Detective Short Stories Mysteries

For Ellery Queen, there is no puzzle that reason cannot solve. In his time, he has faced down killers, thugs, and thieves, protected only by the might of his brain - and the odd bit of timely intervention by his father, a burly New York police inspector. But when a university professor asks Queen to teach a class, the detective finds there are people whom reason cannot touch: college students. Queen's adventure on campus is only the first of this incomparable collection of short mysteries.

An outlaw private eye meets a woman who has a horribly-blackened eye and offers to do something about it. Unlicensed outlaw private eye Joe Beck stops off at bar in Trinidad, Colorado. Inside, he meets a woman named Brandi, a brunette bombshell who's working behind the bar. She's slim, tanned and attractive. She has it all. Except, her left eye is horribly blackened, something she admits to having been caused by the hand of an abusive ex-boyfriend. Beck offers to deal with the guy, no questions asked in a move that sees him sucked into the dealings of a couple of crooked cops and a local ...

Are you a Law & Order Junkie? Then take the challenge. Read each chapter. Find the evidence. Solve the case. Become a Couch Detective.

Halloween means parties and the local residents association are planning a get-together at the Queen Languoreth to celebrate Halloween. However, with everyone out in the street at the same time, this opens the window for a gang of cat-phobic robbers to come in and take advantage. Leger and Ginger have overheard the men planning the robbery in an alleyway but can they uncover the identity of Gus and Andy in time? Meanwhile, a local man has discovered the body of a cat who looks just like Leger and taken the body to Annabella for burial. Annabella isn't sure it's really Leger who has died but...

Handsome white-knight police officer Jack Stratton is back in this action-packed, thrilling adventure. When his sexy old flame disappears, no one thinks it's suspicious except Jack and one unbalanced witness. Jack feels in his gut that something is wrong. He knows that Marisa has a past, and if it ever caught up with her - it would be deadly. Determined to buck the critics and listen to his instincts, he and his feisty sidekick Alice (aka Replacement) plunge ahead and start tracking down leads, hoping to find Marisa in time.

Gus somehow won the church raffle. It was a miraculous feat given that he’d never entered it-the church or the raffle. He suddenly finds himself with two tickets to paradise and one of them premade out for Father Xavier. Paradise in this case being the Caribbean Island of Saint Hubbins. They’re joined at the hotel by two couples that appear to be engaged in a tangled web of extra-marital affairs with each other. Gus isn’t too interested in the affairs of others until one of them ends up dead. Another person is arrested by the local police for the crime. It’s not that Gus feels he ...

Beyond the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a special three-volume collection of sequels to the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Each original tale is paired with an all-new adventure, spinning our hero off into plots and directions that Sir Arthur may never have considered. In many cases, years have passed by since the events of the canon.

This is a story from the The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes III 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.

Mira’s snarky cat, Arnold, finally gets his own story. Told from the point of view of Mira’s trusty cat, Arnold, this short story is about the trials and tribulations of being a cat-dad to three rambunctious kittens during the Christmas holiday. Even more challenging, Arnold’s rivals arrive with Mira’s sister Darla, on Christmas eve. The twin cats are psychic and annoying, forcing Arnold to use every ounce of patience to be a good cat for Christmas. To make matters worse his kittens go missing and he must partner with Darla’s twin menaces to save them. Quickly things go sideways, ...

Soaring to the edge of Earth’s stratosphere, a 1912 scientific expedition traveling aboard a uniquely designed dirigible sets out for advanced observations of the moon and stars. Yet lies, hidden agendas and personal conflicts threaten the mission. Amidst all this, an unexpected love affair draws two passengers together. Daschle’s heart has been shattered by one who did not return his love for her. Irina could be his salvation as their journey takes them to the edge of Heaven and back.

Set in Crestwood High, where the sudden disappearance of its blueprint overshadows the excitement of a new science wing, the story follows Mia Chen, a bright and resourceful 16-year-old with a knack for solving puzzles. Alongside her friends Jake and Emma, Mia dives into a thrilling adventure, piecing together clues and navigating unexpected twists. As they race against time to recover the blueprint before the school's grand unveiling, they uncover deeper secrets that test their courage, teamwork, and resilience.

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 13 tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a newly discovered Gervase Fen novella by Edmund Crispin that has never previously been published. With the Golden Age of detective fiction shining ever more brightly thanks to the recent reappearance of many forgotten crime novels, Bodies from the Library offers a rare opportunity to read lost stories from the first half of the twentieth century by some of the genre’s most accomplished writers.

Twelve mysteries for Dorothy L. Sayers' aristocratic sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey.

Follow Sherlock Holmes on four mysteries that his best friend and Chronicler, Dr. Watson, has decided to publish after some years. In the first story, an irritating and unsuccessful suit salesman plummets to his death from one of the highest cliffs in England...only he didn't jump. The second story recounts a chemistry professor found shot to death in his laboratory after having dabbled in alchemy and seemingly turning lead into gold. The third story finds a wealthy businessman bludgeoned to death in his locked and guarded hotel room.

Sherlock Holmes has not only captivated readers for more than a century and a quarter, he has fascinated writers as well. It is little wonder, then, that when the renowned Sherlockians Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger invited their writer-friends and colleagues to be inspired by the Holmes canon, a cornucopia of stories sprang forth. Now, King and Klinger have invited another 15 masters to become In League with Sherlock Holmes. The contributors to this volume include award-winning authors of horror, thrillers, mysteries, westerns, and science fiction.

Discover Dorothy L. Sayers' inimitable Golden Age detective in this complete collection of the complete Lord Peter Wimsey stories, together in one volume for the first time. Presented in chronological order, these short stories see Lord Peter Wimsey bringing his trademark wit and unique detection skills to all manner of mysteries.

Glasgow's finest feline sleuth, Leger McInnes, returns and this time he tackles his most disturbing case yet! His friend Winter is traumatised and unable to speak following the horrific experience of witnessing a murder. Leger vows to track down the murderer and find closure for Winter. This will not be an easy task for Leger. With Winter unable to help, despite knowing exactly what occurred and his sidekick Ginger incarcerated while she is in season, Leger struggles to piece together the events of the night of the murder. He seeks comfort from Samara, the pretty new Persian housecat who ...

Arguably no other character in history has been so enduringly popular as Sherlock Holmes. From his first appearance in Arthur Conan Doyle's 1887 novella A Study in Scarlet, fans have loved reading and listening about him - and writers have loved writing about him. Here, Otto Penzler collects 83 wonderful stories about Holmes and Dr. John Watson, the majority of which will be new to listeners.

Summertime - as the temperature rises, so does the potential for evil. From Cornwall to the French Riviera, whether against a background of Delphic temples or English country houses, Agatha Christie’s most famous characters solve even the most devilish of conundrums as the summer sun beats down. Pull up a deckchair and enjoy plot twists and red herrings galore from the best-selling fiction writer of all time.

The rather disgruntled pair of Tommy and Tuppence are sequestered in the Grand Adlington Hotel, having made a pig's ear out of their latest case. But, while mournfully sipping cocktails, with Tommy oddly dressed as a parson, they are gleefully accosted by their old acquaintance Mr. Bulger, who has London's most beautiful stage actress, Gilda Glen, in tow. Featherbrained and a little confused, Gilda takes Tommy for a real clergyman and scrawls out a desperate note to meet him away from the hotel. While Tommy and Tuppence mull over the note, in storms an old flame of Gilda's, claiming he wants to wring someone's neck.