Diagnosis Impossible: The Problems of Dr. Sam Hawthorne

This collection is set in New England during the 1920's and the 1930's, and features country doctor Sam Hawthorne who specializes in locked room and other impossible crimes. Among the 12 stories is the classic tale of a horse and buggy that enter a covered bridge -- and vanish. Introduction by the author; Sam Hawthorne chronology and bibliography by Marvin Lachman.

contents

“The Problem of the Covered Bridge” [March 1922]. EQMM, December 1974.
“The Problem of the Old Gristmill” [July 1923]. EQMM, March 1975.
“The Problem of the Lobster Shack” [June 1924]. EQMM, September 1975.
“The Problem of the Haunted Bandstand” [July 1924]. EQMM, January 1976.
“The Problem of the Locked Caboose” [Spring 1925]. EQMM, May 1976.
“The Problem of the Little Red Schoolhouse” [Fall 1925]. EQMM, September 1976.
“The Problem of the Christmas Steeple” [December 25, 1925]. EQMM, January 1977.
“The Problem of Cell 16” [Spring 1926]. EQMM, March 1977.
“The Problem of the Country Inn” [Summer 1926]. EQMM, September 1977.
“The Problem of the Voting Booth” [November 1926]. EQMM, December 1977.
“The Problem of the County Fair” [Summer 1927]. EQMM, February 1978.
“The Problem of the Old Oak Tree” [September 1927]. EQMM, July 1978.

Nick Velvet is the choosey crook, who steals only the seeminglyvalueless — for a hefty fee of course. In The Velvet Touch, Nick steals a bald man's comb, a faded flag, an overdue library book, an ordinary playing card, a menu -- and 9 other items

While engaged in pilfering, Nick finds that he often has to become a detective, sometimes in order to save Sandra Paris, the White Queen, who is also a thief -- a mistress of bizarre crimes, who does "Impossible Things Before Breakfast." Nick Velvet and Sandra Paris sometimes compete, sometimes work together — as in the theft of a snake-charmer's basket on the front cover.

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About the Author

Edward D. Hoch, is a legend of ingenuity in the world of mystery writing. Author of more than 800 short stories, winner of the Edgar Award, former President of the Mystery Writers of America, and contributor to every issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine since 1973, Hoch is one of the great mystery writers of our time. And Nick Velvet and Sandra Paris are two of his greatest characters. 

A man who claims to be the Devil is trying to kill him after he witnessed a woman killed by an invisible hand. Lightning bolts that strike from a clear sky, at locations across the globe, to kill a series of former astronauts. A group of friends who sold their souls to the Devil as a joke when they were students find their time is up and the Devil has come to collect. Simon Ark, who may have once been an Egyptian Coptic priest, implies that he is 2000 years old, and he has searched for Satan all these years. The introduction is by Gigi Pandian, an heir to the Impossible Crime tradition. She is the Agatha Award winning author of ten mystery novels and more than a dozen locked room mystery short stories. **

We ve saved the best for last! Follow Dr. Sam Hawthorne through the war years, a time that he called the beginning of two of the most eventful years of my life. The final collection of Dr. Sam Hawthorne stories covers 1940-1944 and includes 15 stories of impossible crimes. From the death of a Siamese cat in a locked veterinary clinic to the death of a Nazi spy, Dr. Sam explains the mysteries that confront the town of Northmont, Connecticut. His cases include: an impossible crime where the wife disappears from the attic where she is confined a murder charge against Sheriff Lens on the cusp of his last campaign for office a case where a man claims to have killed a man using invisibility a cottage where suicides take place too frequently, told to a special visitor to Dr. Sam. While the Dr. Sam stories have come to an end, Crippen & Landru will proudly be presenting Hoch s Ladies next year, featuring the distaff characters from the master of the short story form. That collection will be followed by collections of both Simon Ark and Alexander Swift.

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This is Crippen & Landru's second collection by William Brittain. The first (The Man Who Read Mysteries) included all of the "Man Who Read...." stories and a few stories about the logical and deductive science teacher, Mr. Strang. Our second collection (of a planned three volumes) contains the rest of the Mr. Strang stories, all 25 of them. The collection has an introduction by Josh Pachter (as did the first collection) and an afterword by one of the Brittain children. William Brittain continues to be one of our best-selling and fan favorite authors.

Constant Hearses and Other Revolutionary Mysteries contains not one, but two of Edward D. Hoch’s beloved characters. First are the thirteen stories of Alexander Swift, who works for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Swift deals with many of the leaders of the Revolution, including George Washington, John Adams―and Benedict Arnold. All of the stories are contained in this collection. The second character is the decidedly flamboyant Gideon Parrot, the Golden Age detective who uses his brain to solve the most baffling of crimes. All five of the stories are included in this collection.