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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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    « Looking Back: "Envious Casca" | Main | The Elite Eight Detectives »

    March 24, 2011

    Harry Who?

    I see that Google has noticed that today marks Erik Weisz's 137th birthday.

    Erik who?

    Harry Houdini, that's who. He's still recognized as one of the greatest stage magicians and escape artists who ever lived. And, it's worth noting, he lives on in a number of mystery authors' fertile imaginations. I recently read "The Last Illusion," one of Rhys Bowen's marvelous Molly Murphy mysteries, in which Houdini plays a major role. Some of his illusions and escapes remain provocative mysteries today.

    Posted at 07:19 AM in General Suggestions, Historical Mysteries |

    Tags: classic mysteries, Harry Houdini, Houdini, magic, magicians, Rhys Bowen

    Comments

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    Yvette

    A friend on Facebook alerted me to the Birthday news today, Les. I posted a few Houdini posters on my blog. When I read how he practically allowed himself to die out of sheer cussedness, it made me so sad. If true, it was such a waste.

    There was another author who wrote a mystery featuring Houdini but damn if I can remembre his name. He also wrote a mystery featuring Oscar Wilde and a couple of other famous names. Memory fails me yet again.

    Posted by: Yvette | March 24, 2011 at 11:25 AM

    Les Blatt

    Yvette, you may be thinking of Daniel Stashower. According to Amazon, he has written a number of "Harry Houdini mysteries," not to mention some Sherlock Holmes stories as well. I must admit I haven't read any...but, as I see he has registered for Malice Domestic at the end of April, perhaps I'll get a chance to read one and meet the author!

    Posted by: Les Blatt | March 24, 2011 at 12:00 PM

    Yvette

    The name just popped into my head, Les. Walter Satterthwaite. I think that's the way it's spelled. He wrote a series of msyteries featuring some famous turn early twentieth century characters. He also wrote a terrific series set in Santa Fe, feauturing a more hard boiled type: a detective name...maybe, something like Jason Croft. But can't remember the pseudonym. Ah, memory....!

    Posted by: Yvette | March 24, 2011 at 01:13 PM

    The comments to this entry are closed.

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