Table of Contents
Introduction 1
1 Revolution: Origins 9
2 Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe and the first detective stories 20
3 Guilty Secrets: Sensation novels 29
4 Detective Fever: Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, and early detective fiction 37
5 Poacher Turned Gamekeeper: The French Revolution: Vidocq, Gaboriau and their worldwide influence 49
6 The Great Detective: Sherlock Holmes 58
7 Rogues' Gallery: Raffles and other villains 71
8 The Nature of Evil: G. K. Chesterton and faith and sin in detective fiction 81
9 Plot Minds: Marie Belloc Lowndes and Edwardian-era detective fiction 92
10 The Science of Detection: R. Austin Freeman and scientific mysteries 103
11 Had-I-But-Known: Mary Roberts Rinehart and 'women in jeopardy' novels 116
12 War and Peace: The First World War and detective fiction 127
13 Treacherous Impulses: Early spy fiction 138
14 The Mistress of Deception: Agatha Christie 149
15 American Tragedy: Van Dine and the American Golden Age 161
16 Superfluous Women: Queens of crime 174
17 Challenging the Reader: Detection and game-playing 187
18 Locked Rooms: 'Impossible crime' mysteries 199
19 The Long Arm of the Law: Early police stories 212
20 Blood-Simple: Dashiell Hammett 223
21 Murder and its Motives: True crime 234
22 Twists of Fate: Francis Iles and ironic crime fiction 245
23 The Sound of Mystery: Radio mysteries 259
24 In Lonely Rooms: Raymond Chandler 270
25 Brothers in Crime: Patrick and Bruce Hamilton 281
26 Cracks in the Wall: Georges Simenon and European crime fiction 291
27 Sensation in Court: Legal mysteries 304
28 California Dreaming: Crime writers and Hollywood 314
29 Carnival of Crime: Mystery and the macabre 326
30 Waking Nightmares: Noir fiction 336
31 Dagger of the Mind: Casebook novels 347
32 Whose Body?: Whowasdunins: mysteries about the victim's identity 355
33 Private Wounds: Transitioning from the Golden Age 365
34 Out of this World: Traditional detective fiction evolves in the United States 375
35 Perfect Murders: Crime and the end of empire 387
36 Mind Games: Post-war psychological suspense 398
37 Deep Water: Patricia Highsmith 410
38 Forking Paths: Borges and postmodernism 418
39 Bloody Murder: Julian Symons and crime fiction criticism 429
40 People with Ghosts: Post-war private investigators and the legacy of Vietnam 443
41 Killing Jokes: Comedy and crime 454
42 Literary Agents: Post-war spy fiction 466
43 Nerve: Adventure novels and thrillers 480
44 Outsider in Amsterdam: Dutch crime 490
45 Whodunwhat?: Theatrical murder 502
46 Black and Blue: British police fiction 511
47 Home Discomforts: Domestic suspense 522
48 Mystery Games: East Asian detective fiction 533
49 Early Graves: Difference and diversity 545
50 A Suitable Job for a Woman: Women writing about private investigators 560
51 A Feeling for Snow: Scandinavian crime writing 571
52 Fatal Inversions: Ruth Rendell and modern psychological suspense 581
53 Dark Places: American police fiction 591
54 Long Shadows: Historical crime 601
55 A Taste for Death: P. D. James and the truth about human character and experience 613
Select Bibliography 623
Acknowledgements 644
Index of Titles 646
Index of Names 688
Subject Index 716