Otto Penzler

In these classic mystery tales, literature is a matter of life or death

Of crime fiction's many sub-genres, none is so reflexive and so intriguing as the "bibliomystery": stories that involve crimes set, somehow, in the world of books.

In Vincent Starrett's "A Volume of Poe," a bookseller is murdered; in Ellery Queen's "The Adventure of the Three R's," the detective tracks the disappearance of a local Missouri author;

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When Abigail Doorn was wheeled into the operation room at the Dutch Memorial Hospital, her face was strangely blue and bloated. A wire had been tightly wound around her neck. The strongest suspect, because he stood to benefit by the death of this wealthy old woman, was her protege, the famous Dr. Janney. Just before her death he received a strange caller--one whose name he would not divulge. Ellery Queen, having come to the hospital to visit his old...

A collection of top-selected mystery writing from the past year is culled from a variety of respected sources and offers insight into evolving genre trends.