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Seymour Merriman, the junior partner in a firm of London wine merchants, is traveling by motorcycle from Avignon to Bordeaux when his vacation grinds to a sudden halt. Out of gas, he follows a passing truck to a mill where an English firm manufactures pit-prop supports for coal... Read Full Overview

From the Collins Crime Club archive, the third standalone novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers'.

Seymour Merriman's holiday in France comes to an abrupt halt when his motorcycle starts leaking petrol. Following a lorry to find fuel,... Read Full Overview

Freeman Wills Crofts's classic tale from the golden age of crime fiction While traveling in France, a British wine importer named Seymour Merriman comes upon a manufacturing operation for the support beams used in mine shafts ("pit-props"). However, all is not what it seems... Read Full Overview

In "The Pit-Prop Syndicate," Freeman Wills Crofts delivers a gripping tale of intrigue set against the backdrop of the burgeoning post-World War I industrial landscape. The novel unfolds through meticulous plotting and Crofts' hallmark attention to detail, characteristic of the... Read Full Overview

From the Collins Crime Club archive, the third standalone novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, dubbed 'The King of Detective Story Writers'.

Seymour Merriman's holiday in France comes to an abrupt halt when his motorcycle starts leaking petrol. Following a lorry to find fuel,... Read Full Overview

A British wine merchant on business in France stumbles across a syndicate with something to hide, and resolves to discover their secret.

Dublin-born Freeman Wills Crofts (1879 -1957) was an Anglo-Irish mystery writer during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Crofts' first novel The Cask was published in 1920 and immediately established him as a master of detective fiction. He would go on to write about 30 more... Read Full Overview

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for... Read Full Overview

The Pit Prop Syndicate is a detective novel written by Freeman Wills Croft. The story is set in England during the 1920s and revolves around the mysterious disappearance of a young woman named Beryl Trevelyan. The investigation is led by Inspector Joseph French, who discovers... Read Full Overview

The Pit Prop Syndicate is a mystery novel written by Freeman Wills Croft. The story revolves around the discovery of a dead body in a coal mine and the subsequent investigation by Inspector French. The deceased man was a member of a group of investors who had formed a syndicate... Read Full Overview

Short excerpt: At all events he was not going to do any spying if that was what Hilliard wanted for he did not for a moment accept that smuggling theory.

When Seymour Merriman stops at the side of the road outside Bordeaux, he did not know the adventure he was in for. The events that follow pull him into a world of mystery, smuggling, murder and love. As this complex classic unfolds, it follows two amateurs in their attempt to... Read Full Overview

Join Inspector french as he unravels a complex web of fraud, deceit, and murder in the heart of the British coal industry. With twists and turns at every step, Freeman W. Crofts' classic mystery novel is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

This... Read Full Overview