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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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    « "Our Jubilee Is Death" | Main | "Night of the Jabberwock" - Out Of Print Again! »

    July 20, 2009

    "Overture to Death"

    The opening chords of the music were supposed to come crashing out of the piano. But when the crash came instead from the gun hidden inside the piano, killing the piano player, it became a case of murder. That's the situation in Ngaio Marsh's "Overture To Death," featuring Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn. It's the subject of our review today on the Classical Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to it here.

    "Overture to Death" dates from 1939, near the end of the Golden Age of Detection, but Ngaio Marsh's writing career continued well into the 1970s. She has long been one of my favorite writers - I like her detective, the other "regulars" in the books, the mysteries themselves (always fairly plotted) and her excellent sense of humor. "Overture to Death" also features an impossible crime situation, as nobody could possibly have rigged up the deadly trap in the piano - or that's the way it seems until Alleyn shows how the trick was worked. I've always enjoyed re-reading it, which I think is a mark of a fine mystery - even knowing its secrets, it's still worth a return visit.

    Posted at 09:52 AM in Golden Age, Locked Rooms/Impossible Crimes |

    Tags: classic mysteries, detective fiction, GAD, Golden Age, impossible crimes, Ngaio Marsh

    Comments

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    hobgood05@gmail.com

    Hello Mr Blatt- I have been subscribing to your podcasts all summer and it is downright spooky how you will review a book i just read or just purchased! (By the way , I found your Amazon link a little belatedly- but I'll be using it from now on.) Keep them coming. I love them!

    Posted by: [email protected] | July 22, 2009 at 10:07 PM

    Les Blatt

    Very glad you're enjoying them - even happier that you are enjoying the books! Thanks.

    Posted by: Les Blatt | July 23, 2009 at 05:10 AM

    The comments to this entry are closed.

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      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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