Private Detective Fiction

Arguably no other character in history has been so enduringly popular as Sherlock Holmes. From his first appearance in Arthur Conan Doyle's 1887 novella A Study in Scarlet, fans have loved reading and listening about him - and writers have loved writing about him. Here, Otto Penzler collects 83 wonderful stories about Holmes and Dr. John Watson, the majority of which will be new to listeners.

Victor Silvius has spent nine years as an inmate at The Grange, a private sanatorium, for the crime of attacking judge Sir Giles Drury. Now, the judge's wife, Lady Elspeth Drury, believes that Silvius is the one responsible for a series of threatening letters her husband has recently received. Eager to avoid the scandal that involving the local police would entail, Lady Elspeth seeks out retired stage magician Joseph Spector, whose discreet involvement in a case Sir Giles recently presided over greatly impressed her.

In spring 1889, Prudence and Geoffrey set sail from New York Harbor on a private yacht bound for Bradford Island, where her friend Eleanor Dickson is to be wed. The Sea Islands along the Georgia coast serve as a winter playground for the likes of the Carnegies, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, and Dicksons. Despite her Yankee pedigree, Eleanor is marrying a Southern gentleman, Teddy Bennett, and Prudence is thrilled to be the maid of honor.

Twenty-three years ago, Christina Tolmie vanished without trace from northern France, leaving her young daughters Kate and Flora orphaned and alone. Now Flora is also missing. In desperation, Kate searches her Edinburgh house and finds a piece of note paper with just one name: Cal McGill.

Linda and Octavia are estranged sisters. The stay-at-home mom and socialite have never had much in common... until now. When they suddenly find themselves husbandless and broke, they reluctantly agree to combine their talents and take on a faltering P.I. agency in a strip mall. Old emotional wounds keep the two at odds and both sisters think they've made a huge mistake. But soon they realize all their clients have secrets... and who better to help them than two women who have secrets of their own?

There is no detective in fiction as shrewd as Sherlock Holmes. An accomplished violinist, adept at a dozen obscure sciences, and possessed of an acerbic wit, Holmes's adventures with Dr. Watson have delighted readers for more than a century. This collection features some of the most celebrated stories in the Sherlock Holmes canon: "A Scandal in Bohemia", "The Red-Headed League", "The Man with the Twisted Lip", "The Adventure of the Crooked Man”, "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box", "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches", and "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons”.

A short drive outside of the real world Private Investigator Matt Cramer follows an art thief’s RV south from Santa Fe. He’s sure the man has the paintings he stole with him, but Matt’s boss thinks the man is headed to meet a buyer, and the big money is in catching both of them as well as retrieving the art. Matt needs to be there when they meet. A stakeout is never comfortable, but the weather is dreadful… rainy and dismal and Matt is unprepared. He never expected the man would head for a remote campground on a northern bank of the Pecos River. That leaves him sitting in his car, ...

When Carson Chance first laid eyes on run-a-way Amy Warren five years ago, he had no idea that she would open his eyes to life and love again. Carson’s history of PTSD and a gunshot wound broke them apart, but now she is back in his life and attending law school. Carson, desperate to hang on to what they had, struggles with Amy’s new life. When Carson and a rival male law student clash at a local bar, Amy has doubts that Carson didn’t start the fight, and tension between them escalates. Unable to put their dysfunctional past behind them, Amy pushes Carson away.Picking up the pieces of...

A sweet n' cold murder… A newbie, pathetic agent… and a hot mess… FREE with Kindle Unlimited! PI Assistant extraordinaire Kelly Kinki is back, and she’s stuck between a hunk and a hard case. A popular college student has been murdered after visiting a local ice cream shop. The suspect list is short and sweet, but with a fledgling FBI agent tagging along on their investigation, Kelly and her drop dead gorgeous boss Michael Archangel have an extra scoop of trouble. Trading his dress for a suit and hitting DC’s top ten list of eligible bachelors may be business as usual for Archangel...

Wealthy young women are being murdered on Manhattan's exclusive Upper West Side, and the police aren't looking for answers in the right places. Enter Tandy Angel. The first case she cracked was the mystery of her parents' deaths. Now, while she's working to exonerate her brother of his glamorous girlfriend's homicide, she's driven to get involved in the West Side murder spree. One of the recent victims was a student at Tandy's own elite school. She has a hunch it may be the work of a serial killer, but the NYPD isn't listening to her.

Nan and I discover that someone has been embezzling funds from the local animal shelter. If we can't find the culprit soon, the shelter may not be able to keep its lights on and those poor homeless pets won't have anywhere to go.

In Ruler of the Night, listeners feel they're actually on the harrowing fogbound streets of 1855 London as the brilliant opium-eater Thomas De Quincey and his irrepressible daughter, Emily, confront their most ruthless adversary. The stakes couldn't be greater: both the heart of Victorian society and De Quincey's tormented soul.

Fleeced is a witty portrait of modern urban life, and proves once again that Carol Higgins Clark is a uniquely talented writer.

When former police detective Ted Conkaffey was wrongly accused of abducting Claire Bingley, he hoped the Queensland rainforest town of Crimson Lake would be a good place to disappear. But nowhere is safe from Claire's devastated father. Dale Bingley has a brutal revenge plan all worked out—and if Ted doesn't help find the real abductor, he'll be its first casualty.

A Cupcakes-and-Crime Caper When an organized crime syndicate decides to come after Tiffany and Rosie, the duo must act quickly to ensure the safety of their loved ones. But when a syndicate employee attempting to help Tiffany is found dead, she insists on getting to the bottom of it all. Can Tiffany, Stone and Rosie handle these dangerous criminals? Will this be their last investigation? Praise for A.R. Winters: "The perfect balance of being lighthearted, but still a serious page-turning mystery." - Jaycie D, Amazon.com "A fun cozy mystery with engaging and entertaining characters" - lq, ...

A Cupcakes-and-Crime Caper Tiffany and Rosie find themselves investigating two separate cases – a cold case that appears to have been a natural death, and the murder of a popular dance guru. When the two cases appear to be linked, the duo are shocked and concerned that one or both of their clients might be a killer. Nanna, Jan, and Stone all help out – but will that be enough to uncover the truth in time? Praise for A.R. Winters: "The perfect balance of being lighthearted, but still a serious page-turning mystery." - Jaycie D, Amazon.com "A fun cozy mystery with engaging and ...

Book #3 in the Jab Boone Murder Mystery Series A car-bombing, similar to the one that killed Tiffin Boone and friends four years ago, resurfaces in the Bay Area. It turns out that the actual bomb maker, known as The Caveman, has his sights on Jab Boone! Complicating matters is the murder of Under-Sheriff Sherry Davis and the lurid press fascination between Jab and The Caveman. Jab enlists sheriffs in three separate counties as well as the FBI to stop The Caveman from wreaking further havoc!

Sister Eve, a motorcycle-riding nun with a natural (or is it supernatural?) gift for solving murders returns to the enclave she once called home and quickly finds herself confronting yet another mysterious death. Someone has poisoned Dr. Kelly Middlesworth—a researcher on the life and ministry of 17th-century’s revered “Blue Nun” - and a set of irreplaceable historic documents have disappeared before they could even be examined.

A single number saved her life. Grace knew it was only the beginning. Suddenly, danger surrounded her. She was terrified...the pain was relentless. Nothing in her life prepared her for this. She desperately needed somewhere safe...someplace she could hide. Someone she could trust. It was dark...and getting darker. Ronan Hendricks didn’t recognize her voice. Not family...not friends. Probably not an enemy. He didn’t hear animosity in her voice. But he didn’t need the years he’d spent as a detective to recognize what he did hear... Fear. Ethan Hendricks wasn’t thrilled that his ...

So you want to play with magic? There’s trouble in the French Quarter when a professional basketball player hires Wyatt and voodoo mambo Mama Mulate to help him exorcise a supernatural demon. Wyatt is thrilled to have a paying client, Mama, over the moon in lust for the handsome athlete. Things look rosy for the pair of paranormal investigators until the assignment dictates Wyatt travel back in time to antebellum New Orleans. Thrust headfirst into the middle of a dangerous situation, Wyatt must deal with a red-haired Irish witch named Aisling and avoid becoming a haunted torture room ...