Classic Mystery Short Stories

For The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries, writer and anthologist Michael Sims did not summon the usual suspects. He sought the unfamiliar, the unjustly forgotten, and little-known gems by writers from outside the genre. This historical tour of one of our most popular literary categories includes stories never before reprinted, features rebellious early “lady detectives," and spotlights former stars of the crime field—Austrian novelist Auguste Groner and prolific American Geraldine Bonner among them.

A comic vignette in which a carnival barker's valuable watch gets stolen during an illegal poker game. The local sheriff seems in no hurry to apprehend the thief, until a reward is offered.

A spine-tingling selection of detective stories including contributions from Edgar Wallace, Conan Doyle, and G. K. Chesterton.

This collection features some of the greatest fictional detectives ever, including: Sherlock Holmes, Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond, Father Brown, Morris Klaw, and Inspector Morse amongst others. Reader Edward Hardwicke, who played Watson to Jeremy Brett's Holmes in the early 1990s, makes an ideal reader for the genre.

The bride carried no decaying roses, but her bridal dress was torn and burnt. Her bare legs, starved needle points, staggered disjointedly. The veil hung low over her face. I had my pistol, however I could not shoot. If it was a ghost, the bullet would surely pass through. If it was flesh, then I would be shooting dead a woman. Her hands, the fingernails long and cracked, lifted up the veil. Her face! Even in the darkness I could see its ruin.

He leaped up, feeling much better than I did, and chased me into my own room, so that I could get changed. There was a large crowd who had come to see the tomb. Holmes and I made our way through. I noticed Ini intently watching us. Mr. and Mrs. Fairfax were standing in the tunnel with someone from the Department of Antiquities. They had been waiting for us. The five of us made our way through the tunnel and back to the tomb. I couldn't wait to see if there really was a Pharaoh in the next room.

The story is a double play: is it the story of a woman going mad, or a woman possessed by something evil? We begin to suspect that the narrator’s apparently caring husband John may not be as caring as she thinks. Is he trying to control her? We know that Charlotte was much concerned with the emancipation of women and them achieving financial independence, so is the character of John an echo of this?

In what many refer to as one of the first and greatest science fiction thrillers, a mysterious stranger wanders into an inn, wrapped head-to-toe in bandages. What lies beneath the bandages is something even more mysterious. As Wells tackles issues of identity, deception, and the deterioration of the human mind, listeners will be drawn into the story of the mysterious man, whose own mistakes end up whisking him into a whirlwind of deceit, terror, and even murder. In the end, the question will be asked: when your sense of self and identity vanish, who will you become?

These six cases are among the last undertaken by Sherlock Holmes before he retired to the Sussex downs. However, the problems facing the sleuth are as diverse and challenging as ever. What with seeking the whereabouts of the stolen Mazarin Diamond, discovering the importance of being called Garrideb, encountering a mysterious murder on Thor Bridge, searching for eternal youth and the threat of a vampire in Sussex, there is no sign of Holmes' deductive powers slowing down.

Arthur Conan Doyle, le créateur du personnage de "Sherlock Holmes", le détective privé par excellence, était un écrivain prolifique. Il s'est aussi attelé à l'écriture de nombreux romans, historiques ou policier. On découvre ici une autre facette de son talent : l'écriture de nouvelles fantastiques, d'anticipation et d'horreur.

The events of the story occupy a single June day in post-World War I Central London, as wealthy and fashionable society hostess Clarissa Dalloway is preparing for a party she is to give that evening. Through her thoughts and memories, the voices of others who have touched on her life and will attend her party, Virginia Woolf shows her genius as a writer who is both accessible and popular.

The recently rediscovered short story 'The Lost One', perfect for fans of Daphne du Maurier, Santa Montefiore and Anya Seton. First published in Woman's Journal in 1960, and set against the backdrop of unfenced country and dark winding valleys at night, the aptly named 'The Lost One' features The Wind off the Small Isles heroine Perdita West, who brings her characteristic pluck and courage to this classic Mary Stewart tale of suspense and intrigue....

An engrossing collection of detective stories featuring all the great classic sleuths, including Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, Max Carrados, J. G. Reeder, and C. Auguste Dupin. 1.The Tea-Leaf by Edgar Jepson & Robert Eustace 2.The Queer Feet by G. K. Chesterton 3.The Curious Circumstances of the Two Left Shoes by Ernest Bramah 4. The Club of One-Eyed Men by Arthur Somers Roche 5.Diamond Cut Diamond by F. Britten Austin 6.The Game Played in the Dark by Ernest Bramah

Father Brown is an eccentric priest with his own particular ways of dealing with crime. David Timson, having completed the whole of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes canon, a remarkable achievement, turns his hand to the genial but certainly not innocent priest! This collection contains a group of stories from the Innocence of Father Brown, told unabridged.

Is the ‘perfect murder’ possible? Can that crime be committed with such consummate care, with such exacting skill, that it is unsolvable—even to the most astute investigator? In this unique collection, legendary crime writers Margery Allingham, Anthony Berkeley, Freeman Wills Crofts, Ronald Knox, Dorothy L. Sayers and Russell Thorndike each attempt to create the unsolvable murder, which Superintendent Cornish of the CID then attempts to unravel.

In these five unabridged short stories, Stephen Crane masterfully depicts the human condition. Through his keen observations of the simple, unnoticed aspects of life, he deftly describes man’s relationship to society, human nature, and the power of transformation. In each of the stories, he creatively reveals the internal battles, conflicts, and awakening that man collectively experiences. Grab your copy today to discover how he reveals man’s sense of dignity, optimism, grit, courage, and greed.

Time is a luxury in today's busy lifestyle. These short stories will give you the thrill and chill in short order. Just a few chapters and you are on to the next story. These stories will give you the excitement of a full-size novel that fits into any busy schedule.

The Minerva Club might look like any other London gentlemen’s club, but behind its respectable and discreet façade, some of the most ambitious schemes for heists, money-making, and evasion of the law are being worked out. It’s an exclusive club for criminals. Entry qualification: Members must have served a prison sentence of two years minimum. Though the club’s criminal ventures don’t always go as planned…

The description “consulting detective” was often a reference to Sherlock Holmes, but that was inadequate to tell about his unusual characteristics. He was a loner who preferred to keep to himself and kept many secrets from others, including the few friends he had. Holmes did have a constant professional relationship with Dr. Watson, and it was the faithful Watson who once said, “I had no idea that such personalities exist outside of stories.”

First published in 1864, decades before there were official female detectives or female police officers in Britain, The Female Detective features the original lady detective: the determined and resourceful Miss Gladden, known as “G”. She examines crime scenes incognito, tracks down killers, and solves mysteries employing all manner of skill, subterfuge, and charm to achieve her ends while attempting to conceal her own identity from others..