Best of
Detective

2003

The Complete Adventures of Feluda, Vol. 2


Satyajit Ray - 2003
    He is at his inimitable best as he tracks down the last known letter of Napoleon, or investigates a sinister crime that has to do with Tintoretto's painting of Jesus. In The Case of Apsara Theatre, Feluda foils the insidious plans of a clever murderer, and in The House of Death, he investigates the theft of a priceless manuscript. Maganlal Meghraj, Feluda's arch-enemy, reappears in The Criminals of Kathmandu as the kingpin in a case involving spurious drugs, and again in The Mystery of the Pink Pearl, but Feluda is equal to the challenge. Also included here are the two final Feluda cases, Robertson's Ruby and The Magical Mystery, both of which were published posthumously.

Byomkesh Bakshi Stories


Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay - 2003
    This book contains seven of his most entertaining adventures, competently translated. At each reading, one can only marvel at the writer's genius.

The C.J. Sansom CD Box Set: Dissolution, Dark Fire, Sovereign, Revelation


C.J. Sansom - 2003
    J. Sansom. Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and reformist in London during the reign of Henry VIII. His investigation skills are tested in four cases where both his life and the lives of others are threatened. In "Dissolution" he travels to Scarnsea Monastery where one of Thomas Cromwell's Commissioner has been brutally murdered. Shardlake must expose the killer but his inquiries soon force him to question everything he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes. In "Dark Fire" Shardlake returns to London and a new assignment from Cromwell. The formula for Greek Fire, a legendary Byzantine weapon, is discovered by an official of the Court of Augmentations. Shardlake is sent to retrieve the formula but instead finds the official and his alchemist brother murdered and the formula missing. "Sovereign" takes Shardlake to York, following Henry VIII and his Progress to the North. The murder of a local glazier involves Shardlake in a mystery connected not only to a prisoner in York Castle but to the royal family itself. And in "Revelation" when an old friend is horrifically murdered Shardlake promises his widow to bring the killer to justice. His search leads him to connections with the dark prophecies of the Book of Revelation. Shardlake follows the trail of a series of horrific murders that shakes him to the core, and which are already bringing frenzied talk of witchcraft and a demonic possession - for what else would the Tudor mind make of a serial killer...? Praise for the series: 'Dissolution is a remarkable, imaginative feat. It is a first-rate murder mystery and one of the most atmospheric historical novels I've read in years' - "Mail on Sunday". 'One of the author's greatest gifts is the immediacy of his descriptions, for he writes about the past as if it were the living present' - Colin Dexter.

The White Trilogy


Ken Bruen - 2003
    Collecting A White Arrest (1998), Taming the Alien (1999) and The McDead (2000) for first U.S. publication, this omnibus showcases the investigations of the aging Chief Inspector Roberts and the brutish Detective Sergeant Brant, with the assistance of the unlucky-in-love Woman Police Constable Falls. They don't always solve their assigned crimes, but know perfectly well if they can nail the occasional major criminal-"the white arrest"-they'll be able to keep their jobs. Among numerous subplots, they pursue a serial killer stalking England's winning soccer team, a vigilante gang hanging drug dealers and a hit man known as "The Alien" because he whacked a victim engrossed in the video of that movie with a baseball bat just as the monster pops out of John Hurt's chest. But quieter moments, such as Brant's visit to his home county in Ireland, are just as interesting.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes


Arthur Conan Doyle - 2003
    From the bizarre job posting in 'The Red-Headed League' to the chilling words uttered by a dying woman in 'The Adventures of the Speckled Band', Sherlock Holmes encounters some of the most twisted cases of his career in this collection of 12 stories.

Blackstone and the Rendezvous with Death


Sally Spencer - 2003
     Yet to Inspector Sam Blackstone, the case is as puzzling as any he has ever come across. Why should a corpse dressed the in rags of a commoner have the face of a gentleman? And if this man does belong to noble stock, why has no one come forward to claim the body? As his investigation proceeds, Blackstone finds himself entering the world of the aristocracy—in which the presence of an ordinary policeman is far from welcome—and tramping the dangerous streets of London's Little Russia—where English law and order are not welcome. Death seems to stalk him, and as each new clue leads to nothing more than a new murder, Blackstone comes to realize that he is caught up in what may turn out to be the most horrendous crime of the century… Blackstone and the Rendezvous with Death is an expertly plotted Victorian mystery that will keep readers guessing to the last page. Praise for Sally Spencer: “Spencer's finest hour: a tightly plotted puzzler with surprises at every turn” Kirkus Reviews “Spencer is an accomplished craftsman who serves up a good puzzle and deftly solves it with intelligence and insight” Publishers Weekly “Characters are diverse, intriguing, and believable . . . plots never fail to surprise; and the procedural details are grittily realistic” Kirkus Reviews Sally Spencer worked as a teacher both in England and Iran - where she witnessed the fall of the Shah. She now writes full time. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

The Monkey's Raincoat / Free Fall / Lullaby Town


Robert Crais - 2003
    The search for Ellen's errant husband leads Elvis into the seamier side of Hollywood. He soon learns that Mort Lang is a down-on-his-luck talent agent who associates with a schlocky movie producer, and the last place he was spotted was at a party thrown by a famous and very well-connected ex-Matador. But no one has seen him since - including his B-movie girlfriend. At the same time the police find Mort in his parked car with four gunshots in his chest - and no kid in sight - Ellen disappears. Now nothing is what it seems, and the heat is on. It's up to Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike to find the connection between sleazy Hollywood players and an ex-Matador. FREE FALL Read by James Daniels (Sandra Burr, Jill Sovis) Elvis Cole is just a detective who can't say no, especially to a girl in a terrible fix. And Jennifer Sheridan qualifies: Her fiance, Mark Thurman, is a decorated LA cop with an elite plainclothes unit, but Jennifer's sure he's in trouble - the kind of serious trouble that only Elvis Cole can help him out of. Five minutes after his new client leaves his office, Elvis and his partner, the enigmatic Joe Pike, are hip-deep in a deadly situation as they plummet into a world of South Central gangs, corrupt cops, and conspiracies of silence. And before the case is through, every cop in the LAPD will be gunning for a pair of escaped armed-and-dangerous killers - Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. LULLABY TOWN Read by James Daniels (Joyce Bean, Russell Byers) Hollywood's newest wunderkind is Peter Alan Nelson, the brilliant, erratic director known as the King of Adventure. His films make billions, but his manners make enemies. What the boy king wants, he gets, and what Nelson wants is for Elvis to comb the country for the airhead wife and infant child the film-school flunkout dumped en route to becoming the third biggest filmmaker in America. It's the kind of case Cole can handle in his sleep - until it turns out to be a nightmare. For when Cole finds Nelson's wife in a small Conneticut town, she's nothing like what he expects. The lady has some unwanted - and very nasty - mob connections, which means Elvis could be opening the East Coast branch of his P.I. office . . .at the bottom of the Hudson River.

Devil's Waltz / Bad Love


Jonathan Kellerman - 2003
    He has brought his expertise as a child psychologist to numerous tales of suspense, including fourteen critically acclaimed and bestselling novels featuring child psychologist sleuth Alex Delaware. Now, for the first time, here are two of his popular Alex Delaware books in one volume. Taunt, penetrating, terrifying, Devil's Waltz and Bad Love are Kellerman at his best. From the hospital to the street, Delaware follows mysterious killers in two of the most suspenseful works ever, tracking them down through a combination of keen perception and psychological expertise. In Devil's Waltz, Delaware explores a dark side of parental love. In Bad Love, Delaware follows the twisted logic of a stalker's mind games, aware that next the stalker may be coming for him. In both, weaving a web of disturbing events that will thrill and captivate as he reveals their stunning conclusions.

Poirot: The French Collection


Agatha Christie - 2003
    Includes Murder on the Links, Mystery of The Blue Train and Death in The Clouds. It seems Hercule Poirot can never escape murder. Crimes, motives and killers followed him across the Orient and now they have found him again - but this time much closer to home... MURDER ON THE LINKS An urgent cry for help brings Poirot to France. But he arrives too late to save his client, whose brutally stabbed body now lies face downwards in a shallow grave on a golf course. But whay is the dead man wearing his son's overcoat? And who was the impassioned love-letter in the pocket for? Before Poirot can answer these questions, the case is turned upside down by the discovery of a second, identically murdered corpse... THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE TRAIN When the luxurious Blue Train arrives at Nice, a guard attempts to wake serene Ruth Kettering from her slumbers. But she will never wake again - for a heavy blow has killed her, disfiguring her features almost beyond recognition. What is more, her priceless rubies are missing. The prime suspect is Ruth's estranged husband, Derek. Yet Poirot is not convinc

Heart of the Hunter


Deon Meyer - 2003
    Now leading a quiet, ordered life in the countryside, he is reluctantly summoned back into the game when a trusted old friend is kidnapped. With just seventy-two hours to deliver the ransom, with an army of security forces deployed to stop him, and with a diabolical double agent perilously close to assuming absolute power, Tiny races a hijacked motorcycle across the wilds of backcountry Africa in a thrilling epic adventure.

Murder on the Orient Express / Death on the Nile / The Mirror Cracked / The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie Boxed Set)


Agatha Christie - 2003
    

The Complete Hercule Poirot Short Stories: Volume 1


Agatha Christie - 2003
    

Poirot: The War Years


Agatha Christie - 2003
    Includes One, Two Buckle My Shoe, Five Little Pigs, Taken at The Flood. It seems Hitler's Luftwaffe aren't the only ones responsible for the deaths of innocent people as World War II rages -- it seems plenty of murderers are willing to help them reduce Britain' war-torn population even further. And it's up to Hercule Poirot to stop them! ONE, TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE The dentist was found with a blackened hole below his right temple. A pistol lay on the floor near his outflung right hand. Later, one of his patients was found dead from a lethal dose of anaesthetic. A clear case of murder and suicide -- but why would a dentist commit a crime in the middle of a busy day of appointments? A show buckle holds the key to the mystery. Now -- in the words of the rhyme -- can Poirot pick up the sticks and lay them straight? FIVE LITTLE PIGS Beautiful Caroline Crale was convicted of poisoning her husband, yet there were five other subjects: Philip Blake (the stockbroker) who went to market; Meredith Blake (the amateur herbalist) who stayed at home; Elsa Greer (the three-time divorcee) who had roast beef; Cecilia Williams (the devoted governess) who had none; and Angela Warren (the disfigured sister) who cried 'wee wee wee' all the way home. It is sixteen years later, but Hercule Poirot just can't get that nursery rhyme out of his head! TAKEN AT THE FLOOD A few weeks after marrying an attractive young widow, Gordon Cloade is tragically killed by a bomb blast in the London Blitz. Overnight, the former Mrs Underhay finds herself in sole possession of the Cloade family fortune. Shortly afterward, Hercule Poirot receives a visit from the dead man's sister-in-law, who claims she has been warned by 'spirits' that Mrs Underhay's first husband is still alive. Yet, what mystifies Poirot most is the woman's true motive for approaching him.

Carlucci 3-in-1


Richard Paul Russo - 2003
    Frank Carlucci investigating high-tech crime and corruption in a near-future San Francisco.

The Oriental Casebook of Sherlock Holmes


Ted Riccardi - 2003
    His fatal plunge over the Reichenbach Falls as he struggled with his archenemy, Moriarty, has been widely reported. But Holmes has escaped and is alive.In his immediate circle, only Holmes’s brother, the lethargic genius Mycroft, knows of his survival. Even Dr. Watson thinks that the great detective is dead. Among his enemies, Sebastian Moran, Moriarty’s chief henchman, knows of Holmes’s probable escape and waits for their inevitable meeting.From 1891 to 1894, Holmes wanders through Asia. He is alone, without Watson, without Scotland Yard, armed only with his physical strength and endur-ance and his revered cold logic and rationality. The adventures recounted in The Oriental Casebook of Sherlock Holmes range from Lhasa to Katmandu, from the East Indies to the deserts of Rajasthan. In Tibet and throughout the Orient, Holmes is caught up in the diplomatic machinations of British imperialism that Rudyard Kipling dubbed “the Great Game.” He confronts the tsarist agent Dorjiloff, the great art thief Anton Furer, and the mysterious Captain Fantôme. And here, written in Holmes’s own words, is the account of “The Giant Rat of Sumatra,” for which until now he so famously thought the world unprepared.For Holmes’s fans throughout the world, the stories in The Oriental Casebook of Sherlock Holmes fill in an enigmatic gap, the cause of so much speculation in the great detective’s career. (front flap)Preface by Dr. John Watson --The case of the viceroy's assistant --The case of Hodgson's ghost --The case of the French savant --An envoy to Lhasa --The case of Anton Furer --The giant rat of Sumatra --A singular affair at Trincomalee --Murder in the thieves' bazaar --The mystery of Jaisalmer --Afterword by Dr. John Watson.

Nate the Great Collected Stories: Volume 2


Marjorie Weinman Sharmat - 2003
    Volume 2 includes: Nate the Great and the Phony Clue Early one morning, a torn slip of paper with the mysterious letters V I T A appears on Nate the Great's doorstep. He and his faithful dog, Sludge, set off to solve this latest mystery. Against ferocious cats, hostile adversaries, and a sly, phony clue -- not to mention a three o'clock deadline -- Nate struggles to prove, once again, that he is Nate the Great.Nate the Great and the Missing Key Nate the Great doesn't especially want to go to a birthday party for Annie's ferocious dog, Fang. But he can't resist a mystery--and when Annie loses her house key and can't get inside to set up the party, Nate and his trusty dog, Sludge, are hot on the trial.Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail Nate the Great, super sleuth, has his work cut out for him when Rosamond loses his birthday present. He and his faithful dog Sludge must face snow, ice, and ferocious-looking Fang, Annie's dog, to solve the case. But how can Nate find his missing present when Rosamond won't tell him what it is?Nate the Great and the Crunchy Christmas Annie's dog is unhappy. When Fang is unhappy, everyone is unhappy. Especially Nate the Great. So Nate agrees to sniff out Fang's mysteriously missing Christmas mail. It's cold and snowy. But Nate the Great and his dog, Sludge, will try to solve this holiday case in time for Fang to have a crunchy, munchy Christmas.

Encyclopedia Brown Mysteries, Volume 1: Boy Detective; The Case of the Secret Pitch


Donald J. Sobol - 2003
    A cross-eyed baseball pitch...A kid-lover tumed kidnapper...A watermelon stabbing...A trapeze artist's inheritance...These are just some of the brain-twisters included. Try to crack the cases along with him--the answers to all the mysteries are found in the back!

Sherlock Holmes and the Rule of Nine


Barrie Roberts - 2003
    Watson, MD When a series of bizarre accidents befall small shopkeepers who have recently taken precautions to protect their premises, Sherlock Holmes is the first to discern a pattern, to the befuddlement of his most loyal friend. It seems someone is running a protection racket, and more, murder is involved, so Holmes teams up with a New York detective who has travelled to London to get to the bottom of the Rule of Nine.

Suspicious Minds


Kim Cox - 2003
    Ryan Donatelli, posing as Thomas Randolph, sets out to avenge his sister's death, even if it means using Sam Southard's daughter to do it. After all, Ryan is sure Sam's responsible. Natalie Southard is determined to keep her family business out of the hands of known crime boss, Nick DeMarco. After her father is killed, Natalie and Ryan are forced to run for their lives. But, will they live long enough for their hearts to heal once everything is revealed?

Batman: The Dynamic Duo Archives, Vol. 1


Gardner Fox - 2003
    Collected in this spectacular volume are the stories that celebrate that classic partnership between the World's Greatest Detective and the Boy Wonder. Presenting their greatest adventures as they originally appeared in the 1960s, this book includes an unforgettable battle with the Joker, the first appearance of the Elongated Man, and the first time Batman ever appeared with the yellow oval around the bat-symbol on his chest.

Ghost Hunters and Psychic Detectives


Jean Marie Stine - 2003
    Equipped with a deep knowledge of things occult -- often with a pinch of paranormal power themselves – these bloodhounds of the borderland pick up where more mundane detectives like the immortal Sherlock Holmes or Miss Jane Marple leave off. When the likes of Mason Bell, Dr. Munsing, Quinn's Jules DeGrandon, Moris Klaw, Flaxman Low, or Carnacki are on the trail, you can be sure the explanation for eerie and ectoplasmic doings will never involve some mundane trick like painting a hound's jaws with phosphorous. The ghost down the hall or the werewolf at the window, the awful demon seeking vengeance from another dimension, will all turn out to be very real indeed. This anthology brings together nine rare and vintage tales of ghost hunters and psychic sleuths. In it you will meet such legendary, and nearly forgotten fictive practitioners as Gordon Acreage's Dr. Munsing in "The Exorcist"; Seabury Quinn's Jules DeGrandon in "Body and Soul"; Sax Rohmer's Moris Klaw in "The Headless Mummies"; E. and H. Heron's Flaxman Low in "The Grey House"; T. Meade and Robert Eustace's Bell, Master of Mystery in "The Warder of the Door"; Conrad Richter's Mason Bell in "The Toad Man"; William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki, Ghost Finder, in "The Whistling Room"; Victor Rousseau's Ivan Brodsky, Surgeon of Souls, in "The Tenth Commandment"; and Algernon Blackwood's John Silence in "A Victim of Higher Space." Don't be surprised if reading their cases proves addictive, and you find yourself finishing the book, yearning for more.