A collection of suspense stories, puzzle stories, whodunits and tricky whydunits involving police detectives, private eyes, talented and sometimes lucky amateurs, armchair detectives, and ethnic detectives

Crackling, burning death waited for me in that quiet Georgia countryside... But I had to go back for three reasons: To get Lucy, to get the money — and to kill my brother Charlie!

Harrowing tales of mayhem, murder versus moonshine acting as counter irritants and prescribed by spine-tingling specialists chosen for you this month by the MASTER OF SUSPENSE

In that ill-assorted collection of relatives there was one who would do murder — for a fortune

When a man finds a girl running his business, it’s bad... But when he finds his partner murdered — it’s terrible!

It was a romantic setting — the right place, maybe the right girl — but instead of cocktails, it turned out to be

Paula Sloan had plenty of reason for killing her patient, and when he suddenly died things looked pretty bad for her!

To save Laura’s life — and maybe his own — Brad was forced to reveal a past that might cancel out his future

Frank’s shackles were never so heavy as they were after he’d shucked them

Three frightened people waited in that darkened room. Three, and a grim unwanted guest — Murder!

Amnestic Dash Smith couldn’t marry the lovely widow until he got rid of his double-crossing wife — and himself

Where there’s a will, there’s a way — and the grim, cold household, soggy with riches, waiting for the old man to die

With an iron-clad defense, Ralph Smith still had to remain silent when his last mile came. For a murder he’d never committed had trapped him hopelessly in the steel jaws of homicide justice

Steve had never even met the girl, yet her torrid love-making was leading him to the brink of disaster!

A walk on the wild side! In this series of collections of gritty Noir and Hardboiled stories, you’ll find some of the best writers of the craft writing in their prime

Joey had read all the psychological thrillers — but he never dreamed he’d get personally involved

Hen-pecked, shrinking Sylvester Sneed was not a heroic character... what could he do with his houseful of desperate criminals?

“Expenses: A couple of lives — and a gray worsted suit.”

There’s a price no man should pay ex-con Quinn learned — even to rub out a... deathhouse dolly

She was blind — but eventually there were many things she could see clearly — for instance, who had murdered her son!

He had murdered the old man in his mind — and now the living corpse demanded retribution

She was beautiful in life — and even in death! Detective Sergeant Mason wanted, above all, to work on the case because he was sure it was murder. And he vividly remembered when they had been in love

Unfortunate that Phineas Slack should die of sunstroke on the night of his reconciliation with his black-sheep nephew... and strange that the sun shone so strongly that night!

When the menu is murder, some eat crow — some eat buzzard

Welcome to The Seventh Ghost Story MEGAPACK®! Once more we have a wide-ranging assortment of supernatural fiction, with setting across the world — Europe, the Americas, Asia — and across the centuries. You will note that we have a larger than normal number of "Anonymous" stories. No, the authors weren't embarrassed by their contributions. Victorian-era literary magazines and newspapers often ran fiction without crediting the author, or with only vague terms like "A Lady," initials, or humorous pseudonyms (as with the story by "Q.E.D." in this volume). Authors later collected their stories in books, and that's when readers discovered who had actually written what. If a story never got reprinted, its author remained a mystery. Modern scholars are still researching these anonymous stories, but many authors will never be properly identified

She started as a fictitious character, but the body they found was real enough and so was the murder charge!

She was a woman alone, fighting for her life. But she had a weapon working for her stronger even than a murder rap. And used it!

The only clues Barney could follow on this desperate manhunt, were the smell of murder, and the silent message in a dying man’s eyes

Sam Tucker used his magic to save a friend — and woo a Sioux maiden

She was buxom, beautiful — and bad. She was my prey. Tonight I would prove it to her — and her husband