Free e-books of some old mysteries

There are a number of old mysteries which are out of copyright and available free on Project Gutenberg, so I thought I'd list some here for reference. Anyone who can think of others is welcome to add them!

Ernest Bramah (died 1942, still in copyright in the EU but his early works are out of copyright in the US:
Four max Carrados Detective Stories
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12932

E. C. Bentley (died 1956, still in copyright in the EU but his early novel is out of copyright in the US):
Trent's Last Case
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2568

R. Austin Freeman (died 1943, still in copyright in the EU but his early works are out of copyright in the US)
The Eye of Osiris
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/24201
The Mystery of 31 New Inn
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12187
John Thorndyke's Cases
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/13882
The Red Thumb Mark
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11128

G. K. Chesterton (died 1936, all out of copyright in the EU but some may still be in copyright in the US, so there are only a couple of Father Brown books available on Gutenberg)
The Innocence of Father Brown
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/204
The Wisdom of Father Brown
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/223

Of course Agatha Christie, who died in 1976, will still be in copyright in the EU for more than 30 years more, but two of her early books are out of copyright in the US and available on Gutenberg:
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/863
The Secret Adversary
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1155

Any more suggestions?

This is a good site for free audio books they have a mystery category with some really good titles.

http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/genre/Mystery

Good site! I did some author searches, and it appears to have a long list of books by Mary Roberts Rinehart available, including The Circular Staircase, and most (maybe all) of the books by John Buchan including The Thirty-Nine Steps.

Thanks Eveleen for the compilation. I'll add them to my list.

I also found a lot of books on Feedbooks with an entire Mystery and Crime-section: http://www.feedbooks.com

I'd recommend J.S. Fletcher as well. I'm currently reading "The Middle of Things and absolutely love it!

But there's also
- A Strange Disappearance by Anna Katharine Green
- An Amiable Charlatan by Edward Phillips Oppenheim
- Arsène Lupin by Maurice Leblanc
- Ashton-Kirk, Criminologist by John T. McIntyre
- Bucholz and the Detectives by Allan Pinkerton

I haven't read enough of these oldies to be a reliable guide, but I mean to catch up seriously and keep you posted.

PS. How do I create a hyperlink in here?

EveleenM, Spooky Coincidence no. 475 - I'm currently rereading Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L Sayers in which Lord Peter Wimsey quotes from "The Golden Hours of Kai-Lung" by Ernest Bramah (chapter vii) Reading this today, I was just thinking I'd never heard of either title or author when I saw your message. I'm off to have a look at Gutenberg!

E-books for mystery and detective-readers:

Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
Detective bookshelf: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Detective_Fiction_%28Bookshelf%29
Mystery bookshelf: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Mystery_Fiction_%28Bookshelf%29
Crime Non-fiction bookshelf: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Crime_Nonfiction_%28Bookshelf%29
Crime Fiction bookshelf: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Crime_Fiction_%28Bookshelf%29

Epubbooks: http://www.epubbooks.com/
Crime: http://www.epubbooks.com/genre/crime
Mystery: http://www.epubbooks.com/genre/mystery
Thriller: http://www.epubbooks.com/genre/thriller

Feedbooks : http://www.feedbooks.com/
Crime and Mystery: http://www.feedbooks.com/type/Crime%2FMystery/books/top
Thriller: http://www.feedbooks.com/type/Thriller/books/top

Girlebooks: http://girlebooks.com
Mystery: http://girlebooks.com/blog/tag/mystery/

Books should be free: http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/
Mystery: http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/genre/Mystery

Munseys: http://www.munseys.com/site/home
Mystery: http://www.munseys.com/detail/mode/cat/18/Mystery

ManyBooks: http://manybooks.net/
Mystery: http://manybooks.net/categories/MYS
Thriller: http://manybooks.net/categories/THR

Archive.org: http://www.archive.org/
BeBook: http://mybebook.com/download_free_ebook/
Google Books: Google Books: http://books.google.com

This is a great thread, thanks!

One of the supposed copyright sidelights that I've never seen clearly defined is the 'limited copyright protection' (not the correct legal phrase) that publishers either have, or claim they have, when they reprint a book that is in the public domain.

Is it all bluff? Or does a publisher truly acquire (under either international copyright laws, or the copyright laws of some countries) the right to ban e-texts, or even extensive photocopying from the original edition of such a book, once they have brought out a new edition? If I sound confused, that may be because some publishers have found it in their interest to squirt out a mystifying fog of vaguely threatening uncertainty, in much the same manner that a squid squirts out a cloud of ink in order to evade pursuit.

There are scarce, older editions of vintage mystery and detective books, the only accessible copy of which could be found in the bookstacks of your local library. But librarians will intervene to prevent even sturdily-bound stack copies from being taken to the photocopier.

It is noticeable, too, that all those threatening notices about copyright violation posted on the walls around library photocopiers conspicuously fail to mention that some older books could be in the public domain and that, therefore, it just might be legally permissable to photocopy the whole text.

Any lawyers here, specialising in intellectual property rights, please don't be shy about responding.

The slightly tongue-in-cheek ‘Aurélien Arkadiusz’

You can download nearly all Josephine Tey's writings from Australia's project gutenburg:

http://gutenberg.net.au/plusfifty-n-z.html#letterT

>8
One of the supposed copyright sidelights that I've never seen clearly defined is the 'limited copyright protection' (not the correct legal phrase) that publishers either have, or claim they have, when they reprint a book that is in the public domain.

I amn't a lawyer, but my recollection of discussions elsewhere is that the limited copyright protection involved here is the copyright on the actual layout of the page, as opposed to the text itself. So we're still not supposed to photocopy these new editions, even if the text itself is out of copyright, while it's perfectly okay to copy older editions. I can't remember how long this is supposed to last.

Thanks for your input, EveleenM.

I also wonder whether websites hosting e-texts of books in the public domain feel impelled by the same copyright uncertainties to quietly take off-line any titles that are subsequently republished in book format.....I'm thinking of old mysteries, of course.

‘Aurélien Arkadiusz’

Norbert Davis wrote a number of hard-boiled, humorous crime novels in the forties, including Sally's in the Alley. They're available at Many Books

Fredric Brown wrote some classics, including The fabulous Clipjoint. It's also available at Many Books: http://www.manybooks.net/titles/brownfother09fabulous_clipjoint.html

Just read The Mystery of 31 New Inn by R.A. Freeman. You can get it for free at Project Gutenburg and even Amazon has a free version.

#11: I've never heard of any site that posts PD books removing books that are subsequently republished in book format. Certainly Project Gutenberg only posts books that are clearly PD and doesn't remove them unless someone proves they were in error, which has happened a handful of times.

In the US, in my experience, most librarians don't care what you do with the photocopier. The sign says that photocopying is your problem, not theirs.

#11
I work with copyright materials and the re-publishing of a book is not the same as extending the copyright. That is how they are able to rewrite classics like Tom Sawyer.

Recommending The Great Impersonation by E. Philips Oppenheim. It's available at Many Books.

I just started reading The Great Impersonation. I'm listening to an audiobook from Librivox. I like spy stories and old books so I should like Oppenheim very much.