THE FOUR STRAGGLERS: A Thriller

by Frank L. Packard

Leather Binding on Spine and Corners with Golden Leaf Printing on round Spine (extra customization on request like complete leather, Golden Screen printing in Front, Color Leather, Colored book etc.) Reprinted in 2019 with the help of original edition published long back [1923]. This book is printed in black & white, sewing binding for longer life, Printed on high quality Paper, re-sized as per Current standards, professionally processed without changing its contents. As these are old books, we processed each page manually and make them readable but in some cases some pages which are blur or missing or black spots. If it is multi volume set, then it is only single volume, if you wish to order a specific or all the volumes you may contact us. We expect that you will understand our compulsion in these books. We found this book important for the readers who want to know more about our old treasure so we brought it back to the shelves. Hope you will like it and give your comments and suggestions. - eng, Pages 314. EXTRA 10 DAYS APART FROM THE NORMAL SHIPPING PERIOD WILL BE REQUIRED FOR LEATHER BOUND BOOKS. COMPLETE LEATHER WILL COST YOU EXTRA US$ 25 APART FROM THE LEATHER BOUND BOOKS. {FOLIO EDITION IS ALSO AVAILABLE.}

132 pages, Paperback

Published August 29, 2021

About the author

Frank Lucius Packard was born in Montreal, Quebec and educated at McGill University and the University of Liege. As a young man he worked as a civil engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railway. His experiences working on the railroad led to his writing a series of mystery novels, the most famous of which featured a character called Jimmie Dale.

Frank Packard died in 1942 in Lachine, Quebec and was buried in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal.

Reviews

[Mh430 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an above average story from the creator of the Jimmie Dale/Gray Seal series and Shadow Varne might be the best villain ever to appear in a Packard novel. He is certainly the most competent. Grasping, far-sighted, completely amoral, a marvelous actor with plenty of physical courage, he makes the male lead in the book appear white bread bland. The female love interest is slightly more interesting because she confesses to possibly being of (gasp) illegitimate birth. The plot they all appear in is full of twists just like you would expect from Packard in his prime, and it isn't until after book's end that you really start to tally up the number of implausible coincidences and previous events that don't get a proper explanation. Still, it's a fun ride along the way. Recommended.

[Mbuye · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Four Stragglers’ (1923) by Frank L. Packard is a tale of brutal criminality and the ruthless elimination of the opposition.

It opens with four men sheltering from German shells during the chaotic retreats of the Great War. Perhaps the book's most thrilling sequence, it ends abruptly with a casual bullet, before the narrative turns sharply to “Three years later.”

A fine story of crime and punishment, it is cluttered with unnecessary, extraneous matter. Packard detours into a giant octopus attack in the Florida Keys, a tedious London club scene featuring a self-proclaimed detective tracking city jewel heists, and an American ward whose sole function is to faint into her lover's arms.

Otherwise, this is vintage Packard. It delivers a labyrinthine, totally unbelievable plot (the best kind for outrageous villainy) populated by well-established, if robotic, characters operating under an overhanging shadow of doom.

Though modern fiction demands greater realism, this remains a thoroughly good suspense thriller.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an audio book from LibriVox.

https://librivox.org/the-four-straggl...

[Doug Frizzle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1923, well before the stock market crash of 1929, this novel is somewhat predictive of that market crash. The mystery is well conceived and the novel well written.