"In a few years of extraordinary creative energy, Dashiell Hammett invented the modern American crime novel." "The five novels that Hammett published between 1929 and 1934, collected here in one volume, have become part of modern American culture, creating archetypal characters and establishing the ground rules for a whole tradition of hardboiled writing." "Each novel is distinct in mood and structure. Red Harvest (1929), a raucous and nightmarish...

At an aging starlet's birthday, a Hollywood murder mystery debuts. Actress Tasheba Kent was famous before movies could talk, and stayed that way well after the silent era died. When her sister took a mysterious plunge off a cliff, the silver-screen beauty turned tragedy into scandal by running off with her bereaved brother-in-law. To escape the outraged press, they retreated to a rocky island off the coast of Maine. Decades later, Tash remains a symbol...

Pinkerton detective Jennifer Layne is working undercover as a parlor girl named Amy on a high profile case when a girl who is central to her investigation turns up dead, and handsome Tom Colton is a prime suspect.

Fifteen crime stories, each featuring a famous private eye. An opportunity to compare styles, although the title is a little misleading. They are only first cases in the domain of short fiction, many having made their debut in full-length novels.

When a hard-fighting detective arrives in Personville and finds that his client has been murdered, he decides to investigate local gangland activities.

When affirmative action robs him of a job, a New York chemist embarks on a campaign of revenge against the city. He bombs a university, a tunnel, a bridge and other landmarks and everywhere innocent people die. Two FBI agents go after him.

The Edgar Award-nominated author of 17 previous mystery novels, Susan Rogers Cooper spins perplexing whodunits that delight her many fans. In Romanced to Death, E.J. Pugh is six years removed from her last crime scene, but little does she know death awaits her at a romance writers convention.