Golden Age Detective Stories

by Otto Penzler, editor

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Pub Date Jul 06 2021 | Archive Date Jun 30 2021

Penzler Publishers | American Mystery Classics

General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers

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Description

The greatest detectives of the Golden Age investigate the most puzzling crimes of the era

Sometimes, the police aren’t the best suited to solve a crime. Depending on the case, you may find that a retired magician, a schoolteacher, a Broadway producer, or a nun have the necessary skills to suss out a killer. Or, in other cases, a blind veteran, or a publisher, or a hard-drinking attorney, or a mostly-sober attorney… or, indeed, any sort of detective you could think of might be able to best the professionals when it comes to comprehending strange and puzzling murders.

At least, that’s what the authors from the Golden Age of American mystery fiction would have you think. For decades in the middle of the twentieth century, the country’s best-selling authors produced delightful tales in which all types of eccentrics used rarified knowledge to interpret confounding clues. And for even longer, in the decades that have followed, these characters have continued to entertain new audiences with every new generation that discovers them.

Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler selects some of the greatest American short stories from era. With authors including Ellery Queen, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Cornell Woolrich, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Anthony Boucher, this collection is a treat for those who know and love this celebrated period in literary history, and a great introduction to its best writers for the uninitiated.

About the Editor: Otto Penzler, the creator of American Mystery Classics, is also the founder of the Mysterious Press (1975), a literary crime imprint now associated with Grove/Atlantic; Mysterious Press.com (2011), an electronic-book publishing company; and New York City's Mysterious Bookshop (1979). He has won a Raven, the Ellery Queen Award, two Edgars (for the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, 1977, and The Lineup, 2010), and lifetime achievement awards from Noircon and The Strand Magazine. He has edited more than 70 anthologies and written extensively about mystery fiction.

Available Editions

EDITION	Hardcover
ISBN	9781613162156
PRICE	$25.95 (USD)

Additional Information

Average rating from 34 members

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Featured Reviews

Naomi B, Reviewer

Title: Golden Age Detective Stories
Author/s: Otto Penzler (ed.)
Publisher: Penzler Publishers New York
Release Date: June 21, 2021
Pages: 312
Short Version: A varied and almost uniformly entertaining collection of fourteen 'Golden Age' mystery classics.

Long Version: There was a time between World War One and World War Two known as the 'Golden Age' of crime fiction, where one in three stories published qualified as a mystery. It was the time of writers like Agatha Christie in England, but America had plenty of quality writers and quality stories as well, and fourteen are included in this volume, edited by mystery writer and critic Otto Penzler.

These stories vary in tone—from the gritty Perry Mason story 'The Case of the Crimson Kiss' to the Peter and Iris Duluth romp 'Puzzle for Poppy'. One, a Mr. Mycroft story by H. F. Heard titled 'The Enchanted Garden' was a complete flop for me, one I could barely follow; but it's far outnumbered by gems like Charlotte Armstrong's 'The Enemy', in which a group of small boys, along with one or two sympathetic adults, investigate the murder of one of the boys' dog; Baynard Kendrick's '5-4=Murderer', in which the crime is solved by a blind witness, and an Ellery Queen story, 'The Adventure of the African Traveller', in which Queen teaches several hand-picked pupils—and one tagalong girl, much to his annoyance—about ratiocinative thinking. Perhaps most impressive are Cornell Woolrich's 'The Mystery in Room 913', in which our detective hero Striker tries to work out why four men have all apparently suicided by jumping out of the same ninth-floor hotel room window over the space of a year; and Mary Roberts Rinehart's 'Locked Doors', an extremely creepy outing in which the brave female detective, Hilda Adams, goes undercover as a governess to investigate a young family who live in apparent terror of open doors and the dark.

While writers like Rinehart, Gardner and 'Ellery Queen' will be well-known among dedicated fans of the genre, Penzler has selected reasonably unknown stories of theirs, as well as showcasing lesser-known authors like Stuart Palmer. Although connected by overall genre, geography and time period, this is really a very eclectic collection and never dull. Penzler's introductions both to the book and to each story individually provide context and commentary for interested parties, but there are no penalties for the reader who wants the whodunits and nothing else. A must-read for fans of the genre, and what should be a fun read for everyone else.

This review can also be found on my blog at: https://naomireviews.dreamwidth.org/595.html

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Annette N, Reviewer

I am a fan of Classic mysteries. This anthology is composed of stories by some well known authors, but some authors who I did not know at all. Everyone wrote during the period between the two world wars – the Golden Period for mystery.

There is suspense. Each of the stories present the reader with an idea and some interesting characters. That is normal for short stories.

But, the plots are anything but normal. There are devious villains as well as very clever people to solve mysteries. These are exceptional stories.

Otto Penzler, the editor and the person who chose the stories has done a magnificent job. He has provided readers with introductions to authors who are masters of the mystery.

I not only enjoyed the stories themselves, but I was fascinated by the information regarding the authors.

All in all, if a reader is in love with mysteries, this book will make your heart beat faster.

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Leyla J, Reviewer

I love these compilations of golden age detective stories, many of the authors of this era are, these days hard to discover. This book and many like it introduces us to the writer of this era with wonderful short stories to enjoy and maybe find another new favorite.
Otto Penzler has put together an anthology of some great stories- many I have not read before and all I enjoyed very much. His short bio are really interesting and make the writer and story come to life. These books are all by authors of the" American Golden Age" era, there is even an early Perry Mason. absolutely a great read.