Mystery Short Stories For Adults

"The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was the second tale published in The Return of Sherlock Holmes in 1903.

Professor Van Dusen solves a variety of different mysteries together with his friend, Hutchinson Hatch, a reporter for a fictional newspaper called The Daily New Yorker. The professor is known as the "Thinking Machine", and he solves problems by the remorseless application of logic. In this story, he thinks his way out of a maximum-security prison.

Watson visits Sherlock Holmes at Christmastime and finds him contemplating a battered old hat, brought to him by the commissionaire Peterson after it and a Christmas goose had been dropped by a man in a scuffle with some street ruffians. Peterson takes the goose home to eat it, but comes back later with a precious carbuncle that his wife found in the bird's crop.

If you look at any listing of the 10 most important books of detective stories published in the United States, chances are you will find Uncle Abner, Master of Mysteries on most of them. It is generally recognized as one of the most important contributions to American detective fiction between Poe and Hammett. In fact, there are some critics who call it the single finest collection of American detective stories ever written. This story is from that famous collection.

Arriving in the rural Catskill Mountains (where legend has it there resides a spectral headless horseman who hunts the night on a black steed), the eccentric Ichabod Crane vies for the love of the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel. The bully, Brom Bones, also has his eyes on Katrina and devises a wicked plan to rid himself of his hated rival.

"The Adventure of the Abbey Grange" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and is one of 13 stories in the collection The Return of Sherlock Holmes.

Bruno is a mild-mannered baker from Italy, now living in the quaint little town of Terrace Heights. Mina, the local cake artiste, is always trying to get him to impregnate her so they can get hitched and raise a large family. Tomas, his new hire at Luna's bakery, has his eyes on the vault in Bruno's man cave. Little does Bruno know that his world is about to be hot-crossed, glazed and jelly-filled.

Chris's parents are going on vacation, so she decides to host a house party while they are away. Chris's world begins to unravel during the party and she ends up in a lot of trouble. Find out what happens to Chris and how the situation is finally resolved.

Against the wishes of superstitious townspeople, Jonathan Harker journeys to the castle of Count Dracula on Walpurgisnacht, the dreaded night of the dead. Abandoned by his frightened coachman, Harker finds himself alone in a cemetery, battered by the elements and at the mercy of the strange beasts hunting him.

Lucy is finally back with Daniel, but for how long? When she has a dream about Caleb being seriously hurt, she knows that she must do what she can to help him. She gets Caleb back to the motel where she and Daniel are staying, but something isn’t right. When Caleb pushes Lucy for answers, she finds herself in an impossible position, with far too much to lose.

It’s the beginning of the end. The war is impending, and there seems to be nothing that can be done to stop it. Daniel is offered a choice that he seems unable to avoid making, but he’s got other plans that Gabriel could never have foreseen. When the fight breaks out, someone is hurt in the crossfire. That person is then given a choice. A choice between getting to do it all over again or being with the person she loves. Can there be a happily ever after for Daniel and Lucy, or will they always be torn apart?

Lucy knows that she's in trouble. She knows that once Gabriel has the information that he needs, he is going to kill her. She knows that holding on to the information is the only thing keeping her alive. But as Gabriel ramps up the torture is being alive really such a great thing anymore? Gabriel doesn't know who he can trust. He knows that Caleb is probably the only one of his brothers who can help him break into Lucy's mind, but he has his doubts about Caleb. When desperation kicks in, he agrees to let Caleb help. But what will be the cost?

Lucy remembers everything. She remembers the moment she was born. She remembers how she was born, and she remembers what that makes her. Gabriel has managed to unlock her memories, and now she can’t escape them as they play out inside her eyes. She’s finally getting some answers to the questions that have plagued her life, but will they be what she wanted them to be? Daniel wasn’t always called Daniel. In fact, he didn’t take that name until he made a decision that he knew he would regret for eternity. What forced him to change his name, and what was the choice that led him to it?

Lucy knows there is something wrong with the psychiatric home she’s been taken to. She’s noticed that she seems to be the only patient there. She’s noticed all of the empty rooms and the fact that every door to the outside world is locked. She’s also noticed how strangely her doctor is acting. It’s as if he’s pushing her for information — but information about what? Gabriel knows that all the answers are in Lucy’s head, but she’s refusing to find them for him. He’s trying to keep calm. He’s trying to give her time, so that she can discover her memories on her own. But when she starts to cause trouble, he knows that there’s only one thing he can do. Will Lucy survive Gabriel’s desperate attempt to get the answers?

Lucy has always known that she was different from the other kids in her home. Of course, it doesn't help that she suffers from a recurring nightmare that wakes her up with a scream on her lips and sweat pouring down her back. The nightmare is driving her crazy. She's too scared to sleep, she's too tired to live and she feels as though it's never going to get better...until Daniel shows up, that is.

While Robert Louis Stevenson is most famous for novels like Treasure Island and Kidnapped, he also wrote a number of excellent short stories of suspense. "The Sire de Maletroit's Door" is one of his best.

Abdullah Syed Hari is fourteen years old. He loves his family and his friends. And he is a Somali pirate. A short story from Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.

His friends warned him not to try the fried pudding at the carnival, but Dan didn't listen. A short story in comics from Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.

There’s nothing better than taking your timid little cousin Thad to one of those sweet haunted houses the 4-H Club decorates for Halloween. Except, of course, if the house turns out to actually be haunted. A short story from Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.

In "The Invisible Man", a murderer manages to get in and out of a house, even though it is under constant observation. In some ways, the story parallels Poe's "The Purloined Letter" but adds its own unique touches, particularly in the character and methods of priest-sleuth Father Brown.