Broken Waters - Packard, Frank L.

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Résumé :
The scenes of this thrilling story vary from Havre and Paris, to the romantic islands of Polynesia, where the last threads of the plots are finally untangled. John Crane, a middle-aged man of wealth and adventure, is asleep on his ocean-going yacht in the Port of Havre, when he is unduly awakened in the wee small hours of the morning upon the insistance of an Englishman, just arrived from Paris by motor. The Englishman reveals himself as a friend of Martin Todd, an old pal of Crane's, who has agreed to help a group of Russian Noblemen in an endeavor to smuggle some valuable jewels out of Russia. Crane, of course, is eager to accept the jewels and guard them, although he is warned that Soviet agents will cause trouble. And thus the plot is launched. Next the scene shifts to the Paris Underworld, where Anne Walton, the daughter of a rich planter, is discovered on an errand of mercy. A gripping, hair-raising story....

Biographie:
Frank Lucius Packard (1877 - 1942) was a Canadian novelist. Hewas 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 many railroad stories, then to a series of mystery novels, the most famous of which featured a character called Jimmie Dale. Several of his novels were made into films. Frank Packard died in 1942 in Lachine, Quebec and was buried in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal.

Sommaire:
Frank L. Packard was born in 1877 in Montreal, Quebec, to parents James Packard and Mary Elizabeth Adams. Before becoming a writer, he trained as a civil engineer and spent a significant part of his early career working on railway construction projects, which deeply influenced his later literary work. His technical background provided him with insights into the operations and intricacies of the railroad industry, forming the foundation for much of the setting and realism in his fiction. Packard began writing in the early 1900s and soon gained recognition for his gripping crime and adventure stories. His narratives frequently featured criminal enterprises, encrypted messages, and daring escapades, often led by complex protagonists. Among his most notable characters was a suave, masked figure known as the Gray Seal, who appeared in several books under the identity of Jimmie Dale. These stories blended suspense and action with clever criminal intrigue. Packard s novels, such as The Wire Devils, showcased a unique mix of engineering precision and dramatic storytelling. His work appealed to readers seeking fast-paced plots within vivid and shadowy settings. Frank L. Packard died in 1942, leaving behind a legacy of adventurous fiction rooted in both professional experience and imaginative storytelling....