
Russell Street. Neither are especially prosperous but through economies,
they manage to live well. One of their hobbies is fox hunting. One
night, Greenwood, on returning from a fox hunt finds a man and a young
girl alongside the road. The girl appears to be exhausted and Gilbert
offers assistance to the couple . Greenwood learns the man's name is
Burton Blair and the girl is Mabel, his young daughter. After some food
and rest, Blair relates to Greenwood that he is in search of a secret
which will make him wealthy beyond his dreams and that he and his
daughter have been searching for that secret for years. As the story
unfolds, Burton Blair has, evidently, found his secret and become
wealthy although he will share the secret with no one, not even Mabel.
One day, returning from a trip, Blair is found dead on a train. The
doctors believe it to be a natural death but Greenwood and Mabel suspect
foul play meant to obtain the secret of his wealth. An unknown
individual has been named to execute Blair's will but no one knows why. A
mysterious code is discovered, one which may truly be undecipherable.
Could this code hide the secret to his riches? Is Mabel completely
innocent as she appeared? And Greenwood is warned that Seton may also
not be reputable. Once again Le Queux weaves a tangled web of intrigue
and mystery.
Behind the Throne
William Le Queux (1864 - 1927)
Read by ToddHW, Sandra Cullum, BriMo, Daniel Glover, Roxby, Ruth Ruby, Julie Anne Thompson, Tom Shoesmith, Nrageb, I. Houghton, Stephen Ndichu, ArmReader, Anna Krasuska, Elijah Fisher, Nancy Gorgen, Stacey Malcolm
Running Time:09:59:19 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Frank Spalding, a young diplomat, finds himself embroiled in political intrigue and global espionage when he is stationed in Italy. With many plot twists and turns, Frank finds a way to navigate through the machinations of international politics.
Hushed Up! A Mystery of London
Read by Tom Weiss
Running Time:7:21:28 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
A
young man, Owen Biddulph, is drawn to a beautiful young woman with a
mysterious past... a past that seems to have returned to cause her
disappearance! Is she his new found love or his nemesis? And who is this
mysterious clergyman that warns him to avoid this young woman, at risk
of his very life! What possible harm could this sweet young woman
inflict? Written by one of the Masters of Mystery, William Le Queux.
Stolen Souls
Running Time:07:11:13 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Read by Alan Winterrowd; Anna Simon; Annapurna; Bala; Christine Dufour; Etel Buss; John O; Lee Smalley; Lynne Thompson; Mary in Arkansas; Todd H W
This is a collection of 14 of William le Queux' best mystery stories.
The Soul of Princess Tchikhatzoff
The Golden Hand
The Masked Circe
The Man with the Fatal Finger
Santina
The Woman with a Blemish
The Sylph of the Terror
One Woman's Sin
Vogue La Galere!
Fortune's Fool
DeathKisses
The City in the Sky
The BloodRed Band
A Child of the Sun
The Count's Chauffeur
Read by Steven Seitel
Running Time:07:35:10 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
When
car-crazy George Ewart accepts employment as chauffeur to Count Bindo
di Ferraris, an Italian aristocrat, he has no idea what he has just let
himself in for. The opportunity to drive the powerful six-cylinder, 40
horsepower Napier open touring car provides happiness enough. The Count,
however, has a secret agenda. Why is he always on the move? What
mystery sees the Count Bindo rushing to the wealthy--and occasionally
dangerous-- hot spots of Europe? And why must he leave so quickly after?
Eventually, Ewart catches on to the Count's "mission." What will he do
now?
The Czar's Spy
Read by Tom Weiss
Running Time:9:35:10 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
William
Le Queux was a British novelist and prolific writer of mysteries.
Indeed, mystery surrounds the author himself as to whether he was a spy
or rather just a self-promoter. Regardless of which is true, Le Queux
brings us a story of intrigue and espionage that travels across Europe
in the true spirit of a good mystery. There are shootings, burglaries,
romances, escapes from prisons, and intricate conspiracies that may
surprise and leave you scratching your head as you try to solve this
“whodunit”. In the best tradition of a good mystery however, you may
need to wait for the final chapters to discover the truth.
The Four Faces
Read by Tom Weiss
Running Time:9:14:01 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Michael
Berrington is a bachelor leading a quiet life in London. Overhearing a
conversation at his club one day, he becomes interested in a discussion
regarding a man named Gastrell. Gastrell is somewhat of a mystery to the
club members in spite of his renting a house from one of them.
Berrington’s interest in Gastrell intensifies as his fiancé, Dulcie
Challoner, befriends a wealthy widow, Mrs. Connie Stapleton who
evidently has some type of relationship with Gastrell. As the plot
progresses, Berrington finds himself involved with sensational
robberies, brutal murders, coded messages, and even mind control! As in
many Le Queux books, there are twists and turns as new characters and
locations are introduced. When you are sure you know the ending,
something new occurs and you wonder how it will affect the conclusion of
the book.
The Great White Queen
Read by Tom Weiss
Running Time:9:21:42 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
How
to describe this book? In a word – savage. The book starts out like
most Le Queux. Our hero, Richard Scarsmere, befriends an individual
(Omar) at an English boarding school who turns out to be an African
prince from a kingdom called Mo. Omar receives a visit from one of his
mother’s trusted advisers. His mother, the Great White Queen, seeks him
to return home immediately. Omar convinces Scarsmere to return to Africa
with him since there is little opportunity awaiting him in London. What
follows is a tale of deceit, treachery, barbarity, and mystery.
The House of Whispers
Read by April
Running Time:08:36:45 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
This
is a story about a young lady and her blind father who live in a House
of Whispers. "There is a legend that those who hear the whispers die
quickly and suddenly." Story written by William Le Queux in 1910. Le
Queux mainly wrote in the genres of thriller, espionage, mystery.
The Invasion
Read by Tom Weiss
Running Time:10:34:23 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
This
novel, also known as The Invasion of 1910, is a 1906 novel written
mainly by William Le Queux (with H. W. Wilson providing the naval
chapters). It is one of the more famous examples of Invasion literature
and is an example of pre-World War I Germanophobia, as it preached the
need to prepare for war with Germany. The book takes the form of a
military history and includes excerpts from the characters' journals and
letters and descriptions of the fictional German campaign itself. The
novel originally appeared in serial form in the Daily Mail newspaper
from 19 March 1906, and was a huge success. The newspaper's circulation
increased greatly, and it made a small fortune for Le Queux, eventually
being translated into twenty-seven languages and selling over one
million copies in book form.
It
is centered on an invasion by the Germans, who have managed to land a
sizable invasion force on the East Coast of England. They advance
inland, cutting all telegraph lines and despoiling farmland as they go,
and the British struggle to mount a proper defense. The Germans
eventually reach London and occupy half the city. A junior Member of
Parliament declares that "Britain is not defeated" and organizes a
resistance movement, the "League of Defenders", despite harsh reprisals
by the Germans and a severe lack of arms. The Germans seem unable to
combat this and tighten their control of London, and suddenly find
themselves faced with a popular uprising. Eventually a newly-formed
British Army marches to liberate London. The fictional war, however, is a
stalemate since it appears that German forces have managed to occupy
Belgium and the Netherlands.
The Seven Secrets
Read by Tom Weiss
Running Time:7:45:10 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
A
true “whodunit” with as many twists and turns as an English country
road. Old man Courtenay is found murdered in his bed. Dr. Ralph Boyd is
summoned to Courtenay Manor to examine the slain man and discovers a
clue that might solve the case. But, he decides to keep the clue private
for personal reasons. In the meantime, Scotland Yard has no clues as
the culprits or the motive. Dr. Boyd, because of his new found clue, is
sure he knows who is the murderer. Or, is it a murderess? His intimate
acquaintance, Ambler Jevons, is also investigating the crime but Dr.
Boyd does not share his discoveries with him. Sure of his findings, a
bizarre midnight encounter turns all Boyd's judgments upside down and
the case becomes more peculiar than when it started. What are the seven
secrets needed to decode this murder, or is it a conspiracy? One needs
to listen to the end to discover the truth.
The Sign of Silence
Read by Tom Weiss
Running Time:7:06:56 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Edward
Royle is the head of a well-known chemical manufacturer in England,
which he has inherited. He is engaged to the daughter of his father’s
former partner, Phrida Shand, who lives with her mother. One night he is
asked by his friend, Sir Digby Kemsley – a very famous railroad
engineer, to come to his flat to discuss something although Kemsley is
quite mysterious on the telephone. Royle visits, then returns home only
to be summoned again by Kemsley, this time imploring him to return at
once. Royle finds a gentleman in Kemsley’s place who is clearly not
Kemsley, or is he? Kemsley asks Royle to trust him but that night, a
young woman is murdered at Kemsley’s flat. Kemsley has disappeared.
Royle discovers that his fiancé was in Kemsley’s flat at the time of the
murder and is obviously hiding something. Once again, Le Queux takes us
through a maze of intrigue and locations in Europe.
The Stretton Street Affair
Read by Tom Weiss
Running Time:8:39:52 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Hugh
Gabriel has recently been repatriated from the war and has rejoined his
old firm as an electrical engineer. On the way to visit his uncle one
night, he is asked by a servant if he would be willing to meet with his
wealthy master who is in some distress. Hugh becomes witness to, and
directly involved with, a dastardly murder. Or has he? Who is this
mysterious millionaire Oswald De Gex he has been asked to meet with? Is
Doctor Moroni an honest physician or a diabolical monster? And what
about the fair Gabrielle - but then, is there more than one Gabrielle?
Le Queux, the Master of Mystery once again weaves an intricate plot
which takes Hugh Gabriel to locations throughout Europe as he tries to
unravel a scheme that he does not understand, nor why he is involved.
The Tickencote Treasure
Read by Steven Seitel
Running Time:08:34:58 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Paul
Pickering is a doctor without a fixed practice, and when an old sea
captain asks him to join a voyage around the Mediterranean, that's
finally an exciting prospect for him. The journey goes well until they
spot a most strange vessel somewhere off the coast of Algeria. It is an
old Elizabethan craft that looks to have been submerged for hundreds of
years and recently bubbled back up to the surface. The men board it and
find that it had been hermetically sealed all these centuries, all
contents intact. But it does not, as first hoped, contain gold. The men
find barely legible manuscripts and a mysterious old man, who appears to
be as old as the vessel itself.
Whither Thou Goest
Read by Tom Weiss
Running Time:7:50:04 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
The
Earl of Saxham was vastly annoyed when his son, Guy, fell in love with a
“penniless nobody,” and announced that he would marry her against all
opposition. He determined to separate the lovers; to which end he
persuaded an influential friend in the Foreign Office to secure an
appointment for Guy in the Embassy at Madrid. He little knew that he was
sending his son into the centre of a hotbed of anarchism, that Guy’s
footsteps were to be dogged by a vindictive and revengeful woman, that
his life was to hold many a thrilling moment and not a few narrow
escapes.