Showing results by narrator "John Rayburn" in All Categories

Victoria Van Allen was the name she signed to her letters and to her cheques, but Vicky Van, as her friends called her, was signed all over her captivating personality, from the top of her dainty, tossing head to the tips of her dainty, dancing feet. Young lawyer Chester Calhoun liked her from the first, and if her “small and earlies” were said to be so called because they were timed by the small and early numerals on the clock dial, and if her “little” bridge games kept in active circulation a goodly share of our country’s legal tender, those things are not crimes.

A young lawyer who is a bachelor by choice winds up as consulting attorney for a beautiful woman, who is considered perhaps guilty of the murder of her wealthy uncle. He is Otis Landon, who lives with his sister in an apartment next to scene of the crime. Otis is very intelligent and works with a collection of clues found at the scene of the murder. In doing so, he becomes involved and winds up trying to clear the young woman he finds he’s falling in love with. He reaches the limits of his abilities, with the case winding up in the hands of renowned detective Fleming Stone.

“Oh, I want to go back to the Rio Grande! The Rio! That’s where I long to be!” The words, sung in a soft and musical tenor, died away and changed to a plaintive whistle, leaving the scene more lonely than ever. For a few moments nothing was to be seen except the endless expanse of wilderness, and nothing was to be heard save the mournful warble of the singer. Then a horse and rider were suddenly framed where the sparse timber opened out upon the plain. Together, man and mount made a striking picture; yet it would have been hard to say which was the more picturesque—the rider or the horse.

Do you like to fly? If so, this is a great story that lets you in on the way things were in the early days of aviation, including the excitement and wonder of what it was like in the beginning. It all happens as a young inventor has hopes and dreams of breaking records with the new-fangled means of transportation. Along the way, he encounters not only dangerous weather conditions but also unscrupulous rival inventors. In spite of such hurdles to clear, the hero overcomes them with ambition and perseverance.

Just what is nostalgia? Here are provocative and exciting stories about a great period of popular music. It was a time when the nation was facing desperate days of the Great Depression as well on-going fears of a World War. The still young radio industry was a major force in helping provide a worried nation with a source of entertainment and comfort. The author/narrator had conversation/interviews with many of the major stars and he tells you about their talent and their wonderful music. It’s as though you’re sitting there listening as to one of the most memorable eras in the nation’s history.

A raging flood in Missouri took the lives of a married couple who barely got their three-year-old son into a cradle that carried him downstream. The parents were drowned. A kind rancher managed to pull the makeshift device to shore and wound up calling the boy Dave and raising the youngster to manhood without a known family name. The savior didn’t officially adopt the boy but they behaved as a loving father and son in adult life. A scoundrel family discovered the truth and labeled the young man a “nameless nobody.”

A visit to friends in Connecticut is a strange affair for David Stanhope. A brother and sister in the vicinity are brutally murdered and David joins local officials for investigation. A considerable number of suspects makes the situation greatly confusing and results in exceptional detective Fleming Stone being recruited to seek a solution.

This covers the great, near-great, and never-were in a wide range of athletic endeavors. Naturally, all major sports are included: Football, Baseball, Basketball, with many notes about Golf, Boxing, Horse racing, Auto racing, Tennis, Track, Bowling, Hockey, renowned broadcasters, and an overall mixture of such sports as Wrestling, Pool, Marbles, Archery, Cricket, even Horseshoe pitching. It’s all here! Written and narrated with exceptional knowledge and humor.

A weapon used to murder a wealthy business man was apparently an ancient dagger stolen from a museum. It supposedly was from Peru and had a centuries-old inscription that was thought to tell whereabouts of a massive gold stash in the South American country. It was said to have a curse on it for anyone using it to track down the treasure. Professor Craig Kennedy, noted user of science to solve such cases, was contacted to see what he could do. Would his thinking prowess be enough? The finger of blame points at several possibilities as to the guilty party, or possibly parties.

Being able to unravel and analyze the findings of others was a rare attribute of University Professor Craig Kennedy. He coupled this with use of various gadgets and devices that were commonplace in the early twentieth century. They seem primitive by much of today’s standard equipment but were actual forerunners to what are matter-of-fact equipment, enhanced and extended in the present day. His ability to analyze his findings resulted in the well-earned recognition of “The Scientific Detective.” He was always accompanied by young newspaper reporter Walter Jameson, who kept tabs on plot details.

This book has all the ingredients of cowboys, horses, boots, and spurs, in a period of lawlessness that often brought on gunfights in those days. The cowboy hero is Panhandle Smith, known as Pan, as he grew to be wild and free virtually from childhood. The tale prompts seeing, hearing, and feeling what it was like in those bygone days.

Some of the stories by Arthur B. Reeve seem more plausible today than to some skeptical readers back in the early twentieth century. The primary character, University Professor Craig Kennedy, used forensic methods before such criminalistics were commonplace. These include DNA analysis as well as studies of such topics as fingerprints, blood stain patterns, tool marks, and toxicology (poisons used alone or administered in non-lethal potions).

Seeing justice done in your own way of thinking is not the wisest path to follow. However, it was indeed how one individual managed his life. He did it in such a way that criminals at all levels feared him, as did Scotland Yard as they tried to put a halt to his actions. The Yard itself hadn’t the slightest idea of what he looked like because this man, who came to be known as The Ringer, had a baffling way of disguising himself.

Quick-witted detective Stone is capable of making decisions from a pair of muddy shoes and other seemingly unimportant clues. It’s almost like a performing magician pulling a rabbit from a hat. He once remarked that “One never knows what difference anything will make until the difference is made.” Publication time of books featuring Stone are unknown so just watch for them for ordering. Even very astute listeners will often be surprised at his amazing solutions.

This is the third in a series about the Saddle Boys in western-themed stories. You learned first about the adventures of two inquisitive youths of by-gone days. They are Frank Haywood, only son of rich miner/ranch owner Leonidas Haywood, and Frank’s friend Bob Archer, who hails from Kentucky. They became known far and wide after being seen riding and dashing over the prairies at top-notch speed. They were often confronted by a spoiled young Peg, (nickname for Percy Egbert Grant), whose wealthy father let him get by with more than he should.

The Saddle Boys in this western-themed series are Frank Haywood, only son of rich miner/ranch owner Leonidas Haywood, and Frank’s friend Bob Archer, who hails from Kentucky. They became known far and wide after being seen riding and dashing over the prairies at top-notch speed. They were often confronted by a spoiled young Peg, (nickname for Percy Egbert Grant, whose wealthy father let him get by with more than he should).

A myth-like feeling is engendered by dining in Le Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It helps stir an appetite for sensational adventures. In this book, Verne used first person narration by top-notch fictional scholar, Professor Aronnax, who is aided by his servant Conseil. They voyage on the Nautilus submarine of Captain Nemo, a man with feelings of omnipotence and obsession for power.

This is an ideal tale for those listeners who do their best to outguess the primary investigator Fleming Stone, who uses his logical deductions to nab greatly unexpected murderers. This follows The Clue: Fleming Stone Mystery #1, The Gold Bag: Fleming Stone Mystery #2, A Chain of Evidence: Fleming Stone Mystery #3, and The Curved Blades: Fleming Stone Mystery #4. There will be several more in the future about this man who takes on the most puzzling problems and is always willing to share information he gathers with unorthodox observations.

Another ideal tale for listeners trying to outthink primary investigator Fleming Stone, who uses logical deductions to nab greatly unexpected murderers. This follows The Clue: Fleming Stone Mystery #1; The Gold Bag: Fleming Stone Mystery #2; A Chain of Evidence: Fleming Stone Mystery #3; The Curved Blades: Fleming Stone Mystery #4; and The Mark of Cain: Fleming Stone Mystery #5.

Although part of the Fleming Stone mystery series, the stories can be enjoyed in any order because the plot and characters are completely different in each.