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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 Without a Corpse" | Main | "The Notting Hill Mystery" »

    April 01, 2016

    Looking Back (Again): "Case for Three Detectives"

    As I have said before, of all the Leo Bruce mysteries that I have read, I think the one I have enjoyed the most is "Case For Three Detectives," the 1936 novel that introduced Bruce's first detective, the phlegmatic, stolid - and thoroughly reliable - Sergeant Beef. It is a marvelous satire of the classic mystery, complete with a clever impossible crime. To solve the murder, Sergeant Beef must make way (on orders from his superiors) for three "gifted" amateur detectives likely to be quite familiar to most classic mystery readers. There's the elegant Lord Simon Plimsoll, the brilliant M. Amer Picon, and that mysterious man of the cloth, Monsignor Smith.

    Readers will recognize the parodies of Lord Peter Wimsey, M. Hercule Poirot and Father Brown, to be sure. But never fear - the three detectives come up with three different and quite brilliant solutions to the crime. The only flaw, alas, is that they are all wrong. The real murderer is discovered by the dull and quite unspectacular Sergeant Beef, who is filled with admiration for the wonderful solutions from the detectives, even as he waits for them to stop their theorizing so he can make an arrest - but then, he has been saying all along, throughout the book, "I know who done it!"

    I reviewed this book here a few years back. It's a great deal of fun, a good and very clever mystery that pokes not-so-gentle fun at the so-called "great" detectives. Academy Chicago Publishers has brought it back, and it's a light-hearted and enjoyable read.

    Posted at 11:49 AM in Funny Mysteries, Golden Age, Locked Rooms/Impossible Crimes, Looking Back |

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

    Comments

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    Bev Hankins

    I love this one! it was my very first Leo Bruce novel.

    Posted by: Bev Hankins | April 01, 2016 at 02:45 PM

    Les Blatt

    I think it's the best I've read of his books so far, Bev.

    Posted by: Les Blatt | April 01, 2016 at 04:14 PM

    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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