Books with author J. S. Fletcher

"You must go to the dragon. You must leave tonight."Before she even hears the words, Kaeldra already knows she must find the mother dragon whose draclings have just hatched and get some of the precious milk in order to save her foster sister’s life. Since Kaeldra can communicate with dragons, she is the only one who can accomplish the task. And so she begins a journey that will entwine her fate with that of three little draclings and one would-be dragonslayer—a journey that will become a struggle for life.

Look here! Rothwell said. You'd better go and make inquiry at Northborough. See if you can track him. Something must be wrong -- perhaps seriously wrong. You don't quite understand, do you, Mr. Copplestone? he went on, giving the younger man a sharp glance. You see, we know Mr. Oliver so well -- we've both been with him a good many years. He's a model of system, regularity, punctuality, and all the rest of it. In the ordinary course of events, wherever he spent yesterday, he'd have been sure to turn up at his rooms at the 'Angel' hotel last night, and he'd have walked in here this morning at half-past twelve. As he hasn't done either, why, then, something unusual has happened. Stafford, you'd better get a move on. -- Wait a minute, said Stafford. He turned again to the groups behind him, repeating his question. -- Has anybody anything to tell? he asked anxiously. We've just heard that Mr. Oliver left his hotel at Northborough yesterday morning at eleven o'clock, alone, walking. Has anybody any idea of any project, any excursion, that he had in mind?

An old seafaring stranger with a heavy, locked op chest turns up from nowhere seeking lodgings with Hugh Moneylaws and his mother in Berwick-upon-Tweed, a rural English town bordering Scotland. One night he sends Hugh, a young solicitor's clerk, to meet a man instead of him, as he is too ill, but when Hugh arrives at the destination, he finds a man murdered. Hugh's law firm gets involved to resolve the mystery.Joseph Smith Fletcher (1863-1933) was an English author and journalist, one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the Golden Age. After his journalist career Fletcher first started writing poems, then historical fiction, and finally moved on to write detective mysteries.

At seven of the clock I turned away from the window, where, for a full hour, I had stood flattening my nose against the pane in a vain attempt to see something of interest in the dripping garden or the dank meadows outside. Sir Nicholas moved in his deep chair by the fire and then groaned, his old enemy catching him afresh and tweaking his great toe. Seeing that his pain had awakened him I went over and stood at his side. I saw the firelight glint on his frosted hair, and it woke in me some sleeping memory of a by gone winter. Yet then it was August, and had been a bright one, but that day we had suffered from a heavy rain which came with the dawn and kept pouring itself upon us without ceasing, so that no man putting his nose out o’ doors could have said with certainty whether he sniffed April or November in the air. As for me, I was heartily sick of it and everything, and when my uncle’s silvery hair reminded me of winter I thought regretfully of the previous Christmas and of Mistress Catherine and the mistletoe that then hung over the very spot where I now stood watching Sir Nicholas making wry faces at his foot.

J. S. Fletcher's The Charing Cross Mystery starts dramatically. Hetherwick, a young barrister, witnesses the sudden death of one of two fellow passengers on the London Underground between St. James's Park and Charing Cross. The dead man’s companion disappears without trace and foul play is suspected. Yes, it’s a mystery and a story of detection. But in the middle of the book the main mysteries are solved and the rest is more thriller stuff with chasing the culprits. Detection work is done by Hetherwick, the barrister who witnessed the crime, he "had leisure on his hands; also, he was well off in this world's goods, and much more con­cerned with the psychology of his profession than with a desire to earn money by its practice." The police investigation is led by Matherfield, who later joins forces with Hetherwick. The barrister’s clerk helps and does a bit of detection on his own. Some other characters interfere and the plot gets confused. There are some old fashioned devices, too, like identical twins or strange poison. The style is dry and the novel lacks care and atmosphere. For instance, though involved in a romance with the daughter of the murdered man, we never learn the Christian name of his amateur detective. And why does the author use similar sounding names for the two protagonists, Hetherwick and Matherfield? Fletcher may be a bit dull, but if the reader is interested in more than a good plot well told, for instance in setting, in this case London and the industrial North, or in the question how a typical mystery writer of the 1890s adapts to the challenge of Doyle and the beginning of the Golden Age, he will find enough to hold his attention.

She thought the Slayers were her biggest threat, but an even greater evil awaits…Kaylee may have survived the Slayers' first attack on her life, but now the group dedicated to wiping out all dragon-kin is seeking an ancient relic far deadlier than any they've ever had before. If they succeed, it won't just be the end of Kaylee, but the entire dragon-kin Convocation. But even while the Slayers' threat grows, the new arrival of a dangerous stranger from Kaylee's past and the emergence of deadly secrets close to home threaten to tear her friends and family apart. Soon this will be a war on two fronts.And it might not be one she can win.Dragon's Curse is the second book in the fast-paced young adult urban fantasy Heir of Dragons series, complete with an awesome heroine, magic, wizards, and dragon shifters! Perfect for fans of Michelle Madow's Elementals series, and Leia Stone's Dragons and Druids series! "This book is an absolute must for fans of Harry Potter..." ~Rosemary56, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★"The characters are full, the action is fast. It's a wonderful read!" ~Terri, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★"This is something that must be read." ~Sherry, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

The Hunt has returned. The time of the dragon-kin is over.After failing to stop St. George and the Hunt, Kaylee and her few remaining friends are forced to flee, desperate to find somewhere, anywhere, safe. The Convocation is broken. Slayer attacks come without warning. Innocent people are dying. The only hope to defeat the Hunt and put an end to the destruction lies in an ancient magic, the dragon fusion. A magic Kaylee possesses.A magic she can’t control.But time is running out. Either Kaylee learns to harness this new, powerful magic, or it will be the end for her and everyone she loves.Friends and enemies collide and secrets are revealed in this stunning conclusion to the bestselling Heir of Dragons series! It all ends here in Dragon’s Fate.Dragon's Fate is the fourth and final book in the fast-paced young adult urban fantasy Heir of Dragons series, featuring an awesome heroine, magic, wizards, and dragon shifters! Perfect for fans of Michelle Madow's Elementals series, Harry Potter, and Mortal Instruments series!"Fantastic read! This is my favorite out of the series so far!" ~Shauna, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★"The action moves quickly in a flowing, well-written style that adds to the sense of building danger as the Dragon's Fate is decided and the future of the world hangs in the balance!" ~Rosemary, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★"An epic ending to this young adult urban fantasy series! A totally exciting and fun read." ~Lana, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★"Man, Sean knows how to tell a story with a passion that shows on every page. He doesn't disappoint and brings his A game every time." ~Kaye, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

For fans of Brandon Sanderson's Skyward and Victoria Roth's Carve the Mark comes the second book in the epic Depths of Darkness science fantasy series.On a long-forgotten planet cloaked in shadow, an ancient evil greater than any the galaxy has ever known lies in wait. And soon it will be free…​The only thing Alyx Starburn wants is peace. All he got was war. The oppressive Earth Alliance has been beaten for now, but at an immeasurably high cost. The galaxy is in chaos, enemies are closing in on all sides, and the war is beginning to fracture Alyx’s budding relationship with Jess. While on a routine assignment, the team stumbles across clues to the location of an ancient alien weapon that could shift the tide of war; a weapon so deadly it nearly wiped out the galaxy thousands of years before; a weapon the EA will do anything to have, unless Alyx and the others can get there first.But nothing is ever so simple. Hopes will be built and broken, rebellions incited and smothered. The journey will test the team’s limits as they enter the heart of an ancient evil, and to succeed, Alyx must decide if he’s willing to sacrifice the very thing he loves most.An epic science fantasy full of pulse-pounding action, a star-crossed romance, and galaxy-sweeping adventure. Perfect for anyone looking for incredible worlds and characters to get lost in!This is Space Opera in all its glory. Things go boom. Humans meet aliens (sometimes to humorous effect). There’s a little romance and a lot of adventure.~ OutlawPoet, Top 500 Amazon Vine Reviewer

After seven years of silence, Guy Markenmore returns to his family seat at Markenmore Court. Knowing his father Sir Anthony to be close to death, he is anxious to reassure his younger siblings that he will not make any claim to the family money even if he can't help inheriting the old man's title. Sir Anthony dies later that evening, but the question of the inheritance becomes academic when Guy is murdered whilst crossing the downs.The nearby town of Selcaster is alive with gossip, and suspicion falls heavily on John Harborough, Guy's love rival, who also coincidentally returned to the area on that fateful night. But D.S. Blick of Scotland Yard is determined to leave no one unsuspected in his quest to solve the Markenmore mystery...

A human thief with no magic, apprenticed to the strongest Mage on the Council. What could possibly go wrong…Aspen is a Norm. A non-magic. A human. And in this supernatural New York City, that’s a quick way to wind up dead. Or worse. She didn’t plan on becoming an apprentice to Lucien Dunadine, one of the strongest members on the Council of Mages. She really didn’t plan on taking part in a deadly competition against Isak Uchida, her handsome, aggravating, dangerous opponent.But with something sinister going down in the magic boroughs, all three of them will have to work together if they want to uncover the source of an ancient evil threatening their home. And if they fail, everyone and everything they love will be consumed by darkness…Prepare for a gripping, action-packed young adult paranormal urban fantasy in Mage’s Apprentice, the first book in the thrilling Mage’s of New York Trilogy! Scroll up and one click to learn why readers are hooked on Mage’s Apprentice!"I can only describe this story as WOW!!!!it blew my mind it was that good." ~Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★“MAGE'S APPRENTICE is a fast-paced, action-packed YA fantasy that holds your attention throughout the whole story. Final Verdict: I would recommend this to any fan of fantasy, supernatural beings, magic, mages, action, and romance. ~Bethany Wicker, Top 10 Staff Reviewer at Young Adults Book Central ★★★★"A deadly competition? Impossible actions by an ancient evil? All this plus action, adventure, mystery, twists and turns…~The Mysterious Amazon Customer, top 1000 Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★