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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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    « "Case for Three Detectives" | Main | P. D. James Talks Mysteries »

    January 27, 2010

    Looking Back: "Trent's Last Case"

    In "Case for Three Detectives," the book reviewed on our podcast this week, a lot of the fun is generated by the fact that three great amateur detectives - we are assured they are amateurs and much smarter than the police! - come up with brilliant - but wrong - solutions to the mystery.

    In doing so, those detectives really are offering a homage to E. C. Bentley's wonderful "Trent's Last Case." Published in 1913, this book features a brilliant amateur detective who, in the course of a complex and highly enjoyable mystery, manages to come up with a dazzling and ingenious solution to the crime, marred only by the fact that he is totally wrong. I reviewed it on the podcast more than two years ago, but you can still listen to the review here.

    According to the blurb for the Dover edition of this book (see the link above), Agatha Christie called "Trent's Last Case" "one of the best detective stories ever written." Dorothy L. Sayers was another fan. The Dover edition also features an excellent and informative introduction by Douglas G. Greene, who is widely recognized as an authority on classic mysteries and the author of the definitive biography of John Dickson Carr. The story itself is clever, occasionally funny, and a fair puzzle mystery. The Dover edition is very inexpensive, but there's also an electronic edition, for those of you with Amazon Kindles; it's accessible through the linked page where you can read about the Dover edition.

    Posted at 02:27 PM in Looking Back |

    Tags: classic mysteries, looking back

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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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