Detective and mystery stories books

Murder in the Gunroom

H. Beam Piper

Murder in the Gunroom is a detective mystery that opens with the sudden, suspicious death of Lane Fleming, a…

Masterpieces of Mystery in Four Volumes: Ghost Stories

This volume gathers a selection of short ghost stories that trace the evolution of the genre from antiquity…

A Master of Mysteries

Meade, L. T.; Eustace, Robert

A Master of Mysteries is a detective narrative that blends the intrigue of haunted‑house folklore with a…

The Dragon's Secret

Augusta Huiell Seaman

The novel opens on a breezy October day at a quiet seaside resort, where sixteen‑year‑old Leslie and her…

The Motor Girls on Crystal Bay; or, The Secret of the Red Oar

Margaret Penrose

The Motor Girls on Crystal Bay is a light‑hearted juvenile mystery that opens with a bustling scene of four…

The New Tenant

E. Phillips Oppenheim

The New Tenant is a detective‑mystery that begins with a leisurely, sun‑splashed morning at Thurwell Court,…

That Affair Next Door

Anna Katharine Green

The novel opens on a fog‑shrouded New York street, where the narrator, a curious neighbor, watches a…

The Woman from Outside [On Swan River]

Hulbert Footner

The novel is a detective‑mystery set against the rugged backdrop of Canada’s north‑western frontier, where…

The Four-Pools Mystery

Jean Webster

The Four‑Pools Mystery is a detective tale that begins in the offices of a New York law firm, where the…

A Royal Prisoner

Souvestre, Pierre; Allain, Marcel

The novel opens on a glittering Paris night, where bustling boulevards, illuminated restaurants and a parade…

Masterpieces of Mystery in Four Volumes: Detective Stories

This four‑volume set gathers a representative sweep of early detective fiction, beginning with Edgar Allan…

The Black Wolf Pack

Daniel Carter Beard

The Black Wolf Pack is a hybrid of detective intrigue and frontier adventure, introduced through a tangled…

The Big Bow Mystery

Israel Zangwill

Israel Zangwill’s “The Big Bow Mystery” is a detective story that begins with a self‑referential preface in…

The Golden Face: A Great 'Crook' Romance

William Le Queux

The novel opens with a terse newspaper advertisement seeking a young, well‑educated gentleman driver, and the…

The Daffodil Mystery

Edgar Wallace

The Daffodil Mystery is a detective tale that begins in a bustling department store, where a terse exchange…

Ruth Fielding At College; or, The Missing Examination Papers

Alice B. Emerson

This novel blends a youthful college‑age mystery with the breezy camaraderie of a boarding‑school adventure.

Radio Boys Loyalty; Or, Bill Brown Listens In

Whipple, Wayne; Aaron, S. F.

The novel is a youthful adventure that blends detective intrigue with the technical enthusiasm of early…

Helen Vardon's confession

R. Austin Freeman

Helen Vardon’s confession is a Victorian‑era detective mystery that opens with a reflective, almost…

Dark power

Elisabeth Sanxay Holding

The novel is a tightly wound mystery that begins with Di Leonard wandering through the emptied, immaculate…

The crime code

William Le Queux

The Crime Code is a first‑person thriller that thrusts the reader into the chaotic world of a well‑to‑do…

Murder in Paris

Alice Campbell

Murder in Paris is a detective‑mystery that opens aboard a crowded train bound for Normandy, where the…

Murder at the vicarage

Agatha Christie

The novel is a village‑set detective story that opens inside the vicarage of a small English parish, where…

Great short stories, Volume 1 (of 3): Detective stories

This volume opens with a self‑conscious preface that frames the three tales as a deliberately constructed…

The Maltese falcon

Dashiell Hammett