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Sax Rohmer
Sax Rohmer was the author of dozens of popular novels, many featuring the Oriental criminal mastermind Fu Manchu. He specialized in writing adventures about the "yellow peril" and the Chinese district in London known as the Limehouse district. From 1913 to the late 1950s, Rohmer provided the mystery reading public with stories of murder, opium dens, "white" slavery and other crimes considered to be the special province of the Chinese criminal underground in London. Many of his stories were filmed and one (not filmed) - White Velvet - was intended as a vehicle for Marlene Dietrich.
For a complete list of our current stock of mysteries by Sax Rohmer, click on this sentence.
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Erle Stanley Gardner
Erle Stanley Gardner began his career as a lawyer, but retired in 1933 when he sold his first novel. Over the course of more than 50 years, he wrote 82 Perry Mason mysteries, 29 Cool & Lam mysteries under the pseudonym of A.A. Fair and dozens of other books & stories. Best known is his Perry Mason series, in which Mason was a hard-boiled, tricky lawyer. They became less hard-boiled and had more love interest when The Saturday Evening Post picked up the series for serialization. In 1957 Raymond Burr began portraying Mason in the long running T.V. series. Gardner's books are among our best selling items, year after year.
For a complete list of our current stock of mysteries by Erle Stanley Gardner, click on this sentence.
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Georges Simenon
Georges Simenon was the finest French mystery writer and a great novelist. His detective, Inspector Maigret of the Surete, is one of the enduring characters of mystery fiction. Maigret's great strength as a detective is his ability to empathize not only with the victims but also with the perpetrators of crime. Simenon's books are consistently on our bestseller lists.
For all the Georges Simenon mysteries in our stock, click here.
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Mystery Reference
Our mystery reference section includes biographies, bibliographies, books about mystery subgenres, literary criticism, puzzle & quiz books & more. One pair of popular titles is Murder Ink & Murderess Ink, both compiled by Dilys Winn, founder of one of the first specialist mystery bookstores, Murder Ink. These two books are a combination of articles in several of the above catagories. The most popular set of mystery reference books have been Willetta Heising's Detecting Women, & Detecting Men. Popular reference subjects include Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. Also popular are readers' guides to mystery fiction such as Art Bourgeau - The Mystery Lover's Companion; Ellery Queen - Queen's Quorum; Swanson & James - Killer Books and Jim Huang - 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century.
For all the mystery reference in our stock, click here.
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Dog Mysteries
Dog mysteries, although not as popular as cat mysteries, have several popular perpetrators. In older mysteries, vicious dogs are often tools of the villains. In recent years, dog lovers have ventured to do for dogs what so many authors have done for cats. Popular authors of dog mysteries include Carol Lea Benjamin, Laurien Berenson, Melissa Cleary, Susan Conant, Patricia Guiver, Gerald Hammond, and Virginia Lanier.
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Seasonal Mysteries
It is the time of year that seasonal mysteries are popular. Most popular of all is the Christmas mystery. With many of the books that we list as Christmas mysteries, the designation chiefly comes from the seasonal setting of the story. However, with many more, the spirit of Christmas somehow affects the resolution of the story, with forgiveness of the culprit, a fortunate outcome for the victims, etc.
Other holidays, particularly in recent years, have become subjects for mystery fiction. We have tagged both Thanksgiving & Halloween mysteries for collectors of theme-based mysteries. Leslie Meier, Valerie Wolzien & Joanne Fluke are prominent among writers who include other holiday themes in their stories.
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Dick Francis
Dick Francis was a World War II pilot, horse racing jockey, journalist & starting in 1962 with Dead Cert, a mystery novelist. He has published nearly forty novels, an autobiography of his racing life and another biography of jockey Lester Piggott. His suspense novels centered on the world of horse racing have included numerous best sellers. His works have won him silver, gold & diamond daggers from the British Crime Writers Association and three Edgar Allen Poe awards for best novel from the Mystery Writers of America. His wife Mary was a major collaborator in his work and when she died in the year 2000, his output stopped. He has recently announced the publication of a new novel Under Orders, to be released in September 2006
For a complete list of our current stock of Dick Francis mysteries, click on this sentence.
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Mystery Awards
Looking for something new to read? Try an award-winning mystery. Here is a list of the major mystery awards.
The Edgar is presented by Mystery Writers of America for Best Novel, Best First Novel by American authors, Best Paperback Original, and Best Critical/Biographical.
The Gold Dagger is presented by the Crime Writer's Association of Great Britain for Best Crime Novel.
The Anthony is voted on by fans who attend Bouchercon, the annual world mystery convention, for Best Novel, Best First Novel and Best Critical Work.
The Shamus is presented by the Private Eye Writers of America to the best writers of private eye fiction for Best Novel, Best First Novel and Best Paperback Original.
The Macavity is presented by Mystery Readers International, the largest mystery fan organization, for the readers' choice of Best Novel, Best First Novel and Best Critical/Biographical.
The Agatha is presented by attendees of Malice Domestic Mystery Convention to the best traditional writers for Best Novel & Best First Novel.
The Arthur Ellis is presented by the Crime Writers of Canada for Best Novel, Best First Novel.
In addition, we note titles in the Haycraft-Queen list of "cornerstones" of crime and mystery fiction. Other awards we list are the Hammett, the Barry & the Dilys. To search for these or other criteria do a keyword seach on our Search Page.
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Historical Mysteries
Since the advent of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series, historical mysteries have become one of the most popular subgenres in mystery and detective fiction. From Ancient Rome (Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor, John Maddox Roberts, etc.) through the Middle Ages (Ellis Peters, Sharan Newman, P.C. Doherty, etc.) and the Renaissance (Edward Marston, Elizabeth Eyre, Kathy Lynn Emerson, etc.) to the late 19th & early 20th century (Anne Perry, Harold Adams, George Baxt, etc.) readers have been taking their mysteries with a dose of history.
For a complete list of our current stock of Historical Mysteries, click on this sentence.
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Creative Arts - Black Lizard
In the late 1980s, Creative Art Book Company's Black Lizard imprint sought out & published noir fiction from the 1940s to the 1960s. Few reprints become as collectible as the Black Lizard titles have. The success of this venture was due to two factors. They reprinted rare titles by such noir writers as Jim Thompson, Charles Willeford, James M. Cain, David Goodis & others. In addition, the dark cover art is quite attractive to collectors.
For a complete list of our current stock of Black Lizard titles, click on this sentence.
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Evan Hunter aka Ed McBain
1926 - 2005
Evan Hunter, known to millions of mystery fans as Ed McBain, died on July 6, 2005. Under the name Evan Hunter, he gained early success for his novel Blackboard Jungle. But it was as Ed McBain that he came to be known & loved by the mystery world for his 87th precinct novels.
The first of the 87th precinct books was Cop Hater, published in 1956. The series revolutionized the police procedural and became the standard for the sub-genre. He wrote more than 50 stories for the series, with one still to be published. Other works are also in the pipeline. In addition to the 87th precinct titles, he wrote a series featuring Matthew Hope, a Florida lawyer, with titles taken from fairy tales, several non-series titles and a number of best-selling novels as Evan Hunter.
For a complete list of our current stock of Ed McBain titles, click on this sentence.
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Ngaio Marsh 1899 - 1982
Ngaio Marsh was the author of more than 30 novels, all of which featured the aristocratic Scotland Yard inspector Roderick Alleyn. Her first story - A Man Lay Dead - was published in 1934. Her last was Light Thickens, published in 1982. In Artists in Crime, Inspector Alleyn meets Agatha Troy, a portrait artist whom he courts over the course of the years and eventually marries. Marsh referred to the courtship as "the siege of Troy".
Ngaio Marsh was born in New Zealand, but began her writing career in England. Most of the novels take place in England, but at least two, Colour Scheme & Died in the Wool take Alleyn to New Zealand.
Marsh had a love for the theater and wrote a handful of plays. Many of her novels feature theatrical and artistic circles.
For a complete list of our current stock of Ngaio Marsh titles, click on this sentence.
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©2005 by Grave Matters. |
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