Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—either professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as speculative fiction and other genre fiction in the mid-nineteenth century and has remained extremely popular, particularly in novels. Some of the most famous heroes of detective fiction include C. Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes, and Hercule Poirot. Juvenile stories featuring The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and The Boxcar Children have also remained in print for several decades.
John Innes Mackintosh Stewart was a Scottish novelist and academic. He is equally well known for the works of literary criticism and contemporary novels published under his real name and for the crime fiction published under the pseudonym of Michael Innes.
Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is often a detective, who eventually solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts presented to the reader. Some mystery books are non-fiction. Mystery fiction can be detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle or suspense element and its logical solution such as a whodunit. Mystery fiction can be contrasted with hardboiled detective stories, which focus on action and gritty realism.
The A.B.C. Murders is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, featuring her characters Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings and Chief Inspector Japp, as they contend with a series of killings by a mysterious murderer known only as "A.B.C.". The book was first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 6 January 1936, sold for seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) while a US edition, published by Dodd, Mead and Company on 14 February of the same year, was priced $2.00.
Sir John Appleby is a fictional detective created by Michael Innes in the 1930s who appeared in many novels and short stories.
Hamlet, Revenge! is a 1937 novel by Michael Innes, his second novel. It centers on the investigation into the murder of the Lord Chancellor of England during an amateur production of Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which he plays Polonius, and other crimes which follow at the seat of the Duke of Horton, Scamnum Court.
Sudden Death is a 1932 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the eighth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
No Friendly Drop is a 1931 mystery detective novel by the British writer Henry Wade. It was the second in a series of seven novels featuring the character of Inspector Poole, published during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was released in the United States the following year by Brewer and Warren where it received positive reviews in the New York Herald Tribune and the New York Evening Post, with the latter describing it as "A superior detective story, depending more upon intrinsic interest in a logical plot than upon excitement and goriness for its hold on the reader".
Constable Guard Thyself is a 1934 mystery detective novel by the British writer Henry Wade. It was the third in a series of seven novels featuring the character of Chief Inspector Poole, although it was preceded by the 1933 short story collection Policeman's Lot in which seven of the twelve stories had feaured Poole. After his more experimental novel Mist on the Saltings Wade returned to the traditional detective model.
Murder in Vienna is a 1956 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the forty second in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard, one of the more conventional detectives of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It has an unusual foreign setting, post-war Vienna still occupied by the Allies, compared to the rest of the series which generally takes place in London or the English countryside. Maurice Richardson reviewing the novel for The Observer described it as the "usual solid job".
Death at Dyke's Corner is a 1940 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the nineteenth in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard, a Golden Age detective who relies on standard police procedure to solve his cases.
Rope's End, Rogue's End is a 1942 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the twenty first in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard, a Golden Age detective who relies on standard police procedure to solve his cases. It takes the form of the country house mystery, popular during the era.
Bats in the Belfry is a 1937 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the thirteenth in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard, a Golden Age detective who relies on standard police procedure to solve his cases. Lorac wrote it in the summer of 1936 while staying with her mother at Westward Ho! in North Devon. Originally published by Collins Crime Club, it was reissued in 2018 by the British Library Publishing as part of a group of crime novels from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
Fear Comes to Chalfont is a 1942 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty third in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Like much of the author's work it combines a traditional mystery with a police procedural.
Death on the Way is a 1932 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the ninth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was published in the United States the same year by Harper under the alternative title Double Death.
A Village Afraid is a 1950 detective novel by the British writer Cecil Street, writing under the pen name of Miles Burton. It was part of a lengthy series of books featuring the detective Desmond Merrion and Inspector Arnold of Scotland Yard.
The Bloody Tower is a 1938 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the twenty ninth in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. It was published in the United States the same year by Dodd Mead under the alternative title Tower of Evil. It is notable amongst Rhode's more realistic style during the series, for its Gothic elements. For The Guardian E. R. Punshon wrote "in The Bloody Tower Mr. John Rhode gives another excellent example of his eminently satisfactory and solid talent."
Mystery in the Channel is a 1931 detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the seventh book in his series of novels featuring Inspector French of Scotland Yard, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction known for his methodical technique. Like much of the series it features elements of police procedural, particularly the painstaking breaking down of alibis. It was published in America the same year by Harper under the altered title Mystery in the English Channel.
A Night of Errors is a 1947 detective novel by the British writer Michael Innes. It is the eleventh in his series featuring John Appleby, recently a Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police but currently living in an early retirement in the English countryside. It takes the form of a country house mystery with an extremely complex plot, laced with strong elements of farce common throughout the series.
The Secret Vanguard is a 1940 detective novel by the British writer Michael Innes. It is the fifth in his series featuring John Appleby, a young Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police.
