In 1972, in an attempt to elevate the stature of the "crime novel," influential crime writer and critic Julian Symons cast numerous Golden Age detective fiction writers into literary perdition as "Humdrums," condemning their focus on puzzle plots over stylish writing and explorations of character, setting and theme. This volume explores the works of three prominent British "Humdrums"--Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, and Alfred Walter Stewart--revealing their work to be more complex, as puzzles and as social documents, than Symons allowed. By championing the intrinsic merit of these mystery writers, the study demonstrates that reintegrating the "Humdrums" into mystery genre studies provides a fuller understanding of the Golden Age of detective fiction and its aftermath.

For more than a century, the mystery and detective story has been among the most popular forms of fiction in bookstores and libraries. Some writers (Edgar Allan Poe or Dashiell Hammett, for example) have attracted a considerable body of critical response; others have been the focus of less scrutiny. This bibliography is intended for the student, general reader, or mystery buff who needs some basic information about the mystery genre and its representative authors. Selective, rather than exhaustive, it serves as an introduction. Entries on the life and work of seventy-five writers from Margery Allingham, Raymond Chandler, and Amanda Cross to P.D. James, John D. MacDonald, Edgar Allan Poe, Ellery Queen, and Georges Simenon appear.

This collection surveys 100 of the writerswho have made the most lasting contributionsto the genre. Most articles are 2,500words, with longer articles on such majorfigures as Raymond Chandler, DashiellHammett, Ellery Queen and Rex Stout.Handy, ready-reference listings aredesigned to accommodate the uniquecharacteristics of mystery and detectivefiction, including author?s pseudonyms,types of plots, principal series and principalseries characters, and even a glossaryof terms peculiar to the genre.Reference elements include a complete,up-to-date list of authors? works, a glossaryof mystery and detective fiction terms,annotated bibliographies, a time line, anindex of series characters and a list ofauthors by plot type.

Stephen Whalby loves to walk the moor. He considers it his, although he and his young wife Lyn are merely tenants in a flat nearby. But the senseless and frightening murder of a young woman invades Stephen's sense of privacy and pollutes his beloved moor with suspicion and dread. And then a second murder captures his imagination in an unpredictable and fascinating way . . .

When four friends stumble across the body of a fellow club member during a game of golf they suspect murder. The police aren't so sure, and when it looks as though the official verdict will be suicide the men are outraged. Convinced that there had been 'dirty work' and that 'the police aren't very good at following up clues', they undertake their own investigation. A classic Golden Age whodunit that involves the reader in a charming game of detection as the protagonists use Sherlockian methods to unravel the mystery.

*An Anthony Award 2023 Finalist* The newest anthology from Mystery Writers of America explores the theme of home and the crimes that endanger it, with stories by Ellen Hart, Naomi Hirahara, Walter Mosley, Sara Paretsky and more. Everyone comes from someplace. Everyone has somewhere they feel safe. Some people have found their home and are content where they are. Others feel trapped and yearn to go somewhere else. Many are somewhere else and yearn to go back. But evenin these safest of places, sometimes…crime hits home. What happens then? In this volume, MWA brings together some of today’s biggest crime writers—and some of our most exciting new talents—to consider this question. Each writer has defined home as they see fit: a place, a group, a feeling. The crime can come from without or within. What happens when crime hits home? Featuring stories from: Naomi Hirahara David Bart Sara Paretsky Susan Breen Gary Phillips Neil S. Plakcy Renee James Connie Johnson Hambley Gabino Iglesias A.P. Jamison Walter Mosley Tori Eldridge Ellen Hart G. Miki Hayden Jonathan Santlofer Jonathan Stone Ovidia Yu Bonnie Hearn Hill Steve Liskow S.J. Rozan

Real estate rule #1: A dead body creates buzz. A dead body in a house for sale is never the buzz you want.It isn't the first time real estate agent Helen Morrisey has found someone naked in bed while showing a house to a potential buyer. But this one is different. One glance at the bluish cast around his lips and the vacant, staring eyes, and Helen knows big-time developer Al Capelli is never going to sign another sales agreement. His death is big news for a small, top of the Chesapeake water town where a family empire is built around secrets and their brash money style is resented by locals. Within days, his lover, her old friend, begs Helen to find the killer before she's arrested for murder. With her fight for the underdog style, Helen jumps in. She quickly realizes that solving a murder mystery in real life is a lot more dangerous than reading one. Helen decides to create her own Detection Club of expert sleuths-Miss Marple, Jessica Fletcher, Nora Charles, Agatha Raisin, and, yes, Nancy Drew to help unearth the truth.Detective Joe McAlister recognizes the value of Helen's insight into back-office real estate deals and local players. And for the first time since her husband's death, Helen meets a man who might be able to return zingers as quick as she can toss them out. Mystery lovers hungry for a smart gutsy woman, a fast-moving plot, and an insider's look into a business everyone talks about, but few understand, will devour this first in a series Murder in the Master.