Classic Mysteries

Sixteen stories, mostly of murder, a fair amount of seeming impossibilities - and Gervase Fen to show why they're not as impossible as they may seem.

Direct download: BewareOfTheTrains.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:34pm EDT

The fifth and final collection of Edward D. Hoch's marvelous stories featuring Dr. Sam Hawthorne, who delights in solving crimes that seem to be impossible.

Direct download: ChallengeTheImpossible.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:16am EDT

Private investigator Ludovic Travers and his friend and frequent colleague, Scotland Yard Superintendent George Wharton, uncover strange and deadly doings at an English seaside resort.

Direct download: CaseOfTheHavenHotel.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:45am EDT

Murder in a locked room, an impossible disappearance, and a lot of residents who seem to be living in fear. Former detective Charles Venables must follow sometimes gruesome clues to find the secrets behind the terrors of the Garden Hotel.

Direct download: PassTheBody.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:50pm EDT

some "bright young people" are invited to a late night gathering after a charity ball - but what they find is hardly what they expect: the wrong owner of the house, a vanishing lady, and a champagne-stealing young constable are pieces of a puzzle, and so is the uninvited guest: Death.

Direct download: AndDeathCameToo.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:58am EDT

In only a few minutes time, Ruth Miller, moving to a new apartment in a lovely boarding hotel called Hope House, saw her dream of peace and happiness transformed into a horrible nightmare. What had happened - and was anyone else safe from the madness there?

Direct download: DeathOfADoll.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:50pm EDT

Adrian Gray died violently, at the hands of one member of his family. Will the killer be able to deflect suspicion and get away with murder? Or will the unexpected play a significant role in the course of events?

Direct download: PortraitOfAMurderer.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:42pm EDT

Carolyn Crale was convicted of poisoning her husband. She died in prison. Sixteen years later, her daughter came to Hercule Poirot and asked him to find evidence that her mother was innocent - or that would prove her guilt.

Direct download: FiveLittlePigs.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:35pm EDT

Maigret's wife and doctor wanted him to take a vacation - and Maigret had to find a way to stay informed about a murder investigation.

Direct download: MaigretEnjoysHimself.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:06am EDT

A holiday pantomime of the folk story of Dick Whittington and his cat has an unexpected ending: the actress playing Dick Whittington dies onstage - victim of cyanide poisoning.

Direct download: Who_Killed_Dick_Whittington.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:49pm EDT

The very odd behavior of the woman calling herself "Harriet Hall" seemed frightening to members of the Dene family. But who uncovered Harriet's secret life - and did it lead directly to murder?

Direct download: StrangeCaseOfHarrietHall.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:11pm EDT

Chief Inspector Macdonald will have his hands full as he tries to determine who has done what and to whom...

Direct download: MurderByMatchlight.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:44pm EDT

A posthumous collection of more than two dozen stories by Edmund Crispin, written with the author's signature style of clever plotting and witty writing.

Direct download: FenCountry.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:31pm EDT

The Manciples were a delightfully eccentric family - but could one of them have murdered a particularly unpleasant neighbor?

Direct download: MurderFantastical.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:47pm EDT

Christine Clay's name may be known and loved by fans around the world, but when she is found dead on the beach, Inspector Alan Grant must find out who hated her enough to kill her.

Direct download: ShillingForCandles.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:23pm EDT

Did the accused man really commit the murder - and was it all revealed in his answers to the psychiatrist's questions?

Direct download: ColourOfMurder.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:33pm EDT

It began with accusations of embezzlement, and the number of both suspects and potential motives just kept growing.

Direct download: DarkGarden.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:16pm EDT

Even Nero Wolfe knows that it's hard to keep someone from being murdered if the killer is determined enough. Here are three examples... 

Direct download: TroubleInTriplicate.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:36pm EDT

Andy Rowan stands convicted for a murder he says he didn't do. Only schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers believes him - but can she prove it before Rowan's date with the electric chair?

Direct download: GreenAce.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:25pm EDT

David Wainwright was killed in World War II - or was he? His mother welcomed him - his brothers called him an impostor. But was he a murderer?

Direct download: BeltingInheritance.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:20pm EDT

Beatrice Baynes, an alumna (or "old girl") of the Meldon School for Girls, was irritating and opinionated. But surely there must have been a better reason than that for her murder.

Direct download: DeathOfAnOldGirl.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:22pm EDT

The Convent's Reverend Mother teams up with Scotland Yard Deputy Commissioner Andrew Pearson to solve the mystery of the dead man who turned up on the Convent's compost heap.

Direct download: MoreMurderInANunnery.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:08pm EDT

Holidays give us time to read - and here are my suggestions for a dozen fine mysteries for your enjoyment!

Direct download: TwelveReadingDaysOfChristmas.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:50pm EDT

The division bell rang, calling members to vote - and then the shot rang out. Who shot the financier?

Direct download: DivisionBellMystery.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:48pm EDT

Nothing like a good old fashioned Christmas house party - with a good olld fashioned bloody murder for Poirot to solve!

Direct download: HerculePoirotsChristmas.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:32pm EDT

70 thousand spectators came out to watch the pros of Arsenal take on a team of gifted amateurs. N70 thousand spectators came out to watch the pros of Arsenal take on a team of gifted amateurs. None of them expected murder.one of them expected murder.

Direct download: ArsenalStadiumMystery.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

Just the kind of case for Bony - Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte - a disappearance without a single clue. And then there's the missing man's curious neighbor, Mr. Jelly, with his fascination with crime...

Direct download: MurderDownUnder.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:30pm EDT

The anonymous letters amounted to moral blackmail - and it was too much for at least one victim. Could Gervase Fen act in time to prevent another murder?

Direct download: LongDivorce.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:06pm EDT

A dead body, so disfigured after death as to be unrecognizable, is discovered near an old and gloomy inn. With World War Two battering Britain, Inspector Bobby Owen must track down a killer - once he can figure out whose body is lying there.

Direct download: ConquerorInn.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:31pm EDT

Asey Mayo, the handyman-turned-sleuth from Cape Cod, becomes involved in finding solutions to three complex murder plots.

Direct download: ThreePlotsForAseyMayo.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:08pm EDT

Was the murder really nothing more than a senseless killing? Or is it really true that murder must have a motive? And can that motive be uncovered in time to prevent more deaths?

Direct download: MurderHasAMotive.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:14pm EDT

Chief Detective Inspector Maigret must try to find a killer operating among people of wealth and enormous influence.

Direct download: MaigretsTravels.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:14pm EDT

Inspector Knollis knows a great deal about beekeeping - knowledge that will be vital to solving the murder of a most unpleasant man.

Direct download: SingingMasons.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:57pm EDT

Nigel Strangeways was anticipating a quiet cruise. What he found was a lot of fellow cruisers with secret agendas of their own that would lead to murder.

Direct download: WidowsCruise.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:05pm EDT

When an editor of "Style" magazine is murdered, the night before a major issue is due at the printer, Inspector Henry Tibbett must explore the complicated relationships among the magazine's staff that might have led to murder.

Direct download: MurderALaMode.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:02pm EDT

Henry Cargate was dead, and virtually everyone was glad - except the police, for there is never a license to kill the truly objectionable.

Direct download: ExcellentIntentions.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:56pm EDT

A deadly and not-so-accidental fall down a flight of steps threatens the "niceness" of an exclusive residential hotel. And then Mrs. Pargeter decides to investigate a clear case of murder.

Direct download: NiceClassOfCorpse.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:27pm EDT

Edward Powell cannot abide his aunt, and the feeling is mutual. Edward thinks a nice convenient murder would solve the problem. It may be a touch more difficult than he imagines.

Direct download: MurderOfMyAunt.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:47pm EDT

When a young woman disappears without a trace, her family asks Henry Gamadge to help find her. What he finds is a web of hidden passions that lead to murder.

Direct download: AndDangerousToKnow.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:17pm EDT

The women who disappeared had all met a charming man quite recently...but nobody except the missing women could describe the man they knew as Lonelyheart 4122. Then Miss Teatime came along...

Direct download: Lonelyheart4122.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:16pm EDT

To catch a murderous hit-and-run driver, Archie Goodwin finds himself in a workplace with hundreds of young women - but will Nero Wolfe get the facts he needs to avert more deaths?

Direct download: TooManyWomen.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:11pm EDT

Everyone hated Major Stirrop, the camp commandant - but who actually killed him?

Direct download: CaseOfTheMurderedMajor.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:35pm EDT

Jim Henderson wondered why he had been invited to spend a weekend at a country house, a place where the jewels vanished and so did some of the guests.

Direct download: WeekendAtThrackley.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:38pm EDT

Mordecai Tremaine invstigates a murder that spoils a house party.

Direct download: MurderForChristmas_2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:52pm EDT

Jacko Argyle was convicted of murdering his mother. He died in prison. Now, years after the guilty verdict, there's proof of his innocence. That means somebody else in the family must be a murderer...

Direct download: OrdealByInnocence.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:21pm EDT

The supermodel Delora Deanne was a composite, really, of many actresses. Now it looked as if somebody was quite literally taking her apart.

Direct download: MyKingdomForAHearse.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:26am EDT

Murder amid a performance by talented stage magicians leaves the police wondering if they can believe their eyes.

Direct download: LinkingRings.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:12pm EDT

From Conan Doyle to Michael Gilbert, here's a collection of stories about crime in, on, and around trains, edited bu Martin Edwards.

Direct download: BloodOnTheTracks.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:12pm EDT

Benson, the chef at the Whitehall Club, may have made a fatal mistake, using the poison instead of the vanilla extract. Wouldn't it be wonderful if that mistake could only be hushed up? It's not going to be as easy as it may sound...

Direct download: KeepItQuiet.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:29am EDT

Wherever they go, Pam and Jerry North do have an unfortunate tendency to turn up dead bodies., much to the dismay of their good friend, Lieutenant (now Acting Captain) Bill Weigand. This time, it's murder in a Broadway theater - and Pam North might end up in a featured role...

Direct download: DeathOnTheAisle.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:59pm EDT

A dinner party on a remote island turns deadly, when the words of an ancient curse apparently cause the immediate death of one person - and the nearly immediate decomposition of the body.

Direct download: HangmansHandyman.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:43pm EDT

When author Bruce Attleton disappeared - and so did his wife - friends were mystified. The secret appears to lie in a rundown artists' studio called "the Belfry" and a mysterious person who calls himself "Debrette"...

Direct download: BatsInTheBelfry.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:37am EDT

Not everyone liked Nicholas Vaughan, though most people in Mallory Fitzjohn had at least a grudging respect for him. He certainly appeared competent, a man of few words, handy with his hands. It was a shock when a fire destroyed the thatched cottage Vaughan was renting and renovating. Nick Vaughan was trapped in the blaze. The coroner's jury said it was accidental. Others weren't so sure, and it would take Inspector Macdonald of Scotland Yard to come up with a motive and method for murder.

Direct download: FireInTheThatch.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:55pm EDT

Arnold Zeck was probably the only man Nero Wolfe feared - with good reason. Confrontation was inevitable - and only one could survive.

Direct download: InTheBestFamilies.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:13pm EDT

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin find themselves crossing swords with master criminal Arnold Zeck once again - and nearly lose their lives in the course of the battle, as Wolfe's brownstone home comes under attack.

Direct download: SecondConfession.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:45am EDT

Who would want to kill the village doctor in Abbot's Caldicott?? Quite a few people, it would seem. Inspector Littlejohn would find a good deal of snobbery mixed in with more than a little violence.

Direct download: DeathSendsForTheDoctor.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:15pm EDT

Pam and Jerry North came back to their hotel room to find the corpse of a strange woman in their bed. When the corpse is identified, it's going to make the Norths prime suspects.

Direct download: LongSkeleton.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:48pm EDT

A mystery writer points out the astonishing number of unsolved murders in London - happening only on Mondays. Could a single person be responsible for all the bloodshed?

Direct download: CaseOfTheMondayMurders.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:44pm EDT

Nick Latimer had a murderous plan to get rid of his business partners. It didn't work quite the way Nick had expected...

Direct download: MurderIsntEasy.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:03pm EDT

Half thriller and half screwball comedy, meet Leonidas Witherall, an absolute look-alike for William Shakespeare (in fact, everyone who meets him usually refers to him as "Bill"). Witherall gets involved with a young man whom police say is a murderer. Witherall says no - and proceeds to lead that young man, the police, and a whole group of characters on a merry chase to uncover the real villain.

Direct download: BeginningWithABash.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:03pm EDT

Dr. Sam Hawthorne may be a very good doctor, but he's really expert at solving seemingly impossible crimes. Another Crippen & Landru collection by Edward D. Hoch.

Direct download: AllButImpossible.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:53pm EDT

It has been said that Ellery Queen IS the American Detective story. In this collection of short stories, parodies, and pastiches, dedicated to Frederick Dannay and Manfred B. Lee (the two men who were "Ellery Queen"), Josh Pachter and Dale Andrews have collected some fine examples of why EQ was (and remains) a figure of great importance to detective fiction.

Direct download: MisadventuresOfElleryQueen.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:57pm EDT

Fifteen classic mystery stories translated from their original languages into English, some for the first time.

Direct download: ForeignBodies.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:37am EDT

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin find themselves in the middle of two murder investigations, both concerning exotic and rare black orchids.

Direct download: BlackOrchids.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:23pm EDT

Gwenda knew the old house felt familiar. Had she once witnessed a murder there? And was it safe to know that secret?

Direct download: SleepingMurder.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:00pm EDT

Everyone had detested the old woman, but that was no excuse for murder. It took the best efforts of police and the nuns living at the convent to solve a most unusual case.

Direct download: MurderInANunnery.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:56pm EDT

Cosmo Revere was killed when a tree fell on him while he was cutting it down. Only Ludovic Travers believed that the "accident" was really deliberate murder.

Direct download: MurderAtFenwold.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:19pm EDT

A burglar as hero? That's what readers in 1899 discovered in Raffles, a clever thief and safe-cracker and a most likeable criminal.

Direct download: RafflesTheAmateurCracksman.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:31pm EDT

The small-time burglar thought his luck was in, when he found the apparently deserted house. And then he found the bodies...

Direct download: SevenDead.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:43pm EDT

Harriet Vane was on vacation when she discovered the body. The victim's throat had been cut - but the killer left no footprints in the sand.

Direct download: HaveHisCarcase.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:08am EDT

Chief Inspector Henry Tibbett and his wife, Emmy, go for a sailing holiday - but, for the inspector, there's no holiday for murder.

Direct download: SunkenSailor.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:34pm EDT

It certainly seemed as if Anton the lion tamer had been mauled by the seven ferocious Bengal tigers who shared his circus act. Detective Inspector Minto isn't so sure. He sees a human hand behind the murder.

Direct download: DeathOfAnton.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:42pm EDT

An anthology of 15 short stories spotlighting police detectives whose intelligence and understanding make them the nemesis of would-be criminals.

Direct download: LongArmOfTheLaw.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:06pm EDT

The cult calling itself the Children of Osiris - COO or just COO-ism for short - finds itself battling over its High Prophet and the question of who should succeed him - a battle that will prove to be quite deadly.

Direct download: DeathMakesAProphet.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:56pm EDT

The party ended early, as guests ran to escape a powerful blizzard. But they couldn't escape a determined killer.

Direct download: DancingDeath.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:49am EDT

Gregory Matthews was a singularly nasty and unpleasant person - but was that motive enough for somebody to poison him?

Direct download: BeholdHeresPoison.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:16pm EDT

When Councillor Henry Grayling got off the train, he was carrying a payroll. When he got to his house, the payroll was missing - and the councillor was dying, apparently of poison.

Direct download: SomebodyAtTheDoor.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:40pm EDT

"The show must go on" - but when one of the actors dies onstage, even that great producer, Douglas B. Douglas, admits, "You can't carry on with the show with a man dying on stage. Drop the curtain!" A biting satire of theatrical excess from the Golden Age of English Detective Fiction.

Direct download: QuickCurtain.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:55pm EDT

An unforeseen accident brought a thirteenth guest to Lord Aveling's hunting party - and then there was murder...

Direct download: ThirteenGuests.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:46pm EDT

When a crow drops a human finger at the feet of a couple of hikers, police find themselves searching for the rest of the body - and needing to figure out who or what might have been responsible.

Direct download: HarmsWay.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:37pm EDT

The case began with a dead dog that may have scared wholesale jeweler Leander Hill to death. And it would grow to be more fantastic that a Hollywood blockbuster. Ellery Queen's new novel was going to be delayed as he struggled to make sense of a story that seemed to get more incredible with each new development.

Direct download: OriginOfEvil.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:43pm EDT

The shooting that spoiled the gathering at the country house in Hampshire was no accident. Good thing Sergeant Ridgway was on hand to take over the investigation - but could he follow the clues to a logical conclusion?

Direct download: MysteryOfTheSkeletonKey.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:28pm EDT

Colonel Anthony Gethryn has been called home to London by his wife, who wants her husband to investigate the case of Daniel Bronson, accused and sentenced to hang for the murder of a man named Blackatter by shooting him in the back of the head. Gethryn believes Bronson is innocent - but without new evidence, the execution will be carried out in five days. A harrowing thriller by Philip Macdonald.

Direct download: Noose.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:38pm EDT

The renowned artist John Lafcadio had left instructions which should have kept his art in the public eye for many years. A murderer had different priorities. A Classic Mysteries review.

Direct download: DeathOfAGhost.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:11pm EDT

On the Classic Mysteries podcast, reviews of three mystery novellas featuring the gargantuan Wolfe and the far more agile Archie.

Direct download: TripleJeopardy.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:05pm EDT

Two unrelated cases solved by Detective Inspector Littlejohn, issued as a double volume by the British Library Crime Classics series. One deals with a cold case of murder everyone thought had been solved more than 20 years ago. The other presents the murder of a town's well-respected "bonesetter."

Direct download: DeadShallBeRaised.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:56pm EDT

An international club of great detectives meet to share some stories about their fight against crime.

Direct download: CrimeClub.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:10pm EDT

A woman is on trial for her life, charged with the murder of her nephew. The ultimate decision about her fate will rest in the hands of ten men and two women, the members of the British jury who will try her. How they reach their verdict is shown in harrowing detail.

Direct download: VerdictOfTwelve.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:11pm EDT

The secret of Kraken Street appears and vanishes with the street itself - and one of its secrets seems to be murder.

Direct download: PhantomPassage.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:05pm EDT

Amelia Peabody is a strong-minded, no nonsense amateur archeologist. But who's responsible for the mysterious behavior of an Egyptian mummy?

Direct download: CrocodileOnTheSandbank.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:58pm EDT

A busybody may learn more than it's good to know. That may be why Miss Tither was murdered, her body left in the vicar's cesspool - not nice at all!

Direct download: DeathOfABusybody.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:21am EDT

Charles Hayward wanted to marry Sophia Leonides, who lived with her family in a crooked little house named Three Gables. First, however, he had to find a murderer...

Direct download: CrookedHouse.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:35am EDT

Familiar writers - Agatha Christie, G. K. Chesterton, Arthur Conan Doyle and many more - offering lesser-known tales of crime on the continent.

Direct download: ContinentalCrimes.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:30am EDT

"As a study in criminal aberration it is[...]of particular interest, while in singularity of horror and in perversity of ingenious method it is probably unique."

Direct download: Scarweather.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:28pm EDT

A small English village in the grip of World War II deals with a series of unexplained violent deaths.

Direct download: BrazenTongue.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:05pm EDT

Constantly changing your will to disinherit your relatives can be extremely hazardous to your health...

Direct download: CrookedWreath.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:48pm EDT

An indispensable history and guide to traditional mysteries, especially from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, with thought-provoking commentary from Martin Edwards. Intended as a companion to the British Library Crime Classics series.

Direct download: StoryOfClassicCrime.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:24pm EDT

He knew himself only as "William Smith," but had no memory of his life before the war. Now somebody was trying to kill him - and only Miss Silver could find out why.

Direct download: CaseOfWilliamSmith.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:42pm EDT

Prudence Pinsent, daughter of the Master of Prince's College, Cambridge, finds herself involved in a drug smuggling investigation that could come very close to home - and could result in murder.

Direct download: IncredibleCrime.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:09pm EDT

Like it when a crime seems impossible? Footprints in the sand? Bodies in locked rooms or disappearing out of closely-watched rooms? Here's a collection of crimes that couldn't have happened - but did.

Direct download: MiraculousMysteries.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:52pm EDT