First there were ten--a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unkonwn to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to...  more

First there were ten--a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unkonwn to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal--and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. And only the dead are above suspicion.

One morning, Colonel and Dolly Bantry are awakened by their maid and informed that there is a body in the library! They immediately call the authorities and their dear old friend Miss Jane Marple. The dead young woman is soon identified as Ruby Keene, a dance hostess at a hotel. Can Miss...  more

One morning, Colonel and Dolly Bantry are awakened by their maid and informed that there is a body in the library! They immediately call the authorities and their dear old friend Miss Jane Marple. The dead young woman is soon identified as Ruby Keene, a dance hostess at a hotel. Can Miss Marple's sharp eyes find the motive, the truth, and the killer?

The invisible murderer killed his first victim and literally disappeared. He killed his second victim in the middle of an empty street, with watchers at either end -- yet not a soul saw him, and no footprint appeared in the snow. Dr. Fell and the Locked Room Lecture: Many of the Golden Age...  more

The invisible murderer killed his first victim and literally disappeared. He killed his second victim in the middle of an empty street, with watchers at either end -- yet not a soul saw him, and no footprint appeared in the snow. Dr. Fell and the Locked Room Lecture: Many of the Golden Age masters of mystery had their own hallmarks. For Christie, it was the least likely suspect; for Gardner, the switched weapon; for Queen, the dying man's message; and for John Dickson Carr, the locked room. A puzzle that has challenged and fascinated both writers and readers since Poe. A body is found, murdered, in a hermetically sealed chamber, a room, the doors and windows to which are locked from the inside. An impossible crime? Not in the hands of a master, and no writer before or since Carr has better explained such miracles. The Three Coffins is a landmark in the locked room novel. In Chapter 17 the author halts the action to have Dr. Gideon Fell deliver the now famous "locked room lecture," cataloging the various ways to construct a locked room problem. Implicit is the author's challenge to the reader: here's how it could have been done . . . which method did I use? Originally published in 1935.

They hired psychic Roger Darworth to exorcise the Plague Court ghost. The ghost of Plague Court was no ordinary ghost. Hardly. Reportedly a malevolent soul on the lower plane, it was always watchful, always cunning, always waiting to possess a living body and to exchange that body's weak...  more

They hired psychic Roger Darworth to exorcise the Plague Court ghost. The ghost of Plague Court was no ordinary ghost. Hardly. Reportedly a malevolent soul on the lower plane, it was always watchful, always cunning, always waiting to possess a living body and to exchange that body's weak brain for its own just as it had done since its first appearance in 1665. The exorcist, Roger Darworth, was no ordinary exorcist. Of course not. Actually, he was a first-rate fraud who had been under police surveillance for months. It follows then that the exorcism of Plague Court was no ordinary exorcism. Naturally -- or perhaps supernaturally -- not after the exorcist was found brutally murdered in a small stone house with its door both padlocked and bolted, its windows barred and with no secret entrances. And the murder weapon? Far, far from ordinary. It was an ancient knife which was said to be the property of the Plague Court ghost. The Plague Court Murders is the first appearance of Sir Henry Merrivale, and the first mystery written by John Dickson Carr under the name "Carter Dickson." First published in 1934.

The mystery writer Harriet Vane, recovering from an unhappy love affair and its aftermath, seeks solace on a barren beach -- deserted but for the body of a bearded young man with his throat cut.From the moment she photographs the corpse, which soon disappears with the tide, she is puzzled by a...  more

The mystery writer Harriet Vane, recovering from an unhappy love affair and its aftermath, seeks solace on a barren beach -- deserted but for the body of a bearded young man with his throat cut.From the moment she photographs the corpse, which soon disappears with the tide, she is puzzled by a mystery that might have been suicide, murder or a political plot. With the appearance of her dear friend Lord Peter Wimsey, she finds a reason for detective pursuit -- as only the two of them can pursue it.

Hake Talbot wrote only two mystery novels and Ramble House is proud to bring both of them back into print for modern readers. RIM OF THE PIT is his masterpiece of an "impossible crime" that takes place in the far north where snow surrounds a group of desperate people, one of whom is bent on...  more

Hake Talbot wrote only two mystery novels and Ramble House is proud to bring both of them back into print for modern readers. RIM OF THE PIT is his masterpiece of an "impossible crime" that takes place in the far north where snow surrounds a group of desperate people, one of whom is bent on murder. The mapback cover from the 1950's Dell paperback is one of the best crime maps ever drawn and we reproduce it here for you. In addition, this book contains a short story by Talbot called "The Other Side". You will not forget this book!

"A WALK ON THE WILDERS SIDE -- Other people die of mumps, Or general decay. Of fevers, chills or other ills; But Wilders walk away. That's the little ditty they all sing in the quaintly picturesque New England village of Wilder's Lane. That's part of the mystery too, of course. You see, from...  more

"A WALK ON THE WILDERS SIDE -- Other people die of mumps, Or general decay. Of fevers, chills or other ills; But Wilders walk away. That's the little ditty they all sing in the quaintly picturesque New England village of Wilder's Lane. That's part of the mystery too, of course. You see, from pre-Revolutionary War times on, members of the Wilder family never die; they walk away -- disappear into thin air -- forever. Footprints on a deserted beach may simply stop. A man who enters an office building is never seen again. Teen-aged Ellen Wilder is waiting for a bus when she walks away. Well, not quite. Reynold Frame, a photojouranlist on assignment from Life, finds a fresh grave with the murdered girl in it. Frame begins an investigation. And then he too disappears! One thing is certain. Wilders may wander off as they please, but readers will be riveted by this marvelous tour-de-force."

Collected here are ten superb tales by today's master of the seemingly impossible crime, the Frenchman Paul Halter. Coffins dancing in a hermetically sealed crypt, a tunnel that murders people, a werewolf killer who leaves no trace on the snow, a victim killed by an invisible hand at the top of...  more

Collected here are ten superb tales by today's master of the seemingly impossible crime, the Frenchman Paul Halter. Coffins dancing in a hermetically sealed crypt, a tunnel that murders people, a werewolf killer who leaves no trace on the snow, a victim killed by an invisible hand at the top of a guarded tower, a homicidal snowman that kills in front of witnesses... There cannot be a rational explanation for these and other hideous crimes; and yet there is. Each story is a glittering example of the brilliant plotting and atmosphere of foreboding that characterized the Golden Age of detective fiction.

Wealthy munitions manufacturer Dudley T. Wolff is being blackmailed by a mysterious stranger named Smith. During an argument, Wolff lashes out at the extortionist, who falls dead at his feet. Wolff inters the body four feet underground, but somehow SMith won't stay buried, and reappears to...  more

Wealthy munitions manufacturer Dudley T. Wolff is being blackmailed by a mysterious stranger named Smith. During an argument, Wolff lashes out at the extortionist, who falls dead at his feet. Wolff inters the body four feet underground, but somehow SMith won't stay buried, and reappears to haunt the millionaire's mansion. Then Wolff himself is found murdered in a locked roo. The chief suspect? A ghost who walks through walls. Enter the Great Merlini -- ghostbuster!

Four decades ago, when a wild-spirited, handsome young man died in a locked room at the renowned Vereker mansion, both Lucy Vereker and her lover, Paul, had a reason to kill him. Forty years later, as Lucy and Paul recount the circumstances of the young man's death, they discover the...  more

Four decades ago, when a wild-spirited, handsome young man died in a locked room at the renowned Vereker mansion, both Lucy Vereker and her lover, Paul, had a reason to kill him. Forty years later, as Lucy and Paul recount the circumstances of the young man's death, they discover the solution to the murder.

How could a crime take place in a locked room which shows no sign of being entered? Nearly a century after its initial publication, Leroux's landmark tale of foul play, deception, and unbridled ambition remains a blueprint for the detective novel genre. This atmospheric thriller is still a...  more

How could a crime take place in a locked room which shows no sign of being entered? Nearly a century after its initial publication, Leroux's landmark tale of foul play, deception, and unbridled ambition remains a blueprint for the detective novel genre. This atmospheric thriller is still a favorite of whodunit fans everywhere.

Someone has volunteered to spend the night in the haunted room at the Darnley House. The room is sealed by pressing a unique coin, selected moments before, on the wax. But when the door is re-opened, someone else?s body is lying there, the seals are unbroken, and the coin has not left the...  more

Someone has volunteered to spend the night in the haunted room at the Darnley House. The room is sealed by pressing a unique coin, selected moments before, on the wax. But when the door is re-opened, someone else?s body is lying there, the seals are unbroken, and the coin has not left the possession of the witness. Things are never what they seem in this classic Golden Age mystery, with a new twist in every chapter. A second impossible murder occurs inside a house surrounded by virgin snow. The detective in charge believes he is dealing with the re-incarnation of Houdini, but in the end there is a rational explanation to everything, and it is left to Dr. Alan Twist to provide it. ?The Fourth Door,? also known as ?The Houdini Murders? was the first best-seller of the French writer Paul Halter, widely regarded as the successor to John Dickson Carr; it won the coveted Prix du Roman Policier in 1987. Paul Halter has written over 30 novels, almost all ?locked room,? including ?The Lord of Misrule? also available in English on Amazon. In 2006 his collection of short stories ?The Night of the Wolf? appeared, to critical acclaim.

Three students from Eito University in Kyoto travel to a remote island populated with moai statues in order to find hidden treasure, but several murders occur before it can be located. Don't be fooled by the bland description. The locked room murder is brilliant and worthy of John Dickson...  more

Three students from Eito University in Kyoto travel to a remote island populated with moai statues in order to find hidden treasure, but several murders occur before it can be located. Don't be fooled by the bland description. The locked room murder is brilliant and worthy of John Dickson Carr at his best, and the dying message and chain of deduction leading to the killer rival anything written by Ellery Queen. Neither Carr nor Queen ever combined both in one novel. This is an outstanding example of Japanese honkaku with an introduction by the maestro, Soji Shimada.

As a guest at a country home where the loss of a valuable gem occurs, Tony Purdon enlists the help of his friend Inspector Beale, to discover what happened. But when Beale arrives he is confronted with not a jewel theft, but a suspicious death. It appears to be an obvious suicide since the dead...  more

As a guest at a country home where the loss of a valuable gem occurs, Tony Purdon enlists the help of his friend Inspector Beale, to discover what happened. But when Beale arrives he is confronted with not a jewel theft, but a suspicious death. It appears to be an obvious suicide since the dead person is found inside a locked room with the only two entrances sealed. But Beale isn't satisfied and thinks there is more to the death than appears on the surface.

In the coziness of The Firs, an ugly yet stately mansion of a family of several generations, the matron is brutally stabbed in the back by someone staying at the house. There are suspects aplenty and ordinarily Tony Purdon and his friend Inspector Beale would have no trouble finding the...  more

In the coziness of The Firs, an ugly yet stately mansion of a family of several generations, the matron is brutally stabbed in the back by someone staying at the house. There are suspects aplenty and ordinarily Tony Purdon and his friend Inspector Beale would have no trouble finding the murderer, but the crochety old dowager was locked alone in her bedroom when she was attacked and killed. Fans of the Policeman mysteries of Rupert Penny will find this classic whodunit every bit as puzzling the others. With diagrams, charts, maps and even a Dutton-like challenge to the reader page, this is a mystery you can't pass up.

Japan, 1936. An old eccentric artist living with seven women has been found dead -- in a room locked from the inside. His diaries reveal alchemy, astrology and a complicated plan to kill all seven women. Shortly afterwards, the plan is carried out: the women are found dismembered and buried...  more

Japan, 1936. An old eccentric artist living with seven women has been found dead -- in a room locked from the inside. His diaries reveal alchemy, astrology and a complicated plan to kill all seven women. Shortly afterwards, the plan is carried out: the women are found dismembered and buried across rural Japan. By 1979, these Tokyo Zodiac Murders have been obsessing a nation for decades, but not one of them has been solved. A mystery-obsessed illustrator and a talented astrologer set off around the country – and you follow, carrying the enigma of the Zodiac murderer through madness, missed leads and magic tricks. You have all the clues, but can you solve the mystery before they do?