Good, fast-paced crime story that's not a "whodunit" but a "will he be found out?" kind of tale. The characters were interesting, too. Worth reading.

This was a good English village mystery, told from the point of view of an 18 year old boy. The story has bits of humor, some romance, interesting characters, and some gothic elements.

The mystery begins with Joe and his friend Elsie finding the empty, blood-spattered mail cart, still being pulled by a horse. The mail carrier's body is nowhere to be found, and the incident reminds people of other strange disappearances in the area. This book has an ancient manor house, secret tunnels, hidden rooms, murder, kidnapping, and madness. Joe's often humorous narration prevents the story from becoming too dark. A very interesting and unique book that's highly recommended.

I thought this mystery was a bit muddled. The "mysterious three" each went by more than one name, so at times I wasn't sure which person the author was talking about. The story centers on a mysterious stranger who visits Sir Charles and Lady Thorold while they were out of the house. Upon arriving home with their daughter Vera and friend Mr. Ashton, their butler tells them a gentleman named Smithson had stopped by, and describes him as looking like the man in a portrait they have. They make light of the incident, but later Ashton finds the family has vanished without notifying anyone where they went. The rest of the novel focuses on Ashton trying to find the Thorolds and finding the identity of Smithson. It's a quick read, but the story isn't too intriguing.

This horror short story has a slightly different take on the vampire theme. Kind of reads like a Twilight Zone episode, especially the ending. The writing's a bit overblown, but it's still good for some mindless entertainment.

I was disappointed in part three ( of three) of this gothic sensation novel. Alot of the plot in this volume was padded with meaningless dialogue by "colorful" country characters. ( The unending country sayings used by these characters were quite annoying.) After jumping ahead in time eleven years, the plot goes from dragging to speedily wrapped up, with a happy ending for most of the characters. This is not Le Fanu's best book.

Excellent novella about a man's scheme to get hold of a long-dead poet's papers from an elderly woman and her niece. Publishing the papers would bring the man much acclaim, so he concocts a plan to rent rooms in the woman's crumbling Venetian villa while disguising his true purpose from her. He plans to befriend the women, getting them to show him the papers. This story has lots of suspense, along with great character development and wonderful descriptions of Venice. Recommended.

Good contemporary SF horror story. Three astronauts discover a derelict space freighter. As they enter it to look for survivors, they find a mystery. This short story held my attention until the end. Suspenseful and creepy.

This short story was made into a Twilight Zone ( original series) episode of the same title. A drifting spaceship crew thinks they've found a way to be rescued when they encounter a strange asteroid. Upon exploring it, they find an Earth-style city with some unusual inhabitants. Are troubles over for the crew, or are they just beginning?

This is an entertaining mystery short story that has a twist at the end. It reminds me of something you'd see on the old "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" television show.

I'd classify this story as horror, rather than science fiction. It was OK, but the New Orleans setting was interesting.