Philip Marlowe's idle curiosity about a man he sees walking down the street involves him in several murders, the theft of a valuable jade necklace, several cops, all corrupt to some degree, hints of blackmail, considerable physical danger, and entanglements with a number of women. A true classic.

500 weekly reviews on the Classic Mysteries podcast - a landmark worth celebrating. So here's a "Baker's Dozen" brief reviews of some of my favorite classics.

They fought about everything - but did their battles end in death?

Sir John Appleby suspected a publicity stunt when someone stole a painting practically from under his eyes. But the dead artist turned it into something far more serious - and deadly.

Someone is bent on sabotaging the local historical pageant - and won't stop at murder to do so. Asey Mayo, "the Codfish Sherlock," must figure out who - and why.

Bill Fent died in a spectacular car crash. If he hadn't, he would have died from a spectacular dose of poison. Another of Aird's "Calleshire Chronicles."

Maigret investigates the case of a missing woman - was she murdered or had she chosen to disappear? And could it all lead to "the most hateful miscarriage of justice"?

Mr. Parker Pyne's newspaper ad was most unusual: Are you happy? If not consult Mr. Parker Pyne. Agatha Christie is in fine form with these unusual short mysteries.

MJ Trow's fictional detectives, Grand and Batchelor, are asked to investigate the apparent murder of Charles Dickens in a new, traditional historical mystery.

When an elderly relative is all that stands between you and a fortune, quite clearly that obstacle needs to be removed...

The Warrielaws all hated each other - but did they hate enough to murder for a fabulous jewel?

The murder took place onstage in the middle of the opening night performance before a huge crowd - yet nobody saw what happened or who did it.

Superintendent Alleyn of Scotland Yard finds his former teacher could be the target of a desperate killer.

Someone stabbed Lady Mary Gregor - but no weapon was in the locked room, where her body was found.

Who murdered Mrs. Miller as she sat in the dentist's chair?

Sergeant Cluff's superior may find his subordinate's behavior exasperating - but Sergeant Cluff knows his town and his people and where to dig for the truth.

A young doctor accidentally finds a dead body - but the body disappears, and the doctor becomes the target of a determined killer. It's up to his former teacher and friend, Dr. Thorndyke, to uncover the truth.

The killer left his mark - a metal disk in the shape of the letter "Z." Who was the killer, who were his victims, and what was the meaning of that Z?

Nigel Strangeways must find the very unfunny practical joker whose dangerous and deadly pranks threaten to turn the vacation paradise of Wonderland into a deadly trap.

Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Owen tackles a case that begins with a haunted house, the murder of a psychical researcher, and rumors of a fabulous painting that could be worth killing for.

A long distance runner, lost in a road race, comes across some very strange events which may or may not include murder. It's like being trapped in one of the bloodier fairy tales collected by the brothers Grimm...

A rather gruesome example of a classic "Had I But Known" mystery: guests stranded by a snowstorm at a remote resort in the Ozarks find that one of them apparently is a very brutal murderer.

The victim was a young hooligan, but was he so very bad that nobody - including his parents - had a good word to say about him after he was murdered?

Superintendent Battle must trace a cunning murder plot back to its roots in the past before he can trap the guilty party.

John Christmas investigates a murder to discover whether the accused man actually committed the crime.

Ellery Queen provides twelve mysteries, each appropriate to a particular month, for his eponymous detective to solve.

The rich old lady was dead - poisoned - and all the clues pointed to her newest favorite, young Carey Silence. But was she being framed for a crime she didn't commit?

What happened to the distinguished art critic - and how genuine was that Rembrandt painting on the wall?

A very sick young man dies shortly after midnight on his 21st birthday - time enough to inherit a fortune just before dying. But that was only the first death...

A young woman appears to be haunted and persecuted by herself - in the form of a double, known as a doppelganger...

Sir Frederic Bruce was killed when he got too close to solving an old series of disappearances. It was up to Charlie Chan to reveal the truth about what really happened.

Sir Wilfrid was alone in the railroad carriage, and the weapon was on the scene. But Inspector Arnold didn't like the way the pieces of the puzzle fit together...

If Pam North hadn’t decided that the vacant apartment upstairs in their building would be a good place to hold a party, it’s quite possible that the body of a murder victim wouldn’t have been discovered for a long time...

The voyage of the fishing trawler Ocean had been an unlucky trip - even before the captain was murdered. Was the ship under the evil eye?

British laws about taxes and estates are not generally thought of in terms of murder - but somebody seems to be eliminating lawyers working on a complicated tax case. It's another of Sarah Caudwell's romps through the legal profession.

Police Constable Richardson was in the right place at the right time to help his superiors solve a tricky murder case. This early police procedural sees the meteoric rise of a young policeman's career.

Inspector Cockrill had hoped the tour of Europe would be a relaxing vacation. Murder - and a local police force looking for a scapegoat - made it a tour to remember in all the wrong ways.

Originally serialized in 1862-63, Julian Symons and many others consider it to be the first detective novel, as it leads the reader through an insurance investigator's efforts to discover the truth about the evil Baron R., suspected wife-killer.

Sergeant Beef tackles a case where the murderer confessed - but didn't bother to say who had been killed, or where the body might be.

A Scotland Yard detective teams up with an enterprising newspaper reporter to tackle a seemingly impossible murder. 

Did Lord Bygrave just wander off by himself? Or was there a more sinister explanation for his disappearance?

A most literate mystery about a suspicious suicide...bigamy...and a tantalizing rumor about an incredibly valuable document.

The four women were insignificant - almost nobody even knew they were gone. It was up to Hildegarde Withers to discover the ugly truth about what had happened to the missing ladies - and why.

The Villa Paloma on the French Riviera was home to a lot of people, most of whom had a great deal to hide. It was no surprise that it all ended in sudden death.

Only one of the possible heirs objected to the tax plan - and that heir soon met with an unfortunate accident.

The teenagers' prank was supposed to make people think they had summoned the devil. Is that really what happened?

The victim was traveling under a false name - but there were many others on the train with deadly secrets to hide. One of Agatha Christie's best mysteries.

Two novellas of Nero Wolfe (and Archie Goodwin's) adventures during World War II.

The witnesses swore that the victim simply keeled over "as though he'd been pole-axed." But there were no signs of foul play. A Golden Age classic by another forgotten author.

The cask was supposed to be full of wine. Instead, there was the body of a murdered woman.

Was the murderer already buried in Grim's Grave? Or was there a more rational explanation for the crime?