The bizarre set of circumstances surrounding the case of “the handy death” presents attorney Hank Ross with the nearly impossible job of defending a man who is to all appearances guilty. Billy Dupaul, one-time bonus baby for the New York Mets, is serving time in Attica State Prison for shooting a man. Eight years after the incident, the victim of the assault dies and Dupaul is faced with a trial for first-degree murder. What makes Ross’s task even more difficult is the fact that Dupaul is implicated in a prison riot organized to cover up an attempted escape. Ross must prove that Billy was the victim of a carefully planned and executed setup; he must locate the mysterious “lady” who Billy...

A collection of suspense stories, puzzle stories, whodunits and tricky whydunits involving police detectives, private eyes, talented and sometimes lucky amateurs, armchair detectives, and ethnic detectives.

A new Murder League mystery involving those three reprobate ex-detective writers — Carruthers, Simpson, and Briggs. This time around the redoubtable rogues fall prey to two totally unsuspecting kidnapers — Messrs. Clarence Alexander and Harold Nishbagel of Cicero, Illinois. Needless to say the tables are quickly turned, and the kidnapers soon find themselves at the mercy of their captives especially when the trio enlists the aid of England’s leading criminal lawyer, Sir Percival Pugh, a man who knows just how to implement the chicaneries of Carruthers, Simpson and Briggs... and mete out his own brand of justice at the same time. A high-spirited, lighthearted caper that showcases the...

Otto Penzler rounds up the most cunning, ruthless, criminals in mystery fiction. The best mysteries — whether detective, historical, police procedural, cozy, or comedy-have one thing in common: a memorable culprit. For all the heroes in earnest pursuit, there are malefactors on the loose, determined to outfox their efforts and sow trouble in their wake. These are the rogues and villains who haunt our imaginations, but they often have more in common with their heroic counterparts than we might expect (and, as we shall see, some even moonlight as detectives or do-gooders themselves). The seventy-two handpicked stories in this collection introduce us to the miscreants who have schemed and...

Единственный роман криминального жанра в творческом наследии Джека Лондона. Роман, идею которого подсказал писателю его друг Синклер Льюис, а закончил его по наброскам Лондона, уже много лет спустя после его смерти, лауреат премии Эдгара По знаменитый американский мастер иронического детектива Роберт Фиш. Иван Драгомилов – порядочный предприниматель с жестким кодексом чести. Его бюро принимает заказы на убийства любых лиц: от частных граждан до видных политиков, президентов, диктаторов и монархов – и гарантирует качественное исполнение работы. Одно условие: от заказчика требуется железное обоснование, что намеченная жертва в самом деле достойна смерти. А поскольку профессиональный убийца,...

Полицейские 52-го нью-йоркского комиссариата встревожены — из тюрьмы особо строгого режима Синг-Синг бежали четверо заключенных. Один из беглецов имеет личные счеты к лейтенанту Кленси из 52-го комиссариата и намерен их свести.

Tough and aggressive, short-tempered and quick-thinking — Lt. Jim Reardon was one of San Francisco’s best cops. And Robert L. Pike, the creator of Bullitt, has also made him one of the most exciting and resourceful heroes currently tracking down criminals in police procedural novels. Reardon’s new case begins with the murder of a prominent gangster in a waterfront bar. Syndicate killings are nothing new, but this one was different: it was as big a surprise to the mob as it was to the Homicide Division. Then another leading figure in Bay Area organized crime fell — or was pushed — out the window of his 15th-floor apartment, and it began to look as though someone was out to get all four...

Kek Huuygens does not come through customs the way other people do. He is known to the customs officials of every country in the world. He is searched. He is stripped. He is humiliated. But still he is successful. Kek Huuygens, born in Poland, with a Dutch name, carrying a valid American passport, is the cleverest and best-paid smuggler to ever exasperate a customs inspector. In these adventures, Huuygens smuggles everything from a Bach Cantata to a priceless collection of miniature paintings, outwitting a former Nazi officer, the entire banking community of Belgium, and the ex-president of a Caribbean island. The exploits of Kek Huuygens have been recounted in four novels: The...

The creator of Captain Jose Da Silva and Lt. Clancy adds another irresistible character to his mystery roster. Robert L. Fish presents the world’s greatest smuggler in The Hochmann Miniatures. His name is Kek Huuygens. He is known to customs officials the world over. He has smuggled everything from an original Bach cantata to a two-ton Indian elephant. And he’s never been caught — even with the elephant. The Hochmann Miniatures, however, is more than a smuggler’s tale. It’s a novel of revenge, primeval passions, betrayed love. A long time ago Kek Huuygens swore to kill a man: Colonel Wilhelm Gruber, SS officer of Hitler’s Polish occupation army. It was Gruber who murdered Huuygens’...