Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler's new anthology brings together the most cunning, ruthless, and brilliant criminals in mystery fiction, for the biggest compendium of bad guys (and girls) ever assembled. The best mysteries--whether detective, historical, police procedural, cozy, or comedy--have one thing in common: a memorable perpetrator. For every Sherlock Holmes or Sam Spade in noble pursuit, there's a Count Dracula, a Lester Leith, or a Jimmy Valentine. These are the rogues and villains who haunt our imaginations--and who often have more in common with their heroic counterparts than we might expect. Now, for the first time ever, Otto Penzler gathers the iconic traitors, thieves, con men, sociopaths, and killers who have crept through the mystery canon over the past 150 years, captivating and horrifying readers in equal measure. The 72 handpicked stories in this collection introduce us to the most depraved of psyches, from iconic antiheroes like Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin and Sax Rohmer's Dr. Fu Manchu to contemporary delinquents like Lawrence Block's Ehrengraf and Donald Westlake's Dortmunder, and include unforgettable tales by Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Washington Irving, Jack London, H.G. Wells, Sinclair Lewis, O. Henry, Edgar Wallace, Leslie Charteris, Erle Stanley Gardner, Edward D. Hoch, Max Allan Collins, Loren D. Estleman, and many more.

Victor Lorenzo Whitechurch (1868-1933) was a Church of England clergyman and author. He is best known for his detective stories featuring Thorpe Hazell, the first amateur railway detective, whom the author intended to be as far from Sherlock Holmes as possible. Another Whitechurch's character was the spy Captain Ivan Koravitch. His stories were admired for their immaculate plotting and factual accuracy. Whitechurch was one of the first writers to submit his manuscripts to Scotland Yard for vetting as to police procedure. Table of Contents: Thrilling Stories of the Railway Peter Crane's Cigars The Tragedy on the London and Mid-Northern The Affair of the Corridor Express Sir Gilbert Murrell's Picture How the Bank Was Saved The Affair of the German Dispatch-Box How the Bishop Kept His Appointment The Adventure of the Pilot Engine The Stolen Necklace The Mystery of the Boat Express How the Express Was Saved A Case of Signaling Winning the Race The Strikers The Ruse That Succeeded Other Railway Stories A Perilous Ride The Slip Coach Mystery In the Rockhurst Tunnel The Convict's Revenge A Warning in Red A Jump for Freedom Special Working Instructions Pierre Cournet's Last Run Between Two Fires The Triumph of Seth P. Tucker A Policy of Silence In a Tight Fix The Romance of the "Southern Queen"

The rain pounded on the roof of the Old No. 7 train like the devil trying to get in, a warning of the dangers ahead. It had been raining for most of June saturating the landscape and overflowing the streams. Lightning lit up the night sky as the locomotive confidently pushed forward from the McDonough Station toward Atlanta. No one saw the need to inspect the tracks to see if the re-enforced trestle was intact. Then the unimaginable happened on the evening of June 23, 1900, when the trestle over Camp Creek collapsed. And the fate of forty-eight passengers and crew would be changed forever. The catastrophe just north of McDonough was only one of the many train wrecks to claim innocent lives. "The Mystery Passenger" by Hans Broder explores multiple tragic tales in railroad history. His in-depth research follows not only the stories of the locomotives but the individuals whose lives were dramatically impacted by the turbulent events.

The inspiration for the hit Netflix show, Lupin, Arsène Lupin is charming, clever and bold. A master of disguise, he steals from the rich, he outsmarts the police and he’s generous to those in need. And above all, he never takes himself too seriously. This French Robin Hood has charmed readers for generations and the stories about his dazzling escapades have been adapted countless times for television, stage and film. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition of The Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief is translated from the French by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos and features an introduction by Emma Bielecki. In the opening stories, Lupin is arrested, only to engineer his own incredible escape. What follows are wonderfully entertaining and action packed stories that finish with a brief encounter with none other than Sherlock Holmes. These stories were first published together in 1907 and this edition of the gentleman thief's very first adventures is the perfect place to start exploring his world of daring escapes, cunning disguises and ambitious heists.

With an old world charm, 'The Passenger from Calais' by Arthur Griffiths takes the reader on a mystery ride across Europe aboard the Engadine Express with Colonel Basil Annesley as he experiences mysterious affairs. Utilizing multiple points of views, Griffiths creates an atmosphere of criminality with enigmatic characters and action, including surprising powerful female characters. Despite the dated social ambience, manners, and customs, 'The Passenger from Calais' offers a quick and enjoyable read for lovers of vintage mystery and crime, showcasing the methods of detection and forensics, communication systems, and gravity of crime from a different time period.