First published 1991
This collection opens windows into criminal minds across more than a century of detective fiction. Edgar Allan Poe's analytical detective solves the mystery of a stolen letter through pure deduction. Sherlock Holmes confronts a man whose twisted appearance masks deeper secrets. V.I. Warshawski investigates art theft in Sara Paretsky's Chicago. A ghost appears punctually at 8:30 in Lillian Jackson Braun's tale, while Georges Simenon takes readers inside a poisoner's château. Abraham Lincoln himself contributes a murder mystery, and Mark Twain offers his satirical take on detection. Lawrence Block, John Lutz, and Dick Francis provide contemporary perspectives on crime and punishment. Each story captures the moment when ordinary life collides with violence, revealing how criminals think they can outwit justice and how detectives prove them wrong.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, detective, 21st-century
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, deduction, mystery
Setting: Chicago
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century, 21st-century
512 pages · Hardcover · Galahad Books