Spy thriller fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder 'The men who work for you, General', he observed, 'should rid themselves of any fear of death'. Rome, 1934. Martin Fawley leaves the American secret service and is recruited by General Berati, the most feared man in fascist Italy, as a spy. After a brief encounter with a glamorous yet murderous Italian princess, Fawley's mission takes him undercover to Monaco. Suave and worldly, Fawley is quite at home in the casinos and golf courses of Monte Carlo--but he is soon entangled in a game with higher stakes. As the nations of Europe vie for power, Fawley discovers the secret weapon that will determine the outcome of the looming war. This classic thriller--undoubtedly an influence on Ian Fleming's James Bond novels--is now republished for the first time since the 1930s. With its yachts and cocktail parties, its steely hero and brutal assassins, and its cinematic range across the cities of Europe, this is a gripping and sophisticated tale of a spy who saves the world.

Miss Brown of X.Y.O. is a 1927 mystery thriller novel by the British writer E. Phillips Oppenheim. It was notable amongst thrillers of the time for its use of an everyday female character as heroine. Miss Edith Brown, a comely typist, stumbles upon the doorstep of the dying Colonel Dessiter who has just returned from a mission throughout Europe fighting against the forces of the Communist Internationale. After she transcribes his report, she is thrust into the massive intrigue and deadly conflict between forces trying to bring about a revolution in England, and the small organization known as X.Y.O. which is defending the realm.