Murder Afloat


Book Description

Benjamin Franklin Orville is a boy who wants for nothing. He has his own pony, and he's caught the eye of the charming girl next door. He doesn't have a care in the world--until the day his mother sends him to market to get a chicken for dinner. Suddenly Benjy is caught up in a scuffle, kidnapped with a group of immigrants, and forced to work aboard the Ella Dawn--one of the most ill-reputed oystering vessels in Baltimore. He tries to plead his case, but his captors are unimpressed by Benjamin's way with language. Soon the boy knows only hard work and hunger, a little bit of German, and a whole lot about injustice. It's more of an education than he ever got at home. And along with a growling stomach and aching muscles, he also experiences the joys of the sea--a gentle rhythm that rocks him to sleep at night and freedom he never felt between the fancy walls of his home. Will Benjamin ever see home again? And if he does, will he know what to do there?




The Slickers


Book Description

Tex Larimee is a grizzled Arizona sheriff who’s leaving the deserts of Cactus County behind, blazing a trail east to mix it up with The Slickers in the canyons of Manhattan. Years later Clint Eastwood would follow the exact same trail in Coogan’s Bluff—a western lawman on the loose in New York City. Tex’s welcome to New York is a rude one. Robbed of his cash, gun and badge, he’s locked in a room in back of a run-down bar. Breaking out of the bar, he goes looking for his best friend ... only to find him dead, his throat cut. And the cops accuse Tex of committing the murder.... But none of that’s going to keep a good Arizona lawman down. Discovering he’s been the subject of an elaborate frame-up job, Tex has got a few tricks of his own up his sleeve—and in his recovered Colt .45—to make even the toughest of city birds sing a different tune. Much like Tex, L. Ron Hubbard was born and bred on the western frontier and made his way east to explore and experience life in New York City. But unlike the sheriff, Hubbard enjoyed his time in the city, where his writing career took off as he became a leading figure in its literary world. He came to know the streets and haunts of Manhattan as well as he knew the arroyos and canyons of the west, giving him the kind of insights he needed to write stories like The Slickers. Also includes the mysteries Killer Ape, in which a man frees a mistreated orangutan, only to end up with a monkey on his back, as he’s accused of aiding and abetting the ape in a case of murder, and Murder Afloat, the story of a top narcotics cop in the U.S. Secret Service who’s pursuit of a million-dollar score could land him in some hot—and deadly—water.




Crime Fiction


Book Description

Provides a lively introduction to what is both a wide-ranging and hugely popular literary genre. Accessible and clear, this comprehensive overview is the essential guide for all those studying crime fiction.




The Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery


Book Description

Bruce Murphy's Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery is a comprehensive guide to the genre of the murder mystery that catalogues thousands of items in a broad range of categories: authors, titles, plots, characters, weapons, methods of killing, movie and theatrical adaptations. What distinguishes this encyclopedia from the others in the field is its critical stance.




Gunman's Tally


Book Description

Some men look to keep the peace. Others look to make trouble. But sometimes even the most law-abiding of men are compelled to cross the line.... Easy Bill Gates is just such a man—as quick with a smile and as slow to anger as Gary Cooper in High Noon. He’s a model of restraint...until he’s forced to strap on a holster and kill the outlaw who murdered his brother. But more than his honor is at stake. A ruthless land baron is out to grab Bill’s ranch and he’s hired a gang of gunslingers to get Bill out of the way. Between the rancher who wants to take his land, and the young guns who want to take his life, Easy Bill will have to make some hard choices—and fast draws—to avoid becoming just another notch in the Gunman’s Tally. Hailing from the western states of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Montana, Hubbard grew up surrounded by grizzled frontiersmen and leather-tough cowboys, counting a Native American medicine man as one of his closest friends. When he chose to write stories of the Old West, Hubbard didn’t have to go far to do his research, drawing on his own memories of a youth steeped in the life and legends of the American frontier. Also includes the Western adventure, Ruin at Rio Piedras, the story of a young cowboy kicked off a ranch for falling in love with the owner’s daughter...only to devise a whip-smart plan to win the day—and the girl. “Outstanding.” —Midwest Book Review




The Chee-Chalker


Book Description

Chee-Chalker: a newcomer to Alaska and the Klondike; an Indian word meaning one who is inexperienced or has no knowledge; a tenderfoot. Bill Norton might be new to Ketchikan but he’s no tenderfoot. In fact, he’s one of the sharpest FBI agents this side of the Yukon—savvy, tough and resourceful, like Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan in Clear and Present Danger. Norton’s come to this rough-and-tumble town to look into a case of a missing person—his own boss—who vanished investigating a heroin smuggling operation. What Norton finds is a string of corpses, a gallery of rogues, and a fleet of fishing boats that specialize in red herrings. He also finds himself warming up to the heart-stopping halibut heiress Elaine Halloway. But is Elaine mixed up in the heroin trade . . . or a victim of it? To find the truth Norton will have to make living men sweat—and dead men talk. Because every body fished out of the icy waters has a story to tell, and it will take all of Norton’s CSI-like skills to squeeze it out of them. Hubbard wrote The Chee-Chalker in 1940 while on his Alaskan Experimental Radio Expedition. One of its main purposes was to test an experimental radio navigation system enabling the user to locate the source of radio transmissions. While in Ketchikan, Ron used this equipment to assist the US Army Signal Corp, Coast Guard and local FBI. In the process he helped uncover a Nazi saboteur who had invented a device to interfere with radio transmissions between Alaska and the continental United States. So it’s not surprising that a radio station plays a significant role in this story.




Devil's Manhunt


Book Description

In the Arizona territory, every mountain hides a fortune—and every man fends for himself. Tim Beckdolt is as American as the frontier itself, as rangy and self-reliant as a young Jimmy Stewart. But after spending eight treacherous months digging $175,000 in gold out of Desperation Peak—all he has left is desperation. Two sadistic strangers have taken his gold, and now they want to take his life. He’s on the run—the target of a Devil’s Manhunt. In a time and a place where the only law is the law of survival, Beckdolt will have to live by his wits…or die by the bullet. In 1932, Hubbard led a mining crew on a six-month West Indies Mineralogical Expedition in Puerto Rico—the first complete survey of the island since it had become an American territory. It was an experience that informs this title with remarkable realism. Also includes two additional Western tales: Johnny, the Town Tamer, the story of a local swindler who meets his match, and Stranger in Town, in which a drifter confronts a corrupt sheriff…and his own dark past. “A thrilling novel of greed, violence, survival and perseverance, Devil's Manhunt perfectly embodies the unbridled excitement of pulp fiction.” —Midwest Book Review




The Sky-Crasher


Book Description

They don't call him Caution Jones for nothing. An ace pilot, ever since his barnstorming father was killed in an air stunt, Jones has stuck strictly to business—as the no-nonsense general manager of Trans-Continental Airlines. But, like Robert Redford in The Great Waldo Pepper, he's about to find that, sometimes, if you want to get anywhere, you have to throw caution to the wind. The race is on for a monster contract: the U.S. Postal Service. But to get it, Trans-Continental will have to circle the globe and beat its top competitor to the prize. And there's only one pilot with the skill to do it: Caution Jones. He'll have to dust off his wings and soar to heights even his father never dreamed of. The wild blue yonder has never been wilder as Jones discovers that the competition will go to any length to bring his plane down. But an even greater challenge sits in his own cockpit—his co-pilot. She's blonde, she's brazen, and she just might get Caution Jones to take the biggest risk of all. . . . L. Ron Hubbard, the pilot, was a sensation in his flying days. As an article in the July 1934 issue of The Pilot magazine said, "Wherever two or three pilots are gathered together around the Nation's Capital, whether it be a Congressional hearing, or just in the back of some hangar, you'll probably hear the name of Ron Hubbard mentioned . . . for the flaming haired pilot hit the city like a tornado a few years ago and made women scream and strong men weep by his aerial antics. He just dared the ground to come up and hit him." And straight from the cockpit to the typewriter, Hubbard brought all the thrills and chills of his flight experience to his stories. Includes the aviation adventure Boomerang Bomber, in which a former U.S. Army officer undertakes a mission for the Chinese only to end up in the crosshairs of Japan's Imperial military. In a world of double- and triple-crosses, this is one conflict that can only be settled in battle . . . in the sky. “Wild adventure.” —The Midwest Book Review




When Shadows Fall


Book Description

Star Trek’s Captain Kirk has a kindred soul in Lars the Ranger, a commander of his own star fleet. But whereas Kirk’s mission is to boldly go where no man has gone before, Lars is boldly going where other men are—in a desperate attempt to save his home planet . . . Earth. He’s not exploring the final frontier. He is our last hope. Earth is way past global warming. It’s totally fried—an environmental disaster—and most of its inhabitants have cut out for greener pastures, colonizing distant worlds. Lars leads an expedition across the galaxy to visit those worlds in hopes that he return with the resources needed to bring Earth back from the brink of extinction. But Lars has apparently failed. A mammoth fleet of mysterious starships are descending on the third planet from the sun. Is Earth history? Yes . . . and that may just be its saving grace. By the spring of 1938, Hubbard’s stature as a writer was well established. As author and critic Robert Silverberg puts it: he had become a “master of the art of narrative.” Hubbard’s editors urged him to apply his gift for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing and imaginative action to a genre that was new, and essentially foreign, to him—science fiction and fantasy. The rest is SciFi history. Also includes the science fiction adventures, Battling Bolto, the story of a giant, con man who’s running an interstellar scam, while the biggest trick of all lies right under his nose; and Tough Old Man, in which an aging constable’s lack of feelings is not a matter of insensitivity, but of a secret—and surprising—side of his character.




Sci-Fi / Fantasy 10th Anniversary Book Collection (One Was Stubborn, The Tramp, If I Were You and The Great Secret)


Book Description

For SF and fantasy enthusiasts who love to escape to unknown worlds. As a master of the art of narrative and one of the leaders in the Golden Age of Science Fiction, L. Ron Hubbard’s Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories helped reshape the future of speculative fiction. The universe is yours as you explore fabulous worlds of unfolding mystery and unlimited potential. Discover the herald of possibility in these out-of-this-world adventures. The 4-book collection includes 10 short stories along with illustrations from the original publications and glossaries of hard-to-find terms. The titles and short stories in this collection are: The Great Secret (includes: “Space Can,” “The Beast” and “The Slaver”), If I Were You (includes: “The Last Drop”), One Was Stubborn (includes: “A Can of Vacuum” and “240,000 Miles Straight Up”) and The Tramp. “A super-writer of the Golden Age of Science Fiction.” —A. E. van Vogt -- L. Ron Hubbard