This is a collection of three short stories. The title story "A Taste of Life" tells the gruesome tale of a fat young woman whose glamorous mother steals her lover. The woman proceeds to kill her mother and eat the body.

An anthology of mystery works by the two most influential mystery writers' organizations includes stories by Sue Grafton, Loren Estleman, Susan Dunlap, Sara Paretsky, Ben Schutz, Max Allan Collins, Jeremiah Healy, and others. 15,000 first printing.

Featuring contributions from some of today's best-known women mystery writers including Sue Henry, Barbara D'Amato, Carolyn Hart, and Sara Paretsky, this thrilling collection is filled with fear, murder, suspense, and revenge. Original.

A revealing look at the power of speaking out, Writing in an Age of Silence describes Paretski’s coming of age in a time of great possibility, during the civil rights movement, the peace movement, and the women’s movement. Bestselling crime-writer Sarah Paretsky has won critical acclaim for her V.I. Warshawski novels, centered around one of the first and most popular female investigators in contemporary fiction. In this fascinating and personal account, Paretsky describes a life shaped by the desire to act. From the feminist movement—which triggered her aspirations to write and shaped the character of her female detective—to the Patriot Act and the liberties we have lost, Paretsky describes the struggle of one individual to find a voice. A moving call to action, Writing in an Age of Silence chronicles the social changes that have shaped contemporary America, and mirrors a desire for freedom, both personal and political, that many Americans will relate to today.

The pious late-twentieth-century descendants of anti-slavery emigrants worry about maintaining religious superiority over a rival family while launching an active harassment campaign against a Wiccan newcomer, an effort that is challenged by a young man's military service and the birth of a promising cow. 150,000 first printing.

Eight men and eight women—the best writers in and out of the mystery field—render their very own, original take on love gone wrong in this collection of stories. Animosity and affection intermingle dangerously in these delightfully deadly works by: William J. Caunitz, Carol Higgins Clark, Mary Higgins Clark, James Crumley, John Gardner, Faye Kellerman, Jonathan Kellerman, Elmore Leonard, Ed McBain, Michael Malone, Bobbie Ann Mason, Joyce Carol Oates, Sara Paretsky, Anne Perry, Shel Silverstein, and Donna Tartt.An innovative anthology about men, women, and crimes of passion, Murder For Love brings to light the dark side of love.

V.I. Warshawski, “undoubtedly one of the best-written characters in mystery fiction” (The Baltimore Sun), returns in a collection of stories that bring new meaning to “ties that bind.” Decked out in her silk shirts and no-nonsense Attitude, V.I. is out to make a living—by the skin of her teeth.In “Grace Notes,” V.I. has barely finished her morning coffee when she sees an ad in the paper asking for information about her own mother, long dead. The paper leads V.I. to her newfound Italian cousin Vico, who’s looking for music composed by their great-grandmother. What’s the score? Clearly it’s something to kill for. . . .“The Pietro Andromache” finds V.I.’s friend Dr. Lotty Herschel with motive and means to dispatch her professional rival and steal his priceless statue. Lotty didn’t do it—but does she know who did? V.I. soon cuts to the art of the case—and it’s not a pretty picture at all!Summoned by an old high school friend to a race “At the Old Swimming Hole,” V.I. ends up swimming with the sharks—the FBI and a ruthless gambling kingpin—in a pool of blood. . . . And it’s only “Skin Deep” when a relaxing facial transformation transforms a client into a stiff. V.I.’s pal Sal needs help. Her beautician sister Evangeline is prime suspect—and V.I. has only eighteen hours to crack the case before it’s headline news. . . .“Three-Dot Po” proves there’s nothing like a dog. Especially a dog on the trail of her mistress’s killer, with V.I. in tow. . . .In “Strung Out,” love means nothing and V.I.’s quick to learn the score as her old friend’s tennis-champion daughter is under suspicion for strangling her father with a racket string. And there’s more, nine stories in all, in this masterful collection of short fiction starring V.I. Warshawski, “the most engaging woman in detective fiction since Dorothy Sayers’s Harriet Vane” (Newsweek).

In THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES OF THE CENTURY, best-selling author Tony Hillerman and mystery expert Otto Penzler present an unparalleled treasury of American suspense fiction that every fan will cherish. Offering the finest examples from all reaches of the genre, this collection charts the mystery's eminent history from the turn-of-the-century puzzles of Futrelle, to the seminal pulp fiction of Hammett and Chandler, to the mystery story's rise to legitimacy in the popular mind, a trend that has benefited masterly writers like Westlake, Hunter, and Grafton. Nowhere else can readers find a more thorough, more engaging, more essential distillation of American crime fiction.Penzler, the Best American Mystery Stories series editor, and Hillerman winnowed this select group out of a thousand stories, drawing on sources as diverse as Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Esquire, Collier's and The New Yorker. Giants of the genre abound -- Raymond Chandler, Stephen King, Dashiell Hammett, Lawrence Block, Ellery Queen, Sara Paretsky, and others -- but the editors also unearthed gems by luminaries rarely found in suspense anthologies: William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Damon Runyon, Harlan Ellison, James Thurber, and Joyce Carol Oates. Mystery buffs and newcomers alike will delight in the thrilling stories and top-notch writing of a hundred years' worth of the finest suspense, crime, and mystery writing.

Now in paperback, today's most celebrated writers explore literature and the literary life in an inspirational collection of original essays.By turns poignant, hilarious, and practical, Writers on Writing brings together more than forty of contemporary literature's finest voices.Pieces range from reflections on the daily craft of writing to the intersection of art's and life's consequential moments. Authors discuss what impels them to write: creating a sense of control in a turbulent universe; bearing witness to events that would otherwise be lost in history or within the writer's soul; recapturing a fragment of time. Others praise mentors and lessons, whether from the classroom, daily circumstances, or the pages of a favorite writer. For anyone interested in the art and rewards of writing, Writers on Writing offers an uncommon and revealing view of a writer's world.Contributors include Russell Banks, Saul Bellow, E. L. Doctorow, Richard Ford, Kent Haruf, Carl Hiaasen, Alice Hoffman, Jamaica Kincaid, Barbara Kingsolver, Sue Miller, Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates, Annie Proulx, Carol Shields, Jane Smiley, Susan Sontag, John Updike, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Alice Walker, and Elie Wiesel.

Winner of the Sue Grafton Memorial Award!A Boston Globe Best Book of 2018!Acclaimed detective V. I. Warshawski tackles a pair of perplexing cases involving those closest to her in this compelling and timely adventure that centers on some of the most divisive and pressing issues of our timeWhen V. I Warshawski gets word that her closest friend and mentor Lotty Herschel’s nephew has become a suspect in a murder, the legendary detective will do everything she can to save him. The cops found Felix Herschel’s name and phone number on the unknown victim’s remains, but Felix insists he doesn’t know why.As Vic digs deeper, she discovers that the dead man was obsessed with Middle Eastern archaeology―the first clue in a bewildering case that leads to a stolen artifact and a shadowy network of international criminals. But the trouble multiplies when Vic’s long-lost niece, Reno, goes missing. A beautiful young woman with a heartbreaking past and a promising future, Reno is harboring a secret that may cost her her life. V.I. can hear the clock ticking on her niece's safety and is frantic in her efforts to find her.Vic won’t leave any stone unturned until these very personal cases are cleared―a complex investigation that will entangle the Russian mob, ISIS backers, rogue ICE agents, a nefarious corporation preying on the poor, and a shady network of stock scams and stolen antiquities stretching from Chicago to the East Indies and the Middle East.In Shell Game, no one can be trusted and nothing is what it seems, except for the indomitable detective and her thirst for justice.

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST“A proper hero for these times . . . To us, V.I. is perfect.” — THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW"Sara Paretsky’s gloriously kick-ass private eye, V.I. “Vic” Warshawski, is back . . . in a political-rot thriller that’s the definition of perfection in the genre." — THE WASHINGTON POSTChicago’s legendary detective, V.I. Warshawski, knows her city’s rotten underbelly better than most, but she’s unable to avoid it when her goddaughter drags her into a fight over lakefront land use, in this propulsive novel from New York Times bestseller Sara Paretsky.Chicago may be the city of broad shoulders, but its political law is “Pay to Play.” Money changes hands in the middle of the night, and by morning, buildings and parks are replaced by billion-dollar projects.Chicago PI V.I. Warshawski gets pulled into one of these clandestine deals through her impetuous goddaughter, Bernie Fouchard. Bernie tries to rescue Lydia Zamir, a famed singer-songwriter now living on the streets; Zamir’s life fell apart when her lover was murdered next to her in a mass shooting at an outdoor concert. Not only does Bernie plunge her and V.I. headlong into the path of some ruthless developers, they lead to the murder of the young man Bernie is dating. He’s a computer geek working for a community group called SLICK.V.I. is desperate to find a mysterious man named Coop, who roams the lakefront in the middle of the night with his dog. She’s sure he holds the key to the mounting body count within SLICK. Coop may even know why an international law firm is representing the mass murderer responsible for Lydia’s lover’s death. Instead, the detective finds a terrifying conspiracy stretching from Chicago’s parks to a cover-up of the dark chapters in America’s meddling in South American politics. Before she finds answers, this electrifying novel pushes V.I. close to the breaking point: People who pay to play take no prisoners.

"Sara Paretsky is a genius." --LEE CHILDFrom New York Times bestselling author Sara Paretsky, a collection of thrilling crime and detective short stories, many featuring legendary detective V.I. Warshawski--including a brand-new V.I. story.New York Times bestselling author Sara Paretsky is the master of twisting suspense and compelling plots. She has been hailed by the crime community as "a legend" (Harlan Coben) and "one of the all-time greats" (Karin Slaughter). Her acclaimed novels featuring detective V.I. Warshawski have become one of the most celebrated series in modern fiction. Now in this spellbinding collection, Paretsky showcases her extraordinary talents with fourteen short stories, including one new V.I. story and seven other classics featuring the indomitable detective.In "Miss Bianca," a young girl becomes involved in espionage when she befriends a mouse in a laboratory that is conducting dark experiments. Ten-year-old V.I. Warshawski appears in "Wildcat," embarking on her very first investigation to save her father. A hardboiled New York detective and elderly British aristocrat team up to reveal a murderer in Chicago during the World's Fair in "Murder at the Century of Progress." In the new title story, "Love & Other Crimes," V.I. treads the line between justice and vengeance when the wrongful firing of a family friend makes him a murder suspect.For longtime fans of V.I. Warshawski, new readers discovering her for the first time, or any lover of crime and bone-chilling suspense, Love & Other Crimes is a celebration of Paretsky's exceptional storytelling skill and a searing exploration of the dark conspiracies and desperate human acts hiding in plain sight. --Publishers Weekly on Love & Other Crimes

An opera diva with a drink problem, a street lawyer who has forgotten how to love, converge at the heart of the shadowy network of streets below Chicago's glittering high rises where a homeless visionary silently challenges the whole idea of the city and its management.

Stephen Greenleaf, Lawrence Block, Bill Pronzini, Sara Paretsky, Loren Estleman, and Michael Z. Lewin are among the master mystery writers represented in this collection of outstanding private eye stories

Presents a collection of fifteen chilling stories, in each of which an animal figures prominently, by a group of already regarded and newly discovered authors, including Isaac Asimov, James Holding, Margaret Maron, and Donald E. Westlake

Trace the hard-boiled mystery back to its roots with this collection of twenty-eight detective stories set in tough, urban settings. From classics by Poe and Vidocq to contemporary favorites such as Hammett and Spillane, this is a literary feast for all mystery fans.Introduction / David Willis McCullough --The simple art of murder / Raymond Chandler --The clue of the yellow curtains / Francois Eugene Vidocq --The mystery of Marie Roget / Edgar Allen Poe --The lodger / Marie Belloc Lowndes --Princess Sonia's bath / Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre --The investors / Edgar Wallace --The tenth clew / Dashiell Hammett --The rubber trumpet / Roy Vickers --No proof / Yoh Sano --Dead-end for Delia / William Campbell Gault --At the Etoile du Nord / Georges Simenon --I always get the cuties / John D. MacDonald --This world, then the fireworks / Jim Thompson --The gold fever tapes / Mickey Spillane --Wild goose chase / Ross MacDonald --The nine-to-five man / Stanley Ellin --Small homocide / Ed McBain --Blind man with a pistol / Chester Himes --Pigeon blood / Paul Cain --Just one of those days / Donald E. Westlake --Election day / Joseph Hansen --The Parker shotgun / Sue Grafton --The Johore murders / Paul Theroux --Sure, blue, and dead, too / Janwillem van de Wetering --Skin deep / Sara Paretsky --Death by water / William Marshall --Flake piece / Carolyn Wheat --Dead soldier / Loren D. Estleman --Double indemnity, the screenplay / Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder

A varied, suspenseful collection of stories, published in collaboration with the International Association of Crime Writers, features the work of Lawrence Block, P. D. James, Joyce Carol Oates, Sara Paretsky, and many others. Simultaneous.

mystery stories

Crime is common ground for the twenty-one women writers in this extraordinary collection of contemporary mystery fiction, introduced and edited by Sara ParetskyThe voices here include professional crime solvers who take you from the mean streets of V.I. Warshawski’s Chicago in a case of music and murder . . . to the California freeway where Kinsey Millhone's beloved VW skids into a shooting . . . to the gang-held turf of Sharon McCone’s San Francisco, where an eye witness to a slaying says mum’s the word.And then there are mothers, grandmothers, battered wives, and social workers—ordinary women in extraordinary situations whose voices reveal contemporary life as seen through a woman’s eye. From the opening tale of a girl down-and-out in London and what she steals from a corpse . . . to the final story of a summer vacation in the Berkshires, complete with romance and sudden death . . . this unique collection brings us great mystery writing that engages both our intellects and our hearts.This collection features stories from twenty-one authors, including:Sara Paretsky • Sue Grafton • Marica Muller • Susan Dunlap • Carolyn Hart • Antonia Fraser • Dorothy Salisbury Davis • Amanda Cross • Nancy Pickard • Dorothy B. Hughes • Faye Kellerman • Julie Smith • Barbara Wilson • Mary Wings • and more!

From the pages of the world's two most acclaimed mystery magazines, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, here are fifteen stories of women sleuths -- stories that have helped transform the conventions of the genre. Numerous best-selling and award-winning writers comprise this entertaining collection, many of who appear here for the first time in this book. From cops to private eyes in extraordinary situations, these heroines face danger and solve crimes with daring and panache. Some of them are old friends, while others are introduced here for the first time. Amanda Cross's Kate Fansler looks into the disappearance of a fellow professor; Antonia Fraser's Jemima Shore, TV journalist and investigator, is hired by a newlywed to find his missing bride; Patricia McGerr's Selena Mead, government agent, plays the dual role of victim and level-headed operative in an exciting thriller; Sara Paretsky's widely renowned V. I. Warshawski gets involved in a complicated game, literally; Ruth Rendell's heroine undergoes a liberation from her former self; and Mary Higgins Clark highlights the heroic side of womankind in her story of a stewardess and a stowaway. From mystery to thriller, to the "lighter side" of the genre, these exciting stories will thrill and delight mystery fans, both male and female alike. This rich collection is thoughtfully chosen to represent the best of this fascinating and compelling genre.

A collection of stories about crime-solving women includes works by Amanda Cross, Sue Grafton, Susan Dunlap, Faye Kelllerman, Antonia Fraser, and Sara Paretsky.

Spine faded. Shipped from the U.K. All orders received before 3pm sent that weekday.

A third collection of crime tales from the Crime Writers' Association includes the writings of Ruth Rendell, Sara Paretsky, William G. Tapply, and Donald E. Westlake, and features tales involving marital addictions, Chinese necromancy, good deeds, and bank vault alarms.

An appealing and eclectic anthology of some of the finest horror and fantasy tales written over the last year includes works by Patricia A. McKillip, Ursula K. Le Guin, Dan Simmons, Jane Yolen, Robert Silverberg, Joyce Carol Oates, and others. Simultaneous.

A varied, suspenseful collection of stories, published in collaboration with the International Association of Crime Writers, features the work of Lawrence Block, P. D. James, Joyce Carol Oates, Sara Paretsky, and many others.

A unique anthology, featuring works from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine gathers together a page-turning collection of stories where the stakes are always life and death, and the games range from poker and chess to Scrabble and crosswords.

Chosen by the editors of Mystery Scene magazine, this collection of short mysteries features tales from the finest names in the field, including Sharyn McCrumb, Sara Paretsky, Lawrence Block, Anne Perry, Carole Nelson Douglas, and others. Reprint.

An anthology of psychological thrillers, whodunits, and suspense stories by popular mystery writers takes readers deep into dark hearts and twisted minds in stories by Anne Perry, Sara Paretsky, Ed McBain, Ruth Rendell, and others

The scene: a sleeping car on the North-Western express, somewhere between Preston and Carlisle. The weapon: a small-caliber revolver. The victims: two young newlyweds, with little money and no known enemies. The puzzle: everyone in the car has an alibi, and no one was seen to leave. Here are all the ingredients for another gripping detective story.The Oxford Book of English Detective Stories gathers 33 engrossing tales of crime, ranging from the birth of the genre to the present day. Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham, P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, Robert Barnard, and Simon Brett--all the giants of English mystery are here, as well as Christianna Brand, Ngaio Marsh, Michael Innes, Reginald Hill, Nicholas Blake, Michael Underwood, and many more. Editor Patricia Craig treats us to Sherlock Holmes, indefatigably tracking the details of the theft of Colonel Ross's prize horse, Silver Blaze, and the murder of its trainer. In "The Oracle of the Dog," G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown sits calmly in his study, solving at a distance the perplexing murder of Colonel Druce: was it the foreign Dr. Valentine, the foppish lawyer Traill, or Floyd, the exuberant American secretary? P.D. James sends Chief Superindentant Dalgliesh on the trail of a mysterious death from some seventy years before--a case with a final, darkly ironic twist. And Robert Barnard grimly lampoons English academe in "The Oxford Way of Death." In addition to this dazzling array of stories, Craig provides a concise introduction which surveys the origins and development of this enduring genre.Ingenious, gothic, morbid, satirical--the English detective story ranks among the most dynamic and gripping fiction. In The Oxford Book of English Detective Stories, Patricia Craig presents some of the best ever written, in an absorbing tour of the world of crime, detection, and retribution.

Most of these stories are about murder. Murder of a stranger or a relative, murder in a quiet English town or in a crowded American city. It happens everywhere, it seems, for all kinds of reasons. In these stories by some of the finest modern crime writers in English, we see what can drive a person to murder - and that trying to catch them can be complicated and extremely dangerous!

A detective fiction anthology filled with award winning short stories, information on the authors who wrote them, discussion about the history and evolution of the genre, and important literary criticism.

“A wonderful treat for the Poe connoisseur, or a perfect introduction to his works.”—Charlotte ObserverIn the Shadow of the Master is an exceptional collection of classic stories from the lord of literary darkness himself—the inimitable Edgar Allan Poe—accompanied by enthralling essays from twenty of his bestselling acolytes and admirers. With appreciations by Michael Connelly, Stephen King, Lisa Scottoline, Tess Gerritsen, Laura Lippman, Nelson DeMille, Lawrence Block, and thirteen others, In the Shadow of the Master is a must-have for thriller and mystery fans of all ages.