Karen Halttunen explores the changing view of murder from early New England sermons read at the public execution of murderers, through the nineteenth century, when secular and sensational accounts replaced the sacred treatment of the crime, to today's true crime literature and tabloid reports.

"Daisy and Hazel must solve another murder at Deepdean when a bullying Head Girl turns up dead on Bonfire Night"--

One of the New York Times Book Review's Top Ten Best Crime Novels of 2020 One of USA Today's Best Books 2020 "[A] hypnotic debut. . . .[An] uncommonly clever whodunit."--New York Times Book Review Perfect for lovers of Agatha Christie and The Secret History, The Truants is a seductive, unsettling, and beautifully written debut novel of literary suspense--a thrilling exploration of deceit, first love, and the depths to which obsession can drive us. People disappear when they most want to be seen. Jess Walker has come to a concrete campus under the flat gray skies of East Anglia for one reason: to be taught by the mesmerizing and rebellious Dr. Lorna Clay, whose seminars soon transform Jess's thinking on life, love, and Agatha Christie. Swept up in Lorna's thrall, Jess falls in with a tightly knit group of rule-breakers--Alec, a courageous South African journalist with a nihilistic streak; Georgie, a seductive, pill-popping aristocrat; and Nick, a handsome geologist with layers of his own. But the dynamic between the friends begins to darken, until a tragedy shatters their friendships and love affairs, and reveals a terrible secret. Soon Jess must face the question she fears most: what is the true cost of an extraordinary life? An Entertainment Weekly Best Book of January A USA Today Must-Read Book of Winter An Observer Book of the Year (UK) A Marie Claire Top 5 Christmas Read (UK) A Times Best New Crime Novel (UK) A Guardian Top 10 Golden Age Detective Novel An Irish Times Best Debut of 2019 An Apple Books Pick for January

FIFTEEN STORIES ABOUT THE MOST HEINOUS CRIME OF ALL... Of all the crimes humankind can commit, the act of murder--of cold-bloodedly taking another human life--is often the most shocking, and can tear couples, families, and even entire towns apart. Mystery Writers of America is proud to present this volume in the Classics series, featuring fourteen stories by acclaimed writers, all exploring the terrible crime of murder. From chill-master Robert Bloch comes a story of outwardly domestic bliss, but with rotten secrets at its core. Mystery master Dorothy Salisbury Davis takes us to a small town where the killing of a mean-spirited landscaper makes the local sheriff question everything he knows in his pursuit of justice. Joe Gores visits the harsh, unforgiving land of South Africa, where a farmer is forever chased by the sins of his past. Patricia McGerr invites us to the White House, where a foreign dignitary's gift to the First Lady may have deadly consequences. And Ellery Queen solves a curious conundrum of a murdered boxer...and also how his own jacket got stolen while at the match. Fifteen stories of plots, plans, and perfidy--all in pursuit of the perfect murder... Featuring stories by: Robert Bloch Dorothy Salisbury Davis Stanley Ellin Robert L. Fish Joe Gores Allen Kim Lang Patricia McGerr Ross Macdonald William P. McGivern William F. Nolan Charles Norman Ellery Queen Lawrence Treat Hillary Waugh Donald A. Wollheim

A murdered heiress, a missing necklace, and a train full of shifty, unusual, and suspicious characters leaves Daisy and Hazel with a new mystery to solve in this third novel of the Wells & Wong Mystery series. Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells are taking a vacation across Europe on world-famous passenger train, the Orient Express—and it’s clear that each of their fellow first-class travelers has something to hide. Even more intriguing: There’s rumor of a spy in their midst. Then, during dinner, a bloodcurdling scream comes from inside one of the cabins. When the door is broken down, a passenger is found murdered—her stunning ruby necklace gone. But the killer has vanished, as if into thin air. The Wells & Wong Detective Society is ready to crack the case—but this time, they’ve got competition.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Black Dahlia Avenger Former LAPD detective Steve Hodel compiles never-before-seen evidence that reveals his father as a serial killer who may have been responsible for some of the most infamous murders of the last century- including the Zodiac killings.

This volume features two books in one: Stanley J. Marks' Murder Most Foul! and Rob Couteau's biographical essay that surveys the life and work of this author of a forgotten classic. It also includes an in-depth examination of Murder Most Foul! that shows how and why it was so far ahead of its time and that places it in the context of other researchers, past and present. Couteau shares his detective work in unraveling the clues of Marks' Zelig-like biography, which touches on so many pivotal moments in 20th-century cultural and political history. This groundbreaking biography was also produced with the help of Marks' only child, Roberta Marks. JFK scholar Jim DiEugenio calls Couteau's work "important," "first-rate," and "a wonderful homage" to "one of the most important critics of the Warren Report ever ... and an unsung hero in the JFK case. Stanley Marks was rocket miles ahead of everyone. He really understood the big picture early. And not just on the JFK case." DiEugenio is the foremost scholar on the Kennedy assassination, author of Destiny Betrayed: JFK, Cuba, and the Garrison Case, and scriptwriter for Oliver Stone's documentary, JFK: Destiny Betrayed (2020). With the release of Bob Dylan's ballad, "Murder Most Foul," which may have been influenced by Marks' book, interest in the author has been reawakened, largely as a result of Couteau's first article on Marks. More than fifty years after the publication of Murder Most Foul! the text still resonates with a prescient vision. A fearless author who was blacklisted by HUAC, Marks was one of the first American researchers to draw a direct connection between the murders of JFK, MLK, and RFK. In 1973, the JFK Library contacted Marks with a request to purchase Murder Most Foul! In 1979, the House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on Assassinations cited five of Marks' assassination-related titles (including Murder Most Foul!) in its report. Marks published nineteen books on politics and religion, one of which received accolades from Arnold Toynbee and Herbert Marcuse. His first book, a bestseller titled The Bear that Walks Like a Man: A Diplomatic and Military Analysis of Soviet Russia (1943), was reviewed in over thirty mainstream newspapers.