Edward D. Hoch Livres

With its roots in the American private-detective fiction of the 1920s but traceable back as far as Sherlock Holmes, the private-eye story remains as popular as ever. Here are thirty of the finest short novels and stories from the hardboiled world of the private eye. The characters in this collection range from the tough, cynical, hard-drinking Philip Marlowe type to hard-hitting female sleuths and the one-armed intellectual Dan Fortune. This collection features old favorites and new contributions from masters of the genre, past and present, including Ross Macdonald, Raymond Chandler, Sue Grafton, Marcia Muller, Michael Collins, Ed McBain, William Campbell Gault, and many more.

"Edward D. Hoch was the most ingenious of modern mystery writers. His stories off fair play cluing, convincing settings, and elaborate (sometimes bizarre) plots. [...] Hoch's ladies were often faced with seemingly impossible crimes -- throat cutting in a locked room, shooting of giant cacti, murder in a giant hot air balloon, stabbing in a shower with no one present, poisoning of Chinese food as a last meal of a murderer, and more ingenious methods that will keep the reader guessing."--Page 4 of cover.

Set against the backdrop of the Revolutionary War, the collection features thirteen stories of Alexander Swift, who interacts with iconic figures like George Washington and Benedict Arnold while serving the Continental Army. Complementing this historical narrative are five intriguing tales of Gideon Parrot, a flamboyant detective from the Golden Age, renowned for his clever problem-solving skills. Together, these characters offer a blend of historical intrigue and detective mystery.

A dozen marvelous tales of deduction, featuring history's most famous detective.

Novels by Doyle, Maugham, Charteris, MacDonald, Gardner, Woolrick, and Fleming deal with spies and secret agents in World Wars I and II and the cold war

Set in New England during the 1920s and 1930s, this collection centers on country doctor Sam Hawthorne, who tackles locked room mysteries and other impossible crimes. Among the twelve intriguing stories is a classic involving a horse and buggy that mysteriously disappears after entering a covered bridge. The book includes an introduction by the author, along with a chronology and bibliography of Sam Hawthorne by Marvin Lachman, enhancing the reader's understanding of this captivating character and his adventures.

-Leslie Charteris, "The Beauty Specialist:" The Saint battles a master criminal called the Z-Man.G.K. Chesterton, "The Oracle of the Dog:" This novella, about an impossible crime, is considered by many to be the best of the Father Brown stories. The Mystery Writers of America chose it as one of the best mysteries of all time.Michael Gilbert, "The Cleaners:" The only novella featuring Inspector Patrick Petrella. Mr. Gilbert won the 1987 MWA Grand Masters Award.Dorothy Sayers, "The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey:" In a rare adventure outside of Britain, Lord Peter becomes involved in strange doings in the Basque region of northern Spain.

Each year, for the past seventeen years, Mysterious Bookshop proprietor Otto Penzler has commissioned an original Christmas story by a leading suspense writer. These stories were then produced as pamphlets, just 1,000 copies, and given to customers of the bookstore as a Christmas present. Now, all seventeen tales have been collected in one volume, showcasing the talents of: Charles Ardai Lisa Atkinson George Baxt Lawrence Block Mary Higgins Clark Thomas H. Cook Ron Goulart Jeremiah Healy Edward D. Hoch Rupert Holmes Andrew Klavan Michael Malone Ed McBain Anne Perry S. J. Rozan Jonathan Santlofer Donald E. WestlakeSome of these stories are humorous, others suspenseful, and still others are tales of pure detection, but all of them together make up a charming collection and a perfect Christmas gift for all ages.

When a government official dies on the operating table, the president calls in the computer copsOn Venus, a radical exile escapes from a maximum-security prison, pledging to return to Washington and assassinate the president. Transport between Earth and the solar colonies is tightly regulated, but the exile knows a shortcut: the top-secret transvection machine, an experimental device that could theoretically be used to teleport men from planet to planet. Vander Defoe, the tool’s creator, is busy securing it when he feels a pain in his stomach: His appendix is about to explode.Defoe dies in the operating room during routine computerized surgery, and the case falls in the lap of the Computer Investigation Bureau, which has jurisdiction over all computer-related crimes. As the team tries to determine who corrupted the system that killed Defoe, it finds that in this case, all roads lead to Venus.

On a remote jungle island, a scientist toys with cryogenics and brain transplants.

From the likes of Robert Randisi, Peter Crowther, and Max Rittenberg, these 30 stories of bizarre and impossible crimes will fascinate and intrigue the reader who grapples with their intricate puzzles. A man alone in an all-glass phone booth, visible on CCTV and with no one near him, is killed by an ice pick. A man sitting alone in a room is shot by a bullet fired only once—over 200 years ago. A man enters a cable-car alone, and is visible for the entire journey, only to be found dead when he reaches the bottom. A man receives mail in response to letters apparently written by him — after his death. The Mammoth Book of Perfect Crimes and Impossible Mysteries is a stunning collection of brand new and previously unpublished stories, as well as many stories from rare mystery journals appearing for the first time in book form.

Edith Pargeter, who also writes under the name Ellis Peters, previously combined her passion for history and storytelling in her creation of the much-loved monk, Brother Cadfael. It was she who paved the way for many others to explore the past through the thriving field of historical mysteries, and for this she was loved by readers and other writers alike. Past Poisons is a bumper crop of outstanding new short stories by the leading American and British historical crime writers, all wishing to pay tribute to the work of Ellis Peters. Maxim Jakubowski is a former publisher and owner of the world-famous Murder One bookshop in London's Charing Cross Road. As well as being a writer and editor of various past cult publishing imprints, he is acknowledged as a disturbing and controversial voice in contemporary fiction. His collections have sold massively. He is a regular on television and radio where he is an expert on crime, erotica, and film. As a columnist for the Guardian he also writes on the arts for The Times. Maxim is literary director of the prestigious Crime Scene festival held at London's National Film Theatre. He is the author of many titles including Skin In Darkness, but also the editor for Past Poisons (An Ellis Peters Memorial Anthology of Historical Crime) and Murder Through the Ages.

Hochova každoroční antologie nejlepších detektivních příběhů roku je dychtivě očekávána čtenáři a spisovateli na celém světě. Nikomu se nedaří s takovou jistotou dosáhnout následujícího: vybrat vítěze ještě před udílením cen. Není tedy překvapením, že L. Blockova povídka (oceněná Mystery Writers America cenou Edgar) je zde zahrnuta spolu s řadou datších jedenácti dokonalých povídek. Hochovi se také daří dosáhnout něčeho, co mnozí považují za nemožné: sestaví antologii, která je natolik hluboká a zároveň široká, že zaujme prostě každého. Když zvážíme různorodé spektrum čtenářstva, je to opravdu vzácný a mimořádný výkon. Edward D. Hoch je spisovatel — sestavovatel antologií a autor detektivních povídek. Jeho práce se pravidelně objevují na stránkách časopisů Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine a Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

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