A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie Includes the definitive bibliography and filmography Read more

In the same winning formula as The New Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie (more than 300,000 copies sold) and The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Sherlock Holmes (1999), this all-new companion to Shakespeare will present The Bard in a new and exciting way in a new century. For students, scholars, theater lovers, and scholars - nearly everyone! - this book wraps some 400 years of Bardology into a lively and often unexpected package.In their witty and inimitable way, Dick Riley and Pam McAllister examine the whole dramatic canon, play by play, including dramas of disputed authorship. (The long poems and sonnets are also covered.) Included are inside stories on theater and film productions, "alternate" interpretations of the plays, Shakespeare's status around the world, the clubs and societies, the mysterious life - and even the question that has plagued critics almost from the day he put down his quill: whether Shakespeare even wrote the works attributed to him. Read more

Dealing with the craft of detective writing and sharing her personal thoughts and observations on one of the most popular and enduring forms of literature, the author examines the challenges, achievements, and potential of this genre. Read more

There is no larger collection of ornament in print anywhere today. This more than 600 page volume contains 3765 different illustrations on 400 full page plates! Indispensable for artists, designers, illustrators, architects, craftsmen, students, and anyone else searching for distinctive, authentic design, individual illustrations are royalty-free—buy the book and thousands of unusual drawing are yours for the using.Where are the ornaments from? The vanished civilizations of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, Phoenicia, Judah, India, Greece, Rome, Pompeii, the Celts, the Etruscans; from China, Japan, Arabia, India, Cambodia; from Russia, Scandinavia, the United States, Germany, France, Italy, England, Austria, Spain, and other countries.What periods are covered? Prehistoric and primitive; antiquity; the Middle Ages, including early-Christian ornaments of the Lombards, Visigoths, Franks, and Byzantines, Romanesque ornament, Mohammedan ornament, and Gothic ornament; Renaissance ornament in Florence, Venice, Portugal, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Poland; Rococo ornament throughout Europe; Colonial style in the United States: nineteenth century classical revival, with designs of Sheraton and Hepplewhite; Empire; and Biedermeier and Neoclassical ornament in Germany.What design elements and objects? Gargoyles; Buddhas; dragons; capitals, bases, and shafts of columns; necklaces, rings, other jewelry; urns, vases; friezes; buildings of brick, wood, stone; tables, chairs, mirrors, chests, hardware; tapestries and cloths; statues; suits of armor, helmets, lances; mitres; fantastic animals, centaurs, cupids; religious objects; keyholes; sedan chair; bridges; coats of arms; and hundreds of others. This wide spectrum of styles will almost literally be a bottomless treasury of source material that you will use again and again, each time finding something different. Read more

Which would you sooner betray, your country or your child?Fifteen years after retiring as a Navy SEAL, Mason Walker has gone into reclusion, focusing on the mission his dying wife gave him—to raise his daughter to become the best woman she can be. Though burdened by his past, Mason has found contentment in the anonymity of his family life in Baltimore, Maryland.And then his daughter gets kidnapped.Upon returning home for lunch one day, Mason comes home to find his house destroyed, his daughter gone, and security footage of her in an anonymous bunker. A voice advises that she will only be safe if Mason does exactly as he’s told.Will Mason be able to reclaim his old skills to save his daughter? Can he use his ingenuity to save her before he’s too late?What will it cost him? Read more

There’s no one and nothing the great detective Nero Wolfe wouldn’t take on if the price was right. That’s something wealthy society widow Rachel Bruner is counting on when she writes him a check for a whopping hundred grand. But even Wolfe has a moment’s doubt when he finds out why the prize is so generous. For the oversize genius and his able assistant Archie Goodwin are about to lock horns with the FBI—and those highly trained G-men have a way with threats, tails, and bugs that could give even sedentary sleuth Nero Wolfe a run for his money.   Introduction by Stuart Kaminsky   “It is always a treat to read a Nero Wolfe mystery. The man has entered our folklore.”—The New York Times Book Review   A grand master of the form, Rex Stout is one of America’s greatest mystery writers, and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time. Together, Stout and Wolfe have entertained—and puzzled—millions of mystery fans around the world. Now, with his perambulatory man-about-town, Archie Goodwin, the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth is back in the original seventy-three cases of crime and detection written by the inimitable master himself, Rex Stout. Read more

Investigates the continual appeal of the mystery novel and the popularity of its most successful purveyors, from Agatha Christie to Ed McBain, drawing on a selection of the best of the genre Read more

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Sayers' three main accomplishments serve as the organizing principle of this book: first, her transformation of the modern detective story into a serious novel of social criticism and moral depth; second, her penetrating critique of the situation of modern woman; and, finally, her compelling work as a lay theologian and interpreter of Christianity. Read more

Looking to add an authentic edge to your crime fiction? Ride along with a real-life sergeant to give your story the accuracy your readers crave. Are you a civilian crime writer who wants to use picture perfect law enforcement details? Do you worry that your mystery novel or screenplay lacks credibility? Fiction and nonfiction author Sergeant Patrick O’Donnell has seen it all in his 24 years working for one of the largest police departments in the country. Now he’s here to help your writing honor the men and women who risk their lives in the line of duty. Cops and Writers: From the Academy to the Street is your in-depth field guide for navigating the path from new recruit to seasoned patrol officer. Through O’Donnell’s accounts, you’ll get up close and personal with day-to-day challenges and out-of-the-ordinary emergencies including homicides, hostage situations, and bomb threats. Armed with this invaluable resource for decoding police jargon, tactics, and standard-issue gear, you’ll be well equipped to breathe new life into your stories. In Cops and Writers, you’ll discover: Stories from O’Donnell’s years on the force to help give your book credibility How the academy and field training shapes rookies so you can mold convincing charactersPatrol officers' daily routines and working conditions to infuse your fiction with added depthDifferent techniques for arresting and defending against criminal threats to bring readers even closer to the actionDifferent patrol units such as SWAT, K-9, Air Support, and Bomb Squad to add another layer of realism, and much, much more! Cops and Writers is your all-in-one reference guide for giving your novel or screenplay much-needed street cred. If you like candid stories told with cop humor, technical details, and peering into the minds of those who serve and protect, then you’ll love Sergeant Patrick O’Donnell’s must-have handbook for crime fiction writers. Buy Cops and Writers to make your storytelling more authentic today! Read more

The Elements of Mystery Fiction: Writing the Modern Whonunit has guided and inspired mystery writer veterans as well as beginners―for nearly a decade. Here William G. Tapply, with more than 20 popular mystery and suspense novels under his belt, isolates the crucial "elements" of the mystery novels that publishers want to publish and readers want to read―original plots, clever clues, sympathetic sleuths, memorable villains, multi-dimensional supporting characters, true-to-life settings, sharp narrative hooks, and, of course, smooth writing. In clear readable prose using examples from many of our best contemporary mystery novelists, Tapply shows how the writer can create the pieces and fit them together to make a story you can't put down.This new expanded edition of Elements contains original chapters by some of our best contemporary writers and most prominent personalities in the publishing world discussing writing and business issues that are vital to mystery writers in the 21st century. Read more

Full of fascinating how-to skills and evocative illustrations, this must-have guide will appeal to Baker Street Irregulars of all ages.This reader’s companion to the casework of Sherlock Holmes explores the methodology of the world’s most famous consulting detective. From analyzing fingerprints and decoding ciphers to creating disguises and faking one’s own death, readers will learn how Holmes solved his most celebrated cases—plus an arsenal of modern techniques available to today’s armchair sleuths. Along the way, readers will discover a host of trivia about the master detective and his universe: Why did Holmes never marry? How was the real Scotland Yard organized? Was cocaine really legal back then? And why were the British so terrified of Australia? For die-hardSherlockians and amateur investigators alike, this handbook is nothing less than . . . elementary. Read more

P. D. James, the undisputed queen of mystery, gives us an intriguing, inspiring and idiosyncratic look at the genre she has spent her life perfecting.   Examining mystery from top to bottom, beginning with such classics as Charles Dickens's Bleak House and Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White, and then looking at such contemporary masters as Colin Dexter and Henning Mankell, P. D. James goes right to the heart of the genre. Along the way she traces the lives and writing styles of Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, and many more. Here is P.D. James discussing detective fiction as social history, explaining its stylistic components, revealing her own writing process, and commenting on the recent resurgence of detective fiction in modern culture. It is a must have for the mystery connoisseur and casual fan alike. Read more

The world’s greatest mystery writers on the world’s greatest mystery novels: Michael Connelly on The Little Sister . . . Kathy Reichs on The Silence of the Lambs . . . Mark Billingham on The Maltese Falcon . . . Ian Rankin on I Was Dora Suarez . . . With so many mystery novels to choose among, and so many new titles appearing each year, where should a reader start? What are the classics of the genre? Which are the hidden gems? In the most ambitious anthology of its kind yet attempted, the world’s leading mystery writers have come together to champion the greatest mystery novels ever written. In a series of personal essays that often reveal as much about the authors and their own work as they do about the books that they love, 119 authors from 20 countries have created a guide that will be indispensable for generations of readers and writers. From Agatha Christie to Lee Child, from Edgar Allan Poe to P. D. James, from Sherlock Holmes to Hannibal Lecter and Philip Marlowe to Lord Peter Wimsey, Books to Die For brings together the cream of the mystery world for a feast of reading pleasure, a treasure trove for those new to the genre and for those who believe that there is nothing new left to discover. This is the one essential book for every reader who has ever finished a mystery novel and thought . . . I want more! *** “Why does the mystery novel enjoy such enduring appeal? There is no simple answer. It has a distinctive capacity for subtle social commentary, a concern with the disparity between law and justice, and a passion for order, however compromised. Even in the vision of the darkest of mystery writers, it provides us with a glimpse of the world as it might be, a world in which good men and women do not stand idly by and allow the worst aspects of human nature to triumph without opposition. It can touch upon all these facets while still entertaining the reader.” —From the introduction of Books to Die For Read more

An Imperfect Crime by F. G, BakerA perfect crime leads to a perfect tragedy . . .When a man is executed for a murder he did not commit, Detective Lori Sanchez of the Phoenix Police Department decides to find out what went wrong. She thinks the crime scene was too clean, too flawless. It had to be a set up. The convicted man’s priest, Father Montero, agrees. They team up to search for the key witness who didn’t show up at trial. Where did he and his elusive girlfriend go? A complex set of interwoven crimes involving guns, drugs, and sex drive the unlikely duo to follow the evidence—wherever it leads.Part Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and part Dirty Harry, the story twists and turns as Detective Sanchez and Father Montero keep you guessing. Read more

Aplucky "titian-haired" sleuth solved her first mystery in 1930. Eighty million books later, Nancy Drew has survived the Depression, World War II, and the sixties (when she was taken up with a vengeance by women's libbers) to enter the pantheon of American girlhood. As beloved by girls today as she was by their grandmothers, Nancy Drew has both inspired and reflected the changes in her readers' lives. Now, in a narrative with all the vivid energy and page-turning pace of Nancy's adventures, Melanie Rehak solves an enduring literary mystery: Who created Nancy Drew? And how did she go from pulp heroine to icon? The brainchild of children's book mogul Edward Stratemeyer, Nancy was brought to life by two women: Mildred Wirt Benson, a pioneering journalist from Iowa, and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, a well-bred wife and mother who took over as CEO after her father died. In a century-spanning story Rehak traces their roles-and Nancy's-in forging the modern American woman. With ebullience, wit, and a wealth of little-known source material, Rehak celebrates our unstoppable girl detective. Read more

Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making - Includes Two Unpublished Poirot Stories Read more

Explores the life and work of Tony Hillerman, including the author's reflections on his childhood, a discussion of his artistic technique, and a short story Read more