First published in 1935, this novel reaffirmed James M. Cain as a virtuoso of the roman noir.

    R. James to H. G. Wells.Contents The Mammoth Book of Thrillers, Ghosts & Mysteries (frontispiece) • interior artwork by E. Spencely17 • The Diver • (1927) • short story by A. J. Alan24 • The Ghoul of Golders Green • (1923) • novelette by Michael Arlen59 • The Murder of the Mandarin • (1907) • short story by Arnold Bennett70 • Powers of the Air • short story by J. D. Beresford [as by John D. Beresford]76 • Keeping His Promise • (1906) • short story by Algernon Blackwood92 • Dearth's Farm • (1923) • short story by Gerald Bullett105 • The Hammer of God • non-genre • [Father Brown] • (1911) • short story by G. K. Chesterton121 • The Blue Geranium • short story by Agatha Christie173 • The Tiger • (1921) • short story by A. E. Coppard195 • The Looking Glass • short story by Walter de la Mare (variant of The Looking-Glass 1923)195 • The Hostelry • (1923) • short story by Guy de Maupassant (trans. of L'auberge 1886)208 • A Large Diamond • [Jorkens] • (1931) • short story by Lord Dunsany218 • The Cupboard • (1922) • short story by Jeffery Farnol235 • The Other Sense • short story by J. S. Fletcher [as by Joseph S. Fletcher]246 • Ghost of Honour • short story by Pamela Hansford Johnson254 • Roads of Destiny • (1903) • novelette by O. Henry277 • The Trapdoor • short story by C. D. Heriot286 • Ben Blower's Story • short story by Charles Fenno Hoffman [as by C. F. Hoffman]297 • The Shadow of a Shade • (1869) • short story by Tom Hood311 • The Dwarfs • (1921) • short story by Aldous Huxley322 • Guests from Gibbet Island • (1839) • short story by Washington Irving333 • The Mezzotint • (1904) • short story by M. R. James346 • The Dancing Partner • (1928) • short story by Jerome K. Jerome353 • The Woman Who Rode Away • (1925) • novelette by D. H. Lawrence390 • Honolulu • (1921) • novelette by W. Somerset Maugham413 • Rooum • (1910) • short story by Oliver Onions429 • The Green Light • (1897) • short story by Barry Pain435 • The Iron Pineapple • (1926) • short story by Eden Phillpotts451 • The Demon King • (1931) • short story by J. B. Priestley466 • The Queen of Spades • (1909) • short story by Александр Пушкин? (trans. of Пиковая дама? 1834) [as by Alexander Sergeievitch Pushkin]492 • The Seventh Man • short story by Arthur Quiller-Couch [as by Sir Arthur T. Quiller-Couch]504 • Laura • (1914) • short story by Saki509 • Goat-Cry, Girl-Cry • (1929) • short story by William B. Seabrook522 • The Mahatma's Story • (1924) • short story by May Sinclair533 • Deep in the Forest • short story by H. de Vere Stacpoole548 • The Island of Voices • novelette by Robert Louis Stevenson (variant of The Isle of Voices 1893)568 • Man of the Night • short story by Edgar Wallace578 • Major Wilbraham • (1921) • short story by Hugh Walpole594 • The Inexperienced Ghost • (1902) • short story by H. G. Wells608 • The Salt of the Earth • novelette by Rebecca West652 • A Tale of a Gas-Light Ghost • (1866) • short story by uncredited665 • The Confession of Charles Linkworth • (1912) • short story by E. F. Benson680 • The Moonlit Road • (1907) • short story by Ambrose Bierce689 • A Visitor from Down Under • (1926) • short story by L. P. Hartley705 • The Voice in the Night • (1907) • short story by William Hope Hodgson717 • His Brother's Keeper • non-genre • (1922) • short story by W. W. Jacobs728 • Berenice • (1850) • short story by Edgar Allan Poe (variant of Berenice—A Tale 1835)736 • The Coat • (1934) • short story by A. E. D. Smith743 • The Squaw • (1893) • short story by Bram Stoker755 • Presentiments • (unknown) • short fiction by P. C. Wren

    A true story of a brutal death that reads like a novel.

    As Dorothy Sayers once wrote, Chesterton was "the first man of our time to introduce the great name of God into a detective story ... to enlarge the boundaries of the detective story by making it deal with death and real wickedness and real, that is to say, divine judgment." This paperback Father Brown edition includes generous footnotes (not available in other editions) which help to clarify the literary and historical allusions made by Father Brown. It is based on the texts of the original editions by Chesterton for assurance of complete authenticity, and is set in easily readable type. These are excellent short detective yarns in the classic British tradition of Sherlock Holmes - puzzling concoctions of mysterious crimes, dubious suspects and ambiguous clues. They are among the very best of the Father Brown stories.