Golden Age of Detective Fiction

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality, all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, whether physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, eBooks, and audiobooks.

eBook Purchases

Goodreads Blurb:

Chuck Baer and Tim Corrigan chase a sultan’s assassin to recover a million-dollar ruby

Chuck Baer is a brilliant private detective, but he’ll never be called graceful. Hired by the all-powerful sultan of Morojaca to provide security for a banquet, this bearlike PI requires backup with class, and there is no tough guy in New York quite as classy as Tim Corrigan. A 1-eyed cop with a sense of style, Corrigan is happy to tag along to the event. Once there, he finds himself guarding not only the crown jewels, but also the cream of the sultan’s harem. Sometimes, a cop’s life isn’t so bad.

The sultan is opening gifts from well-wishers when an explosion rocks the ballroom, blowing the monarch to smithereens. When the smoke clears and the sultanas stop screaming, it becomes clear that the killer has made off with the Akhoond—a million-dollar ruby as red as the blood that stains the floor. Corrigan is about to embark on the wildest chase of his career. . . .

Why So Dead?

Series: Tim Corrigan

First published January 1, 1966. This edition was published on September 29, 2015 by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road

198 pages, Kindle Edition

Goodreads Blurb:

“He had his tea as usual; when I knocked at the door with the tray (he always had afternoon tea), I found him—like this.”
Dr Roger Lavington is dreading his debut performance with the village amateur dramatic society. But real-world drama takes over when Lavington’s neighbour, a reclusive artist, is found murdered in his own sitting room. Also found on the scene are a lady’s glove, a diamond ring, and a mysterious young woman who begs Lavington for his protection. Her safety will depend on her ability to take a role in the forthcoming village play—but is Lavington sheltering a wronged woman or a clever murderess?
The Bungalow Mystery (1923) was the first of Annie Haynes’s golden age crime novels, and announced a major talent. This new edition, the first in over eighty years, features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

The Bungalow Mystery

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1923. This edition was published March 1, 2016 by Dean Street Press.

Book Purchases

Goodreads Blurb:

Christmas in Adelaide promises to be a pleasant vacation for Andrew Basnett, retired professor of botany and amateur sleuth. But the shadow of an unsolved murder hangs over the lives of his hosts, Tony and Jan Gardiner. The police still suspect Jan of her first husband’s murder and it doesn’t help when a second killing takes place under the same bizarre circumstances. What can a guest do in such a case but try to clear his hostess and solve the crime? – and – Andrew Basnett, that endearing professor of botany who has discovered in retirement a talent for solving crime, decides to accept an invitation from a former student, Tony Gardiner, to spend Christmas with him and his newly wedded wife in Adelaide, where, so Andrew observes, he has heard more bizarre murders have happened than anywhere else in Australia. The remark provokes from Tony an uncharacteristically aggressive response. Andrew could not have known that Jan Gardiner’s first husband was the victim of such a crime, that the case is still unsolved, and that Jan is still a suspect. But when in the midst of celebrating Christmas on the beach someone else closely connected with Jan is murdered by identical means, Andrew cannot avoid being drawn into the little circle of family and close friends, among whom the police are convinced the murderer will be found. And of course Andrew cannot avoid making his own observations and drawing certain conclusions which once again lead to the solving of the crimes.

The Crime and the Crystal

Series: Andrew Basnett (#3)

216 pages, Paperback

Originally published in 1985. This edition was published on April 20, 2021, by Felony & Mayhem Press.

Goodreads Blurb:

Few were disappointed when Raoul Vernet was found with his head bashed in, dead in a pool of his own blood. On vacation in England, the Belgian seducer comes to visit Matilda, an old flame from a few years before. She agrees despite suspicions that Vernet has been deploying his legendary charm on another member of the young Rosie, who has returned from her Swiss boarding school carrying a child.

None of the family members were in the house when Raoul was killed, but all were within a fog-choked London mile. Rosie calls in the brilliant Inspector Cockrill to clear the family’s name, but what he finds is a twisted clan of seven people, each as likely to laugh at a murder as commit one.

Original Title: London Particular

Series: Inspector Cockrill (#5)

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1952. Published on March 5, 2013 by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road.