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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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    « "The Hog's Back Mystery" | Main | Black Friday in July? »

    July 08, 2015

    Looking Back: "Inspector French's Greatest Case"

    Scotland Yard Inspector French, who is featured in Freeman Wills Crofts's The Hog's Back Mystery, was quite popular among the readers of detective stories, beginning with his first appearance, in Inspector French's Greatest Case, originally published in 1924. French is called in to solve what appears to be a straightforward murder and robbery at a firm of diamond merchants, where the head office clerk is found lying in front of an open – and, alas, empty – safe. It is the kind of case that might be expected to be fairly straightforward and easy to solve. But we soon discover that there are all kinds of complications – and that we are faced with a criminal who has ingeniously prepared a number of false trails, the better to conceal the truth.

    Unlike many of the fictional police detectives of the day, Inspector French was a thoroughly competent policeman who used the routine procedures of police work to help him find the clues he needed to solve his cases. We puzzle over the clues with him and share his pleasure when he is able to interpret them correctly – and his frustrations when a particular line of his investigation fizzles out, leaving him to go back and pick up the threads and move in another direction.

    I reviewed Inspector French's Greatest Case some years ago on this blog, and you can listen to my original podcast review by clicking here. I am delighted to find that the book is available in print as well as in electronic editions. I think you would enjoy it.

    Posted at 07:42 PM in Golden Age, Looking Back, Police procedurals |

    Tags: classic mysteries, GAD, Golden Age of Detective Fiction, looking back, mysteries, mystery

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