"As far as I'm concerned, Richard S. Prather was the King of the paperback P.I writers of the 60s. Shell Scott should be in the Top Ten of any readers list of favorite private eyes." --Robert J. Randisi For four decades, Richard S. Prather published over 40 works of detective fiction, most featuring his clever, cad-about-town hero, Shell Scott. Known for their arched humor, punchy dialogue, and sunny Southern California locale, the Shell Scott books represent one of the greatest private eye collections ever produced. Death is just around the coroner...uh, corner, when you're Shell Scott -- roaming the streets with a nose for danger and a sharp eye for the dames. On a trail leading from the high-class mortuary to the local cemetery, he's about to realize the mob wanted him exactly where he was--as a permanent resident! But there's always another corner, always another solution other than death. At least, when it comes to his. Honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Private Eye Writers of America! "(Shell Scott is) as amusingly blithe a figure as the field has seen since the Saint." --Anthony Boucher Dig That Crazy Grave is the 22nd book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Brian Frost chronicles the history of the vampire in myth and literature, providing a sumptuous repast for all devotees of the bizarre. In a wide-ranging survey, including plot summaries of hundreds of novels and short stories, the reader meets an amazing assortment of vampires from the pages of weird fiction, ranging from the 10,000-year-old femme fatale in Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Conqueror to the malevolent fetus in Eddy C. Bertin’s “Something Small, Something Hungry.” Nostalgia buffs will enjoy a discussion of the vampire yarns in the pulp magazines of the interwar years, while fans of contemporary vampire fiction will also be sated.

Detective Alex Mills turns to psychic Gus Parker to help him solve a series of baffling murders perpetrated by a deranged killer who leaves his victims' bodies and taunting clues in the cemeteries of Phoenix, AZ. A killer is on the loose, leaving fresh bodies among the dead in Phoenix cemeteries, and marking the murders with ghoulish signs that warn of more evil to come. It's a crude camouflage that has Detective Alex Mills stumped. As he has done before, Mills turns to his buddy, the reluctant psychic Gus Parker. His visions, as cryptic and baffling as they sometimes are, mean something. But just as the investigation heats up, and Mills needs him most, Gus Parker receives ominous threats from a mysterious source. Is this a crazed fan who is trying to get to Gus's love interest, rock-and-roll legend Billie Welch? Or are these threats related to the spree of cemetery killings? There are nefarious secrets hiding in the shadows of the valley's most well-heeled neighborhoods, and some of the most prominent residents have the most to fear.

The fourth in a series of whimsical parodies offers a new collection of offbeat advice from the author of More Life's Little Destruction Book and Life's Little Frustration Book. Original.

When his aunt dies unexpectedly, college journalism student Andrew Sinclair is drawn into the world of the funerals. Feeling a strong dislike of the business, Andrews inquisitive nature compels him to look deeper into the workings of Ridgewood mortuary and its mysterious proprietor. His investigation hurls him into a world of evil and murder under the guise of providing a necessary service for the dead. At the same time Andrew falls for Kirsten, an employee of Ridgewood mortuary who helps him discover the truth. A truth that will get them both killed.

A young woman in nineteenth-century New York City must struggle against gender and class boundaries when her father is found dead of a supposed suicide, and she believes there is more than meets the eye, so in order to uncover the truth she will have to decide how much she is willing to risk and lose.