Given its extraordinary span, its international scope, and its variant styles and groundbreaking stylists, A Century of Great Suspense Stories is a singular achievement. A bestselling master of suspense himself Jeffery Deaver had the enviable task of selecting from the thousands of stories written over the past one hundred years those which best represented the classic form, as well as the justly celebrated authors whose ironic twists and stunning payoffs left a lasting, vivid, and unnerving impression. The result is a triumph. In this ambitious anthology you’ll revel in the sardonic, overtly amoral plotting of Patricia Highsmith. You’ll rediscover the strangely poignant and surprising turns of Stanley Ellin, and the profoundly underrated Margaret Millar, a genius who mixed savage social satire with brooding horror. You’ll be treated to Stephen King at his chilling best. You’ll find yourself on the violent urban streets of Ross Macdonald and Mickey Spillane, and seeped in the ominous regional flavor of Sharyn McCrumb and Tony Hillerman. You’ll marvel at the cunning webs spun by Lawrence Block, Ruth Rendell, Anthony Boucher, and Sara Paretsky, all of whom defy expectations as they reinvent the genre. And you’ll understand the awesome reputations of those authors who set the standard, such as the legendary Harlan Ellison, Fredric Brown, the master of the twist ending, and James M. Cain, uncannily skilled at knowing what went on between men and women behind closed doors. (The darker the room the better.) Delivering everything from the one-two punch of the detective story to the ingeniously precise trappings of the police procedural, from the disquieting corners of the criminal mind to sheer dread-inducing horror, A Century of Great Suspense Stories is a rich anthology of this popular literary genre, a stunning tribute to the art of storytelling, and to the men and women who have done it best

His name was Regan. They called him the killer cop. He was accused of taking a bribe, and then murdering the man who gave it to him. The jury said he wasn't guilty — but his friends and his colleagues weren't convinced. So Regan had to prove it all over again — starting with the broad who poured him into a cab that fateful night. She was a big, beautiful redhead from a high class bordello, and when he found her, she was dead as doornails

What are the ingredients of a hard-boiled detective story? “Savagery, style, sophistication, sleuthing, and sex,” said Ellery Queen. Often a desperate blond, a jealous husband, and, of course, a tough-but-tender P.I. the likes of Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe. Perhaps Raymond Chandler summed it up best in his description of Dashiell Hammett’s style: “Hammett gave murder back to the kind of people that commit it... He put these people down on paper as they were, and he made them talk and think in the language they customarily used for these purposes.” Hard-Boiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories is the largest and most comprehensive collection of its kind, with over half of the stories never published before in book form. Included are thirty-six sublimely suspenseful stories that chronicle the evolution of this quintessentially American art form, from its earliest beginnings during the golden age of the legendary pulp magazine Black Mask in the 1920s, to the arrival of the tough digest Manhunt in the 1950s, and finally leading up to present-day hard-boiled stories by such writers as James Ellroy. Here are eight decades worth of the best writing about betrayal, murder, and mayhem: from Hammett’s 1925 tour de force “The Scorched Face,” in which the disappearance of two sisters leads Hammett’s never-named detective, the Continental Op, straight into a web of sexual blackmail amidst the West Coast elite, to Ed Gorman’s 1992 “The Long Silence After,” a gripping and powerful rendezvous involving a middle class insurance executive, a Chicago streetwalker, and a loaded .38. Other delectable contributions include “Brush Fire” by James M. Cain, author of The Postman Always Rings Twice, Raymond Chandler’s “I’ll Be Waiting,” where, for once, the femme fatale is not blond but a redhead, a Ross Macdonald mystery starring Macdonald’s most famous creator, the cryptic Lew Archer, and “The Screen Test of Mike Hammer” by the one and only Mickey Spillane. The hard-boiled cult has more in common with the legendary lawmen of the Wild West than with the gentleman and lady sleuths of traditional drawing room mysteries, and this direct line of descent is on brilliant display in two of the most subtle and tautly written stories in the collection, Elmore Leonard’s “3:10 to Yuma” and John D. MacDonald’s “Nor Iron Bars.” Other contributors include Evan Hunter (better known as Ed McBain), Jim Thompson, Helen Nielsen, Margaret Maron, Andrew Vachss, Faye Kellerman, and Lawrence Block. Compellingly and compulsively readable, Hard-Boiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories is a page-turner no mystery lover will want to be without. Containing many notable rarities, it celebrates a genre that has profoundly shaped not only American literature and film, but how we see our heroes and ourselves

The guns, the punks, the whores were dying too fast. A wise guy was speeding up the underworld’s death rate with a .38 Special. Lt. Joe Scanlon manhunts the tawdry dives and deadly alleys of the slum jungle... his cover, a gorgeous lady cop who plays sex-bait... his target, a one-shot assassin who’s killing off the killers

On a lively night at the Victory saloon in Trinidad, New Mexico, Sheriff Caleb York interrupts his poker game to settle a minor dust-up that raises the stakes into major trouble. The wounded miscreant he ushers to the hoosegow spills the secret behind the mysterious disappearance of a certain stage coach. Bound for Denver, the stage carried three important passengers — beautiful ranch owner Willa Cullen, lovely temptress Rita Filley, and wealthy banker Raymond L. Parker. The two women are rivals for the lawman’s love, while Parker is a key investor in Trinidad’s future. But all are gone, with only the corpses of fellow passengers as bullet-ridden clues. York follows a trail of blood to a ghost town known as Hell Junction. To rescue his lady friends and the banker, he must infiltrate an outlaw den... and pray no one among the thieves, killers, and kidnappers will recognize him. With only his desert rat deputy to back him up, York must free the captives, round up the badmen — and, whenever necessary, send them straight to Hell

Here, collected for the first time, are the earliest short stories bylined Mickey Spillane... all written between 1941 and 1942

Enter a world of seedy nightclubs, dangerous, dimly-lit street and cool, wisecracking dicks pitting themselves against armies of ruthless gangsters. This is pulp fiction, a genre spawned amid the disillusionment of post-World War I America — and now reaching new heights of popularity.　 Writers like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett turned that unique blend of rapid-fire action, violence and cynical humour into an art form that is being recreated by a fresh wave of young writers whose stories have all the drama and atmosphere of their predecessors’.　 This page-turning collection, brought together by a true aficionado of the hardboiled story, includes, of course, Chandler and Hammett, but also Mickey Spillane, Ross MacDonald, Ed McBain and James Hadley Chase from the vintage years and from the current generation James Ellroy, Elmore Leonard and Quentin Tarantino, to name just a few of the twenty great writers featured here. Even Stephen King, doyen of the world of horror, has turned his hand to pulp fiction and is represented in this book.　 The world of the hard-drinking, fast-action, apparently indestructible private eye, personified by Chandler’s creation, Philip Marlowe, was never more vibrant. It’s all here, and more, in a book that no fan of the genre can afford to miss

A legendary and retired police chief lies in a New York hospital bed, visited by two strangers: the first is ex-cop-turned-PI Mike Hammer, whose life was saved more than once by the old man. To the detective, the chief gives a mysterious key. The second visitor murders the chief, mere days before he would have died from natural causes. Someone is trying to tie up loose ends, and Mike Hammer is the only one with the evidence and calculation to ferret him or her out

From New York Times bestselling authors Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins — the legend of Caleb York continues as the renowned gunslinger fights to bring justice to the blood-soaked streets of Trinidad, New Mexico. Caleb York has made up his mind and packed his bags. He’ll be on the next stage, bound for San Diego and a new life as a Pinkerton man. But before Caleb can say a proper goodbye to his sweetheart, Willa, a peaceful morning erupts into blazing gunfire. Someone has to bring law and order to the wild little town of Trinidad, even as a band of outlaw brothers rides the vengeance trail and a new cattle baron sets his sights on more land... and on Willa, too. Looks like Caleb will be staying on for a while. With his Colt loaded for justice, and a sheriff’s badge on his chest, Caleb York emerges as a classic Western hero who knows just how to stand up to the deadliest of enemies — and win

Mickey Spillane’s larger-than-life lawman Caleb York is back — in the latest tough-as-nails Western novel from New York Times bestselling author Max Allan Collins. This time Caleb may be outnumbered... but not outgunned. The Santa Fe Railroad wants to build a spur through Trinidad, New Mexico, linking the town to the cattle trade. Only one man stands against it — rancher George Cullen. At the request of the town council, Sheriff Caleb York rides out to the Bar-O to reason with his old friend. Even Cullen’s daughter Willa, Caleb’s former flame, is for the railroad. But the stubborn blind rancher won’t budge. Cullen’s former partner, Burt O’Malley, has recently returned from a twenty-year stint in the pen for manslaughter. And hired gun Alver Hollis, the much-feared Preacherman, has also shown up with two cronies, claiming they’re in town for the biggest poker game in the territory. With murder in the wind, the whole town’s in danger. Who will be the next target? To bring a killer to justice, and protect the woman he loves, Caleb York must strap down his Colt .44, enter the big game, and bet his life on the turn of a card... and the speed of his draw

Mickey Spillane’s latest mystery features a new and special type of hero — a man assigned a government mission because he is so outstanding a criminal. Morgan the Raider, so called because his audacity compares to that of the famous pirate of old, stands convicted of having stolen $40,000,000. He is good at stealing himself out of jail, too; he has already escaped from custody once. Now he is offered a chance for a reduced sentence — but at the risk of his life. For he must get himself Into Latin American escape-proof prison, a granite torture fortress known as the Pose Castle, in order to find and free an important scientist. A beautiful American agent is assigned the job of accompanying — and watching — him, and he is scrutinized a lot less pleasantly by the Latin American rulers and an unknown assailant. Mickey Spillane introduces Morgan the Raider in a novel which is at once an exciting mystery and a wonderfully colorful adventure story

Dogeron Kelly, a walking bomb of a man, and Sharon Cass, a bright and beautiful girl old enough to know her own mind — and that mind is set on saving her precious gifts for the right man — are the star-crossed lovers of this new blockbuster by one of the world’s most popular writers. All the rest is sex, violence, intrigue. A baronial old-family manor, high-level international illegal traffic, paid mobsters, café society, the rich and the beautiful, the vicious and the criminal, all are part of the fast-moving plot of the best Spillane ever. This is gripping entertainment if ever there was: colorful, expert, impossible to put down. It is the first major Spillane novel that isn’t a Mike Hammer detective story, but the Spillane fan will recognize the touch of the master

the sub-chieftain of East Side prostitution died on silken sheets in a high rise apartment building whose door he thought was absolutely pick-proof. Nobody heard a shot. Nobody saw an intruder... With that, Spillane’s high-octane prose zeroes in on the no-holds-barred story of Gillian Burke, The Gill, an ex-cop who loves hard and hates hard. Mainly he hates the syndicate. Ever since the syndicate maneuvered him off the force, he’s made it his business to know what the syndicate was up to. When some of the syndicate’s most important operators are put out of business, violently and permanently, by a mysterious assassin, Gill is persuaded to put his badge back on and see if he can find the killer before any innocent people get hurt. His investigation has hardly begun when he becomes involved, in unforeseen dangerous ways, with a ruby-lipped cop’s daughter in the pay of a syndicate higher-up and with Helga, a luscious Swedish blonde. The scenes of passion have a vivid frankness unheard-of in previous Spillane mysteries. Explosive sex and top-notch suspense guarantee to keep the reader gasping till the satisfying and surprising end

Gentle Reader: You’ve probably never been suspected of embezzling a bank of two hundred thousand bucks, or of murdering a D.A., and I sure hope you never have been. I was suspected of having done both. That was six years ago, in Lyncastle, a small town in the Middle West. It was too much for me at the time and, while nothing was ever proved either way, I lit out of town for the West and wound up in the oil fields of Oklahoma. At least that’s the way Johnny McBride told it to me, and we became great buddies. The funny thing about it was that we looked exactly alike — nobody could tell us apart. It was pretty confusing for a while, but it was sort of run, too. We had some great rimes together, and I decided I’d come back to Lyncastle to see what I could find out about this mess. Knowing Johnny as well as I did, I was pretty sure Johnny wasn’t guilty. Well, I found our all right. I found out plenty! It’s a good thing I can take it because by the time I got through I had taken just about everything chat Lyncastle could hand out. But it wasn’t altogether one-sided on char score; I can dish it our, too! If you like things rough and tough The Long Wait is for you. You won’t have as long a wait to get your satisfaction as I had to get mine. Signed, Johnny

The word “legend” truly applies to Mickey Spillane, whose mystery novels have endured as bestsellers for more than half a century. This unique book collects several of his first-rate stories that have never appeared in a Spillane book before. Three of the stories center on Spillane’s love of flying and his experiences as a pilot. “Hot Cat” — under the title “The Flier” — was the title novella of a rare British paperback. A typical macho mystery, it’s vintage Spillane. “I’ll Die Tomorrow” is another real find. Unseen since it was published in the January 1953 edition of Cavalier, it’s one of Spillane’s toughest, purest crime stories — no nice-guy P.I. here. “Affair with the Dragon Lady” is an uncharacteristically warm, nostalgic piece. And “The Veiled Woman” is the controversial science fiction yarn that had input from another great pulp writer, Howard Browne. “The Night I Died” is a Mike Hammer story, with all the classic Spillane ingredients: betrayal, sex, gangsters, and revenge. Two real-life vignettes — “Toys for the Man Child” and “The Chinatown Man” — round out this collection of “lost Spillane.” A true delight for crime fiction fans, this edition is sure to become a collector’s item

На глазах Майка Хаммера плачущий парень с младенцем зашел в бар, поцеловал своего ребенка, вышел на улицу и оставил его сиротой. Детективу не понравилось произошедшее, и он взялся за расследование без заказчика, от своего имени. Следы привели его в подпольные букмекерские конторы, к гангстерам, ставкам на скачках и большому шантажу…

Вы не прочь проникнуть в тайны крупнейших финансовых сделок и фантастического обогащения? А может вас увлекает профессионализм и азарт следователей, раскрывающих маниакальных убийц? Тогда роман Дэвида Александера «Бродвей», в котором жизнь человека порой не стоит ломаного гроша, для вас. Лучшим традициям крутого детектива соответствует повесть признанного мастера этого жанра Микки Спиллейна. Волею случая инспектор уголовного розыска Дик Стэн попадает в дом Деррика и сталкивается с происшествием — непрошенные гости: очаровательная женщина обыскивает связанного сторожа. На стакане, в который было подсыпано снотворное, найдены отпечатки пальцев убийцы. Как разоблачить преступника? Об этом роман корифея детективов Эдгара Уоллеса «Мания»

Содержание: 1. Я сам вершу свой суд 2. Мой револьвер быстр 3. Месть — мое личное дело 4. Большое убийство 5. Ночь одиночества 6. Целуй меня страстно 7. Охотники за девушкой 8. Змея 9. Тварь 10. Любители тел 11. Шанс выжить — ноль 12. Черная аллея

Содержание: 1. День пистолетов 2. Кровавый рассвет (Перевод: Павел Рубцов) 3. Торговцы смертью (Перевод: Павел Рубцов) 4. Короткое замыкание (Перевод: И. Мансуров)

Книга и тайна, книга и преступление – истории, вошедшие в этот сборник, связывает книжная тема. Вы узнаете о незваном госте, явившемся к Зигмунду Фрейду, о том, как знаменитый Коломбо разоблачил убийцу из книжного магазина, как любовь к книге сгубила главу мексиканского наркокартеля и как Лондонская библиотека оказалась хранилищем смертельно опасных тайн… В эту антологию, составленную по инициативе Отто Пенцлера, лауреата премий «Эдгар», «Эллери Куин» и «Ворон» за вклад в развитие и пропаганду детективного направления в литературе, вошли оригинальные работы известных мастеров остросюжетного жанра. Среди авторов и такие «крутые» авторы, как Кен Брюен, Рид Фаррел Коулмен, Лорен Эстлеман, Микки Спиллейн, Макс Аллан Коллинз, и создатели книг-бестселлеров Нельсон Демилль, Энн Перри, Джеффри Дивер, и лауреаты премии «Эдгар» Чарльз Дж. Бокс, Томас Кук, Лора Липпман

В сборник вошли произведения американских авторов: Микки Спиллейна "Месть - мое личное дело", Ричарда С.Праттера "Труп с выпученными глазами", Эрла Стенли Гарднера "Дело молчаливого партнера"

В сборник вошли произведения американских авторов: Микки Спиллейна "Месть - мое личное дело", Ричарда С.Праттера "Труп с выпученными глазами", Эрла Стенли Гарднера "Дело молчаливого партнера"

Герой возвращается после двадцатилетнего отсутствия, чтобы унаследовать гангстерскую «империю» и найти убийцу своего друга

Читателя очередного сборника, выходящего в серии «Bestseller», ждет знакомство с тремя остросюжетными историями, рассказанными известнейшими мастерами детективного жанра. Герой одной из них (М. Спиллейн «Дип») возвращается после двадцатилетнего отсутствия, чтобы унаследовать гангстерскую «империю» и найти убийцу своего друга. Герои следующей истории (Д.Д. Карр «Месть „Красной вдовы"») пытаются проникнуть в тайну комнаты, в которой, по преданию, ждет неминуемая смерть любого, кто проведет в ней в одиночестве два часа. Герой же третьей истории (Ч. Вильямс «В аду все спокойно») всеми возможными способами старается скрыть тайну своего преступления. Содержание: Микки Спиллейн. Дип Джон Диксон Карр. Месть «Красной вдовы» Чарльз Вильямс. В аду все спокойно

Три романа с разными героями составляют сборник Микки Спиллейна «Долгое ожидание». Фаворит детективного жанра не позволил себе нарушить главное из «Двадцати правил для пишущих детективы» С. С. ван Дайна, и читателю обеспечена равная с сыщиком возможность по распутыванию тайн борьбы одиночки со всесильными мафиозными структурами

В книгу вошли произведения представителей старшего поколения мастеров детективного жанра. Романы американского писателя Микки Спиллейна «Долгое ожидание» и англичанина Виктора Каннинга «Письма Скорпиона» объединяет умело выстроенная интрига, сложные сюжетные перипетии. В центре их — сильная личность героя-одиночки, вступившего в борьбу с хорошо организованной криминальной системой и вопреки обстоятельствам победившего

В настоящее издание вошли три остросюжетных романа.  Детектив Майк Хаммер становится на защиту бывшего преступника, которого подозревают в похищении сына известного ученого. Полиция завлекает самого крутого гангстера Нью-Йорка Райана на службу. Ему необходимо разыскать некоего Лодо. Того, кто пытался выйти на его след до Райана, вскоре находят мертвым ("Я, гангстер").  В издание также вошли романы Р. Ладлэма "Уикенд Остермана" и Д. Карре "Звонок мертвецу"

Рафаэль Сабатини. ЛЮБОВЬ И ОРУЖИЕ Роберт Силверберг. БАЗИЛИУС Микки Спиллейн. ЛИКВИДАТОР Гилберт Кийт Честертон. КОНЕЦ ПЕНДРАГОНОВ

Настоящим мужчинам не привыкать встречаться лицом к лицу со смертельной опасностью и преодолевать трудности. Они не отступают даже когда на них объявлена настоящая охота. Догерону Келли приходится уворачиваться от мафиози, которые подозревают его в краже крупной партии наркотиков

Микки Спиллейн — популярный американский писатель, признанный мастер детективного жанра. В настоящем сборнике автор представлен детективами: «Целуй меня страстно». «Любители тел» и «Короткое замыкание». В первых двух произведениях читатель встречается с уже знакомым ему частным сыщиком Майком Хаммером, а в третьем детективе читателя ожидает знакомство с новым героем Тайгером Менном

Активные, решительные действия, сила, мужество, ум и здоровый юмор — отличительные черты героев впервые публикуемых на русском языке произведений известных мастеров американского детектива. Произведения, вошедшие в сборник, опубликованы на языке оригинала до 27 мая 1973 года

В очередной, второй выпуск сборника «Крутой детектив США» вошли два детектива известных мастеров этого жанра — Мики Спиллейна и Хью Пенткоста. Произведения, вошедшие в сборник, опубликованы на языке оригинала до 27 мая 1973 года

В третий выпуск предлагаемой серии вошли романы классиков американского «крутого детектива» Р. Стаута, Р. Чандлера и М. Спиллейна. Произведения, вошедшие в сборник, опубликованы на языке оригинала до 27 мая 1973 года

Какво се случва с Майк Хамър? … Преди седем години той е изпратил момичето, което обича, да изпълни една задача. И тя повече не се връща. От този момент нататък започва неудържимото пропадане на Майк Хамър. Той се налива до забрава… докато накрая завършва в канавката. И тогава последните думи на един умиращ предизвикват у превърналия се в безнадежден алкохолик частен детектив невероятен шок, който разтърсва до дъно упоеното му съзнание и го изтръгва от небитието. Велда е жива! Но не за дълго — ако Хамър не успее да я открие навреме…