Classic Mysteries

 Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849) ~ The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841)

Poe introduced the Great Detective  to crime literature in The Murders in the Rue Morgue. His Aguste Dupin served as a model for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, and other super sleuths who outwitted the police as well as the perpetrator through logic, intuition, and deduction.  Dupin appears also in the ensuing tales of The Murder of Marie Roget, which was based on the real-life murder of Mary Rogers in New York, and The Purloined Letter. In The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Poe foreshadows the “impossible/locked room mystery” writers of the 20th century.

Collins, Wilkie  (1824-1889) ~ The Moonstone  (1868)

 Stolen from the forehead of a Hindu idol, the dazzling gem known as "The Moonstone" resurfaces at a birthday party in an English country home-with an enigmatic trio of watchful Brahmins hot on its trail. Laced with superstitions, suspicion, humor, and romance, this 1868 mystery draws readers into a compelling tale with twists and turns ranging from sleepwalking to experimentation with opium. The suspense and drama is heightened as the narrative passes from one colorful character to the next. Wilkie Collins' masterpiece is particularly distinguished by the appearance of Sergeant Cuff, a prototype of the English detective hero and the harbinger of a popular tradition of sleuthing.  by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Dickens, Charles (1812-1870) ~ The Mystery of Edwin Drood  (1870)

Edwin Drood is contracted to marry Orphan Rosa, but they break the engagement off-and soon afterwards Edwin disappears. Is it murder? And is his jealous uncle-a sinister choirmaster with a double life and designs on Rosa-the killer? Dickens died before completing the story, leaving the mystery unsolved and encouraging successive generations of readers to turn detective. In addition to its tantalizing crime, the novel also offers a characteristically Dickensian mix of the fantastical world of the imagination and a vibrantly journalistic depiction of gritty reality.    by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Doyle, Arthur Conan (1859-1930) ~ The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Beginning 1892)

Over one hundred years have passed since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle introduced his inimitable sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, to the world--and his popularity has never waned. This oversized commemorative volume contains the entire canon of Holmes adventures, both before and after his creator's attempt to dispatch him in print. Just as the character, Holmes, prevails and defies even death, these detective stories featuring him and Dr. Watson have withstood more than the test of time: they defined and changed the way modern crime writers approached detective fiction.     by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Hornung, E(rnest) W(illiam) (1866-1921) ~ The Complete Short Stories of Raffles-the Amateur Cracksman (Beginning 1899)

Sherlock Holmes has nothing on A. J. Raffles when it comes to deductive powers, except that Raffles uses his talents to plan his capers rather than to solve them.  “Why should I work when I could steal?... Of course it's very wrong, but we can't all be moralists, and the distribution of wealth is very wrong to begin with."  So explains Raffles, noted cricketeer,  to his bumbling sidekick Bunny Manders when he decides to become a gentleman thief. Author Hornung, who was, in fact, Arthur Conan Doyle’s brother-in-law, dedicated the first Raffles’ publication “To A.C.D. This Form of Flattery”.

Hammett, Dashiell (1894-1961) ~ The Glass Key (1931)

Senator Henry’s son is murdered and political power broker Paul Madvig’s strategy to win the heart of the senator’s daughter hits a snag when Madvig becomes a suspect in the murder.  Madvig hanger-on Ned Beaumont agrees to investigate the murder for his own self-serving reasons, but finds himself entangled in a power struggle, double-dealing, and violence against his person.  Hammett and many critics considered The Glass Key to be his best work.

Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957) ~ Murder Must Advertise (1933)

Lord Peter Wimsey goes undercover to solve the murder of an advertising agency whistle blower. Using his middle names, Death Bredon, Wimsey takes a job as a copy writer  and is drawn into a world of drugs, conspiracy, and deceit. Sayers wrote Murder Must Advertise not long after she left her own 10-year stint at a London advertising agency, thus giving  the work an air of authenticity.  Sayers belongs to the “Golden Age” of the puzzle mysteries (1920-1945), an era she shares with Agatha Christie, who is herself a classic mystery author.

Crispin, Edmund (1921-1978) ~ The Moving Toyshop (1946)

Gervase Fen, Oxford don and sleuth extraordinaire, takes on an impossible murder case in which the scene of the crime disappears.  Mystery author P. D. James says that “this spirited frolic of a detective story retains its place as one of the most engaging and ingenious mysteries of its age”*

*James, P.D.. “Murder They Wrote: the Most Riveting Crime Novels”. Wallstreet Journal Online: Opionion Journal. June 3, 2006 (accessed December 19, 2006). http://www.opinionjournal.com/weekend/fivebest/?id=110008466

Tey, Josephine (1897-1952) ~ The Daughter of Time (1951)

Boredom overtakes Scotland Yard Inspector Alan Grant while he is confined to a hospital bed with a broken leg. So when it strikes him, upon seeing a portrait of England’s King Richard III that this is not the face of a man who could have murdered the young Yorkist princes in the Tower, Grant undertakes a historical investigation into the murders with the research assistance of his friends. He settles the question to his satisfaction, but his conclusions remain the subject of criticism and debate among real-life historians even today.

Allingham, Margery (1904-1966) ~ The Tiger in the Smoke  (1952)

Albert Campion is called in to find the impersonator of his cousin Meg Elginbrodde’s dead husband and later to find her fiancé, who  disappears.  Meanwhile escaped convict and serial killer Jack Havoc, aka the Tiger, skulks the fog-shrouded streets of London (aka the Smoke) in search of “The Treasure” all the while killing as he goes and eluding capture.  Campion has met his match in Havoc and calls upon Detective Chief Inspector Charles Luke to help him with the investigations.  Allingham is another author who belongs to the Golden Age of classic mysteries.