Private Detective Fiction

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.

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to The Mysterious Affair at Styles and experience the compelling world of classic detective fiction, starring Belgian Hercule Poirot, private detective extraordinaire.

Book #17 of the Jab Boone Murder Mystery Series The revamped Termite Brigade has been unleashed! Law enforcement officers of every persuasion have been murdered without remorse. But their youth fails to cover-up an important clue to their whereabouts. As the body count mounts, Jab and his posse invade the Brigade’s strongholds, knowing that retaliation would be swift and sure!

A NEO-NOIR HONEYMOON IN HELL: A Suspenseful Tale of Love, Murder, and Fate John thought he had left behind his days of drinking and killing, but as he and his new bride, Cherry, embark on their honeymoon in the jungles of Malaysia and Borneo, they are haunted by ghosts from their past. The release of nihilist criminals connected to John's SAS background brings death and destruction to their luxury island resort. Just when they think they can escape the darkness, their paradise is raided by savage pirates, revealing that everything is connected and they are unable to outrun their destiny. ...

Fifteen grippling short stories of Arsène Lupin: one of the most famous and intriguing figures of French detective literature. He was created by Maurice Leblanc, a brilliant journalist, writer and storyteller, and is the hero of a total of 24 books, novels and short stories alike. The fictional gentleman thief is a master of disguise, a criminal genius and a moral figure well-set in righting a few wrongs himself when Justice can't be bothered.

Linda and Octavia are estranged sisters. The stay-at-home mom and socialite have never had much in common... until now. When they suddenly find themselves husbandless and broke, they reluctantly agree to combine their talents and take on a faltering P.I. agency in a strip mall. Old emotional wounds keep the two at odds and both sisters think they've made a huge mistake. But soon they realize all their clients have secrets... and who better to help them than two women who have secrets of their own?

The Danube Express was once the most famous train on the continent. Linking east and west, it was the fastest route from the Alps to the Black Sea, until airplanes and automobiles made it obsolete. When a group of savvy investors revived it in the 1970s, it became an express only in name. But when a Hungarian actress disappears from the train, it turns out to be more than a publicity stunt. Soon it is clear that a killer lurks on the Danube Express, and plans on taking it all the way to the end of the line.

When two patrolmen shoot and kill a woman in the shadows of Seattle's industrial district, the question isn't who did it but why? It's a question that private investigator Shane McPhearson unwittingly begins to unravel after discovering an abandoned 8-year-old named Jacob in Lincoln Park. What begins as a simple attempt to find Jacob's guardian reveals a wide-spread web of lies, cover-ups and deception woven throughout Seattle's Eighth Precinct with ties to organized crime — and Jacob knowing the secret that threatens them all. Not knowing who to trust or where to turn in order to keep ...

If you like kick-ass, gritty action, colorful characters, and needle-sharp wit, then you’ll love Jamie Renwick’s newly published series. Vancouver socialite Kathryn Swain is dead, her death ruled a suicide by police. But not everyone believes the official report. Reluctantly brought into the investigation, a private investigator and retrievals expert, Theresa Maddux, uncovers a trail of extortion, espionage and murder spanning three decades. Discovering the true scope of the crime, Maddux must track down the killer before he eludes the law and escapes to freedom. Placing herself ...

Poirot, a Belgian refugee of the Great War, is settling in England near the home of Emily Inglethorp, who helped him to his new life. His friend Hastings arrives as a guest at her home. When the woman is killed, Poirot uses his detective skills to solve the mystery. The first book of the "Hercule Poirot" series, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" is a masterpiece of mystery and a must-have for all who love a great story!

Frances Wynn, the American-born Countess of Harleigh, enjoys more freedom as a widow than she did as a wife. After an obligatory year spent mourning her philandering husband, Reggie, she puts aside her drab black gowns, leaving the countryside and her money-grubbing in-laws behind. With her young daughter in tow, Frances rents a home in Belgravia and prepares to welcome her sister, Lily, arriving from New York - for her first London season. But no sooner has Frances begun her new life than the ghosts of her old one make an unwelcome appearance....

Catching a killer is a piece of cake... Or is it? A jazz-themed restuarant, a dangerous poisoning... When Mindy and Beth are asked to look into a suspicious poisoning, they end up in the crosshairs of someone with a vendetta. As their investigation reveals one secret after the other, the duo start to wonder what they've gotten into. Meanwhile, Mindy's nemesis Neve insists on trying to "help out" with the investigation... Praise for A.R. Winters: "The perfect balance of being lighthearted, but still a serious page-turning mystery." - Jaycie D, Amazon.com "A fun cozy mystery with engaging and...

When Tiffany, Nanna, Rosie and Stone head to Memphis to investigate the world of Barbeques and Blues, they don’t expect to stumble on a double-homicide. But when two judges drop dead at a Barbeque and Blues Festival, the gang must work quickly to uncover the truth… before the killer strikes again. Who could’ve hated both judges so much – or did the judges poison each other? Was one an accident and the other a murder? Or was the real target someone else all along...? Praise for A.R. Winters: "The perfect balance of being lighthearted, but still a serious page-turning mystery." - ...

When a friend turns up dead in Minneapolis, victim of an ugly murder, former Detroit Tigers outfielder Gunsten Pedersen must leave his sanctuary on Stony Lake in northern Minnesota and immerse himself in the dirty underworld of human trafficking. Fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Craig Johnson's Longmire, and William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor enjoy the Enger brothers' Gun Pedersen. ***PRAISE FOR THE GUN PEDERSEN SERIES*** COMEBACK: “A well-written, fast-reading thriller. . . . It’s got everything.” —Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine “Comeback is so good, you want to sit down and ...

Cambridge. Christmas 1922. Posie Parker has cleared a space in her hectic schedule to try to unravel a tragedy in her own family. But Posie’s past is hiding around every turn in the old university town. She finds herself taking on a new case which is positively teeming with ghosts, shadows, and secrets, where nothing is quite what it seems.

Violet Hunter consults Holmes after being offered a governess job subject to a number of unusual conditions, including cutting her hair short. The wage is extremely high, £120, and she decides to accept the job, though Holmes tells her to contact him if she needs to. After a number of strange occurrences, including the discovery of a sealed-off wing of the house, she does so. Holmes discovers that someone had been kept prisoner in the wing, but when Holmes, Watson and Hunter enter, it is empty.

Neville St. Clair, a respectable businessman, has disappeared and his wife claims she saw him at the upper window of an opium den. Rushing upstairs to the room she found only a beggar who denied any knowledge of St. Clair – whose clothes are later found in the room, and his coat, laden with coins, in the River Thames outside the window.

Jabez Wilson, a pawnbroker, consults Holmes about a job, gained only because of his red hair, which took him away from his shop for long periods each day; the job for to simply copy the Encyclopædia Britannica. After eight weeks, he was suddenly informed that the job ended. After some investigation at Wilson's shop, Holmes contacts a police inspector and the manager of a nearby bank. With Watson, they hide in the bank vault and catch two thieves who had dug a tunnel from the shop while Wilson was at the decoy copying job.

Lord Robert St. Simon's new American bride, Hatty Doran, has disappeared almost immediately after the wedding. The servants had prevented an old love interest of his from forcing her way into the wedding breakfast, Hatty had been seen in whispered conversation with her maid, and Inspector Lestrade arrives with the news that Hatty's wedding dress and ring have been found floating in the Serpentine. Holmes quickly solves the mystery, locating Hatty at a hotel with a mysterious, "common-looking" man who had picked up her dropped bouquet after the ceremony.

A banker asks Holmes to investigate after a "Beryl Coronet" entrusted to him is damaged at his home. Awakened by noise, he had found his son, Arthur, holding the damaged coronet. Arthur refuses to speak, neither admitting guilt nor explaining himself. Footprints in the snow outside the house tell Holmes that the banker's niece had conspired with a blackguard to steal the coronet; Arthur had discovered the crime in progress and the coronet had been damaged during his struggle to prevent it being stolen. He had refused to tell his father the truth of the crime because of his love for his cousin.