BlackHat Mystery BookstoreFiction: Novels & Stories
Page One
"To preserve the truth, we need mysteries."
— Andrei Tarkovsky
'Books on Noir Film' Page
Mystery & Thriller ebooks catalog at Amazon
Hardboiled Mystery catalog at Amazon
Edgar Awards for Best First Mystery Novel [est. 1946]
 | "The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell The Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives" [2009] Edited by Otto Penzler
The stories of the creation of their main characters from Ken Brown, Lee Child, Lincoln Child, Michael Connelly, John Connelly, Robert Crais, Jeffery Deaver, Colin Dexter, John Harvey, Stephen Hunter, Faye Kellerman, Jonathan Kedllerman, John Lescroart, Laura Lippman, David Morrell, Carol O'Connell, Robert B. Parker, Ridley Pearson, Anne Perry, Douglas Preston, Ian Rankin & Alexander McCall Smith Little, Brown 9¼x6 hardcover [11/2009] for $17.15 |
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"Women of Mystery: The Lives & Works of Notable Women Crime Novelists" [2000] by Martha Hailey DuBose featured women authiors (half British, half American) include Margery Allingham, Lilian Jackson Braun, Agatha Christie, Patricia Cornwell, Sue Grafton, Anna Katharine Green, Patricia Highsmith, P.D. James, Emma Lathen, Ngaio Marsh, Margaret Millar, Anne Perry, Ruth Rendell, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Dorothy L. Sayers, Josephine Tey & Minette Walters St Martin/Minotaur 9½x6½ hardcover [12/2000] out of print/used |
 | "The Art of Detective Fiction" [19 essays; 2000] by Warren Chernaik, Martin Swales & Robert Vilain Palgrave Macmillan 8¾x5¾ hardcover [5/2000] for $110.00 |
 | "The Web of Iniquity: Early Detective Fiction By American Women" [1999] by Catherine Ross Nickerson a study of detective fiction written by American women between the Civil War & World War II Duke Univ Press 9¼x5¾ pb [2/99] for $23.95 Duke Univ Press 9½x6 hardcover [2/99] for $84.95 |
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"The Blues Detective: A Study of African American Detective Fiction" [1996] by Stephen F. Soitos Univ MA Press 9½x6 pb [2/96] for $24.95 Univ MA Press 9½x6½ hardcover [2/96] out of print/used |
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"Murder By Category: A Subject Guide To Mystery Fiction" [1991] by Tasha Mackler covers 1800 mysteries in 90 categories, emphasis on post-1985 works Scarecrow Press 8¾x5½ pb [11/91] out of print/used |
A Few Classic Mysteries
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"Library of America Crime Novels: American Noir of The 1930s & 40s" [1997] Edited by Robert Polito includes James M. Cain's "The Postman Always Rings Twice" [1934]; Horace McCoy's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" [1935]; Edward Anderson's "Thieves Like Us" [1937]; Kenneth Fearing's "The Big Clock" [1946]; William Lindsay Gresham's "Nightmare Alley" [1946]; and Cornell Woolrich's "I Married A Dead Man" [1948] Library of America 8x5¼ hardcover [9/97] for $24.50 |
 | "Library of America Crime Novels: American Noir of The 1950s" [1997] Edited by Robert Polito includes Jim Thompson's "The Killer Inside Me" [1952]; Patricia Highsmith's "The Talented Mr. Ripley" [1955]; Charles Willeford's "Pick-up" [1955]; David Goodis's "Down There" [1956]; and Chester Himes's "The Real Cool Killers" [1959] Library of America 8x5¼ hardcover [9/97] for $24.50 |
 | "The Friends of Eddie Coyle: A Novel" [1970] by George V. Higgins "I think 'Friends of Eddie Coyle' is the best crime book ever written." — Elmore Leonard Picador 40th Anniversary Edition 8x5½ pb [4/2010] for $9.45 
Owl 8¼x5½ pb [9/2000] for $10.40 Knopf hardcover [1/72] out of print/used BooksOnTape audio [10/90] for $37.99 |
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"The Friends of Eddie Coyle" feature film [Paramount June 1973] Directed by Peter Yates, written & produced by Paul Monash; starring Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, Alex Rocco & Steven Keats Criterion widescreen color DVD [5/2009] for $27.49 full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $9.99 |
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"The Asphalt Jungle" [Knopf 1949] by W.R. Burnett [1899-1982]
Just out of prison, a legendary criminal recruits a safecracker, a driver, a financial backer, and a strong-arm man for a million-dollar burglary. At first the plan goes like clockwork, but little accidents accumulate and each partner proves to have his own fatal weakness. Prion Books 7½x5 pb [9/99] out of print/used Wm. Morrow pb [4/84] out of print/used |
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"No Good From A Corpse" [1944 classic] by Leigh Brackett
After reading Brackett's first novel, director Howard Hawks hired 'that Brackett guy', and was surprised that the author was a woman. Hard-boiled private eye Ed Clive gets involved with the family of a murdered girl; suspects include all of her many boyfriends, an ex-husband, a blackmailer, a brute, and a woman; the long chase sequence along Sunset Strip is a doozy! BlackMask/Munsey's pb [7/2004] for $13.16 prior edition includes Introduction by Ray Bradbury, Brackett's eight pulp crime short stories & Afterword by Michael Connelly Dennis McMillan Publns 9½x6¾ hardcover [4/99] out of print/used |
Selected Mystery Novels
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"Devil's Garden" [2009] by Ace Atkins
Pinkerton agent (and future noir master) Dashiell Hammett was indeed hired by the defense team in the notorious San Francisco manslaughter trials of silent screen star Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. From this seed of fact, Atkins weaves together the lives of Hollywood luminaries such as Arbuckle, his estranged wife Minta Durfee, newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, and Hearst's very public mistress Marion Davies. Berkley Trade pb [DUE March 2010] pre-order for $10.20 Putnam 9x6 hardcover [4/2009] for $17.96 |
 | "Noir" [1998] by K.W. Jeter
In a dark cyberpunk future, a corporate villain summons Los Angeles detective McNihil to the scene of an airplane crash where an executive has been murdered and blackmails McNihil into finding the dead man's 'prowler', a computer simulation that roams the world like an electronic ghost. Bantam Spectra 8½x5½ pb [9/99] for $20.70 Bantam Spectra mass pb [9/99] out of print/many used Bantam Spectra 9¾x6½ hardcover [11/98] out of print/used |
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"The Ghost Wagon and Other Great Western Adventures" [1996] by Max Brand, edited by Jon Tuska Four mystery tales set in the Old West by Western author Max Brand [1892-1944] : "A Matter of Honor" [1921 novella]; "The Ghost Wagon" [1921 novella]; "Rodeo Ranch" [1923 novella]; and "Slip Liddell" [1938 novella] Univ NE Press hardcover [1/96] out of print/used |
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"Murder Me!" [magazine serial 1937; book 1995] by Max Brand
A 1937 police procedural by Western author Max Brand [1892-1944] finally published in book form. New York police detectives Campbell and O'Rourke investigate the apparent suicide of a millionaire philanthropist who was about to be accused of bribery and corruption. St. Martin's Press 8½x5¾ hardcover [11/95] out of print/many used |
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"Pulp" [1994] by Charles Bukowski
Los Angeles PI Nicky Belane in a darker-than-noir celebration and parody of the hard-boiled detective novel, by Los Angeles writer Charles Bukowski [1920-94] Black Sparrow 9x6 pb [5/94] for $10.50 Black Sparrow hardcover [5/94] out of print/used |
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"Berlin Noir: Three Complete Novels" [1994] by Philip Kerr
Policeman Bernie Gunther solves three murder mysteries in Berlin before & after World War II. Penguin 7¾x5 pb [4/94] for $12.24 |
 | Stone City: A Novel [1990] by Mitchell Smith
A former history professor, jailed for killing a girl in a drunken driving accident, is pressured by the prison authorities and by the inmate kingpin to find out who murdered two inmates. Reviewed as a gripping mystery, as an insightful view inside the walls of modern prisons, as well as a metaphor for the dangers and corruptions of American society. Busted Flush Press pb [4/2009] out of print/used Signet mass pb [4/91] out of print/many used S&S hardcover [4/90] out of print/many, many used |
 | "Noir: Three Novels of Suspense" [1988] by Richard Matheson includes "Someone Is Bleeding" [1953], "Fury On Sunday" [1953], and "Ride The Nightmare" [1959] Forge 8¼x5¼ pb [9/2005] for $11.66 Forge 8¼x5½ hardcover [9/2005] for $21.24 |
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"The Laurel and Hardy Murders: [1977] by Marvin Kaye (one-time president of Sons of The Desert) After learning that women are not allowed to belong to the Laurel & Hardy fan society 'Sons of The Desert', amateur sleuth Hilary Quayle sneaks into their convention in time to witness an onstage murder. Wildside Press 9x6 pb [6/2001] for $14.95 J. Curley hardcover [5/79] out of print/used |
Mysteries by Well-Known Authors
 | "Knight's Gambit: Six Mystery Stories" [1949] by William Faulkner six tales by Wm. Faulkner [1897-1962] starring Gavin Stevens: "Smoke" [1932]; "Monk" [1937]; "Hand Upon The Waters" [1939]; "Tomorrow" [1940]; "An Error In Chemistry" [1946]; and "Knight’s Gambit" [1949] Vintage pb [12/78] for $8.25 Random House hardcover [6/49] out of print/used |
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"The Eighth Day: A Novel" [1967 bestseller] by Thornton Wilder
Won the National Book Award, both murder mystery and philosophical story. Two families in a mining town in southern Illinois are blasted apart by the apparent murder of one father by the other; the accused killer miraculously escapes on the eve of his execution and his flight to freedom alters the fate of both men's wives and children. Harper Perennial 7¾x5¼ pb [1/2007] for $11.48 Amereon Ltd. 9x6¼ hardcover [12/98] out of print/used Harper & Row 8¼x5¾ hardcover [1967] out of print/many, many used |
 | "Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel, 1942" [1977] by Richard Brautigan [1935-84] A goofball, down-and-out private eye in New Orleans fantasizes a better life. Delacorte Press pb [10/78] out of print/used Delacorte Press hardcover [1/77] out of print/many used Jonathan Cape hardcover [4/78] out of print/used |
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"Three By Box: The Complete Mysteries of Edgar Box" [1978]
written by Gore Vidal under the pseudonym Edgar Box includes "Death In The Fifth Position" [1952], "Death Before Bedtime" [1953], and "Death Likes It Hot" [1954] Random House hardcover [8/78] out of print/used |
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"The Vicious Circle: Mystery & Crime Stories By Members of The Algonquin Round Table" [12 stories 2007] Edited by Otto Penzler
featuring Robert Benchley {the wickedly absurd "The Mystery of The Poisoned Kipper"}; Marc Connelly {"Coroner's Inquest"}; Edna Ferber {"The Man Who Came Back"}; George S. Kaufman ("The Great Warburton Mystery") with Howard Dietz; Ring Lardner {"Haircut", "Stop Me, If You've Heard This One"}; Dorothy Parker {"The Big Blonde"}; S.J. Perelman {"Up The Close and Down The Stair", "Four-and-Twenty Blackjacks", the laugh-out-loud PI parody "Farewell, My Lovely Appetizer"}; and Alexander Woollcott {"Moonlight Sonata", "Rien Ne Va Plus"} Pegasus Books 8x5¼ pb [1/2009] for $11.16 Pegasus Books 8¼x5¾ hardcover [12/2007] for $18.25 |
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"Inherent Vice: A Novel" [New York Times bestseller 2009] 
by Thomas Pynchon "Part- noir, part-psychedelic romp." Southern California private eye Doc Sportello comes, occasionally, out of a marijuana haze to find himself drawn into a bizarre tangle of motives & passions whose cast of characters includes surfers, hustlers, fellow dopers, rockers, a murderous loan shark, a tenor sax player working undercover, an ex-con with a swastika tattoo, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentists. Penguin pb [DUE July 2010] for $10.88
Penguin Press 9x6½ hardcover [8/2009] for $18.45 book entry at Wikipedia |
Kindle Editions
Amazon's Kindle Store
Kindle ebook reader entry at Wikipedia
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"Classic Mystery Collection: Crime, Suspense, Detective Fiction" for Kindle [2007]
100+ works by authors including E.C. Bentley, John Buchan, G.K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie, Wilkie Collins, Honore De Balzac, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, Anna Katharine Green, Gaston Leroux, A.A. Milne, Edgar Allan Poe, Sax Rohmer, Robert Louis Stevenson and Rex Stout Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [undated] for $0.80 Kindle Edition from MobileReference [12/2007] for $7.99 |
 | "The Best of Detective Fiction" for Kindle [2007]
Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [undated] for $3.99 contains four novels & 14 stories: "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" [12 stories; 1892] by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; "The Clue of The Twisted Candle" [1918] by Edgar Wallace; "The Moon- stone" [1868] by Wilkie Collins; "The Murders In The Rue Morgue" [1841 story] by Edgar Allan Poe; "The Mystery of The Hasty Arrow" [1917] by Anna Katharine Green; "The Purloined Letter" [1844 story] by Edgar Allan Poe; and "The Riddle of The Frozen Flame" [1920] by Mary E. & Thomas W. Hanshaw |
 | "Works of Gilbert Keith Chesterton" for Kindle [2007] includes "The Complete Father Brown" [48 mystery stories, 1911-35] and 13 novels, plus non-fiction, essays & poems Kindle Edition from MobileReference [12/2007] for $3.99 |
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"Dashiell Hammett Collection" for Kindle [2008]
contains 17 short stories: "Afraid of A Gun" (1924), "Arson Plus" (1923), "The Assistant Murderer" (1926), "The Bodies Piled Up" (1923), "The Man Who Killed Dan Odams" (1949), "Mike, Alec or Rufus" (1925), "Nightmare Town" (1924), "The Road Home" (1922), "Ruffian's Wife" (1925), "The Second Story Angel" (1923); six are Continental Op tales: "Death On Pine Street" (1945), "Night Shots" (1924), "One Hour" (1944), "The Tenth Clew" (1924), "Who Killed Bob Teal?" (1924) & "Zigzags of Treachery" (1924) Kindle Edition from Pulp Fiction Portal [7/2008] for $4.00 Dashiell Hammett [1894-1961] Pages |
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"The Complete Sherlock Holmes Stories" for Kindle [2008] contains the four Sherlock Holmes novels [1887-1914] and all 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Kindle Edition from ignacio hills press [8/2008] for $0.80 |
Fiction: Novels & Stories Pages at BlackHat Mystery Bookstore
here on Page One: Books About Mystery Fiction ••
A Few Classic Mysteries
Selected Mystery Novels ••
Mysteries by Well-Known Authors ••
Kindle Editions
on Page Two: Mystery Story Anthologies •• Mini-Mysteries
Online sales in association with 
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