Fred M. White 
The Crimson Blind 

Bestselling detective novelist David Steel gets into a tough financial situation and accepts an invitation from an unknown mysterious lady who offers to help with his debts. In return she wants him to help her find a way from an unpleasant situation, but when they meet to finalize the deal her identity remains a mystery to him. When he returns from the meeting he finds out that his home is been broken into and a bleeding man, almost dead, is lying on the floor.

About the author

Frederick Merrick White (1859-1935) wrote a number of novels and short stories under the name ‘Fred M. White’ including the six ‘Doom of London’ science-fiction stories, in which various catastrophes beset London. These include The Four Days’ Night (1903), in which London is beset by a massive killer smog; The Dust of Death (1903), in which diphtheria infects the city, spreading from refuse tips and sewers; and The Four White Days (1903), in which a sudden and deep winter paralyses the city under snow and ice. These six stories all first appeared in Pearson’s Magazine, and were illustrated by Warwick Goble. He was also a pioneer of the spy story, and in 2003, his series The Romance of the Secret Service Fund (written in 1899) was edited by Douglas G. Greene and published by Battered Silicon Dispatch Box.