Contributions to this anthology: include William Brittain, Jeffry Scott, Robert L. Fish and others.

Trapped on a burning mountain, the Queens take refuge with a killer Dashing detective Ellery Queen and his father are driving over the pothole-scarred Arrow Mountain road when they come face to face with a wall of flame. They tear back in the other direction, fire at their fenders, and finally find safety in a clearing, at the home of Dr. Xavier, a renowned surgeon. He is a genial man, but his distracted, mysterious smile conceals dark secrets. Passing through one of the drafty hallways, Ellery’s father is startled by a pair of eyes burning in the darkness—the eyes of a monster. Could they be trapped on some kind of mountain of Dr. Moreau? Dr. Xavier introduces them to the rest of his household, including his wife, brother, and medical assistant. Everyone’s welcoming, but they also seem anxious and cagey. When the good doctor is found shot to death in his study, Queen realizes that he and his father have more to fear than a pair of sinister eyes. The Queens may have escaped the forest fire, but they have leapt into a situation that is every bit as hot.

The classic mystery novella The Lamp of God is paired with eight short stories in this collection featuring “the prince of American detective fiction” (Kirkus Reviews). Is it possible for a man to lift himself off the ground by his shoelaces and fly away? Can a water buffalo transform itself into a little boy? What is science to make of a dead man climbing out of his coffin, escaping his tomb . . . and breaking into song? Such incidents seem impossible, but stranger things have happened at the home of old Sylvester Mayhew. When Ellery Queen, the world-famous amateur detective, is called to Mayhew’s ramshackle old mansion, he expects to be investigating an ordinary hoax. Instead, he finds murder. The novella The Lamp of God is vintage Ellery Queen—puzzling, atmospheric, and utterly delightful. Paired with eight short stories, including “Man Bites Dog” and “Long Shot,” it is simply irresistible.