Lendle

James Ellroy and Otto Penzler mined the past century to find this treasure trove of thirty-nine stories. From noir’s twenties-era infancy come gems like James M. Cain’s “Pastorale,” and its postwar heyday boasts giants like Mickey Spillane … more

Ugly Behavior collects 19 of Steve Rasnic Tem’s best noir tales, ugly stories about people behaving quite badly indeed. These are the stories in that box under your bed, pushed all the way back against the wall, the one that takes some effo… more

The past presents a harrowing case and an unsettling personal dilemma for Lucas Davenport when the death of a model leads him to suspect one of his own men.

The vast labyrinth of caverns, passages and subterranean rivers beneath the Peak District are a major tourist attraction. But this summer not all the darkness is underground, and not all the devils are folk legends. Mingling with the visito… more

David A. Riley’s first professionally published story was in the 11th Pan Book of Horror in 1970. Since then, he has been published in numerous anthologies from ROC Books, DAW Books, Robinson Books, Corgi Books, Doubleday, Playboy Paperback… more

“Welcome to the Real World” is a golf story. Otto Penzler asked me for a story for an anthology with a golf-and-crime theme, and I wrote one called “Hit the Ball, Drag Fred.” But then I put it in my big collection, ENOUGH ROPE, and that c… more

“You Know What’s Going On” is a novella (47 pages in the printed edition) originally published in Agents of Treachery, an espionage-fiction anthology edited by Otto Penzler.Like my recent books (The Tourist, The Nearest Exit), “You Know Wha… more

Middling historian Lucas Paige visits St. Louis to give a sparsely attended reading—nothing out of the ordinary. Except among the yawning attendees is someone he did not expect: Lola Faye Gilroy, the “other woman” he has long blamed for his… more

Get a sneak peak at Smart Pop’s 2012 titles with this preview volume of standalone essays.Volume includes:“Songs Spenser Taught Me” – Ace AtkinsFrom In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American … more

An Otto Penzler BookJohn Shannon is a petty thief on the run. A three-time loser framed for a murder he didn’t commit, he knows the cops are closing in on him and that he’s facing life in prison—or death by lethal injection. Then, as if ou… more

Thieves, liars, killers, and conspirators—it’s a criminal world out there, and someone has got to write about it. An eclectic collection of the year’s best reportage, The Best American Crime Reporting 2008 brings together the murderers and … more

The 2005 edition of The Best American Crime Writing offers the year’s most shocking, compelling, and gripping writing about real-life crime, including Peter Landesman’s article about female sex slaves (the most requested and widely read New… more

A sterling collection of the year’s most shocking, compelling, and gripping writing about real-life crime, the 2006 edition of The Best American Crime Writing offers fascinating vicarious journeys into a world of felons and their felonious … more

In Thomas Perry’s Edgar-winning debut The Butcher’s Boy, a professional killer betrayed by the Mafia leaves countless mobsters dead and then disappears. Justice Department official Elizabeth Waring is the only one who believes he ever exist… more

For the first time ever, legendary editor Otto Penzler has handpicked some of the most respected and bestselling thriller writers working today for a riveting collection of spy fiction. From first to last, this stellar collection signals mi… more

Edited by Jeffrey Toobin, CNN’s senior legal analyst and New York Times bestselling author of The Nine, The Best American Crime Reporting 2009 is a must-have for the true crime reader, complete with the most gripping, suspenseful, and brill… more

When Robert B. Parker passed in early 2010, the world lost two great men: Parker himself, iconic American crime writer whose books have sold more than 6 million copies worldwide, and his best-known creation, Spenser. Parker’s Spenser series… more

“A Vision in White” has a wonderful history. Otto Penzler invited me to contribute a tennis story to an anthology, and I wrote one, but by the time Murder is My Racquet was published, I’d already included the story in my omnibus collection… more

At the request of London police, psychologist Kit Quinn agrees to evaluate Michael Doll, a sexual predator who slashes her face. As she recovers, Kit has horrible dreams of a red room. Months later, Doll is arrested for murder. As Doll’s ob… more

Bored with retirement, an ex-spy challenges his old agency to a gameMiles Kendig is one of the CIA’s top deep-cover agents, until an injury ruins him for active duty. Rather than take a desk job, he retires. But the tawdry thrills of civili… more