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    Mystery Publishers

    • Academy Chicago Publishers
      An imprint of the Chicago Review Press. Features a number of interesting authors, most long out of print, plus some other odds and ends, including some horror stories by Conan Doyle.
    • Crippen & Landru
      Crippen & Landru publish mystery short story collections. Of particular interest is what they call "Lost Classics," a series of anthologies of mostly uncollected stories by authors who might be enjoyed by a new generation of readers.
    • Dean Street Press
      This small British publisher has a great many classic crime books in its much broader catalog. They are bringing back many Golden Age classics by authors who deserve another chance at a new audience.
    • Felony & Mayhem
      This publisher specializes in classic mysteries, broadly defined, including newer mysteries that adhere to classic standards. They have just overhauled their website to make it much more informative and user-friendly.
    • Locked Room International
      A small press, specializing in very good English-language translations of (so far) mostly-French authors of locked room and impossible crime stories. They publish in Print-On-Demand and electronic editions.
    • Merion Press
      The Merion Press is an independent publisher of out-of-print works that were originally published over 75 years ago, but are enduring even today.
    • MysteriousPress.com
      The brainchild of editor/anthologist/author/bookstore-owner Otto Penzler, the Mysterious Press has recently returned to life and now works with Open Road Media as an electronic book publisher. It is already republishing the work of a lot of classic authors, with more books on the way.
    • Oconee Spirit Press
      A small, independent publisher committed to publishing "lively fiction, and provocative non-fiction." Most of their list covers early works by established authors writing traditional mysteries, such as Carolyn Hart and Margaret Maron.
    • Oleander Press
      This small eclectic British publisher has begun publishing a series of classic British mystery novels, primarily from the Golden Age. The series is grouped into a section of their catalogue named "London Bound," as the books are set in London.
    • Ostara Publishing
      "Ostara Publishing re-issues titles that have unjustifiably become unavailable either through the ravages of time or the forces of publishing economics. We specialise in Crime and Thriller fiction titles and our range goes from the1920s through to the 21st century. We publish thematically and currently have six series available. All our titles are published in a 'trade paperback' format and printed to order."
    • Poisoned Pen Press
      Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Poisoned Pen Press publishes a fairly wide variety of mysteries. Some are reprints; many are new, by newer authors. Their website has a great deal of information about their books and authors.

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    « Falling Behind | Main | Looking Back: "The Three Coffins" »

    May 18, 2009

    "The Dream Detective"

    "Moris Klaw! Moris Klaw! The devil's come for you!"

    Visitors to Moris Klaw's shop in a dismal district of London were announced in this manner by his parrot. Moris Klaw is the central figure of "The Dream Detective," by Sax Rohmer. What is a "dream detective"? One who solves crimes through the aid of his own dreams.

    Silly? A bit, perhaps. But in the early years of the 20th century, many fictional detectives had some peculiarity, something to make them stand out in the readers' minds. In the case of Moris Klaw, it was his reliance on his "scientific" theory and use of dreams. Author Sax Rohmer is far better known for his "Fu Manchu" thrillers, but the stories about Moris Klaw are quite memorable. You'll find a review of "The Dream Detective" on this week's Classic Mysteries podcast.

    Now an apology: when I originally picked this book and recorded the podcast, it appeared that there was a version of the book in print, available through Amazon. That has since disappeared from the listing. If your favorite mystery bookstore has difficulty finding "The Dream Detective," check the link above - a number of Amazon's dealers appear to have copies available, and some of them are quite reasonable. Moris Klaw is a most unusual character, and he's worth knowing.

    Posted at 12:40 PM in Looking Back, Out of print, Short Stories |

    Tags: book reviews, Classic mysteries, detective stories, sax rohmer

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    Disclosure: Amazon Associates

    • As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
      That means that if you order anything from Amazon through a link from my site I get a small commission. As a result, I'd consider it a favor if you would consider making your purchases through my links. As always, though, if you have a local mystery book store, I encourage you to use them as your first choice. For anything else...thank you.

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