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

The 9-word clue was one of 9 cryptic notes that had been sent to taunt Inspector Queen and Ellery 9 days after the murder. Nino Importuna had been obsessed with the number. He had lived by it. Now the killer who brought a trio of gory deaths to Nino's 9th-floor penthouse at No. 99 East was camouflaging his identity in a jungle of 9s. And daring Ellery to find him. The case was destined to be a dazzling contest of wits-to the 9th degree!

It all begins when Ellery Queen receives a manuscript that appears to be a genuine Sherlock Holmes novel written by John H. Watson, M.D. Where did it come from? The manuscript itself tells the long-concealed story of how Holmes stalked Jack the Ripper—and discovered who he was! Now you can follow Ellery Queen—the logical successor to Sherlock Holmes—as he literally follows the greatest detective of them all. The story of “Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper” is presented with the full approval of the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and is a legitimate addition to the Holmes canon

At last another full-length mystery story by Ellery Queen — his first in three years. Observe Queen, detective, as he realizes that a murder is to be committed, as he watches the supposed murderer before the crime, as be sees the death but even then isn’t sure of the who and the why. Follow the intensely dramatic trial scene, then unravel with Queen the solution which bring happiness to those who should be happy and punishment to those who deserve it. Of course, Ellery Queen didn’t want to get into all this trouble, for the went to the small town of Wrightsville under a pseudonym to write a novel. Neither did he intend to fall for Patricia nor did he want to get in the middle of malicious gossip with wicked results in a town turned topsy-turvy by a murder. “Calamity Town” has action, excitement, novelty, atmosphere. With some security, the publisher queries: “Will this be considered a minor classic in the field of the American mystery novel?”

January Janus, the god of two faces, and a college alumni class introduce Ellery to a secret society... February Ellery wrestles with the ghost of a President of the United States to solve a buried coin mystery... March A stolen income-tax form, a kleptomaniac, a bookie, and an artist become the ingredients of a murder... April Ellery unravels an old crime with the help of the Roman Emperor, Caligula, and a pair of dice... May A battle-scarred bugle and three Civil War veterans almost baffle Ellery... June The goddess Juno, shades of the Borgias, and a modern Helen of Troy play havoc with a June wedding... July A stone gargoyle, falling from a gloomy, Gothiclike tower, nearly causes sudden death... August In the moonstone month, Ellery hunts for buried treasure... September A Missouri professor, interested in Edgar Allen Poe, leads Ellery to a frightening conclusion... October A Halloween party turns out to be more grim than expected... November Ellery and Nikki deliver Thanksgiving baskets to the needy and discover a dangerous secret... December The famous jewel thief, Comus, nearly outwits Ellery in a Christmas mystery of dolls, danger and deception

Ellery Queen’s subtle attack on his longest and most complicated ease to dale developed out of a baffling series of murders in New York City. Victim followed victim with no apparent connection except that each was found strangled by a cord of India silk. The city’s tension mounted to mob hysteria. First in a cartoonist’s drawing, then in the feverish minds of the citizens, especially in that of Ellery himself, stalked the CAT, adding a new tail with each new murder, brandishing also a huge question mark — who would be the next victim? Clues were nonexistent. Ellery had to employ all his canny skill and play every hunch before he could find even a hopeful direction in which to move. Then he opened the throttle, using the police, the mayor, the psychiatrists, even the enamored heirs of two of the CAT’S victims, to speed into a climax as astounding as it is incontrovertible

Who are you, Malone? Just a little while ago you were a cop. That was before the two punks and their girl hit town. That was before they boosted a payroll and shot down a man and took your 9-year-old daughter as insurance to cover their getaway. Now you're just a man. Scared. Not for yourself-that would be easy. But for your child, the only thing in the world you love enough to make you play ball with the kind of scum you've hated all your life

"Zufall?" Ellery seufzte. "Würden Sie es auch als Zufall bezeichnen, wenn ich Ihnen erzählte, daß vor einem halben Jahr in West Virginia ein Mord verübt worden ist, zu dessen Besonderheiten die Kreuzigung des zuvor enthaupteten Opfers an einem T­förmigen Wegweiser zählte, der widerum an eine T-förmigen Kreuzung stand. Nicht zu vergessen das T, das der Mörder mit dem Blut des Toten an die Tür seines kaum hundert Meter entfernten Hauses geschmiert hat?" Ellery Queen ist das gemeinsame Pseudonym von Frederic Danney (1905 - 1982) und Manfred Bennington Lee (1905 - 1971), die zu den einflussreichsten und produktivsten Kriminalromanautoren gehören. Die der Übersetzung zugrundeliegende amerikanische Originalausgabe erschien 1932 unter dem Titel »The Egyptian Cross Mystery« bei Frederick A. Stokes, New York

»Laßt uns über die Verdienste von Mr. Field zu einem passenderen Zeitpunkt reden«, sagte der Inspektor ernst. »Ich weiß eine Menge über ihn, und nichts ist besonders erfreulich.« Er drehte sich um und wollte schon weggehen, als Ellery, der die ganze Zeit angestrengt auf die Leiche und den Sitz starrte, fragte: »Ist hier schon etwas entfernt worden, Dad – irgend etwas?« Inspektor Queen wandte sich um. »Wie kommst du zu dieser klugen Frage, junger Freund?«  »Wenn mich nicht alles täuscht«, antwortete Ellery leicht blasiert, »liegt der Zylinder von dem Knaben weder unter dem Sitz noch auf dem Boden neben ihm oder sonstwo in der näheren Umgebung.«  »Das ist dir also auch aufgefallen, Ellery?« sagte der Inspektor grimmig. Es war das erste, was ich sah, als ich mich runterbeugte, um ihn zu untersuchen – oder vielmehr das erste, was ich nicht sah.« Ellery Queen ist das gemeinsame Pseudonym von Frederic Danney (1905-1982) und Manfred Bennington Lee (1905-1971). Sie gehören mit zu den einflußreichsten und produktivsten Kriminalromanautoren. »Der mysteriöse Zylinder«, der erste Band der Reihe der Ellery-Queen-Romane, liegt hier erstmals in ungekürzter deutscher Übersetzung vor. Von Ellery Queen ist in der DuMont’s KriminalBibliothek ebenfalls erschienen: »Sherlock Holmes und Jack the Ripper« (Band 1017). © 1929 by Ellery Queen

Über Langeweile konnten sich die sechs geladenen Gäste ganz sicher nicht beklagen. Dem einen wurde Gift serviert – da waren’s nur noch fünf. Ein anderer wurde aufgespießt – da waren’s nur noch vier. Rechnet man den verflixt gut aussehenden Gastgeber Dr. Jack Richmond und seine Gattin noch dazu, dann waren’s wieder sechs. Detektivleutnant Masters begann aber gar nicht erst zu rechnen – er kombinierte. Er kam der Lösung auch verteufelt nahe, aber erst ein vergessener Hausschlüssel half ihm, das Rätsel zu lösen. Titel der amerikanischen Originalausgabe BLOW HOT BLOW COLD Copyright © 1964 by Ellery Queen Deutsche Übersetzung von Gisela Stege

Heredera que huye, padre implacable, madre angustiada, novio en un aprieto. ¿Qué más se puede pedir para empezar?`. Pues aún hay más: una escritora empeñada en contar una buena historia, un hombre dedicado a la adoración del cuerpo, a quien le diagnotican un cáncer, quizás, un impostor, un cadáver fugitivo y un detective kantiano de los que piensan que la razón pura es el bien esencial para descubrir las trampas de este caótico mundo

Ellery Queen y su padre deben poner todo su ingenio a trabajar para resolver un caso en el que todo parece duplicado: los muertos, los hermanos, las claves, las soluciones y quizá incluso los culpables. Pero no hay nada que se resista a la sagacidad e imaginación de los Queen

No suspense collection is complete without this anthology. Originally published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, the stories in this volume represent many of the biggest names in detective and suspense fiction: Ellery Queen, Harold Q. Masur, Celia Fremlin, Jack Ritchie, Patricia Highsmith and Bill Pronzini are only a few of the prize-winning authors in this amazing volume

a book to remember... In this book you will investigate crime with such Famous Detectives as Perry Mason Nero Wolfe Ellery Queen and read stories of detection and suspense by such Famous Mystery Writers as Agatha Christie John Dickson Carr George Harmon Coxe Charlotte Armstrong Hugh Pentecost and be surprised at tales of mystery and crime by such Famous Literary Figures as W. Somerset Maugham Ben Hecht, John Van Druten A book to remember, a book to read and reread — a book to treasure and keep permanently in your library

In his spirited Introduction to a topnotch collection of Great American Detective Stories, Anthony Boucher says: “The detective short story belongs to us. It started in America and it started off magnificently. In five stories, Edgar Allan Poe created the form and almost all its possible variants... There are as many kinds of detective short stories as there are of detective novels — and you’ll find most of them here, from the ethical poetry of Melville Davisson Post to the brash foolery of Frank Gruber.” A glance at some of the titles of the stories included confirms Boucher’s modest words and guarantees that you’ll find plenty of good reading here

From the very beginning, the Khalkis case struck a somber note. It began, as was peculiarly harmonious in the light of what was to come, with the death of an old man. Georg Khalkis, internationally famous art dealer and collector, died of heart failure. After his funeral, his attorney found that the will was missing and immediately called in the district attorney. When Inspector Queen and his son, Ellery, are brought in to solve the mystery of the missing will, Ellery mentions the one place they have not searched for the will... the coffin! Upon exhumation of the Khalkis coffin they find that it contained not one body — but two!

Ellery Queen, il famoso giallista-detective, decide di trasferirsi nella pacifica cittadina di Wrightsville in cerca di tranquillità e colore locale per il suo prossimo romanzo; il posto sembra ideale, quieto fino alla noia, e gli abitanti sono una splendida fonte di ispirazione, con i loro tic e i piccoli vizi da provincia americana. Ellery passa il tempo leggendo e passeggiando, ma ama anche ascoltare le chiacchiere dei cittadini del piccolo centro. I pettegolezzi più gustosi ruotano intorno al matrimonio, improvviso quanto imprevedibile, tra la ricca Nora Wright e Jim, il giovane che anni prima l’aveva abbandonata a due passi dall’altare. Quando Nora inizia a soffrire di un male misterioso, l’intera città si trasforma in un covo di vipere e tutti sono pronti ad accusare l’uomo di avere avvelenato la moglie. Ma è possibile che Jim abbia sposato il suo antico amore solo per ucciderla? Naturalmente Ellery non riuscirà a scrivere una sola riga, impegnato come sarà a scoprire l’insospettabile verità nascosta dietro il primo delitto che la sonnacchiosa Wrightsville abbia conosciuto da molto tempo

A quarter of a century’s requests from many thousands of Ellery Queen fans all over the world have finally borne fruit. At long last, here is a full-fledged murder mystery investigated and solved by Inspector Richard Queen without so much as a single deduction’s help from his celebrated son. But Inspector Queen’s Own Case is far more than a baffling murder mystery. It is also a tender, understanding story of middle-aged people everywhere who find themselves put out to pasture on a pension to face an empty old age. Ellery’s father was spending the summer with friends at their beach house on the Connecticut shore. It should have been a golden summer, but all the Inspector could think about was his enforced uselessness. The old pro had been retired — the Administrative Code made no exceptions when a New York police officer reached the age of 63. How was he to occupy the endless days? He was still vigorous, still useful. A man needed more than security. He needed something to do. Richard Queen found one man’s answer on Nair Island, and he was soon plunged into the most challenging and dangerous case of his long career. And he found something else, too — that life can even be sweet at 63. Her name was Jessie Sherwood, a registered nurse in her late 40s, lonely, still pretty, and all woman. Jessie had been hired by the blueblood Humffreys to take charge of their newborn infant. When queer, frightening things began to happen in that multimillionaire home... A helpless baby, a unique romance, and a tensely plotted tale of multiple murder mounting to a shocking climax make Inspector Queen’s Own Case one of the most superb novels to come from Ellery Queen’s typewriter

The Roman Hat Mystery has been chosen from more than 100 selected manuscripts to represent the Stokes contribution to the mysterio-detective literature of 1929. Because we believe it to be in a class by itself we are publishing no other detective novel this season. Following no hackneyed formula, conveying to the public an entirely new experience in this popular type of fiction, The Roman Hat Mystery offers a foolproof plot of fascinating complexity, a theatrically romantic setting and a most ingenious deductive pattern that is plausible, gripping throughout and wholly original in weave. The essential clue is a missing silk tophat. On the surface it appears to be of minor significance, yet about this elusive thread the entire amazing tale revolves. The reader is given every fact necessary to the solution; and yet we challenge your most ardent amateur criminologists to deduce the startling dénouement. Not only in plot but in protagonist does this novel offer something “different.” You will like the old snuff-taking Inspector, Richard Queen, a shrewd and human manhunter; you will more than like his son Ellery, whose keen intellect dominates every situation. A brilliant analyst, a convincing maker of miracles, Ellery Queen bids fair to join that immortal group to which Sherlock Holmes, Lupin and few others belong

Dane McKell, millionaire socialite, was planning an exhilarating summer when he discovered to his horror that his father was having an affair with another woman. The McKells were not only very, very rich, they were also very, very respectable, and Dane’s mother was a gentle and lovely lady. Dane forced a meeting with the woman in the case with the full intent of breaking up his father’s relationship. Then, helplessly, he himself fell in love with her. After that — murder. This is the basic situation, a brilliantly plotted detective story that only the old master, Queen, could devise, and that only Ellery, working with his father, Inspector Queen, could solve. As always with classic Queens, the reader will have it solved three times before he discovers that he has been outwitted as usual

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of his first book, Ellery Queen takes a long step forward. He has written a novel expressed only incidentally in terms of mystery, a novel whose theme is uppermost in the minds of all thoughtful Americans today. For thirty years old Judge Shinn has delivered the Fourth of July oration on the little village green. He has said again and again: “There is no liberty without justice,” and “Let one man be deprived of his liberty, or his property, or his life without due process of law, and the liberty and property and lives of all of us are in danger.” When mere accusation takes the place of evidence, freedom is in peril. To Shinn Corners, the “outside” has always been suspect. Only a few years back, a “furriner” killed a Shinn Corners man and “got away with it,” thanks to a jury over in Cudbury who, with fancy talk about Justice and A Fair Trial, let him off on a plea of self-defense. Shinn Corners has never gotten over that; resentment lies in the streets like dynamite, ready to explode at a touch. And now murder strikes, claiming as its victim the best-loved citizen of the village. For Johnny Shinn, late of Army Intelligence, veteran of two wars, the grim events that follow are profoundly disturbing. Johnny, “all scattered to hell and gone,” has been through too much to worry about “ideals of justice.” Like so many young Americans today, Johnny is hung up between the recent past and the dark future. He can only say in response to Judge Shinn’s attempts to revitalize him, “Oh, I believe, I believe it all — but what can I do about it?” What happens after the murder is the story of what Johnny, in spite of himself, does about it. The tense lynch trial that is the focus of the action is really the trial of Johnny Shinn as an American. Against an atmosphere of frightening contemporary reality, THE GLASS VILLAGE raises pointed problems that all the Johnny Shinns of the free democracies, and their uncles and their aunts, must wrestle with and solve if our way of life is to survive

Ellery Queen is asked by a lawyer friend to help protect the interests of a pretty young heiress. They meet her, along with an unpleasant physician who is a friend of her family, as she disembarks in New York from an ocean liner arriving from England. She learns that her father, from whom she has been separated since her toddler years, has died just as she is to be reunited with her eccentric family and inherit her father’s fabled hoard of gold. The group drives for hours to reach an ugly and sinister Victorian house called the Black House at nightfall. The Black House, where her father died, is uninhabitable — the group meets the family and beds down in a small stone house next door. When they awake, the Black House has vanished as though it never existed. Ellery must shake off the Gothic trappings and the suggestions of black magic in order to figure out what has happened to the Black House and the gold

Ellery Queen’s arrival in Hollywood did not pass unnoticed. It Brought a pretty, nineteen-year-old girl to his apartment with a tale of murder so strange as to be irresistible to that connoisseur of bizarre crime. the story of a man who scared to death... murdered by a dead dog!.. This Ellery Queen’s 25th Detective Mystery, unfolds with a mounting tension as a dead fish, strangled frogs and the skin of an alligator become fantastic components in a grand design for murder

Hillerman, author of the Joe Leaphorn mysteries, and Herbert, editor of The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing, trace this short-story genre from its beginnings in the hands of Edgar Allen Poe through its development by the likes of Erle Stanley Gardner, Mary Roberts Rinehart and Anthony Boucher to its current practice by such masters as Marcia Muller. Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," which established a great many of the whodunit conventions, is indispensable to such an overview. Raymond Chandler's "I'll be Waiting" emits a doom-laden atmosphere right from the first line; William Faulkner shows unexpected economy of language?and a transparent plot?in "An Error in Chemistry." Ed McBain scores high marks in "Small Homicide," in which the tiny details of a baby's untimely death resonate uncomfortably. As represented in this competent, unstartling collection, Linda Barnes ("Lucky Penny") easily outsasses Sue Grafton ("The Parker Shotgun"). Hillerman makes a solid appearance with "Chee's Witch," and in "Benny's Space" Muller captures the full subtle force of her novel-length vision

Before the last echo of the shot had trailed down Riverside Drive, Ellery Queen realized that he had just witnessed a murder. Robert Potts lay shot through the heart. Not only had Ellery Queen been a witness but also Inspector Queen and Sergeant Velie. Yet not one of them knew who committed the murder. This is the story of the Old Woman (Cornelia Potts), who lived with all her children (six) in the incredible Potts “palace” on Riverside Drive — on its front lawn a great, bronze Oxford complete with trailing bronze shoelaces. Over the household hovers a ruthless killer who fits his cold-blooded crimes into the pattern of a Mother Goose rhyme. There are amusing and queer characters galore Thurlow, who spent his life bringing fruitless lawsuits; Louella, the would-be inventor; Horatio, the Philosopher of Escapism. And in addition there is the lovely, red-haired Sheila, revolted by the actions of her family. Here is murder as weird and baffling as Ellery Queen has yet encountered — a stiff dose of murder in the best Queen fashion