Published in crime magazines, composed for events, broadcast on radio, they all share the best qualities of his phenomenally popular Rebus novels.Brought together for the first time, and including brand new material, this is the ultimate Rebus short-story collection and a must-have book for crime lovers and for Ian's millions of fans alike.No Rankin aficionado can go without it.

    A secret society whose members are drawn from the rich and the poor, the Grill is blind to politics, ideology, and wealth. The only demands made of its members are secrecy and an open mind.   On a foggy night in 1897, an American diplomat tells three other club members of a recent night when he was lost in the London fog and heard a distant scream. Following the sound, he entered a strange house, where he discovered a man lying dead on a princess’s divan. The crime baffled Scotland Yard, but the men of the Grill Club will get to the bottom of it—no matter how long it takes.   This ebook features a new introduction by Otto Penzler and has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

    Charles turns to Miss Silver to uncover the strange truth behind Margaret's complicity, and the identity of the terrifying and mysterious individual behind the grey mask.

     A Soupçon of Poison (Kat Holloway Victorian Mysteries) Kat Holloway, a young cook who is highly sought after by the wealthy of Victorian London, becomes embroiled in murder and must clear her name. Only the mysterious Daniel McAdam, who is much more than he seems, can come to her aid. Blood Debts (Leonidas the Gladiator Mysteries) Leonidas, freedman, once the most popular gladiator in Rome and champion of the games, now must fight for his life outside the arena. A man who owed him money was murdered, and Leonidas is a prime suspect. With the assistance of Cassia, daughter of a Greek scribe who has been bestowed upon him as his slave, Leonidas fights for justice in the back lanes of Imperial Rome. The Necklace Affair (Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries) Captain Lacey agrees to help a society matron discover what has become of her cherished diamond necklace and to clear her maid, who has been arrested for its theft. Lacey quickly becomes enmeshed in scandal and past secrets, and finds himself competing with the underworld criminal, James Denis, for the necklace's retrieval. This collection includes three novellas of about 25,000-30,000 words each.

    Few know these characters—and their creators—better than Sarah Weinman. One of today’s preeminent authorities on crime fiction, Weinman asks: Where would bestselling authors like Gillian Flynn, Sue Grafton, or Tana French be without the women writers who came before them? In Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives, Weinman brings together fourteen hair-raising tales by women who—from the 1940s through the mid-1970s—took a scalpel to contemporary society and sliced away to reveal its dark essence. Lovers of crime fiction from any era will welcome this deliciously dark tribute to a largely forgotten generation of women writers.

    If you like all your characters living at the end of a story, this may not be the book for you." -- from the introduction by Scott TurowBest-selling author Scott Turow takes the helm for the tenth edition of this annual, featuring twenty-one of the past year's most distinguished tales of mystery, crime, and suspense.Elmore Leonard tells the tale of a young woman who's fled home with a convicted bank robber. Walter Mosley describes an over-the-hill private detective and his new client, a woman named Karma. C. J. Box explores the fate of two Czech immigrants stranded by the side of the road in Yellowstone Park. Ed McBain begins his story on role-playing with the line "'Why don't we kill somebody?' she suggested." Wendy Hornsby tells of a wild motorcycle chase through the canyons outside Las Vegas. Laura Lippman describes the "Crack Cocaine Diet." And James Lee Burke writes of a young boy who may have been a close friend of Bugsy Siegel.As Scott Turow notes in his introduction, these stories are "about crime -- its commission, its aftermath, its anxieties, its effect on character." The Best American Mystery Stories 2006 is a powerful collection for all readers who enjoy fiction that deals with the extremes of human passion and its dark consequences.

    Keller goes in, does the job, gets out: usually at a few hours’ notice . . . Often Keller’s work takes him out of New York to other cities, to pretty provincial towns that almost tempt him into moving to the woods and the lakeshores. Almost but not quite. But then one job goes wrong in a way Keller has never imagined and it leaves him with a big problem. Finding himself with an orphan on his hands, Keller's job begins to interfere with his carefully guarded life. And once you let someone in to your life, they tend to want to know what you do when you're away. And killing for a living, lucrative though it is, just doesn't find favour with some folks.

    Edited by Sharan Newman (medieval mysteries) and Miriam Grace Monfredo's (mid-Victorian American mysteries), this collection of historical mystery stories spans ancient Egypt to World War II and features some of the most well known names in the field. Of particular note is Nicholas diChario's "The Soldier and His Dead Companion," which posits a new solution to a wartime mystery; and the welcome returns of diva Geraldine Farrar and the prank-loving Great Caruso in Barbara Paul's "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Corpse," and Peter Lovesey's lecherous but amiable Bertie, Prince of Wales, in "Bertie and the Boat Race." —Elizabeth FoxwellDeath of a place-seeker / Lynda S. Robinson --Archimedes' tomb / Steven Saylor --Solomon's decision / Sharan Newman --Murder at anchor / Edward Marston --The hangman's apprentice / Leonard Tourney --Suffer a witch / Miriam Grace Monfredo --The lullaby cheat / Kate Ross --Anything in the dark / Edward D. Hoch --Bertie and the boat race / Peter Lovesey --The high constable and the visiting author / Maan Meyers --Look to the lady / Alanna Knight --Mrs. Hudson's case / Laurie King --Exit centre stage / M.J. Trow --Decision of the umpire / Troy Soos --Uncle Charlie's letters / Anne Perry --Killing the critic / Gillian Linscott --Portrait of the artist as a young corpse / Barbara Paul --The Mamur Zapt and the Kodaker's eye / Michael Pearce --Storm in a tea shoppe / Carola Dunn --The enemy / Ken Kuhlken --The soldier and his dead companion / Nicholas A. DiChario.

    Auguste Dupin.Introducing to literature the concept of applying reason to solving crime, these tales brought Poe fame and fortune, although much less of the second during his lifetime. Decades later, Dorothy Sayers would describe “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” as “almost a complete manual of detective theory and practice.” Indeed, Poe’s short Dupin mysteries inspired the creation of countless literary sleuths, among them Sherlock Holmes. Today, the unique Dupin stories still stand out as utterly engrossing page-turners.Librarian's note: this entry is for a collection of C. Auguste Dupin short stories under the above title. There are three stories in the series: 1. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” 2. “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt,” and 3. “The Purloined Letter.” Entries for the individual stories are located elsewhere on Goodreads.

    The "Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts," "Story of the Physician and the Saratoga Trunk," and "The Adventure of the Hansom Cab" chronicle the exploits of Prince Florizel of Bohemia and Colonel Geraldine through some of 19th-century London's most dangerous haunts.

    Thoughtful and amusing articles about the mystery genre by authors, critics and fans.

    Lupoff, Robert J. Sawyer, Mike Resnick, and many more!THE ADVENTURE OF THE ELUSIVE EMERALDS, by Carla CoupeTHE ADVENTURE OF THE SECOND ROUND, by Mark WardeckerTHE ADVENTURE OF THE MIDNIGHT SÉANCE, by Michael MalloryTHE CASE OF THE TARLETON MURDERS, by Jack GrochotTHE TATTOOED ARM, by Marc BilgreyTHE INCIDENT OF THE IMPECUNIOUS CHEVALIER, by Richard A. LupoffSHERLOCK HOLMES—STYMIED! by Gary LovisiYEARS AGO AND IN A DIFFERENT PLACE, by Michael KurlandA STUDY IN EVIL, by Gary LovisiTHE ADVENTURE OF THE AMATEUR MENDICANT SOCIETY, by John Gregory BetancourtTHE ADVENTURE OF THE HAUNTED BAGPIPES, by Carla CoupeSUN CHING FOO’S LAST TRICK, by Adam Beau McFarlaneDr WATSON’S FAIRY TALE, by Thos. Kent MillerTHE CASE OF VAMBERRY THE WINE MERCHANT, by Jack GrochotA HOUSE GONE MAD, by Sherlock Holmes as edited by Bruce I. KilsteinBE GOOD OR BEGONE, by Stan TrybulskiCUTTING FOR SIGN, by Rhys BowenTHE STAGECOACH DETECTIVE, by Linda RobertsonTHE DEAD HOUSE, by Bruce KilsteinTHE ADVENTURE OF THE VOORISH SIGN, by Richard A. LupoffTHE CURIOUS CASE OF THE PEACOCK STREET PECULIARS, by Michael MallorySECOND FIDDLE, by Kristine Kathryn RuschTHE CASE OF THE NETHERLAND-SUMATRA COMPANY, by Jack GrochotYOU SEE BUT YOU DO NOT OBSERVE, by Robert J. SawyerTHE ADVENTURE OF THE PEARLY GATES, by Mike ResnickAnd don't forget to search this ebook store for "Wildside Megapack" to see more entries in this series, covering classic authors and subjects like mysteries, science fiction, westerns, ghost stories -- and much, much more!

    It’s the long drop off the short pier and the wrong man and the wrong woman in perfect misalliance. It’s the nightmare of flawed souls with big dreams and the precise how and why of the all-time sure thing that goes bad.” Offering the best examples of literary sure things gone bad, this collection ensures that nowhere else can readers find a darker, more thorough distillation of American noir fiction.James Ellroy and Otto Penzler, series editor of the annual The Best American Mystery Stories, mined one hundred years of writing—1910–2010—to find this treasure trove of thirty-nine stories. From noir’s twenties-era infancy come gems like James M. Cain’s “Pastorale,” and its post-war heyday boasts giants like Mickey Spillane and Evan Hunter. Packing an undeniable punch, diverse contemporary incarnations include Elmore Leonard, Patricia Highsmith, Joyce Carol Oates, Dennis Lehane, and William Gay, with many page-turners appearing in the last decade.

    Sayers reveals a gruesome, grotesque but absolutely bewitching side rarely shown in Lord Peter's full-length adventures.Lord Peter views the body in 12 tantalizing and bizarre ways in this outstanding collection. He deals with such marvels as the man with copper fingers, Uncle Meleager's missing will, the cat in the bag, the footsteps that ran, the stolen stomach, the man without a face...and with such clues as cyanide, jewels, a roast chicken and a classic crossword puzzle.

    A retired Suffolk County cop, Gus had everything a man could want: a great marriage, two kids, a nice house, and the rest of his life ahead of him. But when tragedy strikes, his life is thrown into complete disarray. In the course of a single deadly moment, his family is blown apart and he is transformed from a man who believes he understands everything into a man who understands nothing.Divorced and working as a courtesy van driver for the run-down hotel in which he has a room, Gus has settled into a mindless, soulless routine that barely keeps his grief at arm’s length. But Gus’s comfortable waking trance comes to an end when ex-con Tommy Delcamino asks him for help. Four months earlier, Tommy’s son T.J.’s battered body was discovered in a wooded lot, yet the Suffolk County PD doesn’t seem interested in pursuing the killers. In desperation, Tommy seeks out the only cop he ever trusted—Gus Murphy.Gus reluctantly agrees to see what he can uncover. As he begins to sweep away the layers of dust that have collected over the case during the intervening months, Gus finds that Tommy was telling the truth. It seems that everyone involved with the late T.J Delcamino—from his best friend, to a gang enforcer, to a mafia capo, and even the police—has something to hide, and all are willing to go to extreme lengths to keep it hidden. It’s a dangerous favor Gus has taken on as he claws his way back to take a place among the living, while searching through the sewers for a killer.