Best of
Mystery

1981

Chiefs


Stuart Woods - 1981
    There is no direct evidence of murder, but the body bears marks of what seems to be a ritual beating. The investigation falls to Will Henry Lee, a failed cotton farmer newly appointed as Delano's first chief of police. Lee's obsession with the crime begins a story that weaves through the decades, following the life of a small southern town and the role of three police chiefs in unraveling the crime. Chiefs is the best kind of thriller, where the investigation plays out against the drama beneath the surface of a seemingly placid community, seething with the pressures of race, love, hate, and; always; political power, extending from the town fathers all the way to Washington, DC. With a new foreword by the author, this volume will be a collector's treasure for all fans of Stuart Woods.

The Final Adventures of Sherlock Holmes


Arthur Conan Doyle - 1981
    A collection of stories, plays, & poems provide the final account of the great sleuth Holmes.

Gorky Park


Martin Cruz Smith - 1981
    Chief homicide investigator Arkady Renko is brilliant, sensitive, honest, and cynical about everything except his profession. To identify the victims and uncover the truth, he must battle the KGB, FBI, and New York police as he performs the impossible--and tries to stay alive doing it.

The Celebrated Cases of Sherlock Holmes


Arthur Conan Doyle - 1981
    The adventures of Sherlock Holmes The memoirs of Sherlock Holmes The return of Sherlock Holmes A study in scarlet The sign of four The hound of the Baskervilles.

The Man With No Face


Peter May - 1981
    Jaded Edinburgh journalist Neil Bannerman arrives in the capital of European politics intent on digging up dirt. Yet it is danger he discovers, when two British men are found murdered. A CHILD WITH NO FATHER One victim is a journalist, the other a Cabinet Minister: the double-assassination witnessed by the former's autistic daughter. This girl recalls every detail about her father's killer - except for one. THE MAN WITH NO FACE With Brussels rocked by the tragedy, Bannerman is compelled to follow his instincts. He is now fighting to expose a murderous conspiracy, protect a helpless child, and unmask a remorseless killer.

The Man With a Load of Mischief


Martha Grimes - 1981
    At the Jack and Hammer, another body was stuck out on the beam of the pub’s sign, replacing the mechanical man who kept the time. Two pubs. Two murders. One Scotland Yard inspector called in to help. Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jury arrives in Long Piddleton and finds everyone in the postcard village looking outside of town for the killer. Except for one Melrose Plant. A keen observer of human nature, he points Jury in the right direction: into the darkest parts of his neighbors’ hearts…

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Book One


Catherine Edwards Sadler - 1981
    A Study in ScarletThe Red-headed LeagueThe Man with the Twisted Lip

Death of a Dissident


Stuart M. Kaminsky - 1981
    His superiors in the Moscow police force are suspicious of his Jewish wife, the black-market copies of his beloved Ed McBain 87th Precinct novels are getting tough to find, and his dreams of becoming a competitive weight-lifter are receding at a rapid clip. And then there's the famous dissident who's been murdered right before his trial—a trial intended to showcase the wonders of the Soviet judicial system. Rostnikov is charged with finding the killer, but the arrest had better be politically convenient, acceptable to the KGB. And things only get trickier when the killer strikes again, displaying a fondness for weapons—a hammer, a sickle, a vodka bottle—with a particularly Russian resonance. Clearly, he's making a statement, but what exactly is he saying? And can Rostnikov stop him before he says it again?

Charlie Chan: Five Complete Novels


Earl Derr Biggers - 1981
    Charlie Chan, the imperturbably ingenious detective with impressive powers of deduction, solves five bizarre mysteries.

Confessions of a Homing Pigeon


Nicholas Meyer - 1981
    Following in his uncle's wake, George is exposed at a tender age to the footloose existence of a 1950s, self-styled expatriate musician who lives and studies in Paris, drinks to excess, frequents the local bordellos, enjoys café society, and lives a seemingly carefree existence. When Fritz's lifestyle and George's educational deficiencies are discovered by more conventional family members, a custody suit ensues, and George is transported to the traditional family environment of his Aunt Susan's home in Chicago, where he lives and attends the Marcus Leader Workingman's Progressive School, until he runs away at age fourteen to rejoin his Uncle Fritz. George's life in Chicago is treated with far less appeal and enthusiasm than his years in Paris, and in comparison Chicago appears rather dreary. However, Confessions of a Homing Pigeon remains a beautifully poignant novel of childhood and adolescence. If the child appears a bit too precocious, he is easily forgiven because of the sheer beauty and delight of his story.

The Shadow: Jade Dragon & House of Ghosts


Walter B. Gibson - 1981
    On the 50th anniversary of The Shadow-- perhaps the most popular character in mystery fiction since Sherlock Holmes--the Crime Club is proud to republish two of the most exciting adventures of Lamont Cranston, the mysterious millionaire, master of deduction and disguise who battles the forces of evil...In Jade Dragon, The Shadow, master stalker of the night, finds himself trailing a beautiful woman through the foggy alleyways of San Francisco's Chinatown...on a quest for a rare and deadly talisman.In House of Ghosts, the wandering figure of darkness finds himself involved with the magician Dunninger--and proves himself the perfect foil for creatures of the supernatural...as well as archfiends of crime!

The Sherlock Holmes Puzzle Book: 173 Original Crosswords, Double-Crostics, Mazes, and Other Brain Teasers: A Puzzler's Companion to the Sherlock Holmes Adventures


Dale Copps - 1981
    The 173 entries range from easy to devilishly difficult, and each accompanies one of the sixty stories in the Sherlockian canon.This puzzler’s gem scintillates with wit, charm and logic, and is guaranteed to provide many hours of absorbing, challenging fun. Examples of puzzles included are:“Study in Scarlet” crossword; “Sign of Four” double-crostic; “The Valley of Fear” maze; “Blue Carbuncle” hidden-phrase game; “Scandal in Bohemia” word-detection puzzle; cryptograms inspired by “The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger”; dozens of quotation puzzles, which are adaptations of a pastime reputed to have been popular in ancient Egyptian society; plus these special features: an acrostic based on references to certain “untold” tales mentioned in the Canon; the famous Baker Street Irregulars’ crossword puzzle—once used as an entrance examination to this most renowned of Holmesian fan clubs; and a bonus puzzle whose solution yields a poetic salute to the Holmes tradition.(Publisher’s description)

The Old Dick


L.A. Morse - 1981
    When an old gangster Jake put away some forty years ago shows up at his door, it’s time for Jake to grab his hat and Browning automatic and get back to work.Old? Sure. Slower to catch his breath? Maybe. But, sharp as a tack and with a lifetime of investigating know-how, Jake Spanner has nothing to lose and everything to prove. Sniffing out leads between Sunset Boulevard and the Hollywood Hills, Jake pulls in old friends to help. The work is hard; it’s gritty. So is Jake. And, with a three quarters of a million dollars ransom at stake, the bad guys don’t stand a chance.With THE OLD DICK, author L.A. Morse creates a new kind of hero, one that laughs at death not because he’s too young to understand it, but because it’s right around the corner. It’s time to face it head on and maybe go out swinging.

The Case of the Stolen Laundry


Susan Meyers - 1981
    Clover and Stacey Jones try to find mysteriously missing laundry from Mrs. Baxter's back yard. Will they unravel the seemingly endless trail of false clues in time to save their clubhouse and give Mrs. Baxter a chance to enter the flower contest?