Classic crime and mystery fiction

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Book SynopsisThe Kent State University Press is excited to reissue these classic true crime detective stories by Allan Pinkerton, the Scottish American detective and spy who founded the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in 1850. His agency was the largest private law enforcement organization in the world at the height of its power, and its well-known logo of a large, unblinking eye actually served as inspiration for the term "private eye."In Bank Robbers and the Detectives, Pinkerton receives a telegram that reads, "First National Bank robbed, please come, or send at once" from Thomas Locke in Somerset, Michigan. He sets off to investigate the crime. After journeying to the quaint town in a blizzard, the detective learns that $65,000 of treasury bonds, notes, and cash had disappeared from the bank's vault overnight. Only one man knew the combination: the bank's cashier, Mr. Norton. When Pinkerton's subsequent examination of the crime scene reveals no signs of forced entry, it starts to look like Mr. Norton committed the crime.But if Pinkerton has learned anything during his three decades of detective work, it is that initial appearances are often deceiving, and he narrows the investigation down to three suspects close to the cashier. However, he soon discovers that the promise of exorbitant wealth can tempt even the most honorable man to commit treacherous crimes.

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Book SynopsisThe Kent State University Press is excited to reissue these classic true crime detective stories by Allan Pinkerton, the Scottish American detective and spy who founded the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in 1850. His agency was the largest private law enforcement organization in the world at the height of its power, and its well-known logo of a large, unblinking eye actually served as inspiration for the term "private eye."In The Somnambulist and the Detective, Allan Pinkerton Pinkerton travels to Atkinson, Mississippi, to investigate the murder of bank teller George Gordon and the theft of more than $130,000 in the City Bank of Atkinson. Atkinson appears at first to be no more than a quiet town of shopkeepers, laborers, and businessmen. But dark secrets lurk beneath the town's Southern facade, and Pinkerton wastes no time in discovering them. Traveling under the guise of a cotton speculator, Pinkerton makes inquiries into the crime without drawing suspicion.Although George's body was discovered in the morning, he was in the habit of remaining in the bank after hours. And upon learning that George would never let anyone into the locked bank save "only one or two personal friends," Pinkerton is certain George must have known his killer! But without much hard evidence, the Scottish detective must use all of his cunning to deduce the identity of the murderous thief and extract a confession.

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Book SynopsisThe Kent State University Press is excited to reissue these classic true crime detective stories by Allan Pinkerton, the Scottish American detective and spy who founded the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in 1850. His agency was the largest private law enforcement organization in the world at the height of its power, and its well-known logo of a large, unblinking eye actually served as inspiration for the term "private eye."In The Murderer and the Fortune Teller, Captain J. N. Sumner from Springfield, Massachusetts, hires Pinkerton to help solve a crime involving his sisters and the deed to a family farm. His younger sister Annie falls under the charms of a married man, Mr. Pattmore, who promises to marry Annie once his wife and her brother are out of the way. Captain Sumner possesses an opal ring with a stone that appears to foretell events. After suddenly falling violently ill, he becomes convinced his sister is trying to poison him to get his fortune and, more importantly, his ring.Recognizing Annie's superstitious nature, Pinkerton has one of his female detectives pose as a fortune teller to meet with Annie. But it soon becomes clear that Pinkerton may have gotten more than he bargained for. Is Annie actually trying to kill her brother, or is she being controlled by a much more sinister force? Is Captain Sumner's ring genuine? So unfolds this tale of adultery, politics, superstition, manipulation, and murder.

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