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Last edited by bitnapper
August 24, 2025 | History

Purloined Letter / Edgar Allan Poe
A terribly strange bed / Wilkie Collins
The three strangers / Thomas Hardy
The red-headed league / Arthur Conan Doyle
The corpus delecti / Melville Davisson Post
Gentlemen and players / E.W. Hornung
A journey / Edith Wharton
The leopard man's story / Jack London
A retrieved reformation / O. Henry
The problem of Cell 13 / Jacques Futrelle
The absent-minded coterie / Robert Barr
The invisible man / G.K. Chesterton
The infallible Godahl / Frederick Irving Anderson
The adventure of the unique "Hamlet" / Vincent Starrett
The Gioconda smile / Aldous Huxley
Haircut / Ring Lardner
The killers / Ernest Hemingway
The hands of Mr. Ottermole / Thomas Burke
The little house at Croix-Rousse / Georges Simenon
The case of the missing patriarchs / Logan Clendening
Clerical error / James Gould Cozzens
The two bottles of relish / Lord Dunsany
The chaser / John Collier
The perfect crime / Ben Ray Redman
Yours truly, Jack the Ripper / Robert Bloch
The blind spot / Barry Perowne
The catbird seat / James Thurber
Recipe for murder / C.P. Donnel Jr.
The nine mile walk / Harry Kemelman
Kill or be killed / Ogden Nash
The specialty of the house / Stanley Ellin
Nearly perfect / A.A. Milne
The Gettysburg Bugle / Ellery Queen
The last spin / Evan Hunter
Stand up and die! / Mickey Spillane
A new leaf / Jack Ritchie
The snail-watcher / Patricia Highsmith
The long way down / Edward D. Hoch
The man who never told a lie / Isaac Asimov
I have / John Gardner
Quitters, Inc. / Stephen King
Horn man / Clark Howard
The new girl friend / Ruth Rendell
By the dawn's early light / Lawrence Block
Iris / Stephen Greenleaf
High Darktown / James Ellroy
The Pietro Andromache / Sara Paretsky
Soft monkey / Harlan Ellison
The hand of Carlos / Charles McCarry
Karen makes out / Elmore Leonard

Publish Date
Publisher
Dove Books
Language
English
Pages
567

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time
The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time
September 1, 2007, Phoenix Books
Paperback in English
Cover of: The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time
The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time
February 2003, New Millennium Press
Paperback in English
Cover of: The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time
The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time
July 2002, Phoenix Audio
Audio cassette in English - Unabridged edition
Cover of: The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time
The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time
July 2002, Phoenix Audio
Audio Cassette in English - Unabridged edition
Cover of: The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time
The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time
1998, Dove Books
Hardcover in English - First Printing (1)

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Book Details


First Sentence

"Attempting to compile a list of the best of anything is inevitably an exercise doomed to failure."

Table of Contents

Introduction
Page Otto Penzler | viii
1844. The Purloined Letter
Page Edgar Allan Poe | 1
1852. A Terribly Strange Bed
Page Wilkie Collins | 13
1883. The Three Strangers
Page Thomas Hardy | 23
1891. The Red-Headed League
Page Arthur Conan Doyle | 37
1896. The Corpus Delecti
Page Melville Davisson Post | 53
1898. Gentlemen and Players
Page E.W. Hornung | 71
1899. A Journey
Page Edith Wharton | 83
1903. The Leopard Man's Story
Page Jack London | 91
1903. A Retrieved Reformation
Page O. Henry | 95
1905. The Problem of Cell 13
Page Jacques Futrelle | 101
1906. The Absent-Minded Coterie
Page Robert Barr | 123
1911. The Invisible Man
Page G.K. Chesterton | 145
1913. The Infallible Godahl
Page Frederick Irving Anderson | 159
1920. The Adventure of the Unique "Hamlet"
Page Vincent Starrett | 179
1921. The Gioconda Smile
Page Aldous Huxley | 191
1925. Haircut
Page Ring Lardner | 211
1927. The Killers
Page Ernest Hemingway | 219
1931. The Hands of Mr. Ottermole
Page Thomas Burke | 227
1932. The Little House at Croix-Rousse
Page Georges Simenon | 239
1934. The Case Of The Missing Patriarchs
Page Logan Clendening | 243
1935. Clerical Error
Page James Gould Cozzens | 245
1936. The Two Bottles of Relish
Page Lord Dunsany | 249
1940. The Chaser
Page John Collier | 259
1941. The Perfect Crime
Page Ben Ray Redman | 263
1943. Yours Truly, Jack The Ripper
Page Robert Bloch | 275
1945. The Blind Spot
Page Barry Perowne | 289
1945. The Catbird Seat
Page James Thurber | 297
1946. Recipe for Murder
Page C.P. Donnel Jr. | 303
1947. The Nine Mile Walk
Page Harry Kemelman | 307
1947. Kill or be Killed
Page Ogden Nash | 313
1948. The Specialty of the House
Page Stanley Ellin | 315
1950. Nearly Perfect
Page A.A. Milne | 327
1951. The Gettysburg Bugle
Page Ellery Queen | 333
1956. The Last Spin
Page Evan Hunter | 347
1958. Stand Up and Die!
Page Mickey Spillane | 353
1963. A New Leaf
Page Jack Ritchie | 391
1964. The Snail-Watcher
Page Patricia Highsmith | 405
1965. The Long Way Down
Page Edward D. Hoch | 411
1972. The Man Who Never Told a Lie
Page Isaac Asimov | 425
1974. I Have
Page John Gardner | 433
1978. Quitters, Inc.
Page Stephen King | 439
1980. Horn Man
Page Clark Howard | 453
1983. The New Girl Friend
Page Ruth Rendell | 463
1984. By the Dawn's Early Light
Page Lawrence Block | 471
1984. Iris
Page Stephen Greenleaf | 485
1986. High Darktown
Page James Ellroy | 499
1988. The Pietro Andromache
Page Sara Paretsky | 513
1988. Soft Monkey
Page Harlan Ellison | 529
1992. The Hand of Carlos
Page Charles Mccarry | 539
1996. Karen Makes Out
Page Elmore Leonard | 557

Edition Notes

First Printing: May 1998; 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
$25.00; C$30.00

Published in
Los Angeles, California, USA
Other Titles
Fifty Greatest Mysteries of all Time, Greatest mysteries of all time
Copyright Date
1998

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
808.83/872
Library of Congress
PN6071.D45 A16 1998

Contributors

Book Designer
Carolyn Wendt
Cover Art
Mauna Eichner
Cover Design
Mauna Eichner

The Physical Object

Format
Hardcover
Pagination
viii, 567 p. ;
Number of pages
567
Dimensions
23.6 x 15.7 x 4.4 centimeters
Weight
898 grams

Edition Identifiers

Open Library
OL463340M
Internet Archive
50greatestmyster00otto
ISBN 10
0787109630
ISBN 13
9780787109639
LCCN
98182750
OCLC/WorldCat
39220796
Goodreads
59493192

Work Identifiers

Work ID
OL5971851W

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