By Dick Donovan (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

From the shadowed corridors of imperial power to the hidden networks of revolution and intrigue, The Russian Assassin and Other Bond-Like Stories by Dick Donovan delivers a gripping collection of high-stakes crime fiction that bridges the worlds of classic detection and early espionage.

At the heart of this volume is the unforgettable tale of Egor Treskin—a hunted man, a political exile, and an avenger forged by injustice. When a powerful Russian official is assassinated under mysterious circumstances, the pursuit that follows stretches across borders, drawing in spies, informants, and detectives in a tense international manhunt. But as the truth unfolds, the question becomes unavoidable: is Treskin a cold-blooded killer, or the product of a brutal and oppressive system?

Surrounding this powerful opening narrative are a series of equally compelling stories—ingenious schemes, daring conspiracies, and criminal plots that hinge on deception, chance, and razor-sharp intelligence. Donovan’s storytelling combines vivid atmosphere with tightly constructed mysteries, while anticipating the global intrigue and psychological complexity that would later define modern spy fiction.

Written at a time when political unrest, anarchist movements, and international surveillance were reshaping the nature of crime, these stories feel strikingly contemporary. Disguises, coded messages, secret alliances, and relentless pursuit drive narratives that move from the streets of Britain to the shadowy machinery of foreign powers.

This Read-Me.Org edition, introduced by Graeme R. Newman, brings together these thrilling and thought-provoking tales in a carefully prepared modern format. It preserves the energy of Donovan’s original storytelling while highlighting its lasting relevance to readers of crime, history, and espionage fiction.

For fans of classic detectives, early spy thrillers, and authors like Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Wallace, The Russian Assassin and Other Bond-Like Stories offers a rare and compelling glimpse into the origins of modern crime fiction—where justice is uncertain, motives are complex, and danger is never far from view.

A classic collection of intrigue, intelligence, and international suspense.

.Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 269 p.

By Dick Donovan. Introduction by Graeme R. Newman

A brilliant mind. A new way of solving crime. A detective unlike any other.

In The Criminologist as Detective, Victorian master storyteller Dick Donovan introduces Fabian Field—a daring and unconventional investigator who challenges the limits of traditional policing. At a time when Scotland Yard relies on routine methods and rigid procedures, Field brings something radically different to the pursuit of justice: psychological insight, analytical daring, and a fearless willingness to follow reason wherever it leads.

This collection of gripping detective stories showcases some of Field’s most remarkable cases, from the sensational disappearance of a wealthy heiress to chilling murders concealed behind layers of deception. Each mystery unfolds with vivid drama, but what sets these stories apart is their intellectual edge. Field does not simply gather clues—he interprets human behavior, exposes hidden motives, and reconstructs crime through logic, intuition, and bold inference.

Blending suspense with early criminological thinking, Donovan’s stories anticipate the modern detective genre while retaining the atmosphere and richness of late nineteenth-century fiction. Here, crime is not merely a puzzle to be solved, but a window into the complexities of human nature—greed, ambition, fear, and betrayal.

This new Read-Me.Org edition, introduced by Graeme R. Newman, brings these classic tales to contemporary readers in a carefully prepared and accessible form, preserving their original energy while highlighting their lasting significance.

For readers of Sherlock Holmes, Edgar Wallace, and classic detective fiction, The Criminologist as Detective offers a compelling journey into the origins of modern crime-solving—where reason triumphs, perception sharpens, and every case is a battle of minds.

A classic reborn for a new generation of readers.

.Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 273 p.

by Dick Donovan (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

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In an age before forensic certainty and tidy solutions, crime was a shadowy affair—driven by passion, greed, jealousy, and chance. In Mysteries of Death and Poison, Dick Donovan—one of the great pioneers of detective fiction—invites readers into a world where truth is elusive and justice is never guaranteed.

These gripping tales range from domestic intrigue to international adventure, from quiet drawing rooms to perilous frontiers. A young woman vanishes into scandal and suspicion. A death by poison defies explanation. A secret, buried in the wreckage of empire, threatens to surface with deadly consequences. Across each story, Donovan’s investigators confront not only cunning criminals, but the deeper uncertainties of human motive and moral responsibility.

Unlike the neatly solved puzzles of later detective fiction, these mysteries resist easy answers. Evidence is incomplete, witnesses unreliable, and the line between guilt and innocence dangerously blurred. The result is a collection that is as unsettling as it is compelling—where the question is not merely who committed the crime, but whether the truth can ever be fully known.

Vivid, atmospheric, and remarkably modern in its psychological insight, Mysteries of Death and Poison reveals the origins of the detective genre while challenging its assumptions. These are stories that linger—haunting in their ambiguity, and unforgettable in their portrayal of a world where justice is uncertain and danger is never far from the surface

.Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 273 p.

by Dick Donovan (Author), Graeme Newman (Introduction)

Long before the age of international spies, high-tech surveillance, and cinematic intrigue, there was the detective—patient, methodical, and relentless in the pursuit of truth.

Before 007 brings together a powerful collection of classic crime stories from the late Victorian era, drawn from A Detective’s Triumphs and In the Grip of the Law. These tales capture the origins of modern detective fiction, where every clue matters, every motive counts, and justice depends not on force, but on reason.

In these pages, readers will encounter murders concealed by cunning, thefts executed with precision, and criminals undone by the smallest of details—a footprint, a gesture, a forgotten inconsistency. The detectives who pursue them rely not on gadgets or spectacle, but on observation, logic, and experience. Their world is one of gaslit streets, quiet drawing rooms, and hidden dangers beneath respectable society.

This new edition has been carefully modernized for today’s reader. Language has been streamlined, structure clarified, and pacing refined—while preserving the distinctive voice and atmosphere of the original texts. The result is a collection that reads with clarity and immediacy, yet retains the depth and character of its time.

More than historical curiosities, these stories reveal the foundations of the modern whodunnit. The techniques, tensions, and narrative strategies that define contemporary crime fiction are already present here in their earliest form.

For readers of classic mysteries, criminology, and detective fiction—from Sherlock Holmes to modern thrillers—Before 007offers a compelling return to where it all began.

Step into the world of detection—before the spy, before the spectacle—when solving the crime was the story.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 272 p.

by Dick Donovan (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

Investigating Terror – More Stories of Dick Donovan gathers a wide-ranging collection of late Victorian crime and mystery tales in which detection merges with dread and rational inquiry confronts the unknown. In these stories, investigation is never merely the solving of a puzzle; it is an encounter with uncertainty, where crime, psychology, and the uncanny are tightly entwined.

From the eerie Edinburgh mystery of The Clue of the Dead Hand to the unsettling medical case of The Woman with the ‘Oily Eyes’, Donovan leads readers through gripping narratives told by detectives, physicians, and eyewitnesses. Presented through layered forms—official records, personal testimonies, and recovered papers—these stories achieve a striking sense of immediacy while deepening their atmosphere of unease. Whether confronting spectral legends, violent crimes, or inexplicable events, Donovan’s investigators move through worlds in which logic alone cannot fully account for what they encounter.

Spanning settings from Britain to continental Europe and beyond, these tales reveal a writer of remarkable versatility and imaginative reach. Rich in suspense, gothic tension, and psychological insight, they anticipate many of the themes of modern crime and horror fiction while retaining the vivid drama of their time.

This edition is enhanced by a substantial introduction by Colin Heston, which situates Donovan’s work within the broader evolution of detective and terror fiction and explores its continuing relevance for contemporary readers. Together, the stories and introduction offer both a compelling reading experience and a deeper understanding of a formative moment in the history of crime literature.

For readers of classic mysteries, gothic fiction, and early detective stories, Investigating Terror is an essential rediscovery—where every investigation opens onto something darker, and every answer leads further into the unknown.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 248 p.

By Edgar Wallace. Introduction by Colin Heston

In Silinski – Master Criminal, Wallace constructs the titular character not as a creature of impulse, but as a precursor to the modern white-collar sociopath, defined by what can be termed "organized intellect." Unlike the flamboyant villains of Gothic tradition, Silinski’s power is derived from his mastery of systems—legal, financial, and social. He treats crime as a rigorous administrative discipline, employing a level of detachment that mirrors the very corporate structures he seeks to exploit. This intellectualization of villainy creates a chilling paradox: Silinski is most dangerous when he is at his most rational. Wallace highlights this by contrasting the frantic, reactive energy of the police with Silinski’s own glacial composure. His "mastery" is not merely a matter of successful theft, but of an informational asymmetry where he remains several steps ahead of the law by treating the world as a chessboard of predictable variables. Consequently, the tension of the novel arises not from the "whodunnit" element, but from the terrifying efficiency of a mind that has completely divorced morality from logic.
The conclusion of the narrative solidifies the "super-criminal" archetype not as a mere antagonist, but as a necessary mirror to the evolution of the modern state. By weaving together the threads of bureaucratic mastery and economic manipulation, Wallace posits that the transition of the criminal from the physical to the cerebral reflects a broader societal shift toward abstraction. Silinski represents the dark potential of the burgeoning 20th century: the realization that true power is no longer found in the strength of one's arm, but in the reach of one's influence over the systems that sustain public life. As the novel draws to its close, the resolution of the plot serves as a pyrrhic victory for the law, acknowledging that while one man may be stopped, the systemic vulnerabilities he exposed remain inherent to the fabric of global society. Ultimately, Silinski – Master Criminalstands as a definitive exploration of the modern villain, suggesting that in an age of complexity, the most profound threat to order is the very intelligence required to maintain it.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 188p.