Wherein things that can’t happen and ought not to happen do happen...! DASHIELL HAMMETT, in The Glass Key, The Maltese Falcon, etc., set a new standard for mystery stories. In the present selection he sets up a standard of excellence in stories of the weird, the fantastic, the supernatural, the almost incredible. He has chosen from various writers an honor roll of tales that send thrills to your mind and chills to your spine — none of which has ever before appeared in book form. Mr. Hammett’s introduction presents interestingly the basis of his selections.

«Стеклянный ключ» Д. Хэммета, «Чикагский вариант» Ф. Нибела и Ч. Бейли, «Случай необходимости» М. Крайтона представляют настоящий сборник зарубежного детектива. Они по праву являются классическими образцами детективного жанра, в основе которого, как и полагается, лежит преступление. Захватывающая интрига, стремительное развитие сюжета не оставляют читателя равнодушным и заставляют следовать за героями в поисках раскрытия преступлений.

In his spirited Introduction to a topnotch collection of Great American Detective Stories, Anthony Boucher says: “The detective short story belongs to us. It started in America and it started off magnificently. In five stories, Edgar Allan Poe created the form and almost all its possible variants... There are as many kinds of detective short stories as there are of detective novels — and you’ll find most of them here, from the ethical poetry of Melville Davisson Post to the brash foolery of Frank Gruber.” A glance at some of the titles of the stories included confirms Boucher’s modest words and guarantees that you’ll find plenty of good reading here.

Змест: Забойства на вуліцы Морг — Эдгар Алан По Адна гадзіна — Дэшыэл Хэмет Ключ да загадкі раскіданых рубінаў — Эрл Стэнлі Гарднер Крылаты рэвальвер — Рэкс Стаўт Да міс Люсі прыходзіць каханне — К. Патрык Дынастаманія — Холі Рот Гадзіна памяці — Уэйд Мілер Плата — Стэнлі Элін Другой пакой — Эдвар Д. Хох Гальштук Вудра Вільсана — Патрыцыя Хайсміт

The Continental Op made his debut in an October 1923 issue of Black Mask, making him one of the earliest hard-boiled private detective characters to appear in the pulp magazines of the early twentieth century. Short, thick-bodied, mulishly stubborn, and indifferent to pain, Dashiell Hammett’s Continental Op was the prototype for generations of tough-guy detectives.

Featuring the best from the modern masters of detective, intrigue, suspense, and mystery fiction.