Recommended reading - Golden Age Whodunits (2024):

Golden Age Whodunits

Edited by Otto Penzler.

Short story anthology.

Published by American Mystery Classics.

Published 2024.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1613165420

ISBN-13: 978-1613165423

Description:

Depending on who you ask, the term "whodunit" was first coined sometime around 1930, but the literary form predates that name by several decades. Still, it was in the years between the two World Wars--the so-called "Golden Age" of mystery fiction--that the style flourished. Short mysteries were published far and wide by a variety of authors, not just those primarily associated with the genre. They appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, Cosmopolitan, The New Yorker, and other high-end periodicals that still exist today. These tales were, in short, among the most popular diversions in literature and were of the highest caliber.

Fifteen puzzling tales from the masters of the mystery genre Depending on who you ask, the term “whodunit” was first coined sometime around 1930, but the literary form predates that name by several decades. Still, it was in the years between the two World Wars – the so-called “Golden Age” of mystery fiction – that the style flourished. Short mysteries were published far and wide by a variety of authors, not just those primarily associated with the genre. They appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, Cosmopolitan, The New Yorker, and other high-end periodicals that still exist today. These tales were, in short, among the most popular diversions in literature and were of the highest caliber.

In this volume, Edgar Award–winning anthologist Otto Penzler collects some of the finest American whodunits of the era, including household names and welcome rediscoveries. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ellery Queen, and Mary Roberts Rinehart are all included, as are Ring Lardner, Melville Davisson Post, and Helen Reilly. The result is a cross section of the whodunit tale in the years that made it a staple in mystery fiction.

"Stellar . . . there’s not a weak link in the bunch. For classic mystery fans, this is a must." – Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW.

"Guaranteed to make Americans prouder of their country than any episode in its recent political history." – Kirkus.

"You simply can’t go wrong with any anthology that has [Otto Penzler’s] name on it." – Parade Magazine.

"Penzler’s depth of knowledge of the genre is in full evidence in this volume . . . This anthology is sure to contain something to surprise even the most diehard mystery fan." – Toronto Star.

Recommended reading - Pulp Fiction: The Dames (2008):

Pulp Fiction: The Dames

Omnibus.

Edited by Otto Penzler.

Introduced by Laura Lippman.

Published 2008.

Published by Quercus.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1847242316

ISBN-13: 978-1847242310

Description:

Laura Lippman introduces 23 dames, femmes fatales, avenging angels, broads, molls and dolls from the golden age of pulp fiction and the dawn of modern crime writing.

From Sally the Sleuth to The Girl Who Knew Too Much, these women knew how to steal a guy’s heart – or his gun – and they weren’t afraid to use their fists if their charms couldn’t get them what they wanted. Risking their lives and ending others, these dames are certain to set your heart racing, whether you’re a pulp novice or a hard-boiled fan.

With stories from Raymond Chandler, Cornell Woolrich and Dashiell Hammett, and a strip cartoon from Adolphe Barreau, Pulp Fiction: The Dames shows that some writing has an edge that time just can’t dull.

Contents: Preface, by Otto Penzler; Introduction, by Laura Lippman; Angel Face, by Cornell Woolrich; Chosen to Die, by Leslie T. White; A Pinch of Snuff, by Eric Taylor; Killer in the Rain, by Raymond Chandler; Sally the Sleuth, by Adolphe Barreaux; A Shock for the Countess, by C. S. Montanye; Snowbound, by C. B. Yorke; The Girl Who Knew Too Much, by Randolph Barr; The Corpse in the Crystal, by D. B. McCandless; He Got What He Asked For, by D. B. McCandless; Gangster's Brand, by P. T. Luman; Dance Macabre, by Robert Reeves; The Girl with the Silver Eyes, by Dashiell Hammett; The Jane from Hell's Kitchen, by Perry Paul; The Duchess Pulls a Fast One, by Whitman Chambers; Mansion of Death, by Roger Torrey; Concealed Weapon, by Roger Torrey; The Devil's Bookkeeper, by Carlos Martinez; Black Legion, by Lars Anderson; Three Wise Men of Babylon, by Richard Sale; The Adventure of the Voodoo Moon, by Eugene Thomas; Brother Murder, by T. T. Flynn; Kindly Omit Flowers, by Stewart Sterling.

Recommended reading - Pulp Fiction: The Crimefighters (2006):

Pulp Fiction: The Crimefighters (2006).
Edited by Otto Penzler.

Published by Quercus.
Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 1905204566
ISBN-13: 978-1905204564

Description:

“These stories still cut, still tear, still even shock … These guys went places maybe they shouldn’t and we love them for it.” – Harlan Coben.

Some writing has an edge that time just can’t dull.
Welcome to the world of pulp fiction.
Within these pages are the very best crime stories from the pulp magazines of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
These are stories of the mean streets of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
These are stories in which danger and death are always just around the corner.
These are the stories which created crime fiction as we know it today.