The 'first detective' of fiction steps out 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' by Edgar Allan Poe is widely considered to be the first true detective story; also in this volume are the author's two other detective fiction classics featuring the same central character-'The Mystery of Marie Rogêt' & 'The Purloined Letter.' The French detective who features in all three is Chevalier Auguste Dupin, an amateur sleuth who puts himself in the position of the criminal and then uses logical deduction to discover how a crime was committed. This is an opportunity for lovers of classic crime and detective fiction to own and read these important and groundbreaking mysteries in a single volume, available in paperback or hardback with dust jacket for collectors.

This historical biography by bestselling crime author James Morton is an enjoyable romp through the 18th century in the company of a man who was many things to many men - a jewel thief, a spy, a policeman and a private eye. Balzac, Hugo and Dickens all created characters based on Vidocq.

Eugene Vidocq was the Morse, the Guv'nor, the James Bond of his day. A notorious criminal and prison escaper, he turned police officer and employed a gang of ex-convicts as his detectives. Now, James Morton takes us on a historical romp through the 18th century in search of this elusive figure. Today Vidocq's influence can still be seen as members of The Vidocq Society, an unusual, exclusive crime-solving organization honor him by applying their collective forensic skills and experience to 'cold case' homicides and unsolved deaths.

Source documents compiled by insurance investigator Ralph Henderson are used to build a case against Baron "R___", who is suspected of murdering his wife. The baron's wife died from drinking a bottle of acid, apparently while sleepwalking in her husband's private laboratory. Henderson's suspicions are raised when he learns that the baron recently had purchased five life insurance policies for his wife. As Henderson investigates the case, he discovers not one but three murders. Although the baron's guilt is clear to the reader even from the outset, how he did it remains a mystery. Eventually this is revealed, but how to catch him becomes the final challenge; he seems to have committed the perfect crime.

Gordon is on vacation, and Buffy is the sole detective at the small police station in the forest. It is not easy for a police officer to be alone. Especially when there are strange noises outside the station at night. Buffy decides to seek out Gordon in his little cottage by the lake to ask for help. After all, two police think twice as well as one. Two police are twice as brave!

A murdered heiress, a missing necklace, and a train full of shifty, unusual, and suspicious characters leaves Daisy and Hazel with a new mystery to solve in this third novel of the Wells & Wong Mystery series. Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells are taking a vacation across Europe on world-famous passenger train, the Orient Express—and it’s clear that each of their fellow first-class travelers has something to hide. Even more intriguing: There’s rumor of a spy in their midst. Then, during dinner, a bloodcurdling scream comes from inside one of the cabins. When the door is broken down, a passenger is found murdered—her stunning ruby necklace gone. But the killer has vanished, as if into thin air. The Wells & Wong Detective Society is ready to crack the case—but this time, they’ve got competition.

Edgar Allan Poe essentially invented the detective story in 1841 with Murders in the Rue Morgue. In the years that followed, however, detective fiction in America saw no significant progress as a literary genre. Much to the dismay of moral crusaders like Anthony Comstock, dime novels and other sensationalist publications satisfied the public's hunger for a yarn. Things changed as the century waned, and eventually the detective was reborn as a figure of American literature. In part these changes were due to a combination of social conditions, including the rise and decline of the police as an institution; the parallel development of private detectives; the birth of the crusading newspaper reporter; and the beginnings of forensic science. Influential, too, was the new role model offered by a wildly popular British import named Sherlock Holmes. Focusing on the late 19th century and early 20th, this volume covers the formative years of American detective fiction. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.