Books published by publisher House of Stratus

‘The Phantom Rickshaw & Other Eerie Tales' brings together four of Kipling's most-loved short stories. Each deals with events that can't quite be explained away, whether a traditional ghost story, a terrifyingly realistic nightmare or a sumptuous and lavish romance. Powerful, exotic and extravagant, these tales are rated, by some, to be the best stories Kipling ever wrote, with ‘The Man Who Would Be King' being hailed as the finest story in the English language.

'Looking across the darkened room to the chair upon which she was seated, I saw a pair of blazing eyes regarding me fixedly! Something in their horrid, luminous watchfulness told me that my slightest movement was perceptible to my uncanny visitor...' In this occult thriller, brilliant lawyer and criminologist Jack Addison is pitted against the most evil and unnatural of murderers. When his adored Isobel becomes caught up in events Addison faces the most terrifying murder case of his career.

There are crimes for which no punishment is adequate, offences that the written law cannot redress. The three friends, Pioccart, Manfred and Gonsalez, may be enjoying the exotic, Spanish city of Cordova with its heat and Moorish influences, but they are still committed to employing their intellect and cunning to dispense justice. They use their own methods and carry out their own verdicts. They are ruthless and they deal in death.

The ancient legend of the ‘Hound of the Baskervilles' has been passed down through generations of the family. So when Sir Charles Baskerville is found mysteriously dead in the grounds of Baskerville Hall, people immediately associate his death with the story of the monstrous creature that haunts the moor. The world-famous Sherlock Holmes is drawn to the scene, knowing that there must be a more rational explanation. It is clear that the victim had been running for his life, but what could have inspired such terror? Was it indeed a hound from hell or a totally different creature – patient, sly and murderous?

Martha Lackland dies in 1905. Her great-niece, Letty attends the funeral. Here she meets Luke O'Hare, an aspiring actor with plans to start a theatre for the poor of London. Letty falls under the spell of Luke and his circle of Bohemian friends. In an attempt to establish her independence from her domineering family she runs away to help Luke and his friends set up the theatre. It is also a time of great change for women as the Suffragette movement presents a radical challenge to the established order and Letty is drawn to the excitement and liberation it promises.

When Priscilla Harradine travels back to England accompanied by the rather dull Major Sands, she has no cause to expect her journey will be anything other than uneventful. But also on board the Centaur is Charles de Bernis – a mysterious and intriguing buccaneer. Just as their friendship is beginning to blossom, a dark figure from de Bernis' past emerges to propel them into a thrilling and perilous adventure, taking them right to the heart of pirate life.

Round the Fire Stories shows Arthur Conan Doyle at his finest. These seventeen tales of suspense, murder, ghosts, unsolved crimes and inexplicable happenings were written to be read ‘round the fire’ on a winter’s night. With intriguing titles such as ‘The Pot of Caviare’, ‘The Brazilian Cat’ and ‘The Brown Hand’, the stories are utterly compelling and are guaranteed to entertain and exhilarate.