Recommended reading - The Mammoth Book of Short Crime Novels (1986):

The Mammoth Book of Short Crime Novels

Edited by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg.

Published 1986.
Published by Robinson Publishing.
Paperback.
ISBN-10: 0948164212
ISBN-13: 978-0948164217

Description:

Complete and Unabridged.

12 Short Crime Novels by the masters of suspense:

The Lawless Lady, by Leslie Charteris.
Simon Templar, alias the Saint, pits his skills against an ingenious group of thieves.

Introducing Susan Dare, by Mignon Eberhart.
Meet detective Susan Dare in her first appearance, solving the murder of a fellow houseguest.

Nightmare, by Cornell Woolrich.
A murder mystery full of psychological terror in the tradition of Poe.

Death’s Eye View, by John D. MacDonald.
A chilling tale of attempted murder off the Florida coast.

The Murder Machine, by Hugh Pentecost.
Sabotage and murder set the scene at a quarry in rural Pennsylvania.

Death Rides a Boxcar, by Erle Stanley Gardner.
Lost purses, bribery, sabotage and train yards at midnight contribute to a thrilling tale of espionage.

The Bearded Lady, by Ross MacDonald.
Private eye Lew Archer sets out to solve the theft of a painting and gets involved in a double murder.

Murder Set to Music, by Fredric Brown.
Would you buy a used car from this man. Salesman and musician – but is that all he is?

The Zero Clue, by Rex Stout.
The famous Nero Wolfe and his sidekick, Archie Goodwin, help a stumped New York police department solve a murder.

Storm, by Ed McBain.
A ski weekend in New England turns into a double murder for 87th Precinct Detective Cotton Hawes.

Don’t Look Now, by Daphne Du Maurier.
A classic tale of psychic events in Venice.

Booktaker, by Bill Pronzini.
Meet the most inventive thief in San Francisco – can you work out how he does it?