Cynthia Manson

Mystery stories of deadly games and murderous gambles by: Sara Paretsky Lawrence Block Agatha Christie Ellery Queen Anthony Boucher Ruth Rendell and 20 other mystery masters

The latest in a series of popular crime and mystery anthologies from Diamond Dagger Award-winning genre expert Martin Edwards, featuring authors including Ngaio Marsh, Edmund Crispin and Julian Symons. As a collection of mysteries about books, libraries, book shops and authors, this will appeal to bibliophiles and booksellers alike. A bookish puzzle threatens an eagerly awaited inheritance; a submission to a publisher recounts a murder that seems increasingly to be a work of nonfiction; an irate novelist puts a grisly end to the source of his writer’s block. There is no better hiding place for clues – or red herrings – than inside the pages of a book. But in this world of resentful ghost writers, indiscreet playwrights and unscrupulous book collectors, literary prowess is often a prologue to disaster. With Martin Edwards as librarian and guide, delve into an irresistible stack of tales perfect for every book-lover and armchair sleuth, featuring much-loved Golden Age detectives such as Nigel Strangeways, Philip Trent and Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn. But readers should be warned that the most riveting tales often conceal the deadliest of secrets....

From the pages of the world's two most acclaimed mystery magazines Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, here are fifteen stories of women sleuths--stories that helped transform the conventions of a genre. Best-selling, award-winning authors and up-and-coming new writers complement each other in this entertaining collection, much of which is appearing for the first time in book form. From cops to private eyes to ordinary people caught. Up in extraordinary situations, these heroines face danger and solve crimes with daring and panache. Some of them will be old friends, others are introduced here for the first time. Amanda Cross' Kate Fansler looks into the disappearance of a fellow professor; Antonia Fraser's Jemima Shore, TV journalist and investigator, is hired by a newlywed to find his missing bride; Patricia McGerr's Selena Mead, government agent, plays the dual role of victim and level-headed. Operative in an exciting thriller; Sara Paretsky's widely renowned V.I. Warshawski gets involved in a complicated game--literally. Ruth Rendell's heroine undergoes a liberation from her former self; Mary Higgins Clark highlights the heroic side of womankind in her story of a stewardess and a stowaway. From mystery to thriller to the "lighter side" of the genre, these exciting stories will thrill and delight mystery fans, both male and female alike. Here is a rich. Collection, thoughtfully chosen to represent the best of this explosive sub-genre.

Just when you thought it was safe to gather 'round the eggnog comes this frightfully festive collection of Christmas whodunits by 15 masters of mystery selected from the pages of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. In "Rumpole and the Spirit of Christmas," John Mortimer's irascible barrister reaches a new verdict on Christmas spirits and the nature of evil. Death comes gift-wrapped in a mysterious alibi for Margery Allingham's Campion, detective extraordinaire, in "Murder Under the Mistletoe." And Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes is on the trail of a burglar most fowl when he investigates the disappearance of a priceless Christmas goose in "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle." And twelve other tales of holiday mystery that guarantee you'll have yourself a scary little Christmas.

Fifteen suspense stories on women. They are detectives, police officers, journalists, amateur sleuths and spies. Some stories are by well-known authors, others by unknown ones. All the stories appeared in Ellery Queen's and Alfred Hitchcock's mystery magazines.

Exotic cuisine / by George Baxt -- Recipe for veal meat again / by George Baxt -- The magoddy files: spiced rhubarb / by Joan Hess -- Recipe for blue-ribbon spiced rhubarb compote / by Joan Hess -- Blown up / by Robert Barnard -- Recipe for pork fillet chasseur / by Robert Barnard -- Alfred Karns, accessory / by T.M. Adams -- The case of the amateur detective and the chicken / by James A. Noble -- Just desserts / by Stanley Ellin -- Twenty-four petits fours / by M.F.K. Fisher -- Recipe for north country tart / by M.F.K. Fisher -- One can of peaches / by Edward D. Hoch. The herb of death / Agatha Christie -- Seven art soups / by Stringfellow Forbes -- If cooks could kill / by Robert Gray -- In vino veritas / by A.A. Milne -- A coffin of rice / by Martin Limon -- The gourmet kidnaper / by Jack Ritchie -- My compliments to the chef / by Marge Blaine -- [Lamb to the Slaughter]( / by Roald Dahl -- A dry Mahattan story / by Alan Gordon -- The avenging chance / by Anthony Berkeley -- Food for thought / by Victor Canning.

Agatha Christie's "Swan Song" stars Mme. Paula Nazorkoff, the quintessential diva, and Edward D. Hoch's "The Spy Who Went to the Opera" takes undercover agent Jeffrey Rand backstage. Lynne Barrett goes on the road with a colorful Elvis impersonator, while in "The Family Rose" Charlotte Hinger spotlights a fading country-western singer. On a different note, John Lutz's private eye Nudger trails a blues singer through the jazz clubs of New Orleans, and Doug Allyn's gumshoe. Tracks down a record company's unpaid royalties - both with fatal results.

Twelve Christmas mysteries -- gift wrapped in entertainment and suspense -- ready to take home for the holidays in this delightful collection selected from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Margery Allingham's Albert Campion, British detective extraordinaire, solves a country killing in which delivering a Christmas card was simply murder. Rex Stout sends a crotchety patrolman out to investigate a yuletide jewel theft on Manhattan's mean streets. John D. MacDonald leaves us a secretary's corpse on Christmas Street along with a cop's clever ruse to catch her killer. And Santa Claus himself hitches up a sleighload of chills in stories by George Baxt, Malcolm McClintock, James Powell, and many more... for it's ho, ho, homicide in the season to guess whodunit.