Freeman Wills Crofts (1879-1957)

Born in Ireland and worked for the British Railways early in his life. His first book The Cask was such a success it led him to writing more mystery novels. His main character was Inspector French who always used step by methods in solving crimes. I believe even though it is dated (1920) The Cask is a must read. I also liked Death of a Train.

Francis Beeding

Beeding was actually two people, Hillary Saint George Saunders (1898-1951) and John Palmer (1885-1944) who co-authored a number of books. I have read 11 titles. Many have a spy/espionage theme. They were all good but my favorite would be There are Thirteen. The House of Dr Edwardes, was filmed by Alfred Alfred Hitchcock as Spellbound.

R. Austin Freeman (1862-1943)

Invented the inverted detective story where the crime is shown or described in the beginning of the story and then the story shows how the detective goes about solving it. Freeman used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels, almost like a forerunner of today’s CSI. I might recommend The Puzzle Lock which was a series of short stories.

E. Phillips Oppenheim (1866-1946)

Was an English novelist, a prolific writer of best-selling genre fiction, featuring glamorous characters, international intrigue and fast action. Notably easy to read, they were viewed as popular entertainments. He was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1927. Wrote more than 100 novels (mostly mysteries) between 1887 and 1943. I have read 13 of his titles. The one I’d recommend most is: Matorni’s Vineyard.