A collection of suspense stories, puzzle stories, whodunits and tricky whydunits involving police detectives, private eyes, talented and sometimes lucky amateurs, armchair detectives, and ethnic detectives

Given its extraordinary span, its international scope, and its variant styles and groundbreaking stylists, A Century of Great Suspense Stories is a singular achievement. A bestselling master of suspense himself Jeffery Deaver had the enviable task of selecting from the thousands of stories written over the past one hundred years those which best represented the classic form, as well as the justly celebrated authors whose ironic twists and stunning payoffs left a lasting, vivid, and unnerving impression. The result is a triumph. In this ambitious anthology you’ll revel in the sardonic, overtly amoral plotting of Patricia Highsmith. You’ll rediscover the strangely poignant and surprising turns of Stanley Ellin, and the profoundly underrated Margaret Millar, a genius who mixed savage social satire with brooding horror. You’ll be treated to Stephen King at his chilling best. You’ll find yourself on the violent urban streets of Ross Macdonald and Mickey Spillane, and seeped in the ominous regional flavor of Sharyn McCrumb and Tony Hillerman. You’ll marvel at the cunning webs spun by Lawrence Block, Ruth Rendell, Anthony Boucher, and Sara Paretsky, all of whom defy expectations as they reinvent the genre. And you’ll understand the awesome reputations of those authors who set the standard, such as the legendary Harlan Ellison, Fredric Brown, the master of the twist ending, and James M. Cain, uncannily skilled at knowing what went on between men and women behind closed doors. (The darker the room the better.) Delivering everything from the one-two punch of the detective story to the ingeniously precise trappings of the police procedural, from the disquieting corners of the criminal mind to sheer dread-inducing horror, A Century of Great Suspense Stories is a rich anthology of this popular literary genre, a stunning tribute to the art of storytelling, and to the men and women who have done it best

Among the mutants on Arcturus, Pol and Lae see themselves as others see them!

How does a smart cop outguess a smart criminal? Take the case of Sergeant Argen and the young girl, so sweet, so blameless, so undefended... who had been left for dead

He was young and inexperienced, but was saltier than these two soreheads realized — in more ways than one

In A Flash of Green John D. MacDonald brings his storytelling magic to a larger and more ambitious theme than any he has yet considered. The question is this: Can a town resist the pressures of irresponsible get-rich-quick operators, or arc “progress” and crowding and ugliness inevitable? The answers strike deep into one particular community’s roots and arouse some strong emotions — from acrimonious town meetings to blackmail, assault, and even attempted murder. The scene is a beautiful and unspoiled Florida Gulf Coast town, with beaches, fishing, and wild life close at band. But some real-estate promoters descend with a plan to fill in part of the bay and throw up hundreds of jerry-built houses. It means the ultimate destruction of every natural beauty that has meant so much to the townspeople. The proposal is presented so enticingly, with so many financial opportunities for everyone, that the majority is won over. But they have a stiff battle on their hands from the opposition: the conservationists and the few farsighted people who can see the suburban slums of the future in the making. As the tension mounts, friends become enemies and lovers fall out of love. In an explosive climax one man dares to resist the malevolent local politician who is the power behind the scenes. John D. MacDonald has written a fast-paced exciting story that has something important to say to every American who cares about the community he lives in

When four guys are after one thing, and one guy plays God with their ambitions, watch out!

In this swift and striking novel, John D. MacDonald examines the ferment of a big-time convention — the plots, the savage maneuverings, the dreadful ease with which a man or a dream can be destroyed

What would you do about a beloved pet who had lived too long? This family faced a crisis which could happen in any household

He faced the harshest accusation that any husband can face. And no one in town believed he could be innocent — except his wife, who would have to prove it

In the years since she’d rejected him he’d achieved everything else a man could want. Now in this sudden meeting, he saw his chance to get even

To see through a murderous criminal’s mask of deceit and cunning takes a detective — or the instinct of an old-maid schoolteacher

Last Sunday’s bull had been bad, but it was the thought of the coining Sunday which made jelly of Pablo’s knees

Eighteen years in organized baseball. How much longer could he be the perennial hot shot? How much longer could he kid them into thinking he was great?

About THE NEON JUNGLE, James Sandoe of the New York Herald Tribune said: “Very lively show... like reading Dostoevsky on a roller coaster.” About THE DAMNED, MICKEY SPILLANE made the much quoted statement: “I wish I had written this book.” And about DEAD LOW TIDE, Anthony Boucher of The New York Times said: “Writing is marked by sharp observation, vivid dialogue and... a sense of sweet warm horror.” Now here is John D. MacDonald’s finest... ALL THESE CONDEMNED... a haunting novel of havoc and murder, written by the blond, baby-faced, ruthless young man who is passionately interested in humankind’s darker instincts!

Four people, plucked out of time at the instant of dying, become hunted beings in a grim game whose object is their second death!

Marriage wasn’t for her; she was happy with her career and her secluded retreat. But if one man believed her, another didn’t

His death was a thin red line on a chart... not a gun, not poison, but simply the cold, errorless science of the doomsday men. And even as he prepared to fight it. Larkin knew grimly that — for him — there was no escape in this world!

SHE HAD TWO PASTS — AND NO FUTURE　 But in the beginning Gev Dean didn’t know about that. It was one of those cold, misting December afternoons when dusk comes at three. He didn’t see the girl until she was suddenly in front of him, slim and dark and with her raincoat wrapped tight around her. She wanted a job at Dean Products, she said. And why not... She didn’t look like the kind of girl she was. And even after her high-polish exterior had been ripped away to reveal a shadow of the ugly forces beneath, Gev Dean still wasn’t sure what she was really like. A shorter version of this work appeared in Collier’s under the title “My Brother’s Widow.”

Dale Lorin, gaunt, somber veteran of the Third World War, visionary, idealist, ex-political columnist, was deeply scarred by the two tragedies in his life. He was dangerously close to a Messiah complex in his desire to make the world of 1967 free, for a time at least, of the almost unbearable international tension. The United States had become a second class power in a world once again hag-ridden by fascism. Dake Lorin was working with Darwin Branson, an elder statesman, engaged in arranging secret treaties to give the world a breathing space. Ballroom of the Skies is the story of how Dake Lorin found the incredible answer to why, despite the essential goodness of everyman, there will never be peace and sanity on Earth. He found why he had to be driven to the thin edge of madness before he could be of service to Empire. This is the story of an ultimate conspiracy, and an ultimate answer

Lovely night-club thrush Laura Lynn hires a man with a ready gun, so that when you next see her name in a column, it won’t be under — obituaries!

There’s wisdom for grown-ups in this poignant story of a youngster who had the courage to

Francie held the secret the Red Spies wanted. Would she destroy the man she loved or sacrifice the safety of her country?

They had him on the spot, this clean, big boy who knew his day in the ring had passed and wanted to hang up his gloves. But Big John had one friend who wouldn’t hesitate to match a rotten deal with equally shady trickery to right a wrong!

Considering the late John D. MacDonald’s obvious love for boating and the sea, it’s surprising that so few of his short stories had nautical backgrounds. This one, published in a yachting magazine just a few months after his death, makes fine use of that background while reaffirming MacDonald’s position as one of the leading American mystery writers

when a double-crossing dick gets involved with a ritzy blonde and a hypo-happy psychiatrist

Enterprise and resourcefulness — two great assets when dealing with the east

The plan was simple at first, and then, when we started, I knew that this conspiracy to hijack the Syndicate was the master of all of us. But I was smart... so damned smart, and I knew we could play with murder and not get burned!

Exotic captive of a power-mad barbarian, Latmini bartered a blood-soaked Buddhist treasure for the wares of a ruthless merchant of death

With a little work I could take care of Barrow’s boat — or his wife

A man-eater champ — an out-of-the-hinterlands challenger — a fight where hate rides every punch — and only sudden death can name the winner!

Lonely, bewildered, lost in the maelstrom of the ages, he roamed — to be cruelly shared by worlds other than his own — and yet—

Duncan MacLendon’s business career seemed doomed on that seventeenth hole. And instead of his most dependable iron, he found himself wielding that warped, unbalanced monstrosity, the spectral

We figured him for a phoney, this guy who was cutting in on my girl. We didn’t plan anything too rough — just rough enough so he’d chicken out on her

To trap the murder-mind who turned his frat into a slaughterhouse... brain-boy Arlin and his campus queen — played sitting duck

Mix politics and police, and the result is poison

An interesting proposition on the importance of being ugly

If you’ve faced shell fire, football’s easy — should be, that is!

Ex-army intelligence officer Kestrick had nothing to live for — until he got baited by a trouble-bent beauty, mauled by the tin-god politico’s musclemen... and railroaded to jail

The Howler was a nice boss, but he earned his nickname. He’d stand in the middle of his big restaurant kitchen, flapping his arms and screaming, while the help waited for him to burst. Noisy? You’d be noisy, too, if you knew what he knew! You’d scream bloody murder!

Whitey Edison had grown a little too old for the racing game, that’s all — or so Bob Oliver believed. But sooner or later the kid had to learn the truth

Professor Quotient’s quiz act suddenly pays off in grim murder, with a baffling mystery as the jackpot question!

Martin Rhode, a distinguished soldier of one of Earth’s warring states, has been unwittingly captured by aliens after innocently exploring a hole caused by what was perceived to be enemy warfare. As it turns out, the aliens are being pursued by natives of an enemy planet and they have sought refuge on Earth. They do not plan on staying long, however, but actually intend to lure their rivals in so that they may all be destroyed along with everyone else on the planet, by a special weapon they are at that moment creating. Martin Rhode appeals to the aliens, and they allow him to send a warning to all Earth people that it will soon be the end of the world. At first disbelieving, warring states and individuals afterwards realize their mistakes and immediately reconcile with each other, and make plans on solving the imminent problem that they face — that of expelling the alien presence in their midst! Also includes the stories: ALL OUR YESTERDAYS, DELUSION DRIVE, THE GREAT STONE DEATH, MINION OF CHAOS, COMMON DENOMINATOR, THE MINIATURE

Behind every man of adventure stands a woman. She can inspire him to reach the stars, or she can chain him with doubt and fear and indecision. And if he is a 500-mile-an-hour pilot, she can literally worry him to his death

The story of a wise guy who learned an expensive lesson

He knew he had one more race left in him; he was good for one more crack at the Indianapolis classic. But he needed a car. To get one, he had to amuse Bander son — who thought death was fun

This volume is the nineteenth annual collection of the best stories from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Every year since the anthology’s inception, it has been acknowledged No. 1 in its field, and this current one is no exception. The stories here range from pure detection to suspense, horror and psychological grue. Regardless of the reader’s taste, he will find a fulfilling and diverting repast offered by these writers: John D. MacDonald, James M. Ullman, L. E. Behney, Michael Gilbert, George Sumner Albee, Helen Nielsen, Roy Vickers, Borden Deal, Fletcher Flora, Avram Davidson, William O’Farrell, Norman Daniels, Hugh Pentecost, Victor Canning, Helen McCloy, John Reese, Holly Roth, Edward D. Hoch, Gerald Kersh, Fred A. Rodewald & J. F. Peirce, Lawrence Treat, Stanley Ellin

is the author of more than 500 short stories and some 50 novels, including the bestselling Travis McGee series. Added together, the number of his books is now approaching the astonishing total of 30 million printed copies. Few authors in history have been as prolific as John D. MacDonald, and few have been as highly praised by the critics. The SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE has called him “one of our best craftsmen”; the CHICAGO TRIBUNE has called him “a masterful writer”; and THE NEW YORK TIMES once dubbed him “the John O’Hara of the crime-suspense story.” “He is a master of plot and construction,” said the LOS ANGELES TIMES, “discerning in characterization, able to bring alive the dimension of mood and setting.”

Only three times in my life have I heard as much horn as Buck blew those nights. We didn’t know why until it was all over

At bay against his dissolving skies he fought — the last champion of a star-spanning dynasty which never existed — save to die!

Hit-and-run is a grisly crime, no matter who is involved. This was one of the worst, with a beautiful girl for the victim — and a beautiful girl for the driver

A good cop never managed to get tough enough to keep things from getting to him, and stinging the few soft parts he has left inside

Sometimes, when it’s goal and seconds to go, a bruised and battered eleven who’ve been playing by the coach’s charts have got to throw away every play — and gamble for paydirt on the one called heart!