The Book Of Extraordinary Historical Mystery Stories

Outstanding new crime fiction spanning centuries of history from Dagger winner Kate Ellis, Edgar winner Martin Edwards, and many more. Collected by Anthony and Dagger Award-winner and eminent editor Maxim Jakubowski, The Book of Extraordinary Historical Mystery Stories features never-before-seen stories by some of the most renowned American and British crime and thriller authors of today, offering a showcase of puzzling, adventurous, and atmospheric short fiction—set in eras ranging from prehistory to medieval, Victorian to World War II, and starring detectives both professional and amateur. Contributors include Linda Stratmann, Amy Myers, Lavie Tidhar, Jane Finnis, O’Neil de Noux, Ashley Lister, Eric Brown, Kate Ellis, A.K. Benedict, and others.

A cornucopia of the best new whodunits, collected by one of the mystery scene’s eminent editors, “a giant of the genre” (Lee Childs). One of the best mystery books of the 21st century, this volume features outstanding new stories of crime, derring-do, fast-paced adventures, and puzzles, featuring hardy amateur detectives ranging from young to old and grizzled private eyes whose patches cover the city streets, all in the hallowed tradition of Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, and Philip Marlowe. Jakubowski’s many anthologies, like The Book of Extraordinary Historical Mystery Stories, have attracted plenty of attention and awards. His newest collection, The Book of Extraordinary Amateur Sleuths and Private Eye Stories, features never-before-seen short fiction by some of the most renowned American and British crime and thriller authors of today. Whether the victim was done in at the party uptown or discovered in the other room of a particularly difficult woman or man, these mysteries will have you reading at the edge of your seat. Praise for Maxim Jakubowski and His Books “I have been a fan of Maxim Jakubowski for years. There just is no finer mystery writer and editor anywhere. Find a comfortable chair and a strong drink and prepare to be enthralled.” —Alexander Algren, author of Out in a Flash: Murder Mystery Flash Fiction “Maxim Jakubowski is deeply experienced in the field . . . Sometimes a brief zap of great writing is just what you’re in the mood for or have time for. That’s when anthologies like his are ideal . . . intellectually outstanding.” —New York Journal of Books

This anthology draws together some of the best new stories of mystery and murder—compiled by the Anthony Award–winning crime fiction editor. This anthology collects the most original stories of murder by some of mystery fiction's most inventive talents from the United States and United Kingdom. With innovative new takes on locked-room mysteries and impossible crimes, these short stories are full of vexing conundrums and reality-defying puzzles. A murder has been committed—but how could it have happened? Curated by Maxim Jakubowski, one of the crime genre’s most renowned editors, this volume features never-before-seen stories by acclaimed authors—including British Science Fiction Award–winner Eric Brown, Derringer Award–winner O'Neil de Noux, and multiple CWA Dagger Award–winners and nominees.

Outstanding new crime fiction spanning centuries of history from Dagger winner Kate Ellis, Edgar winner Martin Edwards, and many more. Collected by Anthony and Dagger Award-winner and eminent editor Maxim Jakubowski, The Book of Extraordinary Historical Mystery Stories features never-before-seen stories by some of the most renowned American and British crime and thriller authors of today, offering a showcase of puzzling, adventurous, and atmospheric short fiction—set in eras ranging from prehistory to medieval, Victorian to World War II, and starring detectives both professional and amateur. Contributors include Linda Stratmann, Amy Myers, Lavie Tidhar, Jane Finnis, O’Neil de Noux, Ashley Lister, Eric Brown, Kate Ellis, A.K. Benedict, and others.

Peter Tremayne is one of the best loved writers of historical mysteries, his novels and stories published in over a dozen countries around the world. An Ensuing Evil collects for the first time fourteen of his historical mysteries ranging in time and place from 7th-century Ireland (featuring his best known sleuth, Fidelma of Cashel) and 8th-century Scotland (featuring the real-life Macbeth) to the recent history of Victorian England and beyond. These fourteen tales of murder, mayhem and mystery each display Tremayne's usual mix of compelling historical detail about the time period and a baffling puzzle that will delight and confound his ever-growning legion of fans.

What constitutes historical truth is often subject to change. Through ingenious detection, the accepted wisdom of one generation may become the discredited legend of another -- or vice versa. In this wide- ranging study of historical investigation, former detective Joe Nickell allows the reader to look over his shoulder as he demonstrates the use of varied techniques in solving some of the world's most perplexing mysteries. All the major categories of historical mystery are here -- ancient riddles, biographical enigmas, hidden identity, "fakelore," questioned artifacts, suspect documents, lost texts, obscured sources, and scientific challenges. Each is then illustrated by a complete case from the author's own files. Nickell's investigation of the giant Nazca drawings in Peru, for example -- thought by some to provide proof of ancient extraterrestrial visitations -- uses innovative techniques to reveal a very different origin. Other cases concern the 1913 disappearance of writer and journalist Ambrose Bierce, the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, the truth about the identity of John Demjanjuk ("Ivan the Terrible" to Polish death camp victims), the fate of a lost colonial American text, the authenticity of Abraham Lincoln's celebrated Bixby letter, and the apparent real-life model for a mysterious character in a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In reaching his solutions, Nickell demonstrates a wide variety of investigative techniques -- chemical and instrumental analyses, physical experimentation, a "psychological autopsy," forensic identification, archival research, linguistic analysis, folklore study, and many others. His highly readable book will intrigue the scholar and the history buff no less than the mystery lover.

A legendary water beast, mysterious wolves, and an unsolved murder echo through two centuries. Wawetseka, a Potawatomi woman, is shocked when a body washes up near her village, but events soon turn worse: her only son is arrested for murder. To free him she must track down the real killer. Her investigation takes her through the wilderness of 1817 northern Illinois and to Fort Dearborn as she races desperately, fighting the harsh terrain and the realities of vigilante justice. Two centuries later, Wawetseka's descendent, Nick Pokagon, a charismatic young scientist, partners with Cora Tozzi, Cisco, and Frannie to publish Wawetseka's adventures. But then Cora and her friends are attacked. What does Wawetseka's story have to do with the present? How can the mysterious assailant be stopped? The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods tells two related stories with unexpected parallels. It is both a fast-paced adventure and a mystery that paints a picture of the little-known earliest days of what is now Lemont, Illinois. Readers who enjoy amateur sleuths and adventure will find it hard to put down.

Henry David Thoreau leaves the seclusion of Walden Pond to help investigate a series of murder in the first in B.B. Oak's fascinating historical mystery series, set against the bucolic backdrop of 19th century New England.

A century-old murder mystery A dangerous ghost An amateur historian... What binds them together? Cora Tozzi is a retired businesswoman who, after nursing her mother through her final illness, wishes only for a peaceful orderly world in her suburban Chicago home. When an angry spirit begins to leave cryptic messages on her computer and threatens those around her, Cora is forced to dig into the town's notorious past to uncover secrets that will free the bonds that tie her and the spirit. With the help of her husband and their friend, Frannie, Cora uses her skills as an amateur historian in a search that takes them into unexpected terrain including subterranean passages, an eerie graveyard, and shadowy paths in isolated forests where a sinister predator is awakened. As they battle unpredictable supernatural powers, the story takes a poignant turn: the spirit's life is revealed, and both women, a century apart, examine threads into the past and the future, their loss and longing linked across the generations.

Fifteen brand-new stories about the British super sleuth by an assortment of talented tale-tellers! Sherlock Holmes and Watson have been household names for generations. In this new anthology from Maxim Jakubowski, you can read all about the dynamic duo in a new light and revisit the legacy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. From brand new stories to deeper looks into famous Sherlock Holmes cases, fans have a new chance to delve into the world of Holmes, Watson, and their crime-solving capers. “One highlight is Paul A. Freeman’s imaginative ‘Sherlock Holmes and a Case of Humbug,’ in which the detective doubts Ebenezer Scrooge’s change of heart resulted from ghostly visitations and uncovers a violent crime. Another is Eric Brown’s eerie ‘The Curse of Carmody Grange,’ in which Holmes investigates a disappearance from a sealed room attributed to a centuries-old curse.” —Publishers Weekly “I have been a fan of Maxim Jakubowski for years. There just is no finer mystery writer and editor anywhere.” ―Alexander Algren, author of Out in a Flash: Murder Mystery Flash Fiction