A petulant blonde bombshell with a deadly taste for danger … A ham actor who stars dramatically in his own murder … A sharpshooting hoodlum who takes his killing casually … And a lady Greek philosopher with “the longest, shapeliest legs in New York” … These are only a few of the characters who mix it up with Peter Chambers, as fiction’s most eye-catching private eye vaults from one lighting-paced, hard-boiled adventure to another.

In September 1868, the remains of Jacob and Nancy Jane Young were found lying near the banks of Indiana's White River. Suspicion for both deaths turned to Nancy Clem, a housewife who was also one of Mr. Young's former business partners. Wendy Gamber chronicles the life and times of this charming and persuasive Gilded Age confidence woman, who became famous not only as an accused murderess but also as an itinerant peddler of patent medicine and the supposed originator of the Ponzi scheme.

Professor John Stubbs, the pipe-smoking, beer-swilling amateur detective, investigates the strangulation of an elderly innkeeper. Humor and poetic turns of phrase highlight this atmospheric mystery, set in postwar London.

Mrs. Jeffries always keeps her friends close and now must keep an enemy even closer if she is going to catch a killer. . . . Inspector Nigel Nivens is not a nice man or a good investigator. In fact, he’s terrible at his job and has always done everything he can to make life difficult for Inspector Witherspoon. But even his powerful family can’t help him after he maliciously tried to hobble Witherspoon’s last homicide investigation. He’s been sent to a particularly difficult precinct in the East End of London as penance. When a paid informant is found shot in an alley, Nivens thinks that if he can crack the case, he’ll redeem himself and have a much-needed chance at impressing his superiors. But there’s one big problem with his plan—Niven’s distinct antique pistol is found at the scene of the crime and even more evidence is uncovered that links the Inspector to the murder. Despite their mutual dislike for Nivens, Mrs. Jeffries and Inspector Witherspoon know the man isn’t a cold-blooded killer. Now they’ll just have to prove it. . . .

Sir Edmund Leggett is flattered to be stalked by a young lady--who makes herself scarce after he's murdered in cold blood. The police hold the young woman to blame. But Inspector Witherspoon has other ideas and consults his housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries--who always gets to the heart of the matter.

A grourp of films or a character-based series, each complete on its own but sharing a common cast of main characters with continuing traits and a similar format, included are Alien, Austin Powers, Billy the Kid, Boston Blackie, The Bowery Boys, Captain Kidd, Charley Chan, The Cisco Kid, Davy Crockett, Dick Tracey, Dracula, Frankenstein, Gene Autry, The Green Hornet, King Kong, Living Dead, Marx Brothers, Matt Helm, Mexican Spitfire, Perry Mason, Peter Pan, The Range Busters, Sherlock Holmes, The Three Musketeers and The Wild Bunch. These and other character-based films are included in this book! 2 of 3 books.

The Comprehensive Film Guide to Amateur Sleuth, Detective & Police Stories of Film and Television. A look at the writers, Private Invetigators, Lawyers, and the Hollywood Personal that produced them, and other interesting stories that have Mystery and Intrigue.

"The ladies of the Mayfair Orchid and Exotic Plant Society are known for a bit of friendly rivalry, but the backstabbing has never been literal--until now. When Hiram Filmore, an orchid hunter and supplier, is found dead in Mrs. Helena Rayburn's conservatory, Inspector Witherspoon is called in to weed out a murderer. When it comes out that Mrs. Rayburn and her flowery friend knew each other from long ago, Mrs. Jeffries begins to suspect that there's more to unearth about this case. Now she, along with the rest of Inspector Witherspoon's household and friends, will have to dig up the past to figure out which gardening gentlewoman had a grudge worth killing for..."--Page 4 of cover.

Mrs. Jeffries and Inspector Witherspoon should be checking off their Christmas present list but instead they're listing murder suspects in this latest entry of the beloved Victorian Mystery series, now in paperback. Harriet Andover had no intention of dying young like her silly siblings had. She intended to outlive them and outdo them as she always had. But Harriet discovers that the best intentions can lead to murder when she is strangled inside her mansion with a house full of holiday guests. As much as Inspector Witherspoon enjoys his job delivering justice, the last thing he wanted was a complicated murder case just a week before Christmas. He soon discovers that Harriet's own husband and grown stepchildren are not overcome with grief and neither are most of her friends. And to put the icing on the Christmas cookies, the room where Harriet's body was found was locked from the inside and she had the only key in her pocket. Mrs. Jeffries and the household have no intention of letting their inspector down and learn that Harriet's sister may have died from foul play as well. As the clues mount, this dedicated band of merry sleuths will not rest until they've delivered a stocking full of coal to a crafty killer.