Classic Suspense Fiction

A wonderful collection of 30 of the greatest detective and mystery stories ever written. Featuring all the great classic sleuths, including Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, Max Carrados, Dr. Thorndyke and Madame Rosika Storey. 1. 'Who killed Charlie Winpole?' By Ernest Bramah 2. 'The Blue Cross' by G. K. Chesterton 3. 'The Problem of the Five Marks' by Melville Davisson Post 4. 'The Comedy at Fountain Cottage' by Ernest Bramah 5. 'The Mysterious Card' by Cleveland Moffett 6. 'The Card Unveiled' by Cleveland Moffett

Originally published in 1922 and translated by Takashi Kojima, this classic short story was the inspiration for Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon, about the murder of a samurai. Told from the perspective of multiple witnesses.

Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast manager Kelly Jackson is hosting a cooking class during the week of the Mushroom Festival to attract guests, not drama. But soon after she finishes foraging for an edible mushroom species on sacred Native American land, a local newspaper reporter gets shot dead at the same site. With suspicions spreading like fungi in the quaint Northern Californian community over the culprit's identity, Kelly and a savvy gang of sleuthing seniors known as the "Silver Sentinels" must uncover the truth about the secluded property.

Emily Starr never knew what it was to be lonely—until her beloved father died. Now Emily's an orphan, and her mother's snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm. She's sure she won't be happy. Emily deals with stiff, stern Aunt Elizabeth and her malicious classmates by holding her head high and using her quick wit. Things begin to change when she makes friends: with Teddy, who does marvelous drawings; with Perry, who's sailed all over the world with his father yet has never been to school; and above all, with Ilse, a tomboy with a blazing temper.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls comes the spellbinding tale of a party gone horribly wrong: two men lie dead in a suburban living room, two women are on the run from police, and a marriage is ripping apart at the seams. When Kristin Chapman agrees...

In Agatha Christie’s short story, “The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim,” to win a bet with Inspector Japp, Poirot solves the mysterious robbery and disappearance of a banker from his home, all without leaving his seat. Is the culprit the businessman Mr. Davenheim was supposed to meet? Or is the situation more complicated? This short story originally appeared in the March 28, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

Inspector Maigret is meant to be taking a holiday, but he can't resist following the development of his colleague Janvier's case in the papers - and playing a few tricks on the way. Standing at the window in the middle of the morning, vaguely observing the comings and goings in the street, he had a feeling that reminded him of certain days in his childhood, when his mother was still alive and he was off school because he had the flu or it was the end of term. It was the feeling of finding out what went on when he wasn't there.

This is a story from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes II collection. In this collection are four of the finest cases of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, narrated by his faithful friend and admirer Dr. Watson. What was the mystery of the engineer's thumb? What was behind the disappearance of the race horse? Why did masked royalty walk up to see Holmes in Baker Street? These and other puzzles are solved in this collection by this bloodhound of a genius.

This is a story from the The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes II collection.

A retired manufacturer has been shot dead by his own pistol, last seen alive by his son-in-law. In this seemingly motiveless murder, Inspector Maigret must rely on his famous intuition to discover the truth. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret and the Black Sheep.

Set against a high-profile hunt for the latest criminal gang to hit Paris, Maigret is determined to track down the murderer of a quiet crook for whom he cannot help feeling affection and respect. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret and the Idle Burglar.

Der Jugendliche Alex zieht mit drei anderen Rowdys durch die Straßen. Zum Spaß verprügeln sie hilflose Passanten, rauben Geschäfte aus...

No case is too slight for the mental powers of the Great Detective, in this second selection from The Return of Sherlock Holmes.

La historia se centra en dos mujeres, Martha y Mrs. Hale, quienes acompañan a sus esposos y al sheriff a la escena del crimen para recoger algunos objetos personales para la esposa encarcelada del granjero asesinado. A medida que los hombres buscan evidencias por toda la casa, las mujeres descubren pistas en la cocina que revelan una historia de desesperación y opresión.

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.

Ernest Malik had been right when he had looked at Maigret with a smile that was a mixture of sarcasm and contempt. This wasn't a case for him. He was out of his depth. This world was unfamiliar to him, and he had difficulty piecing it all together. Peacefully tending his garden in the countryside, Maigret is called upon to investigate a rich family with skeletons in their cupboard - and finds himself confronted by lies, snobbery and malice.

First published in 1911, The Innocence of Father Brown contains stories involving one of the greatest characters in the history of detective fiction: Father Brown. He is a Roman Catholic priest who has an uncanny insight into human evil. Rather than the large serial villains in, for example, Sherlock Holmes stories, the mysteries Father Brown solved were more local murders by small-town crooks, narrowing the suspect list down to those in the area of the crime.

Paris comes under siege when someone starts killing women on the streets one summer - and Maigret must hatch a plan to lure the murderer out. It was 4 August. The windows were wide open but brought no relief, since they allowed in even more warm air, which seemed to be rising from the melting tarmac, the burning hot stonework and even the Seine itself: one could imagine the river steaming like a pan of water on a stove.

During a quiet spell in June, Maigret, is called to investigate the disappearance of a reputable businessman. When a body is discovered near the famous Père Lachaise cemetery, Maigret struggles to find any clues to the perpetrator and loses his temper when his own reputation is threatened by the case.

Imperious, clever, mysterious: Maigret meets his match in the alluring form of Félicie in book 25 of the new Penguin Maigret series. In his mind's eye he would see that slim figure in the striking clothes, those wide eyes the colour of forget-me-not, the pert nose and especially the hat, that giddy crimson bonnet perched on the top of her head with a bronze-green feather shaped like a blade stuck in it.... Félicie had given him more trouble than all the 'hard' men who had been put behind bars.