Mignon Eberhart, Five Passengers from Lisbon

Five Passengers is filled with the “suspense and terror which Mrs. Eberhart knows so well how to maintain.”—The New York Times

Boarding the ship was like entering a dream for Marcia Colfax. At her side was the man she loved; awaiting them was a long delayed happiness. But now a bloodstained knife has slashed her plans to bits. Now her dream has become a nightmare. One man is dead, a knife buried deep in his back. After the second of the group is found dead, fear spreads throughout the ship, as do rumors that Nazi diehards lie among the rescued.

     Now  her voyage to happiness has become a race against death as the murderer readies to strike again.

“The master touch... superior.”—Kirkus

“Ample action and much tense emotion.”—Saturday Review

Vera Caspary, Evvie

“Caspary is an expert at suspense and suspicion…She is also expert at evoking the flavor of a decade when martinis were drunk in coffee cups and rumbles were car seats.”—The New York Times

Fanny Butcher, the literary critic for the Chicago Tribune, “came out of retirement to declare it obscene—ironic judgment from today's point of view, since there are no graphic descriptions and the most explicit allusions are in a scene in which two naked girls discuss sex.” (Caspary’s The Secrets of Grown-ups)

     It was a time when skirts were short and hair was shingled. A time of speakeasies, hipflasks and bathtub gin. A time when Evvie Ashton, the beautiful society girl who modeled, danced, painted and loved promiscuously had come of age—knowing all the right people, doing all the wrong things, and sharing all of it with her roommate and confidante, Louise.

  After being unusually reticent about her latest love, something unthinkable happens to Evvie. Louise must enter a world of duplicity and menace to learn of Evvie’s fate and the identity of her last flame.

  “Evvie is a haunting, period piece of a novel, written with the poetic power and skill of the novelist who gave us Laura.”—The Los Angeles Times

Elizabeth Daly, Unexpected Night

Agatha Christie’s favorite American mystery writer

“Elizabeth Daly rose like a star on the mystery fans’ horizon with Unexpected Night.”—The New York Times

   Amberly Cowden was staying at a Maine golf resort just as he attained the age of majority, and with it a one million dollar inheritance. “He is imagined to have celebrated his coming of age by going out and falling off a cliff. Poor old Amby.” “Poor old Amby,” indeed, but it is fine news and better timing for his relatives. Had he died before reaching the age of 21, every cent of the money would have gone to “some French connections” utterly alien to Amberly’s American relations.

   As luck would have it, the extra-keen sleuth Henry Gamadge is at the resort for a bit of R & R. Never one to ignore a suspicious turn of events, Gamadge vows to get to the bottom of young Amberly’s death, no matter what the cost.

“Spooky from start, with extra shivery climax at [a] theatrical performance where death plays leading role.”—The Saturday Review

Dorothy Salisbury Davis, The Judas Cat

Anthony Boucher, The New York Times: “[The Judas Cat] is a “rewardingly perceptive novel.”

Craig Rice, The Los Angeles News: “…a wonderful small town setting, a good story, and some very, very top-flight writing. Don’t miss it!”

A hate-filled town was afraid to call it murder...

  A strange victim—Hillside had always dismissed 92-year-old Andy Mattson as simply a strange old codger—a name parents used to scare their kids into behaving. Then one steaming summer day the town was rocked by news of his death...his violent death.

  Chief Waterman spoke for the whole town when he said: “It just don’t make sense that anyone’d try to kill the old man . . . What’s the use of risking your neck when he was going to kick off any day?”

  But in this seemingly respectable town there was someone who couldn’t wait—a fear-crazed killer whose guilt drove him to murder!

The Saturday Review calls The Judas Cat a “heftily plotted opus with roots sinking deep into pasts of numerous ably delineated characters who furnish plentiful action and a stirring finish.”

Mildred Davis, They Buried a Man

“In all respects more impressive than Miss Davis’ debut…While you are absorbed in the complex subtleties of a suspense story of the modern school, bordering on the straight novel in its illumination of character and motive, Miss Davis adroitly sneaks up on you with a legitimate surprise trick as technically pretty as anything in the pure puzzle-detective story. A highly gratifying book from any angle.”— Anthony Boucher, The New York Times

The whole town of Little Forks went into mourning when Selwyn Buoman was killed in an automobile accident.

   A year later, the town’s one newspaper reporter, Gunnard Kerr, was to write: “They buried a man a year ago. A man Little Forks knew and loved for nearly half a century. A man who would mend your fences or give you free medicine or hop out of bed in the middle of the night to take you to a hospital. A man who, if he gave you a prescription you couldn’t afford, would say, ‘The first one is on the house.’ They buried a man a year ago, but they couldn’t bury all the threads with which he was tied to the people he left behind.” Gunnard Kerr had come upon the first of those threads immediately after the accident. He was a newcomer to the town, and so, when he wrote a front page obituary, he went back into the files of the town’s newspaper. There were a lot of clippings for Selwyn Buoman: community activities, welfare work, contributions, his overwhelming election as mayor. Exactly what Kerr expected.

   Until he came to the murder...

Lillian de la Torre, Three Cases of Samuel Johnson, Detector

This small collection is comprised of three short stories by Lillian de la Torre, a pioneer of the historical whodunnit.

   “The stories of this series take place in England and Scotland between 1763, when young James Boswell met the great Sam: Johnson in Davies’s back room in Russell Street, and 1784, when their close friendship was severed by the death of Johnson. They exhibit Dr. Johnson in a new role, a role which, though he assumed it but once, was well within his extraordinary possibilities—the role of detector of crime and chicane.

   The stories are written as from the pen of James Boswell, who so faithfully recorded Dr. Johnson’s sayings and doings in his great biography. I hope and believe that none of these imaginary exploits of Dr. Sam: Johnson will outrage belief. Each is abundantly possible to the man upon the quickness and accuracy of whose perceptions Boswell commented.”—Lillian de la Torre

“Mystery fans…will be delighted by the swift and sure movement of Dr. Johnson’s mind. These are stories of ratiocination and, surprisingly enough, the result seldom humbles the reader. On the contrary, he sometimes knows the solution before Dr. Johnson explains it. This extraordinary reward may tempt the veteran of modern mystery stories.”—The New York Times

Mignon Eberhart, Five Passengers from Lisbon

Five Passengers is filled with the “suspense and terror which Mrs. Eberhart knows so well how to maintain.”—The New York Times

Boarding the ship was like entering a dream for Marcia Colfax. At her side was the man she loved; awaiting them was a long delayed happiness. But now a bloodstained knife has slashed her plans to bits. Now her dream has become a nightmare. One man is dead, a knife buried deep in his back. After the second of the group is found dead, fear spreads throughout the ship, as do rumors that Nazi diehards lie among the rescued.

     Now  her voyage to happiness has become a race against death as the murderer readies to strike again.

“The master touch... superior.”—Kirkus

“Ample action and much tense emotion.”—Saturday Review

Baynard Kendrick, Blood on Lake Louisa

“This novel won third prize in a competition conducted by a national magazine …It would be interesting to know what novels won the first and second prizes over so thrilling a yarn as this one.”—The New York Times

Orange Crest, Florida is an unlikely locale for murder, and Doc Ryan an unlikely murderer. Yet, when David Mitchell, banker and pillar of the community, is found dead at Lake Louisa, Ryan blames himself for the crime. Fortunately for the doctor the town sheriff has other theories, and together they set out to solve an extremely puzzling crime.

Richard and Frances Lockridge, The Dishonest Murderer

“One of the best Mr. and Mrs. North mysteries the Lockridges have produced, The Dishonest Murderer is well plotted, smooth, and urbane. It has good suspense, and the delineation of the strengths and frailties of the human beings involved in the crime is interesting.”—The New York Times

At a party celebrating the release of Admiral Satterbee’s memoirs, Pam North hits it off with the Admiral’s daughter, Freddie, who is engaged to a U.S. senator. Later that night, sadly, it is found that Senator Kirkhill has lost his husbandly suitability when he is discovered dead, murdered, in fact. Freddie seeks the Norths for help; she has information that could shed light on the murder, but involving the police might be a bad idea.

Jean Potts, Death of a Stray Cat

“Jean Potts won the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar for her 1954 first novel, Go, Lovely Rose… her second novel, Death of a Stray Cat is even better. Formally, this is an unusually well-constructed detective story, [yet] its virtues are even more novelistic than deductive: …a wonderful feeling for the niceties of character interplay and the pecking order in human relationships, and…an infusion of irony and compassion.”—Anthony Boucher, The New York Times

   “She started a hoarse scream, turned it into a whimper as the fingers twisted and dug into her arm. There was no one to hear, anyway. From over by the fireplace came the sprightly chirp of a cricket. No other sound, except their panting, hers and his.

   “No. Please...No,” she whispered.

   “Why did you have to come?” he asked again. “I can’t stand it. Don’t you see? I have to.” The fingers moved up her two arms, encircled, almost tenderly, her long, pulsing throat...”

   When they found her, not long afterward, Alex recognized her at once. It was Marcella. But how could he explain now to Gwen, his wife standing beside him, about the dead girl; about his strange, quickly ended affair with her of the summer before?

It would be impossible to explain to anyone that in a way he understood the reason for her murder. For Marcella had been the congenital victim, “one of those stray cats who always try to follow you home.”

Kelley Roos, The Blonde Died Dancing

“The Kelley Roos team, specialists in the difficult blending of comedy and murder, have turned out a little honey in this opus. …Perfectly sound plot, narration crisp and really funny, general effect thoroughly engaging. Couldn’t be better in its field.”—The San Francisco Chronicle

“Brightly absurd dialogue and situations.”—The New York Times

Murder in three-quarter time

   She was the most luscious, blue-eyed, baby-faced blonde I had ever seen, and she was dancing with my husband. I was tempted to scratch her eyes out, but I was too happy.

   Now I knew why Steve had been “working late at the office.” He was learning to dance.

   His teacher was quite a dish. And from where I stood, she seemed to be enjoying the lesson much too much. So I decided to set her straight.

   When Steve came out of Studio K, I went in. A Viennese waltz was playing, but the blonde was sitting this one out—on the floor with a bullet hole in her back.

Christiana Brand, Death of Jezebel

“This is a locked-room mystery with a difference, and what a difference it is!”—The New York Times

“Cannily plotted and actionful.”—The Saturday Review

Isabel Drew had done her best in life to live up to her nickname, Jezebel. Sadly, someone believes her efforts insufficient and helps her off the balcony of a theater castle tower. It was a seemingly impossible crime; the culprit escapes detection even though the act is committed before eleven knights on horseback and an entire audience of witnesses.

From the book:

Cockie’s brown fingers played with his cigarette. “This is a projection of the ‘sealed room’ mystery. The scene of the murder was bounded on one side by a stage, under the observation of several thousand pairs of eyes; and on the other by a locked door, with somebody sitting on guard on the other side of it. The murderer must have been within these confines. And the place is as bare as a biscuit box, so that there is nowhere where he can possibly have hidden, or remain hidden.