Detective Short Stories Mysteries

When seven million dollars in ancient gold coins vanish from a burned-out antique shop in Barcelona, legendary detective Sidney Fleet finds himself racing against time aboard the exclusive cruise ship Meridian Challenger. As Spanish authorities close in, demanding the ship's return to port, Fleet and his assistant Drew Peterson must unravel a web of deception involving a mysterious entomologist, his research assistant, and an elaborate ant farm that may hold more than just insects. Known for solving complex crimes from the comfort of his ocean-view suite, the brilliant but eccentric Fleet ...

Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings are on holiday at the opulent Grand Metropolitan Hotel in Brighton, where they meet the wife of a wealthy stockbroker. As they discuss the jewels worn by Mrs. Opalsen, the great detective relates his experiences in cases which have concerned some of the best-known jewels in the world. Excited by his anecdotes, the wealthy matron eagerly offers to show him a very expensive pearl necklace, but when she goes to retrieve it, she discovers that it has been stolen....

Spring is in the air. Gus is feeling pretty good about the change in seasons until an unknown man decides he would rather change from being alive to being dead. He clearly drank something toxic, and it didn’t agree with him. The question is, did he really decide to do that, or did someone make that decision for him. Only that question is buried under a lot of other layers of questions. Why did the man visit Gus a few days before his death proclaiming the end times were near? Why didn’t he take enough poison to kill him near instantly instead of lingering around for days slowly dying? ...

A return to power. A town living in fear. A detective who wants to reach the end. When a child is taken, Harper and Liam are on a race to find out why? Why would the Seven Deadly Sins Killer take an innocent child? Why make it look as if another child is the culprit? As the killer's mind begins to spiral downward, something happens that reassures him that he is still in power. Join Harper and Liam as they fight through the seven sins, shoving their relationship aside. A madman and his assassin needed to be brought to justice before the final sin. The one where he would demand retribution ...

It will be good news to many devotees of the deductive story - particularly the pastiche of Sherlock Holmes - that Solar Pons is back in a third major collection after a lapse of seven years. In his introduction to this collection, Mr. Smith echoes the sentiments of many readers and listeners when he says, "These pastiches come the closest of any that have been written, consistently, to capturing the true flavor of the Holmesian saga and to making its people and its places and its happenings entirely credible."

Movie star Mary Marvell consults with Hercule Poirot after receiving threatening letters that warn her to return her diamond, the famous "Western Star", to its rightful owner. But who does own the diamond, and is it even the genuine article?

This is a story from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes collection. In this collection are four more individual cases for Mr. Sherlock Holmes, narrated by his faithful friend and admirer Dr. Watson. They dive into the opium dens of London in "The Man with the Twisted Lip," recall the curious history of "The Musgrave Ritual," come face to face with the grisly evidence contained in "The Cardboard Box," and go on a wild-goose chase in "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle." The powers of Sherlock Holmes prevail.

An aging, heavily-insured country squire whose estate is in financial ruin is thought to have committed suicide. Hercule Poirot investigates, in the guise of a representative of the victim's insurance company, to uncover the identity of the real murderer.

Few characters have the loyal readership of Bill Pronzini's "Nameless Detective." The 14 stories in this collection span his entire 35-year life on the printed page. They include "It's a Lousy World," where Nameless proves that a friend did not commit the crime he was accused of; "Dead Man's Slough" and "The Ghosts of Ragged-Ass Gulch," which take him out of San Francisco into the hinterlands; and "Souls Burning," where he tries to help an old friend make one last try at setting things right.

Refreshed after his recent trip to the island, Leger is back in Glasgow but finds there are matters which require his attention. His girlfriend is angry that he disappeared to the island without saying goodbye and issues an ultimatum; take a break from sleuthing or lose her. Leger must also find a home for Lily, the island sleuth who returned to Glasgow with him and it seems a local cat loving criminal, Malky Maguire, is the perfect person to adopt her. Undeterred by a series of break-ins and acts of vandalism at the Maguire home, Lily settles in and is soon part of the family. However, the...

Leger witnesses the kidnapping of a small child and pursues the victim and the perpetrator onto a long-distance train. Unknown to Leger, he is followed by Annabella and Nicole who are determined to get him off the train. Leger must uncover the truth about this kidnapping and put right the wrongs, with a little help from another non-human passenger. What Leger doesn't realise is, he isn't the only one watching this situation closely...

It's almost Halloween and the neighbourhood's residents are ready to enjoy a party. After all, it's been a difficult year for everyone and they need something to cheer them up. But in the run up to October 31st, lock down restrictions are tightened once again in Glasgow and an outdoor party with mandatory masks is their only option. Leger is initially excited about the prospect of a party in the car park, with animals and humans celebrating together for once. That is until some unexpected visitors show up, the party food goes missing and Maxine is discovered to be crying beneath her mask ...

Do you love to read children’s mysteries? If so, you will find The Pleasantville Junior Detective Agency enjoyable. It’s about a 9-year-old boy named Perry Winkle who becomes the neighborhood junior detective. The reader tries to uncover each clue and solve the case. For those that haven’t cracked the case by the end, they can turn to the last page of each chapter and see how Perry solved it.

Leger isn't the detective this time - he's the witness. After saving Poppy from an attack, Leger must guide troubled teenager Daniel Goldsworthy on the right path to discovering the crime has been committed, solving the mystery and putting the perpetrator behind bars. However, it proves an almost impossible task since Leger himself has a lot to deal with. Between a potentially lethal trapped hairball causing him extreme pain, a group of friends who are determined to do his job for him and a mischief of vigilante mice, Leger finds it difficult to tackle the task. Will Leger put his own ...

First published in an 1841 edition of Graham's Magazine, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is often cited as the first modern detective story. The first of three stories to center around C. Auguste Dupin, Poe's fictional detective, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" involves Dupin's investigation of two women's murders. Establishing many of the tropes that would later become common to detective fiction, the story begins with an explanation of Dupin's theory of ratiocination, a concept that greatly influenced the creation of detective fiction.

A fictional priest and amateur detective named Father Brown had a face once described “as round and dull as a Norfolk dumpling”. This made him appear somewhat clumsy and naïve, but that didn’t take into account his keen understanding of human nature and exceptional intuition. Stories include: “The Blue Cross”, “The Secret Garden”, “The Queer Feet”, “The Flying Stars”, “The Invisible Man”, and more.

Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, with the help of his friend newspaper reporter Hutchison Hatch, solves a variety of mysteries using cold, hard logic. No matter how twisted the trail of clues or how clever the perpetrator, Professor Van Dusen, aptly dubbed “The Thinking Machine”, reminds us that “two and two make four, not some times, but all the time”.

Upon opening a time capsule from 1968, the author finds a letter written by a condemned insurance agent from Texas only minutes before his arrest on capital murder charges. The letter relates this agent's downfall at the hands of a crooked police detective and a twisted woman. Though he was undoubtedly innocent of the crime, history long ago recorded his apprehension, trial and execution. By the time you read his letter, fifty years will have passed, and nothing can be done to save its author. His tale is a cautionary one, however, and so well worth reading. Beware of dames, dives, and death.

‘Tis the Season… for a Christmas Crime Thriller Short Story. A late-night shootout erupts over stolen cigarettes and leaves a Good Samaritan wondering, “Did I do the right thing?” JoJo is a repeat offender who grew up in foster care. His sister was adopted by a man named Davey, his only connection to family life. When JoJo is released after a short stint in county jail, Davey agrees to pick him up and drive him to a motel near his home. But when JoJo asks to stop for cigarettes, Davey’s in for the fight of his life. JoJo swipes a pack of smokes causing a fast-moving chain of ...

Revelations from the despatch box of Doctor John Watson. These seven stories previously featured in various volumes of The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories and other anthologies. They come together in their own collection for the first time.