Set within the brooding landscape of Cape Code, these classic who-dunits are sure to please dedicated Phoebe Atwood Taylor fans and newcomer mystery buffs alike. Asey Mayo fans will be delighted to find the codfish Sherlock not once, but thrice perplexed in these incomparable novellas: Murder Rides the Gale, The Stars Spell Death, and The Third Murderer.

Miss Prudence Whitsby becomes involved in crime detection when she attends a Cape Cod house party

The discovery by Asey Mayo and Doc Cummings of the bludgeoned body of Carolyn Barton Boone in an antique Pullman car of the Pochet and Back Shore Railroad marks the beginning of a wacky murder chase highlighted by the disappearance of the body until after the killer strikes a second time. All in all, it’s a typical Asey Mayo adventure full of sparkling wit and crisp dialogue.

"Genuinely fascinating reading."—The New York Times Book Review "Diverting and patently authoritative."—The New Yorker "Grand and fascinating … a history, a compendium and a critical study all in one, and all first rate."—Rex Stout "A landmark … a brilliant study written with charm and authority."—Ellery Queen "This book is of permanent value. It should be on the shelf of every reader of detective stories."—Erle Stanley Gardner Author Howard Haycraft, an expert in detective fiction, traces the genre's development from the 1840s through the 1940s. Along the way, he charts the innovations of Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, and Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as the modern influence of George Simenon, Josephine Tey, and others. Additional topics include a survey of the critical literature, a detective story quiz, and a Who's Who in Detection.

Provides indexes to American and British mystery novels by author, title, subject, setting, and characters.

Includes an abridged edition of 1908 catalog issued under title: English prose fiction ... list of about 800 title.

Bruce Murphy's Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery is a comprehensive guide to the genre of the murder mystery that catalogues thousands of items in a broad range of categories: authors, titles, plots, characters, weapons, methods of killing, movie and theatrical adaptations. What distinguishes this encyclopedia from the others in the field is its critical stance.