Investigations of a Different Kind Conjured from the minds of today’s most innovative authors, Powers of Detection features a dozen tales of mystery and fantasy, set in worlds where sleuths may wield wands instead of firearms—and criminals may be as inhuman as the crimes they commit. From a magical boarding school murder to a courtroom where a witch stands trial, from ancient legends of Alaska and Egypt to stories featuring such familiar faces as Sookie Stackhouse and such familiar places as the Nightside, these paranormal procedurals reveal the mysterious behind the mystery… Includes stories by… Donna Andrews ٠ Michael Armstrong ٠ Anne Bishop ٠ Jay Caselberg ٠ Mike Doogan ٠ Laura Anne Gilman ٠ Simon R. Green ٠ Charlaine Harris ٠ Anne Perry ٠ Sharon Shinn ٠ Dana Stabenow ٠ John Straley “Highly original tales.”—Publishers Weekly “Everyone’s heart is in the right place and, in the best stories, their tongues are firmly in their cheeks.”—Mystery Scene

Is Alix's new husband really going to murder her for her money? Who has killed the young Englishman on his return from America? And why have a young couple suddenly disappeared from their home? In this collection of mysteries by famous authors, the answers are never quite what you expect.

The greatest detectives of the Golden Age investigate the most puzzling crimes of the era Sometimes, the police aren’t the best suited to solve a crime. Depending on the case, you may find that a retired magician, a schoolteacher, a Broadway producer, or a nun have the necessary skills to suss out a killer. Or, in other cases, a blind veteran, or a publisher, or a hard-drinking attorney, or a mostly-sober attorney… or, indeed, any sort of detective you could think of might be able to best the professionals when it comes to comprehending strange and puzzling murders. At least, that’s what the authors from the Golden Age of American mystery fiction would have you think. For decades in the middle of the twentieth century, the country’s best-selling authors produced delightful tales in which all types of eccentrics used rarified knowledge to interpret confounding clues. And for even longer, in the decades that have followed, these characters have continued to entertain new audiences with every new generation that discovers them. Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler selects some of the greatest American short stories from era. With authors including Ellery Queen, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Cornell Woolrich, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Anthony Boucher, this collection is a treat for those who know and love this celebrated period in literary history, and a great introduction to its best writers for the uninitiated. Includes discussion guide questions for use in book clubs.

Alix falls in love with a perfect stranger: Gerald Martin; and despite the opposition of her friend Dick Windyford, she marries him. The couple decides to buy and live at Philomel Cottage; a nice cabin lost in the country. Suddenly, Alix begins to think that her husband is a murderer who wants to keep her money and desperately must find the way to escape without arousing his suspicions. Will she make it?

Le Fanu, Charles Dickens, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Mrs. Henry Wood, Wilkie Collins, Grant Allen, L.T. Meade and Robert Eustace, Fergus Hume, Arthur Morrison, M.P. Shiel, Baroness Orczy, Sax Rohmer, Robert Barr, and - inevitably - Arthur Conan Doyle. There are police detectives, gentleman amateurs, lady detectives (such as Catherine Pirkis's Loveday Brooke), professional consulting detectives, even an 'anti-detective' (Guy Boothby's Klimo, who devises a crime for himself to solve), and a psychic detective. The villains against whom they pit their wits are equally various, as are their crimes - from fraud and forgery to theft, abduction, and of course murder most foul, whether by poison, bullet, or blade. These stories offer hours of enjoyable escape for all lovers of crime fiction.

The Anthony Award–winning author presents a “highly readable” anthology featuring mysteries by Stephen King, Megan Abbott, Elmore Leonard and more (Publishers Weekly). “What you’ll find in this volume are stories that demonstrate a mastery of plotting; stories that compel you to keep turning the pages because of plot and because of setting; stories that wield suspense like a sword; stories of people getting their comeuppance; stories that utilize superb point of view; stories that plumb one particular and unfortunate attribute of a character,” promises guest editor Elizabeth George in her introduction. The Best American Mystery Stories 2016 is a feast of both literary crime and hard-boiled detection, featuring a seemingly innocent murderer, a drug dealer in love, a drunken prank gone terribly wrong, and plenty of other surprising twists and turns. The Best American Mystery Stories 2016 includes entries by Steve Almond, Megan Abbott, Matt Bell, Lydia Fitzpatrick, Tom Franklin, Stephen King, Elmore Leonard, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and others. “There isn’t enough Xanax in anyone’s medicine cabinet to calm the jitters these 20 skillful stories will unleash on a worried world.” —Kirkus Reviews