The Bulldog Drummond Omnibus: The Complete Peterson Rounds

Before the Saint, or James Bond. there was Bulldog Drummond. The original daredevil adventurer. Bulldog Drummond"Demobilized officer, finding peace incredibly tedious would welcome diversion. Legitimate if possible; but crime, of a comparatively humorous description, no objection. Excitement essential." This is the advertisement that Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond, D.S.O., M.C., a wealthy former WWI officer of the fictional His Majesty's Royal Loamshire Regiment, places in a newspaper. After the First World War, rife with daring escapades, peacetime is too tame for Bulldog and his friends so he decides to spend his new-found leisure time as a private detective of sorts. His first reply comes from a beautiful young woman, who sends him racing off to investigate what at first looks like blackmail but turns out to be far more complicated and dangerous. The rescue of a kidnapped millionaire, found with his thumbs horribly mangled, leads Drummond to the discovery of a political conspiracy of awesome scope and villainy, masterminded by the ruthless Carl Peterson. The Black GangThe second book of the quadrilogy sees 'Bulldog' Drummond tackle bribery and blackmail that is undermining England's democracy, so he forms the Black Gang, to foil the perpetrators. They set a trap to lure the criminal mastermind behind these subversive attacks to England. All is going to plan until Bulldog Drummond accepts an invitation to tea at the Ritz with a charming American clergyman and his dowdy daughter. The Third RoundThe death of Professor Goodman is officially recorded as a tragic accident, but at the inquest, no mention is made of his sensational discovery - a new formula for manufacturing flawless diamonds at low cost, which strikes 'Bulldog' Drummond as rather strange. His suspicions are further aroused when he spots a member of the Metropolitan Diamond Syndicate at the inquest. He soon untangles a sinister plot of greed and murder, which brings him face to face with his archenemy. The Final CountRobin Gaunt's new invention was terrifyingly, unimaginably powerful: a weapon of chemical warfare which caused "universal, instantaneous death". When Gaunt disappeared from his rooms, leaving no trace but a faint bitter smell, the police suspected that he had sold out to the other side. But Bulldog Drummond believes otherwise. Convinced of Gaunt's innocence, he can think of only one man ruthless enough to use the invention to hold the world to ransom, and he is determined to track him down before it is too late. Then he receives an invitation to a lavish dinner-dance aboard an airship that is to mark the beginning of his final battle with his arch foe.