A Gentle Murderer

Hailed by critic Anthony Boucher as "one of the best detective stories of modern times," this classic tale by Grand Master Dorothy Salisbury Davis combines suspense and psychological insight as a priest and a police detective both race to find a self-confessed murderer before he is compelled to kill again. "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned ..." Father Duffy has heard many confessions through the years, but none quite so disturbing as the one he's heard tonight. A young man enters the confessional just as the priest is readying to leave for the evening; he's distraught that he has killed a woman in a paroxysm of uncontrollable rage—and he's still wielding the hammer he used to do the deed. Father Duffy tries to convince the young man to turn himself in to the police, but he flees just as suddenly as he had appeared. When the priest learns the next day that an escort was found bludgeoned to death on the East Side, he sets out to search for the troubled confessor. Meanwhile, Sergeant Ben Goldsmith of the NYPD is drawn deep into the official investigation. Neither is aware that the other is searching for the murderer, and both hope against hope that they're able to find the killer before he strikes again. "A simmering tour de force of detection from both ends of the trail."— Kirkus Reviews

DIVDIVPraised by the New Yorker as “excellent,” this mystery novel that features a cat as a murder suspect launched the acclaimed literary career of Grand Master of crime fiction Dorothy Salisbury Davis/div For generations, bitter old Andy Mattson terrified the children of Hillside and puzzled his adult neighbors. How did the scowling old codger, who seemed to spend his life stroking his cat on the front porch, support himself? How did he pass the days? And why did he die such a gruesome death?DIV The police find Andy dead on his sofa, covered in blood, eyes wide with fear. The most likely suspect is the dead man’s cat, a howling beast that resembles a trapped badger. But as Chief of Police Waterman digs into the strange death, he finds that beneath Hillside’s sunny surface runs a river of hate. An old man was murdered, and it seems many people in town had motives to commit the crime./divDIV/div/div

This study of the technique of Agatha Christie's detective fiction--sixty-seven novels and over one hundred short stories--is the first extensive analysis of her accomplishment as a writer. Earl F. Bargannier demonstrates that Christie thoroughly understood the conventions of her genre and, with seemingly inexhaustible ingenuity, was able to develop for more than fifty years surprising variations within those conventions.

FIFTEEN STORIES ABOUT THE MOST HEINOUS CRIME OF ALL... Of all the crimes humankind can commit, the act of murder--of cold-bloodedly taking another human life--is often the most shocking, and can tear couples, families, and even entire towns apart. Mystery Writers of America is proud to present this volume in the Classics series, featuring fourteen stories by acclaimed writers, all exploring the terrible crime of murder. From chill-master Robert Bloch comes a story of outwardly domestic bliss, but with rotten secrets at its core. Mystery master Dorothy Salisbury Davis takes us to a small town where the killing of a mean-spirited landscaper makes the local sheriff question everything he knows in his pursuit of justice. Joe Gores visits the harsh, unforgiving land of South Africa, where a farmer is forever chased by the sins of his past. Patricia McGerr invites us to the White House, where a foreign dignitary's gift to the First Lady may have deadly consequences. And Ellery Queen solves a curious conundrum of a murdered boxer...and also how his own jacket got stolen while at the match. Fifteen stories of plots, plans, and perfidy--all in pursuit of the perfect murder... Featuring stories by: Robert Bloch Dorothy Salisbury Davis Stanley Ellin Robert L. Fish Joe Gores Allen Kim Lang Patricia McGerr Ross Macdonald William P. McGivern William F. Nolan Charles Norman Ellery Queen Lawrence Treat Hillary Waugh Donald A. Wollheim

DIVDIVIn Grand Master of crime fiction Dorothy Salisbury Davis’s third Julie Hayes mystery, the intrepid former actress and amateur sleuth returns to Broadway to catch a killer/div Julie Hayes has come up in the world. Her days as a starving actress behind her, she is married to a globe-trotting journalist, keeping up with her friends from her fortune-telling days, and celebrating a year of gainful employment at the New York Daily. But one of her colleagues is found shot dead in his office—and Julie may have been the last person to see him alive.DIV With a reporter’s nose for a scoop, Julie investigates the violent death of one of New York’s most infamous—and despised—gossip columnists. But his is not the only troubling death in the past few weeks. A Broadway publicist took his own life by jumping from the George Washington Bridge. Could the two deaths be connected? Determined to find out, Julie gets caught in a violent drama of lies, scandal, and deadly revenge that lights up the Great White Way./divDIV Lullaby of Murder is the third novel in Dorothy Salisbury Davis’s Julie Hayes mystery series, which also includes A Death in The Life, Scarlet Night, and The Habit of Fear, as well as the stories “The Puppet” and “Justina” in the collection In the Still of the Night./divDIV/div/div

WHEN IT COMES TO MURDER, THERE'S ALWAYS A CHOICE...The only thing more varied than how people are killed is the many, many ways people try to get away with this terrible crime. Now masterful mystery writer Dorothy Salisbury Davis brings together 23 classic stories of crime and suspense, whodunits and detective stories from some of the finest authors of the 1950s.Ross Macdonald's classic P.I. Lew Archer takes a chilling case in California, where the mob isn't the only deadly thing under the West Coast sun. Margaret Millar brings us the tale of the couple next door who ensnares their neighbor in a tangled web of love and deception. Margaret Manners invites us to a bar for a drink and a quick little story of a con man who got what he deserved-and how the man accused of his murder walked free. And Michael Gilbert brilliant detective Gladwyn Hughes must get to the bottom of an ambassador assassinated in front of forty-five witnesses before a war breaks out in Europe over the murder. Twenty-three stories of criminals, victims, and always, always multiple choices of murder...Featuring stories by: ROBERT ARTHURLAWRENCE G. BLOCHMANANTHONY BOUCHERWENZELL BROWNANDREW CARVEMIGNON G. EBERHARTSTANLEY ELLINANTHONY GILBERTMICHAEL GILBERTRYERSON JOHNSONHELEN KASSONJAMES A. KIRCHROSS MACDONALDMARGARET MANNERSSTEPHEN MARLOWEMARGARET MILLARSTUART PALMERJOHN BASYE PRICEELLERY QUEENMARC SEYMOURRUTHVEN TODDLAWRENCE TREATROBERT TURNER

Grand Master of crime fiction Dorothy Salisbury Davis brings back the beguiling character Major General Ransom Jarvis in this third Mrs. Norris Mystery, a prequel, which immerses the redoubtable crime-solving Scottish housekeeper in a murder investigation in the nation’s capital With a new president in the White House, Major General Ransom Jarvis suspects that his retirement from the US Army is imminent. But at Washington’s annual invitation-only Beaux Arts Ball, the decorated soldier becomes an unwitting pawn in a far-reaching conspiracy. It begins when Ransom meets Virginia Allan, a beautiful blonde with secrets. And there is something decidedly shady about Frenchman Leo Montaigne. As Ransom starts to uncover damning intel about DC’s most powerful movers and shakers, the town is suddenly rocked by murder. Now Ransom’s son, Jimmie, a freshman congressman, and his housekeeper, Mrs. Norris, are risking their necks as they conduct their own fact-finding mission in a city rife with patriots, spies, and deadly political wannabes. Old Sinners Never Die is the third novel in Dorothy Salisbury Davis’s Mrs. Norris Mysteries, which also include Death of an Old Sinner; A Gentleman Called, a finalist for the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award; and “Mrs. Norris Observes,” a short story in the collection Tales for a Stormy Night. Old Sinners Never Die is the 3rd book in the Mrs. Norris Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

DIVDIVAfter a robbery goes wrong, a teenager finds he has a knack for murder in Grand Master of crime fiction Dorothy Salisbury Davis’s riveting psychological thriller that illuminates the dark corners of a killer’s mind/div The hamlet of Hillside has one factory, three churches, and more bored teenagers than it knows what to do with. Georgie Rocco is more lost than any of his classmates, and decides one night to take control. When an attempted robbery at the factory turns into murder, Georgie discovers an empowering new talent for exploiting other people’s vulnerabilities, including those of his lovely sister, Jo.DIV The longer he is able to deflect suspicion, the stronger Georgie’s confidence grows, and he soon becomes comfortable in his new identity as a hardened criminal. And no one—not his sister, their priest, or the detective investigating the factory manager’s murder—is safe from a teenager careening down a path to the electric chair./div/div