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A Jeffery Rand and Nick Velvet Collection

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A double-barreled collectiontwo of Edward D. Hochs most ingenious creationsIn the headquarters of Britains Foreign Office, a secretary spies a television actor making a copy of a top-secret key. In an island republic, an intelligence operative is murdered just minutes before exposing a Communist mole. And in a bustling eastern city, the Cold War reaches a turning point over a piece of film the size of a pinhead. These are cases for C. Jeffery Rand, the fixer inside Britains secret service. He is bright, ruthless, and smart enough never to be surprised by the depths to which an enemy spy might sink.Where Jeffery Rand is hard-nosed, Nick Velvet has a supple touch. A master thief, Velvet has a particular skill for stealing unusual items. Where ordinary thieves might be content with jewels or bank notes, Velvet pilfers rare tigers, water from swimming pools, and the letters on a company sign.In this collection, you will find seven stories of Rand and seven of Velvettwo brilliant men, one on either side of the law, each with a knack for doing the impossible.

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Thirteen stories of outrageous heists starring one smooth thief from the Edgar Awardwinning author of The Shattered Raven.  The dictator of the island of Jabali wants a baseball team, and he doesnt care how he gets it. He has assembled nine of the finest players on the island, and is about to hire Nick Velvet to steal him some competition. Ordinary thieves might not be up to pinching a whole ball club, but Velvet specializes in lifting seemingly worthless items, and in this years National League, there is nothing more worthless than the hapless Beavers. He steals them easilybut will the islands ruler be satisfied with a last-place team? In these charming stories starring one of Edward D. Hochs most popular characters, everything is up for grabs. Velvet steals sea serpents, garbage, cats, and toy miceall with his trademark low-key style. In Nick Velvets underworld, there is nothing he wont steal, so long as its priceless, worthless, or just plain crazy. 

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The Sherlock Holmes Stories of Edward D. Hoch

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A dozen marvelous tales of deduction, featuring historys most famous detective, by Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Edward D. Hoch. In a heavily mortgaged country house, an heiresss sinister guardian attempts to trap her in a bedroom with a rare Indian swamp addera murder averted only by the timely intervention of Sherlock Holmes. Five months after the events of The Adventure of the Speckled Band, Holmes and Watson are called back to Stoke Moran by a frightened gypsy who claims that the viper has gotten loose again. Holmes is unsure which poses a greater danger: the rumored snake, or the possibility that the gypsy is telling lies. In these dozen tales, short story master Edward D. Hoch resurrects the most brilliant mind in the history of detective fiction. In the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes tangles with circus tigers, Druidic curses, and a pair of Christmas killings. Here is the finest detective of the Victorian agerecreated by one of the greatest mystery writers of the twentieth century.

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The Spy Who Read Latin: And Other Stories

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In the thick of the Cold War, a British spy will do anything to keep the peaceFather Howard steps off the plane in Albania, relieved to be out of China at last, but knowing that until he reaches Paris, he is not safe from the Communists. As he makes his way across the tarmac, two bullets strike him in the back of the head. The missionary is no more. The incident prompts an unprecedented meeting between C. Jeffery Rand, fixer for the British secret service, and his counterpart inside Soviet Russia. Seeking an ally to fight a common enemy, Russia enlists Rands help in its clash against the Chinese. Rand will do all he can to avenge the murdered priestbut how much can he trust the Soviet agent?In these stories, Rand lives with the daily threat of betrayal. He knows two things are true: There is no honor among spies, and the safest agent is the one who trusts no one.

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Ten stories of murder and suspense from one of the all-time masters of pulp fictionAn addled ex-boxer named Tiny Tim ambles out of the shadows and complains to a beat cop that he is being followed. The officer laughs him off; everyone knows that Tiny Tim has heard footsteps behind him for years. But a few minutes later, Tim is spotted in a pool of blood, dead at the bottom of the subway steps. After years of running, the imagined footsteps have caught up to him at last.This brisk tale of deception and murder is but one of the stories in this collection from Hugh B. Cave, a master of pulp fiction whose career spanned seventy-five years. Along with Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Cave was one of the defining authors of Black Mask magazine, and these stories are perfect examples of what set that pulp apart. Hard-boiled, fast-paced, and witty, the tales of Long Live the Dead are just as captivating now as they were on the newsstand many decades ago.

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Hugh B. Cave, Hugh B Cave, Keith Alan Deutsch

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When a government official dies on the operating table, the president calls in the computer cops On Venus, a radical exile escapes from a maximum-security prison, pledging to return to Washington and assassinate the president. Transport between Earth and the solar colonies is tightly regulated, but the exile knows a shortcut: the top-secret transvection machine, an experimental device that could theoretically be used to teleport men from planet to planet. Vander Defoe, the tools creator, is busy securing it when he feels a pain in his stomach: His appendix is about to explode. Defoe dies in the operating room during routine computerized surgery, and the case falls in the lap of the Computer Investigation Bureau, which has jurisdiction over all computer-related crimes. As the team tries to determine who corrupted the system that killed Defoe, it finds that in this case, all roads lead to Venus.The Transvectioon Machine is the first book in the Carl Crader Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

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A murder mystery colored by both love and greed In the midst of a heavy snowstorm, Barney Chance encounters his old friend Guy Farrish, who gives him a small package to be delivered to Guys former fiancee. When Barney finds Guy murdered, he begins to doubt everything he knew about his friend. But before Barney can even call the authorities, a peculiar police captain shows up on the scene to investigate. With the contents of the package still a mystery, Barney finds himself delving deep into his late friends life, and uncovering family secrets he had never suspected.With an ever-growing group of suspects, Barney realizes that any number of people could have wanted Guy dead. What unfolds is the story of a man trying to leave a tarnished past behind him, and the killer willing to go to murderous lengths for an inheritance.

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A singer is missing, and the man looking for her is about to find troubleMortimer Jones drives a Duesenberg, a behemoth of a car that seems to come from another era. Jones is the same way. In a city of tough guys, Jones has a soft touch. In a town of loudmouths, he is the rare PI who knows how to stay mum. When Flame Harlin goes missing, her aunt trusts no one but Jones to find her. Flame is a nightclub singer, with looks to spare and a smidgen of talent, and some of the towns deadliest men are hooked on her charm. Loving Flame Harlin is dangerousand looking for her may be too.When another PI on the same case is killed, Jones gets cautious. Whether dead or alive, Flame Harlin does not want to be found.

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William Campbell Gault, William C. Gault, Keith Alan Deutsch

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Two gambling kingpins go to warand Manville Moon is caught in the middleWhen an upstart gangster named Byron Wade threatens Louis Bagnells gambling empire, Bagnell attempts to hire Manville Moon, a detective whose loss of a leg has not diminished his reputation as a tough guy. Preferring to remain neutral, Moon turns down Bagnells offer and refuses Wades as well. But Wade does not want another gunman. He wants a sleuthto investigate his own murder, should the coming war leave him dead. They are negotiating over a platter of chop suey when Louis Bagnell turns up murdered.Was Wade using Moon as an alibi, or did Bagnells killer come from within his own gang? Double-crosses come faster than bullets in this twisting novella, but even on one leg, Manville Moon will have no trouble keeping up.

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A genuinely affecting mystery set in small-town Iowa in the 1950s (The Wall Street Journal).   Sam McCain loves Buddy Holly because hes the only rock-and-roll star who still seems like a dweeb, and Sam knows how that feels. With the unrequited love of his life at his side, Sam drives more than three hours through the snow to watch his idol play the Surf Ballroom. That night, Buddy Holly dies in the most famous plane crash in music history, but Sam has no time to grieve. Because there are too many lawyers in this small town, Sam makes a living as a PI, doing odd jobs for an eccentric judgewhose nephew, it seems, has a problem only a detective could solve. His trophy wife has been murdered, and as soon as Sam arrives, the nephew kills himself, too.   The police see this as a clear-cut murder-suicide, but Sam wants to know more, diving into a mystery by Ellery Queen Awardwinning author Ed Gorman that will get dangerous faster than you can say bye-bye, Miss American Pie.

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Twenty-four stories starring one of the most unique pulp detectives of all timeIn a hot, cramped office not far from the Pasig River, an ingenious investigator waits for clients. Younger than he appears, with gray hair and squinting eyes, he is Jo Gar, the half-Filipino Island Detective whose intuition makes him one of the sharpest sleuths in either hemisphere. From the back alleys of Manila to the docks of San Francisco, he tracks killers, unmasks liars, and outwits thieves. Although he appears harmless, this tropical PI is not afraid to pull a knife or squeeze the trigger on his army-issue Colt .45.Based on Raoul Whitfields childhood experiences in the Philippines, Jo Gar is a rarity of his era: an Asian sleuth who defies the stereotypes of Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan. Gar is one of the most brilliant creations ever to step from the pages of Black Mask.

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Raoul Whitfield, E. R. Hagemann, Boris Dralyuk, Keith Alan Deutsch

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On the run from the law, a gangsters girl and two hoods stop to wait for the bossIn a forgotten cafe somewhere in the middle of the country, a blonde in a raincoat bursts through the door. Shes got a pistol in her hand and two killers at her back, and she wants a bottle of rye. Dotty and her friends arent going anywhere. Theyll be here until Rusty shows up. Rusty the killer. Rusty the thief. Rusty the love of Dottys young life. Theyll be here until Rusty steps through the door, but Rusty might not be on his way.In this tight, explosive short story, a gun moll transforms into the heroine of a hard-boiled Greek tragedy. One of the most popular pieces of short fiction ever to appear in the pages of Black Mask magazine, Waiting for Rusty remains a remarkable work, as powerful and surprising as a sucker punch to the back of the skull.

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With the nations eye on Black River Falls, McCain chases a snake handlers killerFundamentalist preacher John Muldaur isnt afraid of snakeshe uses them every week in his servicesbut hes convinced that the Pope is trying to kill him. Iowa lawyer Sam McCain, the poorest attorney in a thriving town, listens patiently to the self-declared reverends outlandish theories about being targeted by a papal hit squad, and agrees to investigate the matter simply to get Muldaur out of his office. But that night at a wild religious service, McCain sees Muldaur proven right. The holy man is killed by poisonnot from one of his rattlesnakes, but from a Pepsi bottle laced with strychnine.On the campaign trail for president, Vice President Nixon is on his way to town to make a speech, and McCain is asked to find Muldaurs killer before the national media arrives. What he finds is a conspiracy just as improbable as the Catholic hit menbut far more deadly.

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In frigid Denver, Lomax braves the mob to find a bookies missing daughterJoe Bellano never hurt nobody. A gentle barber who takes bets on the side, hes muddling through life when his world comes crashing down around him. First hes arrested by an overzealous police force hoping for dirt on the local mob. Released after convincing the police that hes strictly small time, Bellano is trying to get back to normal when his teenage daughter vanishes. After years of keeping a low profile, Bellano finds himself with enemies on both sides of the law. Which one snatched his daughter?Hemmed in by the feds and the mob, Bellano turns to Jacob Lomax, a private detective with a soft spot for bookies. The case seems routine until Bellano is killed by a car bomb meant for the missing girl. The barber may have been a crook, but his daughter is innocent, and Lomax will risk death to save her from her fathers fate.

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Saved from a mugger, a young woman runs into the arms of a madmanOn her way to meet a friend for lunch at a Mexican restaurant in a seedy part of downtown Denver, Valerie Rowe gets tackled from behind. When shes back on her feet, her purse is gone, and the teenager who took it is sprinting down the street. She chases after him, but knows its hopelessright until her mugger runs into Leonard. This quiet young man refuses a reward for retrieving her purse, but accepts an invitation to lunch. Though she doesnt know it, Valeries moment of politeness could prove fatal.Leonard never talks to girls besides his mother, and no one so beautiful as Valerie has ever even looked at him before. Instantly in love, he begins courting her obsessively, graduating quickly from love notes and flowers to arson and, perhaps, murder. He is fixated on Valerie, and will allow no law to stand in his way.

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Laurens life was perfectuntil the day someone targeted her childUntil she got pregnant, Lauren Caylor and her husband worked side by side in the high-pressure offices of one of Los Angeless most prestigious law firms. They moved out of LA for the sake of their daughter, but their marriage couldnt stand the slow pace of suburban life, and their love withered away. Now married to a wonderfully understanding man named Richard, Laurens life is a suburban idealand it is about to be destroyed.It starts one afternoon when she notices a car following her home from work. Next, a pair of recluses moves into the house across the street, sending Richard into a strange panic. When it becomes clear that their family is being threatened, Richard promises to take action. But Lauren is beginning to fear that her husband may be the one who cant be trusted.

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A young woman investigates her adventurous sisters death in this mystery from a Shamus Awardwinner who can raise emotional bruises (The New York Times). Annie Honeycut is one of the countrys most daring freelance photographers, known for her willingness to risk anything for the perfect shot. Working on an assignment about a mysterious house outside Denver, the site of a string of grisly murders a century ago, Annie needs just one more picture to make it perfect: a shot of the murder room, for which she must scale the wall of the creaky old Victorian. She gets the picture, but it will be her last. Annie is found the next morning on the houses lawn, dead with a broken neck. After Annies funeral, her sister inherits the camera. As cautious and sensible as Annie was wild, Nora is nevertheless intrigued by Annies final picture, which shows a seemingly human shape in the corner of the room. To solve the mystery of her sisters final moments, Nora digs into the forgotten killing spree, and a house with secrets just as dangerous today as they were a century ago.

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In a small town in upstate New York, a legend returns, hungry for bloodMarcy is nearly asleep when she hears a heavy thump outside her bedroom door. It is not her father; it is not her boyfriend. Who could it be? She cannot help but imagine the headsmanthe mythical town executioner who vanished from Braddock two centuries earlier and is said to return every so often, seeking payment in blood. She knows this is nothing but a silly legenduntil her door creaks open and she sees the man with the ax.Across town, Karen dreams that she can see through the eyes of a murdererthe hulking monster that killed poor Marcy. When she wakes, she knows it was not a dream. The headsman has returned to Braddock, and hell gapes wide open behind him.

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In Harveys first new thriller in more than fifteen years, a starlets murder draws an NYPD detective into a cross-country manhuntMongo wakes up, brushes his teeth, and prepares to kill a movie star. He needs a wig and a phony press pass, as well as a very special tape recorder that holds two flechettes, one of which is earmarked for screen siren Catherine Delure. A bit of smooth talk takes Mongo past Delures security and into her hotel room, where he completes his assignment with ease. The hit was simple, he thinks. But it is about to go terribly wrong.Delure appears to have been shot during a robbery, but homicide detective Jeb Barker is not fooled. Tracking the self-assured assassin leads the PI first to Las Vegas, then to Californiawhere blue sky and palm trees cannot distract him from the darkness within the hit mans heart.

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In an eerie country house, a cruel old man is decapitatedWhen Peter Coffins mysterious great-uncle Tobias summons the family to his manor in the wilds of Michigan, his aunt warns him to stay away. Peter goes anyway, arriving at the edge of the sprawling estate well after midnight. Wading through the muck in the darkness, he passes a fearsome figure on the road, and when he arrives at the front door, he is greeted by cousins bearing shotguns. An ax-murdering madman is on the loose, but just as dangerous are the creatures Peter will encounter inside the house: his family.When old Tobias is murdered, both his head and his will go missing. The police suspect the ax killer, but Peter knows better. After all, if there is one thing his aunt has taught him, it is that you should never trust a Coffin.