Vintage mysteries for guys and dolls

There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study thier husband's necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.

--Raymond Chandler from Red Wind

References

Over 10,000 mystery titles were published between WWI and WWII. Even if you could read one a day, it would take over 27 years to read 10,000 books. To learn about books from this period you need some well chosen references. Here’s some of our favorites:

Barzun, Jacques and Wendell Taylor. A Catalogue of Crime. New York: Harper, 1971. Over 5000 thumbnail summaries and critical comments

Cooper, John and B A Pike. Detective Fiction: the Collector’s Guide (2nd Edition) Scolar Press 1994. Focus primarily on British “Golden Age” authors. Extensive bibliography and color prints of dust jackets.

Haycraft, Howard. Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Mystery Story. New York: Appleton 1941. One of the original surveys of the detective story. As relevant today as in 1941

Hubin, Allen J. The Bibliography of Crime Fiction, 1749-1980. New York: Garland 1984. The granddaddy of them all, catalogs over 17,000 titles.

Pronzini, Bill and Marcia Muller. 1001 Midnights. New York: Arbor House, 1986. For my money the most useful and enjoyable reference,, comprised of 1001 plot summaries, author biographies and critical evaluations.

Pronzini, Bill. Gun In Cheek. New York: Coward McCann, 1983. Pronzini’s affectionate look at the worst the genre has to offer, along with his “Alternative Hall of Fame.”

Reilly, john M., ed. Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers. New York: St. Martin’s 1980. At 1568 pages, perhaps the most comprehensive. Includes bibliographies, biographies and critical analysis.

While virtually all of these books are out of print, working copies can usually be found at reasonable prices. Let us know, we can usually turn one up.