American Detective Fiction

An historian, who is convinced that the memoirs of 19th-century Shoshone heroine Sacajawea are stashed somewhere on the reservation, has disappeared.

Film star Sharon David travels to Wind River country, convinced that she was adopted at birth from the reservation.

Someone has left three dead Shoshones on an historic battlefield, positioned to mimic the bodies of those Arapahos killed in the slaughter. Frankie Montana, attorney Vicky Holden's latest client, is a frequent guest of the reservation's holding cells, and after a recent heated encounter with the three dead men, is the number one suspect in their deaths. But despite his faults, Vicky doesn't believe he is capable of murder.

Historical photographs are on display at the museum of St. Francis Mission on the Arapaho reservation, and history seems doomed to repeat itself. A descendant of the tribal chief who appeared in the pictures has been shot to death, and the museum's curator has disappeared. The two incidents may be linked to a near century-old murder.

A short story from the British Library Tales of the Weird collection Evil Roots. Best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, this short story by Conan Doyle preceded the famous detective by almost a decade. After an altercation, a disgruntled American storms off into the night, only to disappear mysteriously. Could a giant flytrap really be capable of engulfing an adult victim?

Cara is on the cusp of adventure. Unlike her best friends, she doesn’t want to go to college; she wants different kinds of challenges. And anyway, home just doesn’t fit anymore. She is growing distant from her friends and hasn’t spoken to her father in eons. To make matters worse, her ex-boyfriend and fellow climber, Nat, has popped back into town after breaking up with her over text. So it’s the perfect time to leave, and she has big plans for a gap year to rock-climb in Patagonia. But when Cara hears that her father is actually missing, things change.

Mary Roberts Rinehart was an American writer, most well-known for her mystery novels. She was often called the American Agatha Christie, though her first novel, The Circular Staircase, was published years before Christie's. The Circular Staircase is as complex a mystery as anyone could wish for, full of twists and turns, mysterious intruders, a murder and kidnapping, bank failure, all revolving around the sinister staircase itself. 

One moment, the lovely young woman was walking through the Battle of Hastings exhibition at the British Museum. The next, she lay dead on the checkered museum floor, a Norman arrow protruding from her breast. Inspector Lestrade believed he had solved the mystery, but almost immediately recognized that Scotland Yard needed the help of Sherlock Holmes.

The Theory of Irv provides a suspenseful journey through not just the storyline of the book’s plot, but an overview of American health policy. How it came to be a hundred years ago. How it has adapted in the last several decades. Perhaps more importantly, how we can fix it so we can have better health and health care for all Americans into the future.

In 1910, American author and social critic Jack London began writing The Assassination Bureau, Ltd., a work that he never completed. Now, thanks to the recently discovered manuscript of Dr. John Watson, we know why. The early part of London's book describes a secret organization - scoffed at or ignored by police officials - that conspires to murder influential political and social leaders. Not until Sherlock Holmes is provoked into action by threats close to home does anyone appear able to stop the Assassination Bureau.

Sherlock Holmes had never met a writer who had ridiculed him as bitterly as Samuel L. Clemens had. For that matter, Holmes had never met a writer who fancied himself a detective. Yet Sam Clemens not only unraveled Holmes' investigation into the murder of the hot-blooded woman on Thor Bridge, but also, while writing as Mark Twain, belittled Holmes' highly-touted detecting skills. In this recently discovered narrative, Doctor Watson sets the record straight.

They called her Lady Stewart when she was married to a British aristocrat. They called her Miss Cora when she ran a brothel in Florida. But she called herself Mrs. Crane when she asked Sherlock Holmes to locate her common-law husband, writer Stephen Crane, who'd gone missing in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. In their attempt to fulfil the lady's request, Holmes and Watson encounter a world of celebrity authors, terrorist bombings, and haunted manor houses.

When misadventure led a schoolboy in London to employment at Baker Street, few could have guessed where his introduction to Sherlock Holmes would lead. But as the lad matures and he finds himself caught in the middle of a murder investigation, his friendship with Holmes and Watson lures him into the role of detective. 'Billy' documents his experiences, and soon his sleuthing skills not only bring him to another murder, but also lay the foundation for his metamorphosis into a famous mystery writer.

In his undead quest for justice, Felix Gomez - detective vampire extraordinaire - has traveled from dusty desert battlefields, to gritty urban barrios, to the deepest corners of outer space. Now he's about to embark on his wildest adventure yet: back to an alternative past of steam-powered technology, telepathic magic, and intrigue more deadly and unforgiving than any he has ever encountered. There, he's a renowned pistolero hired to find the missing daughter of notorious Chinese gangster Wu-Fei.

Two corpses, a stolen diamond necklace, a Russian connection, and a dandified American writer who pals around with denizens of the theater - all add up to a murder investigation with international implications. Leave it to Sherlock Holmes who, in a classic assemblage of suspects in a high-tone British men’s club, employs his celebrated powers of deduction to reveal the guilty party.

Charmaine Joliet gets an offer she wants to refuse but can't. Someone from the old neighborhood knows a dark secret, one that could make Charmaine and her younger sister Jessi homicide suspects. But she'll keep quiet a price. The client "hires" Charmaine to help rid her of an unwanted rich husband. Meanwhile, troubled Jessi is in jail again for assault. The police would believe Jessi is capable of murder and that Charmaine is willing to be an accessory to protect her.

Self-made expatriate billionaire Jet Taylor spearheads a strong-armed force of militia well on its way to resolution of every contemporary American problem. Standing directly in the juggernaut’s way is his daughter, Natalie Taylor, deputy director of the FBI. She will bring her father in, apprehend him, dead or alive. Failure is not an option, for Natalie or for the American nation.

Jane Prescott is taking a break from her duties as lady's maid for a week, and plans to begin it with attending the hottest and most scandalous show in town: The opening of an art exhibition, showcasing the cubists, that is shocking New York City. 1913 is also the 50th anniversary of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation speech, and the city's great and good are determined to celebrate in style.

A young inventor - the man whose name appears in the title of Dr. Watson’s narrative, “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans”—lies dead on the floor of an old house, two bullet holes in his back. To solve the gruesome murder, Sherlock Holmes enlists the aid of William Gillette, the celebrated American actor renown for his portrayal of the famous detective, and Arthur Conan Doyle, conveniently familiar with the world of spiritualism that serves as backdrop to the brutal crime.