Short Mystery Fiction
Discover gripping short mystery fiction with our curated list of the best books. Perfect for quick reads full of suspense, twists, and thrilling whodunits.
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Labyrinths
by Jorge Luis Borges
Readers are invited to take a new look at "Labyrinths," the classic by Latin America's finest writer of the 20th century--a true literary sensation--with a new introduction by cyber-author William Gibson.
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Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief
by Maurice Leblanc
The inspiration for the Netflix series, Lupin, starring Omar Sy A curated collection of the very best adventures of Arsène Lupin, Franceâs most famous gentleman thief The poor and the innocent have nothing to fear from Lupin; often they profit from his spontaneous generosity. The rich and powerful, and the detective who tries to spoil his fun, however, must beware. They are the target of Lupinâs mischief. With plans that frequently evolve into elaborate plots, Lupin is a gentleman burglar turned detective, and the most entertaining criminal genius in literature. These stories â the best of the Lupin series, including âThe Queenâs Necklaceâ and âArsène Lupin in Prisonââ are outrageous and witty, for the full enjoyment of those who love masters of disguise, extraordinary heists, and the panache found with Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Oceanâs Eleven and Lupin. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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The Couple Next Door
by Margaret Millar
The first collection of noveletets and short stories by one of the great mystery writers, and a mistress of psychological suspense.
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The Complete Curious Mr. Tarrant
by C. Daly King
"The Most Imaginative Detective Stories of Our Times" So wrote Ellery Queen about The Curious Mr. Tarrant, an extraordinary collection of detective stories by Charles Daly King (1895-1963). The cases solved by Trevis Tarrant, during the early 1930's, assisted by his manservant (who is in actuality a Japanese spy) include locked rooms, headless corpses, a vanishing harp, and newly built but haunted house, and other bizarre events. With the encouragement of Ellery Queen, King wrote four additional stories about Mr. Tarrant, some of them becoming "curiouser and curiouser." They include the case of a Hollywood star who disappears from a locked suite of rooms, in a house surrounded by detectives, and the murder solved only because of the absence of a fish. These additional stories along with the original eight tales are included in The Complete Curious Mr. Tarrant.
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Banner Deadlines
by Joseph Commings
Joseph Commings (1913-1992) created one of the greatest investigators of locked rooms, impossible disappearances and other impossible crimes - the gargantuan, harrumphing Senator Brooks U. Banner. During his long career (Banner first appeared in the pulps in 1947), he investigated such crimes as murder at a seance where everyone is straight-jacketed together and linked by touching feet, a strange spectre causing death in the middle of a lake, a killing in a sealed glass case, and a murder by a sword which must have been wielded by a giant. The most extraordinary story of all is "The X Street Murders," in which the victim is shot in a guarded room and the smoking-gun is delivered, a few seconds later, in a sealed envelope next door.
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The Evidence of the Sword
by Rafael Sabatini
Included in this volume are thirteen short stories and two novelettes; only one of the stories has been reprinted since their early magazine appearances. These are suspenseful stories of spies, mysteries, murder, and morality; blackmail, justice, and revenge.
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The Pleasant Assassin and Other Cases of Dr. Basil Willing
by Helen McCloy
Short detective stories by one of the great Golden Age authors
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Passports to Crime
by Janet Hutchings
Derived from a series launched in 2003 by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, called Passports to Crime, this volume collects stories from some of the world's most popular and talented crime writers. Originally published monthly in Ellery Queen, these stories are appearing for the first time in book form. Authors include: Boris Akunin, a major bestseller in Russia, who has many other works translated in the U.S.; Ingrid Noll, Germany's "Queen of Crime," whose books have been translated into 23 languages and adapted for German television; Ruben Fonseca, one of Brazil's best-known literary figures; Baantjer, the most widely read author in the Netherlands, with over 5 million books sold in a country with a population of 15 million; Paul Halter, the winner of two of France's coveted literary awards; France's most admired author of traditional mysteries â Dominic Manotti, a winner of the French Crime Writers Association prize for best thriller; and Rene Appel, three-time winner of the Netherlands' Jouden Strop Prize
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Buffet for Unwelcome Guests
by Christianna Brand
Christianna Brandâs fiction features brisk prose, wry twists, plots that lure the reader into a false sense of having figured every contingency, and ironic turns that not only spice the narrative but supply its lifeblood. No one has read a Brand story who has failed to read the last sentence. Christianna Brand was born Mary Christianna Milne in Malaya in 1907. She spent her childhood in India. At 17 she learned her father had lost all his money. Without a shred of training or experience she found herself faced with earning a living. She held a string of jobs, but lent little distinction to any of them: nursery governess, packer of beaded dresses for export, hostess in a plush nightclub, professional ballroom dancer, model in Bond Street dress shops, and, âmost hopeless of all,â secretary. In 1939, lacking any training in literaÂture or journalism, Mary Milne decided to try writing fiction. Her first novel, Death in High Heels, was rejected by 15 publishers before The Bodley Head took it in 1941, published under the pen name, Christianna Brand.
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The Best American Mystery Stories 2007
by Otto Penzler
A collection of mystery stories, originally published in 2006 and selected by editor Carl Hiaasen, including work by writers such as Lawrence Block, James Lee Burke, John Dufresne, and more.
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The Best American Mystery Stories 2006
by Otto Penzler
Presents a collection of mystery stories selected from magazines in the United States and Canada.
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The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century
by Tony Hillerman
In this essential distillation of American suspense, 100 years worth of peerless tales are collected into a volume where giants of the genre abound: Raymond Chandler, Lawrence Block, Sue Grafton, Elmore Leonard, and Sara Paretsky.
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The Best American Mystery Stories 2005
by Joyce Carol Oates
Edited by the critically acclaimed author Joyce Carol Oates, The Best American Mystery Stories 2005 brings together the genre's finest from the past year. With stories from mystery veterans and newly discovered talents, this thrilling collection is sure to appeal to crime fiction fans of all tastes.Contributors include Scott Turow, Dennis Lehane, Louise Erdrich, George V. Higgins, David Means, and others.
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The Sword of Welleran
by Lord Dunsany
Twelve tales by a master of the English language take readers on flights of fancy and make-believe. Includes such inventive tales as The Highwayman, In the Twilight, The Ghosts, and The Lord of Cities.
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Masterpieces in Miniature: The Detectives
by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie is the world's most popular writer in modern times and her books have only been outsold by the Bible and Shakespeare. Best remembered for such classic crime novels as Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None, and Death on the Nile, her works have been cherished by generations of readers. Christie, however, was also a master of the shorter crime story and this volume collects some of her finest short stories. Each of these thirty-nine stories features one of Christie's famous detectives - Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Parker Pyne, and Harley Quin - in some of their most baffling and intriguing cases, as these ingenious Christie tales show how satisfying and compelling the crime short story can be.
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The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories
by Agatha Christie
A priceless treasure for collectors and fans, "The Harlequin Tea Set" brings together nine brilliant Christie stories that have remained long out of print--until now. Featuring beloved Christie detectives such as Hercule Poirot and Mr. Harley Quin, as well as new characters, these stories will charm and fascinate the millions of Christie fans around the world.
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Miss Marple
by Agatha Christie
All twenty of the short stories featuring Miss Jane Marple are collected in this work.
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Murder in the Mews
by Agatha Christie
Master sleuth Hercule Poirot draws upon his detective skills and insight into the human heart as he investigates various crimes, in "Dead Man's Mirror," "The Incredible Theft," "Triangle at Rhodes," and the title story. Reissue.
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Murder - All Kinds
by William L. DeAndrea
The collected short mysteries by the 3-time winner of the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award.
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The Casebook of Sidney Zoom
by Erle Stanley Gardner
The Casebook of Sidney Zoom is the first book-collection of the Zoom stories, showing Gardner's pulp style.
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The Avenging Chance and Other Mysteries from Roger Sheringham's Casebook
by Anthony Berkeley
Mystery stories by one of the greatest writers of the Golden Age of fictional sleuthing.
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The Spotted Cat and Other Mysteries from Inspector Cockrill's Casebook
by Christianna Brand
Collection of all the Inspector Cockrill short mysteries
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The Detections of Francis Quarles
by Julian Symons
Forty-two classic fairplay detective stories, never before in bookform
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Dr. Poggioli
by Thomas Sigismund Stribling
Previously uncollected detective stories by a Pultizer Prize winner.
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Karmesin
by Gerald Kersh
Gerald Kersh (1912 1957) wrote amazing novels and hundreds of short stories about the weird and wonderful people he met during his lifetime. The most intriguing was Karmesin, a master thief and self confessed genius. His robberies, cons and double crosses involve split second timing, almost supernatural foresight, and spine-tingling nerve. But is he telling Kersh the truth? For the first time all 17 short stories are collected in a single volume so that you can decide for yourself.
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Marksman and Other Stories
by William Campbell Gault
The first collection of short stories by a master of private-eye fiction
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The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories
by Agatha Christie
1 BESTSELLING MYSTERY WRITER. 3 POPULAR SLEUTHS. 9 TANTALIZING CRIMES.
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Diagnosis Impossible
by Edward D. Hoch
This collection is set in New England during the 1920's and the 1930's, and features country doctor Sam Hawthorne who specializes in locked room and other impossible crimes. Among the 12 stories is the classic tale of a horse and buggy that enter a covered bridge -- and vanish. Introduction by the author; Sam Hawthorne chronology and bibliography by Marvin Lachman.
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More Things Impossible
by Edward D. Hoch
Nothing is impossible! Dr. Sam Hawthorne, a New England country doctor in the first half of the twentieth century, was constantly faced by murders in locked rooms, impossible disappearances, and other so-called "miracle crimes." More Things Impossible contains fifteen of Dr. Sam's extraordinary cases[.] ... Edward D. Hoch, is a legend of ingenuity in the world of mystery writing. Author of more than 800 short stories, winner of the Edgar Award, former President of the Mystery Writers of America, and contributor to every issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine since 1973, Hoch is one of the great mystery writers of our time. --Publisher description.
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The Velvet Touch
by Edward D. Hoch
Edward D. Hoch's latest collection contains 14 stories about Nick Velvet, the choosey crook who steals only the seemingly valueless -- a bald man's comb, an overdue library book, a faded flag, a playing card, and so on. And in order to pull off a successful robbery, Nick often has to solve a crime as well -- sometimes the crimes committed by Sandra Paris, The White Queen, who claims to do impossible things before breakfast. The Velvet Touch contains all of Nick's encounters with the White Queen. The book includes an introduction by the author and a complete Nick Velvet checklist.
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The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits
by Michael Ashley
The third new collection of historical murder and mystery stories A brilliant new collection of thirty stories of mystery and intrigue spread over three thousand years, from Ancient Egypt to spies on the Titanic. Selected by bestselling editor Mike Ashley, the stories include brand new contributions as well as rare reprints, from writers such as Ian Rankin, Lynda Robinson, Sharan Newman, Gail Frazer, Gillian Linscott and Peter Tremayne. Among the characters featured are the Queen of Sheba, Attila the Hun, Hildegarde of Bingen, Geoffrey Chaucer, Henry the Navigator and Benjamin Franklin. And with settings as far-ranging as Botany Bay and ancient Pisa, New Amsterdam and old Edinburgh, ancient Greece and the court of Kublai Khan.
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The Mammoth Book of Vintage Whodunnits
by Maxim Jakubowski
Following on the heels of the popular Mammoth Book of Great Detective Stories, the The Mammoth Book of Vintage Whodunnits is an amazing collection of classic proto-crime writing taken from the pre-Golden Age of detective storiesâ1850-1905âand features literary giants of the era such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Maurice Leblanc, O. Henry, and Mark Twain among others.
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The Mammoth Book of Dickensian Whodunnits
by Mike Ashley
Charles Dickens created some of the most memorable characters in English literature and was also a larger-than-life individual himself, a champion of the underdog. The anthology presents a mix of specially commissioned new stories and lesser known reprints, by writers such as Hilary Bonner, Anne Perry, Charles Todd, Kate Ellis, Alanna Knight, Martin Edwards and Gillian Linscott. Many of the stories feature one or more of Dickens's characters, as a sleuth or as the victim of crime. Others are set in Dickens's real life with him investigating a crime or people closely associated with him, such as Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell or Hablot Browne â including during his tours of America. Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger meet up again in later years to solve an age-old crime. Just what became of the convict that frightened young Pip in Great Expectations? Was he really guilty, or framed? Inspector Bucket from Bleak House finds himself up against the greatest criminal mind of his day.
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The Mammoth Book of Jacobean Whodunnits
by Mike Ashley
The seventeenth century was a time ripe with murder, anarchy, war, and political and religious intrigue, of which the Gunpowder Plot is only one example. This unputdownable new anthology from Mike Ashley presents 25 whodunits set in those turbulent timesâalso the age of the Witchfinder General, ârevenge' tragedies, and the colonization of America. Stories of murder and mayhem centre on the true role of Guy Fawkes, the English Civil War and the fate of Charles I, plus the lost colony of Roanoke and the tale of Pocahontas. The Mammoth Book of Jacobean Whodunits is a fast paced anthology about a thrilling time in British history.