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 audiobook.

eBooks

Goodreads Blurb:

The quiet New England village of Grindle was the last place in the world where murder might be expected. Vultures, traditional heralds of death in the valley, had not roosted in Grindle Oak for more than a hundred years. But now they swarmed there, sinister omens of death to follow. For a murderer stalked the woods and fields of Grindle, a creature whose twisted mind took fiendish joy in killing. And soon the signs began to appear–a dead monkey, savagely eviscerated … the mutilated body of a kitten… And then a man, drifting face down in the shallow waters of a pond, a man who had been killed slowly by dragging his body behind a moving car…

The Grindle Nightmare

163 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1935. Published July 10, 2018 by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road.

Goodreads Blurb:

The entire town is at sixes and sevens with the homecoming of the Hilton family, whose ancestor, Benjamin, left the village of Kenmore ages ago and eventually rose to become vice president of the United States. Now the Hiltons have returned—not that they’re particularly happy about it, if their rather standoffish attitude is any clue.
 
But even such a highly regarded family has its secrets. And when their aged nanny dies under mysterious circumstances, Westlake is asked by Inspector Cobb to step beyond his role as local coroner and conduct a clandestine investigation into the Hilton household. Such a task won’t be easy, as other branches of the family arrive and expand Westlake’s list of possible suspects. But he’s not about to let a possible murder go unsolved, no matter how blue the blood being spilled . . .
 

Death, My Darling Daughters

Series: Dr. Westlake (#7)

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published on January 1, 1945. Posted August 7, 2018 by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road.

Goodreads Blurb:

Radio star Nelle Brown is known coast-to-coast for her sweet and sultry voice. But her press agent and manager, Jake Justus, is familiar with another side of the darling of the airwaves: her crackpot marriage to a penniless tycoon, disastrous string of lovers, and propensity for flying into spectacular fits of rage. Now, it appears she’s being burned by an ex-flame who’s holding her scandalous love letters for ransom. The missives could ruin Nelle’s career, but so could the scoundrel’s murder. For Nelle and Jake, reporting the crime is out of the question—not to mention pointless, as the corpse has vanished along with the incriminating evidence.
 
John J. Malone, Chicago’s rumpled yet resourceful legal beagle is tasked with finding both. But as every new unscrupulous lead turns up dead, Malone isn’t sure whether Nelle is orchestrating a killer cover-up to save her pretty neck or if she’s about to belt out her own swan song.

The Corpse Steps Out

Series: John J. Malone (#2)

First published January 1, 1940. This edition was published November 14, 2017 by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road.

Goodreads Blurb:

A dozen murders and counting—and any one of them could lead a Chicago attorney to a hotheaded female tycoon.
 
It’s 11:59 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and criminal lawyer John J. Malone is nursing his blues in a Chicago dive bar. He’s been two-timed by his inamorata and abandoned by his favorite gumshoe partners, crime reporter Jake Justus and socialite Helene Brand, for their Bermuda honeymoon. But Malone’s not lonely for long. Suddenly, a stranger staggers into the bar, calls out the attorney’s name, and drops dead—stabbed in the back. In his possession is a key that could unlock the cold heart of Mona McClane, a wealthy and beautiful thrill-seeker who once challenged Jake in a high-stakes gamble: She’d bet him she could get away with murder.
 
Is this dead man a pawn in Mona’s game? If so, thank goodness Jake and Helene’s honeymoon turned as a sour as a margarita. They’re already back in town, at odds, yet ready to play. With a crazy wager like Mona’s, Malone fears they’ll be ringing in the New Year with a countdown of corpses.

The Right Murder

Series: John J. Malone (#4)

First published January 1, 1941. Published November 14, 2017 by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road.

260 pages, Kindle Edition