Amateur Detective

Unorthodox, but effective. This is perhaps the best way to describe Detective Hanako Yamamoto. Competent? Certainly. Inquisitive? Undeniably. Conventional? No. Whether it's finding a missing pet or tracking down a cheating spouse, Detective Yamamoto can handle the case, especially when no one else will even bother to try.

London, 1920: Boston-bred Enoch Hale, working as a reporter for the Central News Syndicate, arrives on the scene shortly after a music-hall escape artist is found hanging from the ceiling in his dressing room. What at first appears to be a suicide turns out to be murder...the first of several using the same modus operandi. What's the connecting factor among all the victims? Or isn't there one? That's what the dogged journalist Hale aims to find out.

Ben the tramp, the awkward Cockney with no home and no surname, turns detective again - and runs straight into trouble. Ben encounters a dead man on a London bridge and is promptly rescued from the same fate by a posh lady in a limousine. But like most posh ladies of Ben's acquaintance, this one isn't what she seems.

Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag is thrilled after a meeting with his editor, Norma, where she predicts his new book is sure to establish him as the next great American author. But his happiness is short-lived when at his next meeting with Norma, she asks for his help in discovering who is behind a series of increasingly threatening letters sent to her attention.

Josie Ashbury was a successful Hollywood actress with a booming career—until an on-set breakdown sends her back to her small Ohio hometown to recover. Taking a job teaching at her old high school, Josie is beginning to put the pieces of her life back together when one of her students dies under suspicious circumstances. The police close the case quickly, without any real answers. Josie is determined to find the truth behind the girl's death.

In the winter of 1906, Lady Emily and husband Colin are invited to the opulent home of Baroness Ursula von Duchtel in the Bavarian alps. Outside is a mountainous winter wonderland with a view of Mad King Ludwig’s fairy tale castle. Inside, the villa hosts a magnificent but eclectic art collection—as well as an equally eclectic collection of fellow guests, among them a musician, an art dealer, a coquette from the demi-monde, and Kaspar, the Baroness’ boorish son-in-law, whom, it begins to appear, someone wants dead.

Raffles is Sherlock Holmes' polar opposite, a foil for great detectives and a man with all the immoral charms of a hero-thief, plus a remarkable ability at cricket. Raffles is the godson of Robin Hood, the model for Cary Grant in "To Catch a Thief," and the inspiration of Leslie Charteris' "The Saint." As the great reinvention of the trickster for the 20th century, Raffles convinces readers to throw away their scruples and follow along for wit, bold adventures, and thrilling suspense.

Chipping Cleghorn é uma cidade pequena na qual todos se conhecem. Até que, um dia, um anúncio no jornal convida todos para um homicídio que acontecerá na casa de Letitia Blacklock. Levados pela curiosidade, os moradores da cidadezinha decidem comparecer no horário marcado. O que parecia ser uma brincadeira inocente rapidamente se transforma em uma tragédia quando as luzes se apagam, tiros são disparados e uma pessoa é assassinada.

Após uma tacada especialmente ruim, Bobby Jones lança sua bola de golfe em um precipício. Ao procurá-la, encontra um homem acidentado que parece estar em seus momentos finais. Pouco antes de morrer, o moribundo abre os olhos e proclama suas últimas palavras: "Por que não pediram a Evans?" Assombrados pela pergunta, Bobby e sua amiga Frankie tentam descobrir quem é Evans e o que exatamente não lhe foi pedido. Porém, os dois logo percebem que, por mais que não sejam detetives profissionais, os perigos dessa investigação são muito reais.

Após sofrer uma morte violenta, o milionário Rex Fortescue é encontrado com uma porção de centeio no bolso do paletó. Em pouco tempo, o assassino faz outras duas vítimas — entre elas uma moça que costumava trabalhar para Miss Marple —, e a única pista da velhinha é que o homicida segue à risca a letra de uma cantiga infantil ao cometer os crimes. Miss Marple decide investigar as mortes, mas ela precisa correr, pois há um maníaco à solta e o próximo verso da canção se aproxima.

es and Watson investigate spies and amateur beggars in this thrilling addition to the Sherlock Holmes mythos, based on one of the unpublished tales mentioned in the original series.

A collection of short stories from Edmund Crispin featuring his beloved amateur detective, Gervase Fen. Crime fiction at its quirkiest and best.

Mystery, murder, deception, obsession, and vendetta abound in Chesterton's third collection of eight adventures for the unassuming but insightful Father Brown; including a happily temporary demise for the little priest himself; a millionaire killed with an arrow from heaven; another disappeared from a sealed room; a maniac determined to possess a precious relic; and a decaying family and a mysterious portrait.

Alvin Benson is found slumped over an easy chair in a room locked from the inside with a bullet in his head, and Wall Street and the high society of Manhattan are set ablaze with the news of the playboy stockbroker’s death. But when NYPD’s top detectives and ballistics experts can’t solve the mystery, it falls to Philo Vance, an art connoisseur and amateur sleuth, to find the killer. Vance’s intellectual and artistic background helps him uncover a series of odd clues, starting with a missing toupee and false teeth, and soon he is delving deep into the case.

Un quadre de Ramon Casas que no és el que sembla, empleats fidels que amaguen secrets, una estafa milionària en què fins i tot hi ha implicats alts càrrecs... El nou cas de l'investigador Nil Barral té tots els elements per mantenir-nos en alerta fins que el detectiu resolgui el misteri. Nil Barral comptarà, com sempre, amb l'ajut de la seva secretària Rita i el suport i comprensió del seu estimat Nèstor, que aquesta vegada li farà un bon ensurt sense voler.

Twelve-year-old Mandrake Mandrake is the world's greatest detective. Nobody cares. The cops take credit for all the mysteries he solves, his grandmother is more interested in his "suspect" Algebra grades, and he lives in the shadow of his parents - the most feared super-villains in the history of super-villainry! But respect is on the upswing when an all-star team of gumshoes enlists Mandrake to help crack an impossible case - how did Mandrake's dastardly father escape from an inescapable super-prison? And what evil scheme is he hatching now?

With a picturesque black and white lighthouse, pebble beaches, and stunning views of sea and mountains, the island of Anglesey off the coast of North Wales is the perfect place for an idyllic mid-summer painting holiday. Watercolor artist, businesswoman, and amateur sleuth Penny Brannigan is enjoying the retreat enormously - until she discovers the body of a New Zealand journalist on a secluded beach just as the tide is going out, threatening to take the body with it.

Anna Marie St. Clair was a normal Wisconsin-farm-girl-turned-mistress when she was framed for the murder of her racketeer boyfriend, one of Chicago’s sleaziest politicians. Sentenced to death, and only hours from getting fried, a lucky hitch sets Anna Marie free, but she blackmails the corrupt warden into informing the tabloids that she took her volts like a real trouper. What better payback than to haunt the lives of those who tried to steal hers? As the shapeliest ghost in the Windy City, she’s going to prove that dying well is the best revenge.

It’s 11:59 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, and criminal lawyer John J. Malone is nursing his blues in a Chicago dive bar. He’s been two-timed by his inamorata and abandoned by his favorite gumshoe partners, crime reporter Jake Justus and socialite Helene Brand, for their Bermuda honeymoon. But Malone’s not lonely for long. Suddenly, a stranger staggers into the bar, calls out the attorney’s name, and drops dead - stabbed in the back. In his possession is a key that could unlock the cold heart of Mona McClane, a wealthy and beautiful thrill-seeker.

Urkomisch und spannend zugleich - Ein Klassiker unter den Detektivromanen. England Ende der 40er Jahre. In der Castrevenford School in Straford-upon-Avon steht das große Schulfest an. Mit dabei ist Gervase Fen, Englischprofessor, Exzentriker und Amateurdetektiv, dazu auserkoren einige Preise zu verleihen sowie eine Rede zu halten. Doch am Abend vor dem großen Tag nehmen ungewöhnliche Ereignisse ihren Lauf, an deren Ende zwei Mitglieder des Personals tot aufgefunden werden. Mord steht ganz offensichtlich neu auf dem Programm. Der Schuldirektor bittet Gervase Fen, sich des Falles anzunehmen.