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Mark Twain's Medieval Romance: And Other Classic Mystery Stories
By Otto Penzler. 2006
A premier anthology of some of the finest mystery stories in literary history, including tales from Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl,…
Aldous Huxley, O. Henry, and Mark Twain.Tantalizing, as ingenious as they are devious, the classic stories in this continually arresting collection come with an irresistible challenge: At their end they leave it to you, the reader, to determine how they end.For ultimately it's the reader who authors the fate of the brave youth as he contemplates which of the two doors in the king's arena he will choose in Frank Stockton's famous and unforgettable "The Lady, or the Tiger?" And which of the two brothers in three-time Edgar-winner Stanley Ellin's "Unreasonable Doubt" shoots a bullet square in the middle of their rich uncle's forehead? And just what not-so-sweet secret is the prim Miss Spence hiding behind her smile in Aldous Huxley's deliciously enigmatic tale? You decide.In all, as in "The Moment of Decision"--a chilling tale that seals an escape artist inside an airless stone cell with a heavy wooden door, which may or may not open--the moment of decision is yours.Sisters In Crime: Early Crime and Mystery Stories by Women
By Mike Ashley. 2013
The companion volume to The Darker Sex and The Dreaming Sex, this absorbing anthology of early women's crime fiction belongs…
on the bookshelf of any serious crime fanMany of the leading writers of crime fiction are women--Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell et al--but it still comes as a surprise to many that the first full-length detective novel was by one Metta Fuller whose The Dead Letter, under the alias Seeley Regester, appeared as far back as 1866, predating Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone by two years. In fact, women writers were instrumental in developing the new genre of detective fiction. This anthology selects stories from the late Victorian and Edwardian era including one of the Violet Strange stories by Anna Katharine Green, known as the "mother of the detective novel;" one of the Loveday Brooke stories by Catherine Pirkis, featuring an early private woman detective; and a story by the Australian writer Mary Fortune, who had written more than 500 detective novels by the time Edward VII came to the throne.The Soft Touch
By Tony Cavanaugh. 2013
A gripping short crime story featuring Darian Richards by Australia's bestselling debut crime writer Tony Cavanaugh. Includes previews of his…
first two full-length novels.[Cavanaugh's debut is] 'as good as Harlan Coben' - Weekend Australian.Darian Richards is a retired homicide investigator. He was one of the best. But chasing monsters eventually took its toll and he quit the force to sit on a jetty on the Noosa River. Or so he planned.After years of service, witnessing the best and the worst of policing, Darian has made up his own mind about justice. Whenever a horrific crime is committed debate rages about the nature of punishment. As far as the law is concerned justice doesn't condone revenge, but tell that to the family of a murder victim or to the woman you can't protect. Darian Richards knows that in the real world, when your hands are tied, sometimes revenge is the only justice.The Soft Touch takes you deep into Darian's past, to the life lessons that made him who he is. He is a man you want looking out for you not looking for you.The Darian Richards SeriesPromiseDead Girl SingThe Soft Touch (Short Story)The Train RiderKingdom of the StrongMystery Writers of America Presents Ice Cold: Tales of Intrigue from the Cold War
By Jeffery Deaver, Raymond Benson. 2014
Nuclear brinksmanship. Psychological warfare. Spies, double agents, femme fatales, and dead drops. The Cold War--a terrifying time when nuclear war…
between the world's two superpowers was an ever-present threat, an all-too-real possibility that could be set off at the touch of a button--provides a chilling backdrop to this collection of all-new short stories from today's most celebrated mystery writers.Bestselling authors Jeffery Deaver and Raymond Benson--the only American writers to be commissioned to pen official James Bond novels--have joined forces to bring us twenty masterful tales of paranoia, espionage, and psychological drama. In Joseph Finder's "Police Report," the seemingly cut-and-dry case of a lunatic murderer in rural Massachusetts may have roots in Soviet-controlled Armenia. In "Miss Bianca" by Sara Paretsky, a young girl befriends a mouse in a biological warfare laboratory and finds herself unwittingly caught in an espionage drama. And Deaver's "Comrade 35" offers a unique spin on the assassination of John F. Kennedy--with a signature twist.After the crime is over, the real drama begins. That's what this riveting collection proves as it carries us from…
the Salem witch trials to Depression-era Chicago to today's highest-stakes legal dramas. These are thrilling stories of lawyers under pressure, of criminals facing the needle, and of the heartbroken families who hope for justice and who sometimes take it into their own hands. In James Grippando's "Death, Cheated," a lawyer defends his ex-girlfriend against the investors who bet $1.5 million on her death. In Barbara Parker's "A Clerk's Life," a disillusioned clerk at a corporate law firm suspects the worst of his colleagues when one of the firm's employees is murdered. In Phyllis Cohen's "Designer Justice," an accused murderer thinks he's lucked out when he lands a high-priced lawyer, only to learn that there are worse fates than being found guilty. A page-turning collection--filled with shocking twists, double-crosses, and edge-of-your-seat suspense.The Russian Passenger
By John Brownjohn, Gunter Ohnemus. 2004
"At fifty the good Buddhist takes to the road, leaving all his belongings behind. His sole possession is a begging…
bowl. That's how it should be. The problem was, there were four million dollars in my begging bowl and the mafia were after me. It was their money. They wanted it back, and they also wanted the girl, the woman who was with me: Sonia Kovalevskaya".Not only a thriller about murder and big money but also a powerful evocation of the cruel history that binds Russia and Germany.Günter Ohnemus, born in 1946, lives in Munich and writes novels, essays and translations. This is his first novel to be translated into English.Twin Cities Noir
By Steven Horwitz, Julie Schaper. 2013
"Local editors Schaper and Horwitz have assembled a noteworthy collection of noir-infused stories mixed with laughter...The Akashic noir short-story anthologies…
are avidly sought and make ideal samplers for regional mystery collecting."--Library Journal"The best pieces in the collection turn the clichés of the genre on their head . . . and despite the unseemly subject matter, the stories are often surprisingly funny."-City Pages (Minneapolis)Brand-new stories from John Jodzio, Tom Kaczynski, and Peter Schilling, Jr., in addition to the original volume's stories by David Housewright, Steve Thayer, Judith Guest, Mary Logue, Bruce Rubenstein, K.J. Erickson, William Kent Krueger, Ellen Hart, Brad Zellar, Mary Sharratt, Pete Hautman, Larry Millett, Quinton Skinner, Gary Bush, and Chris Everheart."St. Paul was originally called Pig's Eye's Landing and was named after Pig's Eye Parrant--trapper, moonshiner, and proprietor of the most popular drinking establishment on the Mississippi. Traders, river rats, missionaries, soldiers, land speculators, fur trappers, and Indian agents congregated in his establishment and made their deals. When Minnesota became a territory in 1849, the town leaders, realizing that a place called Pig's Eye might not inspire civic confidence, changed the name to St. Paul, after the largest church in the city . . . Across the river, Minneapolis has its own sordid story. By the turn of the twentieth century it was considered one of the most crooked cities in the nation. Mayor Albert Alonzo Ames, with the assistance of the chief of police, his brother Fred, ran a city so corrupt that according to Lincoln Steffans its 'deliberateness, invention, and avarice has never been equaled.' As recently as the mid-'90s, Minneapolis was called 'Murderopolis' due to a rash of killings that occurred over a long hot summer . . . Every city has its share of crime, but what makes the Twin Cities unique may be that we have more than our share of good writers to chronicle it. They are homegrown and they know the territory--how the cities look from the inside, out . . ."Mystery Writers of America Presents Ice Cold
By Jeffery Deaver, Raymond Benson. 2014
Nuclear brinksmanship. Psychological warfare. Spies, double agents, femme fatales, and dead drops. The Cold War--a terrifying time when nuclear war…
between the world's two superpowers was an ever-present threat, an all-too-real possibility that could be set off at the touch of a button--provides a chilling backdrop to this collection of all-new short stories from today's most celebrated mystery writers.Bestselling authors Jeffery Deaver and Raymond Benson--the only American writers to be commissioned to pen official James Bond novels--have joined forces to bring us twenty masterful tales of paranoia, espionage, and psychological drama. In Joseph Finder's "Police Report," the seemingly cut-and-dry case of a lunatic murderer in rural Massachusetts may have roots in Soviet-controlled Armenia. In "Miss Bianca" by Sara Paretsky, a young girl befriends a mouse in a biological warfare laboratory and finds herself unwittingly caught in an espionage drama. And Deaver's "Comrade 35" offers a unique spin on the assassination of John F. Kennedy--with a signature twist.After the crime is over, the real drama begins. That's what this riveting collection proves as it carries us from…
the Salem witch trials to Depression-era Chicago to today's highest-stakes legal dramas. These are thrilling stories of lawyers under pressure, of criminals facing the needle, and of the heartbroken families who hope for justice and who sometimes take it into their own hands. In James Grippando's "Death, Cheated," a lawyer defends his ex-girlfriend against the investors who bet $1.5 million on her death. In Barbara Parker's "A Clerk's Life," a disillusioned clerk at a corporate law firm suspects the worst of his colleagues when one of the firm's employees is murdered. In Phyllis Cohen's "Designer Justice," an accused murderer thinks he's lucked out when he lands a high-priced lawyer, only to learn that there are worse fates than being found guilty. A page-turning collection--filled with shocking twists, double-crosses, and edge-of-your-seat suspense.Mystery Writers of America Presents The Blue Religion: New Stories about Cops, Criminals, and the Chase
By Michael Connelly, Mystery Writers of America, Inc.. 2008
Taking us from smoggy Los Angeles to the woods of Idaho, from Hawaii at the turn of the twentieth century…
to the post-Civil War frontier, these riveting stories trace the perils and occasional triumphs of lawmen and -women who put themselves in harm's way to face down the bad guys. Some of them even walk the edge of becoming bad guys themselves.In T. Jefferson Parker's "Skinhead Central," an ex-cop and his wife find unexpected menace in the idyllic setting they have chosen for their retirement. In Alafair Burke's "Winning," a female officer who is attacked in the line of duty must protect her own husband from his worst impulses. In Michael Connelly's "Father's Day," Harry Bosch faces one of his most emotionally trying cases, investigating a young boy's death.These are hard-hitting, thrilling, and utterly unforgettable stories, from some of the best writers in the mystery world.Liar Moon
By Ben Pastor. 2001
Praise for Ben Pastor's Lumen: "Pastor's plot is well crafted, her prose sharp. . . . A disturbing mix of…
detection and reflection."--Publishers Weekly "Rivets the reader with its twist of historical realities. A historical piece, it faithfully reproduces the grim canvas of war. A character study, it captures the thoughts and actions of real people, not stereotypes."--The Free Lance-Star "And don't miss Lumen by Ben Pastor. . . . An interesting, original, and melancholy tale."--Literary Review Italy, September 1943. The Italian government switches sides and declares war on Germany. The north of Italy is controlled by the fascist puppets of Germany; the south liberated by Allied forces fighting their way up the peninsula. Having survived hell on the Russian front, Wehrmacht major and aristocrat Baron Martin von Bora is sent to Verona. He is ordered to investigate the murder of a prominent local fascist: a bizarre death threatening to discredit the regime's public image. The prime suspect is the victim's twenty-eight-year-old widow Clara. Haunted by his record of opposition to SS policies in Russia, Bora must watch his step. Against the backdrop of relentless anti-partisan warfare and the tragedy of the Holocaust, a breathless chase begins. Ben Pastor, born and now back in Italy, lived for thirty years in the United States, working as a university professor in Vermont. The first in the Martin Bora series, Lumen, was published by Bitter Lemon Press in May 2011.The New Black
By Richard Thomas, Benjamin Percy, Stephen Graham Jones, Roxane Gay, Brian Evenson. 2007
The New Black is a collection of twenty neo-noir stories exemplifying the best authors currently writing in this dark sub-genre.…
A mixture of horror, crime, fantasy, science fiction, magical realism, and the grotesque-all with a literary bent-these stories are the future of genre-bending fiction.Table of Contents:Foreword by Laird BarronStephen Graham Jones, "Father Son, Holy Rabbit"Paul Tremblay, "It's Against the Law to Feed the Ducks"Lindsay Hunter, "That Baby"Roxane Gay, "How"Kyle Minor, "The Truth and All Its Ugly"Craig Clevenger, "Act of Contrition"Micaela Morrissette, "The Familiars"Richard Lange, "Fuzzyland"Benjamin Percy, "Dial Tone"Roy Kesey, "Instituto"Craig Davidson, "Rust and Bone"Rebecca Jones-Howe, "Blue Hawaii"Joe Meno, "Children Are the Only Ones Who Blush"Vanessa Veselka, "Christopher Hitchens"Nik Korpon, "His Footsteps are Made of Soot"Brian Evenson, "Windeye"Craig Wallwork, "Dollhouse"Tara Laskowski, "The Etiquette of Homicide"Matt Bell, "Dredge"Antonia Crane, "Sunshine for Adrienne"The Cat Who Played Brahms
By Lilian Jackson Braun. 1987
Is it just a case of summertime blues or a full-blown career crisis? Newspaper reporter Jim Qwilleran isn't sure, but…
he's hoping a few days in the country will help him sort out his life.With cats Koko and Yum Yum for company, Qwilleran heads for a cabin owned by a longtime family friend, "Aunt Fanny." But from the moment he arrives, things turn strange. Eerie footsteps cross the roof at midnight, Local townsfolk become oddly secretive. And then, while fishing, Qwilleran hooks on to a murder mystery. Soon Qwilleran enters into a game of cat and mouse with the killer, while Koko develops a sudden and uncanny fondness for classical music...The Corsican Caper: A novel
By Peter Mayle. 2014
Here is Peter Mayle at his effervescent best--his master sleuth, Sam Levitt, eating, drinking, and romancing his way through the…
South of France even as he investigates a case of deadly intrigue among the Riviera's jet set. Billionaire Francis Reboul is taking in the view at his coastal estate, awaiting the arrival of vacationing friends Sam Levitt and Elena Morales, when he spies a massive yacht whose passengers seem a little too interested in his property. The yacht belongs to rapacious Russian tycoon Oleg Vronsky, who, for his own purposes, will stop at nothing to obtain Reboul's villa. When Reboul refuses to sell, Vronsky's methods quickly turn unsavory. Now it's up to Sam--he's saved Reboul's neck before--to negotiate with an underworld of mercenaries and hit men, not to mention the Corsican mafia, to prevent his friend from becoming a victim of Vronsky's "Russian diplomacy." The dire situation doesn't stop Sam and Elena from attending glamorous fêtes where the wines and starlets alike sparkle, and enjoying sumptuous meals--from multicourse revelations to understated delights like the first asparagus of the season, on which one must make a wish. But as Sam's sleuthing draws him closer to the truth of Vronsky's schemes, he realizes Reboul might not be the only one unable to enjoy the good life for long. Brimming with entertaining twists, sparkling scenery, and mouthwatering gustatory interludes as only Peter Mayle can write them, The Corsican Caper is a one-way ticket to pleasure, Provençal style.From the Hardcover edition.Crime Plus Music: Twenty Stories of Music-Themed Noir
By Val Mcdermid, David Liss, Alison Gaylin, Craig Johnson, Jim Fusilli. 2016
Modern life seems to have a soundtrack for everything. Even crime.Crime + Music collects twenty darkly intense, music-related noir stories…
by world-renowned mystery authors Brendan DuBois, Alison Gaylin, Craig Johnson, David Liss, Val McDermid, Gary Phillips, Peter Robinson and, from the music world, Galadrielle Allman, author of Please Be With Me: A Song for My Father, Duane Allman and award-winning songwriter-novelist Willy Vlautin. Edited by novelist and Wall Street Journal rock and pop music critic Jim Fusilli.The lively anthology's chilling, sinister tales tap into the span of rock and pop history, ranging from Peter Blauner's heart-wrenching "The Last Temptation of Frankie Lymon" to Fusilli's "Boy Wonder," set in the world of contemporary electronic dance music; from Naomi Rand's "The Misfits," a punk-rock revenge saga to Mark Haskell Smith's menacingly comedic "1968 Pelham Blue SG Jr."; from Reed Farrel Coleman's study of a one-hit wonder, "Look at Me/Don't Look at Me" to Erica Wright's account of betrayal among minor talents in "A Place You're Likely to Find"-and many more.In the hands of these modern masters of mystery fiction, Crime + Music exposes the nasty side of the world of popular music, revealing it to be the perfect setting for noir.Crime Plus Music: Twenty Stories of Music-Themed Noir
By Val Mcdermid, David Liss, Alison Gaylin, Craig Johnson, Jim Fusilli. 2016
Modern life seems to have a soundtrack for everything. Even crime.Crime + Music collects twenty darkly intense, music-related noir stories…
by world-renowned mystery authors Brendan DuBois, Alison Gaylin, Craig Johnson, David Liss, Val McDermid, Gary Phillips, Peter Robinson and, from the music world, Galadrielle Allman, author of Please Be With Me: A Song for My Father, Duane Allman and award-winning songwriter-novelist Willy Vlautin. Edited by novelist and Wall Street Journal rock and pop music critic Jim Fusilli.The lively anthology's chilling, sinister tales tap into the span of rock and pop history, ranging from Peter Blauner's heart-wrenching "The Last Temptation of Frankie Lymon" to Fusilli's "Boy Wonder," set in the world of contemporary electronic dance music; from Naomi Rand's "The Misfits," a punk-rock revenge saga to Mark Haskell Smith's menacingly comedic "1968 Pelham Blue SG Jr."; from Reed Farrel Coleman's study of a one-hit wonder, "Look at Me/Don't Look at Me" to Erica Wright's account of betrayal among minor talents in "A Place You're Likely to Find"-and many more.In the hands of these modern masters of mystery fiction, Crime + Music exposes the nasty side of the world of popular music, revealing it to be the perfect setting for noir.Crime Plus Music: Twenty Stories of Music-Themed Noir
By Val Mcdermid, David Liss, Alison Gaylin, Craig Johnson, Jim Fusilli. 2016
Modern life seems to have a soundtrack for everything. Even crime.Crime + Music collects twenty darkly intense, music-related noir stories…
by world-renowned mystery authors Brendan DuBois, Alison Gaylin, Craig Johnson, David Liss, Val McDermid, Gary Phillips, Peter Robinson and, from the music world, Galadrielle Allman, author of Please Be With Me: A Song for My Father, Duane Allman and award-winning songwriter-novelist Willy Vlautin. Edited by novelist and Wall Street Journal rock and pop music critic Jim Fusilli.The lively anthology's chilling, sinister tales tap into the span of rock and pop history, ranging from Peter Blauner's heart-wrenching "The Last Temptation of Frankie Lymon" to Fusilli's "Boy Wonder," set in the world of contemporary electronic dance music; from Naomi Rand's "The Misfits," a punk-rock revenge saga to Mark Haskell Smith's menacingly comedic "1968 Pelham Blue SG Jr."; from Reed Farrel Coleman's study of a one-hit wonder, "Look at Me/Don't Look at Me" to Erica Wright's account of betrayal among minor talents in "A Place You're Likely to Find"-and many more.In the hands of these modern masters of mystery fiction, Crime + Music exposes the nasty side of the world of popular music, revealing it to be the perfect setting for noir.Crime Plus Music: Twenty Stories of Music-Themed Noir
By Val Mcdermid, David Liss, Alison Gaylin, Craig Johnson, Jim Fusilli. 2016
Modern life seems to have a soundtrack for everything. Even crime.Crime + Music collects twenty darkly intense, music-related noir stories…
by world-renowned mystery authors Brendan DuBois, Alison Gaylin, Craig Johnson, David Liss, Val McDermid, Gary Phillips, Peter Robinson and, from the music world, Galadrielle Allman, author of Please Be With Me: A Song for My Father, Duane Allman and award-winning songwriter-novelist Willy Vlautin. Edited by novelist and Wall Street Journal rock and pop music critic Jim Fusilli.The lively anthology's chilling, sinister tales tap into the span of rock and pop history, ranging from Peter Blauner's heart-wrenching "The Last Temptation of Frankie Lymon" to Fusilli's "Boy Wonder," set in the world of contemporary electronic dance music; from Naomi Rand's "The Misfits," a punk-rock revenge saga to Mark Haskell Smith's menacingly comedic "1968 Pelham Blue SG Jr."; from Reed Farrel Coleman's study of a one-hit wonder, "Look at Me/Don't Look at Me" to Erica Wright's account of betrayal among minor talents in "A Place You're Likely to Find"-and many more.In the hands of these modern masters of mystery fiction, Crime + Music exposes the nasty side of the world of popular music, revealing it to be the perfect setting for noir.Mystery Writers of America Presents the Rich and the Dead
By Nelson Demille, Mystery Writers of America. 2011
The truly wealthy live in another world. From their multi-national businesses to their palatial mansions to their exotic vacations at…
glamorous places all around the world, they do everything in a big way. And sometimes, that even includes crime. In this anthology, you'll read about a wealthy writer who plots murder his hopeless agent, an aging actress who clings to her past of wealth and fame, and a spoiled rich boy who steps into dangerous territory with his mean antics, among others. THE RICH AND THE DEAD features mystery and crime stories set among the upper crust of society, going behind the scenes of the lifestyles of the two percent of the world that controls sixty percent of its riches--and just how far they'll go to stay on top.Hook, Line & Sinister: Mysteries to Reel You In (Playaway Adult Fiction Ser.)
By T. Jefferson Parker. 2010
Original short stories by best-selling mystery writers about their favorite pastime—?shing. Sixteen of America's favorite author-anglers spin tales of mystery…
and fishing in this collection. From the tragic to the comic with many stops in between, these stories reflect the authors' passions for both making stories and catching fish. Michael Connelly, Ridley Pearson, John Lescroart, Don Winslow, Melodie Johnson Howe, Victoria Houston, and others all share a mysterious affection for things piscatorial when not busy writing best-selling books. This collection of all-original short stories will entertain even the most discriminating mystery reader. Proceeds from this book will help support two charitable groups, Casting For Recovery, which helps women cancer survivors to heal body and soul through fly-fishing, and Project Healing Waters, which does the same for our returning veterans. Contributing authors include • Ridley Pearson • Mark T. Sullivan • Michael Connelly • John Lescoart • Andrew Winer • Dana Stabenow • Don Winslow • Melodie Johnson Howe • James W. Hall • C.J. Box • Victoria Houston • William Beall • Spring Warren • Brian M. Wiprud • William Tapply • T. Jefferson Parker