Mike Shayne investigates an impossible murder in the Big Easy It’s not often that Mike Shayne runs with an honorable crowd, but there is a lieutenant in his office mourning the fiancée who killed herself the day before. Honest and heartbroken, he begs this hardened private investigator for help answering one simple, impossible question: Why? It’s a question Shayne has been asking ever since his wife was murdered in Miami and he moved to New Orleans to escape her memory. For the sake of a soldier, he will put his own mourning aside and try to explain a suicide that looks an awful lot like murder. Katrin Moe was working as a maid in the home of a wealthy New Orleans family when she was found locked in her room, the gas pumping full blast. Coincidentally, a priceless emerald necklace went missing from the house a few days before and the insurance company hired Shayne to find it. On the hunt for a killer, Shayne will find that the necklace and the crook are more closely related than meets the eye. Murder and the Married Virgin is the 10th book in the Mike Shayne Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Christopher Skidmore takes a fresh look at the familiar story of a queen with the stomach of a man, steadfastly refusing to marry for the sake of her realm.

A desperate want ad draws Mike Shayne into a tangled murder plot It starts with a post in the classifieds. A woman calls for a red-blooded American, a soldier-of-fortune type willing to do anything if the price is right—even commit murder. This catches the eye of Tim Rourke, hotshot reporter, who passes it on to Mike Shayne, the legendary Miami detective. Rourke believes the ad was placed by a lonely housewife hoping to pay someone to knock off her husband, and he thinks the story could be front-page news. He just needs someone willing to answer the call—and Shayne has the reddest blood in Miami. Shayne responds to the ad, and finds the situation far stranger than anything he and Rourke could have dreamed up. His new employer is sweet, young, and scared for her life. Plus, there’s $50,000 at stake—and a life on the line. The Homicidal Virgin is the 37th book in the Mike Shayne Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Bruce Murphy's Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery is a comprehensive guide to the genre of the murder mystery that catalogues thousands of items in a broad range of categories: authors, titles, plots, characters, weapons, methods of killing, movie and theatrical adaptations. What distinguishes this encyclopedia from the others in the field is its critical stance.

A naked intruder leads Mike Shayne to one of the strangest cases of his career Mike Shayne is never surprised to wake up with a woman in his bedroom—unless she’s a stranger. The private investigator is dozing when he hears someone creep through the door, undress, and slip into bed. When he turns on the light, the lady is just as shocked as he is. Her name is Nora, and she was told she’d find her husband here. Fortunately, she’s much better off having found Shayne. Nora’s spouse came to Miami to establish residency, which is the first step toward getting a divorce. By slipping into Shayne’s bedroom, she would’ve spoiled his scheme, but someone gave her the wrong information. Her husband is staying on the floor above. When Nora finally reaches the right room, she finds that the man she’s been looking for has been murdered, and her only alibi is a detective who’s starting to wish the naked dame had never found her way into his room. One Night with Nora is the 23rd book in the Mike Shayne Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A mysterious woman draws Mike Shayne into a twisted murder plot The call comes just as Mike Shayne is pouring a much-needed cognac. A gangster’s voice warns, “Stay away from Wanda Weatherby.” Simple enough—except that Shayne has never heard of any woman by that name. A few minutes later, he receives another call, from a woman desperately worried about Wanda Weatherby. A third call then comes in from the woman herself: Wanda Weatherby begs Mike Shayne to save her life. He drives to her apartment, hoping that she’ll be able to explain just what is going on, but he’s too late. Wanda Weatherby is dead. Just who she was, and why every criminal in Miami seemed to know her name, will take some figuring out. By the time he’s done with this mystery, Mike Shayne will wish he had never picked up the phone. What Really Happened is the 22nd book in the Mike Shayne Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

This was the first bibliography and guide to the American mass market paperback book, and it remains one of the most definitive. The major index is by author, and lists: author, title, publisher, book number, year of publication, and cover price. The title index lists titles and authors only. The publisher index provides a history of that imprint, with addresses, number ranges, and general physical description of the books issued. This is the place that all study of the American paperback must begin.