Mystery (Catalog) - Xerxes Books, Booksellers to the World Since 1980

Mystery:

(crime) . INSURANCE THRILLERS, SINISTER MYSTERIES CENTERING ABOUT INSURANCE FRAUDS
NY 1932 1st ed. Original published in the Weekly Underwriter during 1932. Hardcover. Octavo, 397pp., black cloth with orange decoration. Compliments Pohs Insurance stamp on printed in gilt on front. VG plus, no DJ. (a71947)
$25.00 (Spofford, Harriet Elizabeth) . THE AMBER GODS PART II
NY 1860. Early Detective story at pp. 170-185 in the February, 1860 edition of the Atlantic Monthly. Complete issue, removed and rebound in later wraps with original front wrap. Good, original front wraps chipped at left margin, small tear neatly repaired with old tape at tight margin, lacks original rear wrap for the issue. Part II only. (a54660c)
$45.00 Adams, Tom . AGATHA CHRISTIE THE ART OF HER CRIMES
NY 1981 1st Everest. Commentary by Julian Symons. Introduction by John Fowles. 4to., 144pp., color illustrations, hardcover. VG, lower corner bumped, in Good DJ, closed tear on front. (a8152)
$20.00 Ames, Delano . THE MAN WITH THREE JAGUARS
Chicago 1961 1st Regnery. A Juan Llorca mystery. Octavo hardcover. Fine in Near Fine DJ. (a68776)
$20.00 Ard, William . MR. TROUBLE
NY 1955 Rinehart. Hardcover. Octavo, yellow paper-covered boards. Good, text lightly, evenly, browned, cover has pink tinge, end papers a bit toned, in VG DJ. (a19818)
$22.00 Ashbrook, H. . THE MURDER OF SIGURD SHARON
NY 1933 Coward-McCann. 282pp. Near VG-minor cover wear, no DJ. (a21263)
$27.00 Aspinwall, Marguerite . WHERE IS SYLVIA?
NY 1936 1st Farrar. Mystery set in New York City. 8vo., 274pp., hardcover. VG, light wear, no DJ. (a42066)
$45.00 Baldwin, R. A. . SANTI THE BRIEF CAREER OF A MODERN YOUNG CRIMINAL
Boston 1929 Meador. Fiction. 8vo., 241pp., hardcover. Inscribed and signed by Baldwin. Good, light cover wear, no DJ. (a32709)
$65.00 Ball, John . THE COOL COTTONTAIL
NY 1966 1st (stated). 8vo., 208pp. Fine in Fine DJ. (a31795)
$40.00 Bellairs, George . DEATH BEFORE BREAKFAST
London 1962 -1st (stated) Gifford. Near VG, no ,DJ. (a20335)
$25.00 Bellairs, George . THE CASE OF THE DEMENTED SPIV (HARDCOVER)
NY 1950 1st Macmillan. Octavo, 179pp., blue paper covered boards. Near VG, very light wear and light cover fading, no DJ. (a69798)
$23.00 Bennett, John . MADAME MARGOT A GROTESQUE LEGEND OF OLD CHARLESTON
New York 1921 1st Century Co. Mysterious legend about a woman selling her soul to the devil in South Carolina. Hardcover. 12mo., blue-gray boards with bright white cloth spine and mounted printed white label on front and spine. Near Fine, in original printedGood DJ, lightly frayed with tiny chip on top and a bit toned overall. Black bat with fully extended wings on front of jacekt under printed title. (a80256)
$85.00 Biggers, Earl Derr . AGONY COLUMN
Indianapolis 1916 Bobbs Merrill. Mystery. Author's fourth book.Hardcover. Octavo, illustrated by Will Grefe, red cloth. Owner name stamp on front end paper. Good, cover lettering a bit rubbed off. (a13140)
$25.00 Borgenicht, Miriam . A CORPSE IN DIPLOMACY
NY 1949 1st. 8vo., 246pp. VG in Good DJ, small chip at head of spine. (a31177)
$40.00 Cain, James M. . PAST ALL DISHONOR
NY 1946 First and Second Editions Before Printing. Sm.8vo., 232pp., hardcover. VG in Good DJ, two small stains near folds, small closed tear on front fold, narrow chip at head of spine, a few chips along edges. (a48141)
$25.00 Carey, Basil . SECRET VOYAGE
New York 1933 1st Alfred H. King. Hardcover. Small octavo, 312pp., black cloth with orange lettering. Good, new end papers. (a76336)
$37.00 Carroll, James . MADONNA RED
Boston 1976 1st Little Brown. 313pp. Mystery fiction about Irish Republican Army. Fine in VG DJ. (a27288)
$45.00 Chamberlain, George Agnew . THE GREAT VAN SUTTART MYSTERY
NY 1930 1st Jacobsen. Hardcover. 12mo., 315pp., cloth. Good, leaves browned but not brittle, no DJ. (a76337)
$22.00 Chandler, Raymond . THE LONG GOODBYE
Boston 1954 1st (stated). Hardcover, Octavo, 316pp., boards. Good, boards soiled, endpapers a bit soiled, lightly scuffed, no DJ. (a39571)
$45.00 Chesbro, George C. . SHADOW OF A BROKEN MAN
NY 1977 1st (stated). Author's first book, and the first Mongo mystery. 8vo., 252pp., hardcover. Near Fine, slight discoloration at inner margin of pastedowns, in Near Fine DJ, slight foxing on front. (a53622)
$65.00 Chesterton, Gilbert K. . THE WISDOM OF FATHER BROWN
NY 1915 John Lane. Sm.8vo., 324pp., red cloth. Good plus, light wear, spine lettering faded. (a50723)
$65.00 Conover, Richard Grover . AS TRUE AS SEA SERPENTS
NY 1928 The Knickerbocker Press. A collection of ghost and mystery stories. Octavo, 265pp., frontis, original gilt printed blue cloth hardcover. Inscribed and signed by Conover on the front free blank. Near Fine, no DJ. Rare. (a66905)
$300.00 Crane, Francis . THE YELLOW VIOLET
Philadelphia 1942 1st (stated). Sm.8vo., 286pp. The third Abbott mystery. Good, light wear, small mark near base of spine, small stain at top edge of rear free blank, no DJ, (a36734)
$45.00 Creasey, John . DEATH OUT OF DARKNESS (HARDCOVER)
NY 1971 1st (stated) World. Octavo, 192pp., hardcover. Near Fine in VG DJ. (a64400)
$25.00 Detective Fiction . CHIMERA A SPECIAL ISSUE ON DETECTIVE FICTION
Summer 1947. Vol. V No. 4. 80pp., wraps. Articles by Barzun, Caillois, Hoppin, Montesinos, O'Donnell, Quentin, Stange and Ruthven Todd. VG. (a20005)
$45.00 Ernst, Paul . LADY GET YOUR GUN
NY 1955 Mill. 8vo., 253pp., hardcover. Good, some foxing on spine, in Fair DJ, very worn (A10367)
$20.00 Fenisong, Ruth . WIDOWS' BLACKMAIL
London 1959 1st Foulsham. 8vo., 191pp., cloth. VG, leaves very slightly, evenly, browned, in Good DJ, one inch closed tear on rear panel, light wear. (a50031)
$60.00 Fletcher, J. S. . THE RANSOM FOR LONDON
NY 1937 Mason. 8vo., 309pp. VG, no DJ. (a32374)
$29.00 Foley, Pearl . THE YELLOW CIRCLE
Philadelphia 1937 1st Lippincott. Mystery fiction. Hardcover. Octavo, 315pp., printed cloth. Near Fine, no DJ. (a76329)
$30.00 Footner, Hulbert . DEATH OF A SABOTEUR
New York 1943 1st Harper. Hardcover. Octavo, 282pp., blue cloth. VG, new endpapers, light wear, no DJ. (a76331)
$27.00 Francis, Dick . DEAD CERT
NY 1962 First edition (stated) Holt Rinehart Winston. Author's first book in this genre. Octavo, 220pp., half grey half black boards. Near Fine, three miniscule spots of soiling in text, in Fairly Good DJ, one 3 inch closed tear, price tag removed taking some of top layer of color from front panel, some light rubbing overall and a couple of other small closed tears. (a70037)
$300.00 Francis, Dick . TRIAL RUN
NY 1978 1st (stated). Hardcover. Octavo, 246pp., cloth. Remainder star on bottom fore-edge. Near Fine in Near Fine DJ, very slight soiling. (a31464)
$20.00 Franklin, Jay (pseudonym of John Franklin Carter) . ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT COPY OF HIS NOVELETTE: HANGOVER HALL
Complete title in gilt on front reads: Hangover Hall by Jay Franklin 1947 For Mr. Murphy. Large 4to., 59 leaves, handwritten on rectos only in neat ink cursive, 3/4 red leather with gilt lines and gilt lettering and later paper spine. On front blank end paper is written in ink: For Ray Murphy with the compliments of John Franklin Carter, Washington DC, Xmas, 1947. About half of leaves are white, other half are yellow. VG. As far as we can tell this is an unpublished work. (a72204)
$1400.00 Freeman, R. Austin . MR. POLTON EXPLAINS
London 1940 (verso: First Printed in this form 1940) Small octavo, 285pp., red paper boards. Good, tiny chip at head of spine, some rubbing and light wear on boards. Yellow DJ (H&S Yellow Jacket on spine), some soiling, two tiny chips at heel of spine, 1/4 inch chip at head of spine and along rear top edge, short closed tear at top of front flap fold, light crease and small chip at top corner of inside flap. Original price on lower corner of front inner flap of jacket. (a36321)
$450.00 Freeman, R. Austin . THE PENROSE MYSTERY
London 1937 Hodder and Stoughton. (verso 'First Printed April 1936, Reprinted July 1936, Reprinted February 1937'). Hardcover. Small octavo, 317pp., red paper boards. Good, two tiny closed tears at head of spine in Good DJ, lovely full color dust jacket with large parrot sitting at a desk. On spine of dj is small photo illustration of Freeman and "H&S Yellow Jacket" ). Book is lightly soiled, spine head a bit chipped, small chip at top right corner. Binding secure and text clean; no ownership marks. (a36323)
$100.00 Freeman, R. Austin . THE STONEWARE MONKEY
London 1940 (verso 'First Printed January 1939, Reprinted January 1940') Hodder and Stoughton. Hardcover. Small octavo, 285pp., red paper boards. Good, spine head a bit chipped, in Good DJ, yellow with picture of the tone monkey and black spade with ("2' net, H&S Yellow Jacket" on spine), lightly soiled, spine head frayed, small chip at top right corner. (a36322)
$75.00 Fruttero, Carlo and Franco Lucentini . THE SUNDAY WOMAN
London 1974 Collins. Mystery novel. Hardcover. Octavo, cloth. VG, rubbing on spine, no DJ. (a71533)
$40.00 Garland, Rodney . THE TROUBLED MIDNIGHT
NY 1954 1st American (stated). Mystery with a Gay theme. 8vo., 252pp. VG in VG DJ. (a31532)
$40.00 Gosling, Paula . DEATH PENALTIES
NY 1991 Mysterious. 8vo., 232pp., boards. VG in Good DJ, a bit worn, one small closed tear. (a40105)
$25.00 Grant, Ellsworth . AGENDA FOR MURDER
West Hartford 1985 1st Fenwick. Crime fiction with Connecticut setting. Sm.8vo., 173pp., drawings by Charles Paprzyca., wraps. Signed by Grant. VG, light wear. (a51199)
$25.00 Greben, Arnoul . ACTES DES APOSTRES
Paris (1541) Arnoul et Charles Les Angeliers. In French. This first part, Actes des Apostres, of a 2 part set (later a third part was added), was originally written by Arnoul Greben in the fifteenth century as a mystery play. Sm.folio, 210 leaves (incorrectly numbered at ccxx leaves), printed in double column in black gothic type, woodblock illustration at the start of the play, Colophon on verso of final leaf differs a bit from the Colophon illustrated in Brunet. Lacks the first three introductory leaves (title and privileges), opens to the names of the persons in the play. In reasonable condition, some old dry light water stains affect most leaves, some leaves are wormed or chipped at the lower corner or lower edge (not affecting text except the corner of a letter on one leaf). Two leaves near the end have a horizontal closed tear about 6 inches long running the inner margin to the center of the page. Later paper backstrip. A very scarce volume, decribed in Brunet as "plus recherchee". Rare. (a39478)
$980.00 Hall, Geoffrey Holiday . WATCHER AT THE DOOR
NY 1954 1st (stated) Simon and Schuster. Hardcover. Octavo, 214pp., cloth. VG, text browned, in VG DJ. (a10387)
$20.00 Hart, Jeanne . SOME DIE YOUNG
NY 1990 1st. 8vo., 234pp., boards. Inscribed and signed by 'Jeanne' on verso of halt title. Fine in Fine DJ. (a40247)
$35.00 Haycraft, Howard . MURDER FOR PLEASURE THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE DETECTIVE STORY
NY 1941 Appleton. On history of mystery fiction. Hardcover. Octavo, 409pp., illustrations, index, cloth. Bookplate partially removed. Good, text browned but not brittle, no DJ. (a11573)
$30.00 Herniquez, Richard A. . FOUR WAY PAYOFF
1951 1st Phoenix. Hardcover. Octavo, 224pp., cloth. Good plus, light cover wear, no DJ. (a76330)
$65.00 Holden, Raymond . DEATH ON THE BORDER
NY 1937. 8vo., 305pp., cloth. Good, endpaers stained, corners worn, cloth lightly soiled, no DJ, (a42845)
$25.00 Homes, Geoffrey . THE DOCTOR DIED AT DUSK
NY 1936 1st Morrow. Octavo, 303pp., hardcover. Owner signed. VG, light cover wear, no DJ. (a69591)
$33.00 Hopkins, Stanley Jr. . THE PARCHMENT KEY
NY 1944 1st (stated). Hardcover. Octavo, 218pp. Fine in VG DJ, slight wear to foot of spine. (a19891)
$23.00 Hughes, Rupert . THE COMPLETE DETECTIVE, BEING THE LIFE AND STRANGE AND EXCITING CASES OF RAYMOND SCHINDLER, MASTER DETECTIVE
NY 1950. Introduction by Erle Stanley Gardner. 8vo., 319pp. Owner name blotted out on front free blank. VG, no DJ. (a38070)
$22.00 Iams, Jack . THE BODY MISSSED THE BOAT
NY 1947 Morrow. 8vo., 245pp., cloth. VG, no DJ. (a44004)
$25.00 James, Montague Rhodes . A WARNING TO THE CURIOUS AND OTHER GHOST STORIES
London 1925 4th Arnold. Hardcover. Small octavo, 200pp., tan cloth. Good plus, faint soiling on cover, no DJ. (a80415)
$49.00 Johns, Foster . THE VICTORY MURDERS
NY 1927 2nd John Day. VG, light cover soiling, no DJ. (a30026)
$40.00 Kallen, Lucille . C. B. GREENFIELD: THE PIANO BIRD
NY 1984 1st (stated) Random. 8vo., hardcover. Fine in Fine DJ. (a57247)
$26.00 Keene, Carolyn . THE MYSTERY OF THE FIRE DRAGON
NY 1961 Grosset & Dunlap. First edition with all points. 8vo., 182pp., cloth. VG, front hing a bit tender, light soiling on fore-edges, in VG DJ, a few closed tears along top edge. (a53169)
$100.00 Kennedy, Adrienne . DEADLY TRIPLETS A THEATER MYSTERY AND JOURNAL (SIGNED)
Minneapolis 1990. ISBN 0-8166-1837-2. Hardcover. Octavo, 124pp., cloth. Inscribed and signed by Kennedy, Afro-American writer. Fine, no DJ. (a31000)
$45.00 King, Rufus . CASE OF THE DOWAGER'S ETCHINGS
NY 1944 1st Doubleday Crime Club. 8vo., hardcover. Good, cover mildew spotted, in Good DJ. (a19845)
$20.00 King, Stephen . CUJO
NY 1981 Mysterious Press. Hardcover. Octavo, 319pp., gilt decorated maroon cloth. This is the trade edition, no limitation or signature. Fine, in glassine jacket. (a77997)
$50.00 Kouns, Nathan C. . ARIUS THE LIBYAN
NY 1922 Appleton. Introduction by Nicholas Murray Butler. Hardcover. Small octavo, 398pp., ads, cloth. VG, no DJ. (a76333)
$20.00 Lauferty, Lilian . CRIMSON THREAD
NY 1942 Simon and Schuster. Hardcover. An inner sanctum mystery. Hardcover. Octavo, cloth. Owner signed. VG in Fair DJ, worn. (a13267)
$22.00 MacDougall, Michael . DANGER IN THE CARDS
Chicago 1943 1st Ziff Davis. Mystery fiction. Hardcover. Octavo, 236pp., cloth. Good plus, cover faded and spine lettering rubbed, no DJ. (a76328)
$23.00 Mason, Van Wyck . DARDANELLES DERELICT A MAJOR NORTH STORY
NY 1947 1st Doubleday. 8vo., 275pp. VG in VG DJ, backstrip faded. (a42062)
$30.00 Mason, Van Wyck . THE RIO CASINO INTRIGUE
NY 1941 First edition, Reynal. Hardcover. Octavo, 302pp., cloth. Owner signature and label on front free flyleaf. VG in VG DJ, very light soiling. (a42007)
$150.00 McDougald, Roman . PURGATORY STREET
NY 1946 1st (?). 8vo., 246pp., cloth. VG, small stain on spine, no DJ. (a43528)
$30.00 O'Donnell, Lillian . THE TACHI TREE
London 1968 1st Abelard-Schuman. Mystery novel about Caribbean island of San Pedro. Hardcover. Octavo, cloth. Fine in Good DJ. (a21619)
$22.00 Page, Marco . FAST COMPANY
NY 1938 1st Dodd Mead. Red Badge Prize Mystery for 1938. 8vo., 264pp., hardcover. Near Good, spine ends and corners worn, starting to tear along front outer hinge, no DJ. Text clean and binding secure. (a42472)
$25.00 Pentecost, Hugh . WALKING DEAD MAN
NY 1973 1st Dodd Mead. 8vo., hardcover. Good in VG DJ. (a9325)
$20.00 Prior, Allan . THE INTERROGATORS
NY 1965 1st (stated). 8vo., 319pp. VG in VG DJ, original price crossed out in ink. (a39940)
$35.00 Rice, Craig . TELEFAIR: THE HOUSE ON THE ISLAND (SIGNED)
Indianapolis 1942 First edition (stated) Bobbs Merrill. Hard, fast, clever mystery (DJ). Octavo, 287pp., pale green cloth hardcover. ) **Signed and inscribed by Rice (to Charles and Louise Molloy, June 8, 1942 ) on the front free blank. VG, some uneven spotty fading of cover. In dramatic pictorial VG DJ, lightly soiled, lightly worn. Very scarce signed copy of this book. (a66147)
$650.00 Rice, Louise . BY WHOSE HAND?
NY 1930 1st Macaulay. Mystery solved by handwriting analysis. Sm.8vo., 381pp., hardcover. Owner signed. Good, in Fair DJ, worn. (a45451)
$35.00 Root, Pat . THE DEVIL OF THE STAIRS
NY 1956 1st (stated). 8vo., 282pp., cloth. VG in VG DJ. (a24156)
$30.00 Roscoe, Mike . DEATH IS A ROUND BLACK BALL
NY 1952 1st Crown. First Johnny April mystery. Fine in Good DJ, a few small edge tears. (a25678)
$45.00 Ross, Jonathan . DEADEST THING YOU EVER SAW
NY 1970-lst McCall. Fine in fine DJ. Mystery. (a11899)
$25.00 Satterthwait, Walter and Ernie Bulow . SLEIGHT OF HAND CONVERSATIONS WITH WALTER SATTERTHWAIT
Albuquerque 1993 University of New Mexico. Satterthwait is author of Joshua Croft detective novels.Octavo, 165pp., hardcover. Fine in VG DJ, light soiling. (a21853)
$20.00 Spillane, Mickey . THE DEEP
NY 1961 1st (stated) Dutton. 218pp. Near Fine in Good DJ, small bit of price tag stuck to rear. (a21535)
$37.00 Spillane, Mickey . THE DELTA FACTOR
NY 1967-1st (stated) Dutton. Near Fine (very light soiling in a few spots on page ends only) in VG DJ (not price clipped) DJ- a bit browned in places and slightly worn on edges. (a18945)
$39.00 Stafford, William T. (editor) . DETECTIVE & SUSPENSE
Purdue 1983. Whole issue of Modern Fiction Studies, Volume 29, Number 3, Autumn 1983. 8vo., pp.387-582, wraps. VG, light soiling. (a40095)
$35.00 Stevenson, Burton E. . THE MARATHON MYSTERY A STORY OF MANHATTAN
NY 1904 1st Holt. Sm.8vo., 323pp., 5 color illustrations by Eliot Keen, reed cloth. Gilt lettering with black bat on front cover. Good, new end papers. (a42027)
$39.00 Suskind, Patrick . PERFUME THE STORY OF A MURDERER
NY 1986 1st American Edition, Knopf. 8vo., hardcover. VG, a few spots on cover, in VG Plus DJ, a bit of wrinkling on top edge. (a57818)
$35.00 Symons, Julian . AGATHA CHRISTIE THE ART OF HER CRIMES THE PAINTINGS OF TOM ADAMS
NY 1981. Hardcover. 4to., 144pp., color illustrations, cloth. Near Fine in Near Fine DJ. (a28341)
$20.00 Symons, Julian . PIPE DREAM
NY 1958 Harper. Hardcover. Octavo, 177pp., cloth. VG in Good DJ. (a11868)
$20.00 Thynn, Alexander . THE CARRY-COT
Wessex 1972 1st. 8vo., 163pp. 'Gothic ...whodunit.' Fine in VG DJ. (a27634)
$50.00 Tracy, Louis . THE WRECK OF THE CHINOOK
NY 1904 1st Edward J. Clode. 8vo., 339pp., original gilt printed hardcover. VG. (a58592)
$75.00 Trevor, Elleston . THE BILLBOARD MADONNA
NY 1961 1st. 8vo., 320pp. VG, light foxing on endpapers in VG DJ. (a32432)
$30.00 Van de Water, Frederick F. . STILL WATERS
NY 1929 1st Crime Club Doubleday. Hardcover. Octavo., 298pp., cloth. Good, spine faded, light cover wear, no DJ. (a33153)
$27.00 van Gulik, Robert . THE CHINESE GOLD MURDERS
NY 1959 1st (stated) Harper. 8vo., 202pp., original hardcover. Near Fine, just slightest amount of wear on corners, and very light sparse foxing on fore-edges, in Near VG DJ, price clipped and spine ends a bit worn. (a60210)
$55.00 Wahloo, Peter . THE STEEL SPRING
NY 1970 1st (stated) Delacorte Press. 8vo., 187pp., cloth. VG in VG DJ, light soiling, one or two small closed tears at top edge. (a45078)
$35.00 Wallace, Edgar . CLUE OF THE TWISTED CANDLE
London n.d. (c. 1930) Hodder and Stoughton. 8vo., hardcover. Fair, foxed, worn. (a9225)
$20.00 Wallace, Edgar . ON THE SPOT
London 1931 (printed at bottom of final page) John Long. Sm.8vo., 288pp., ads, plain blue cloth. Owner signed on front free blank. Good, cloth lightly soiled, no DJ. (a42600)
$25.00 Wallace, Edgar . THE FEATHERED SERPENT
London n.d Hodder and Stoughton. Sm.8vo., 312pp., illustrated yellow cloth. Owner inscription on front free blank (dated 1928). VG, cloth lightly soiled, no DJ. (a42599)
$25.00 Wallace, Edgar . THE FLYING SQUAD
London n.d Hodder and Stoughton. Sm.8vo., 312pp., illustrated yellow cloth. Owner bookplate. Good plus, faint vertical crease in spine cloth, no DJ. (a42597)
$27.00 Walpole, Hugh . THE THIRTEEN TRAVELLERS
NY 1921. 8vo., 279pp., printed cloth. VG, light wear. (k1105)
$25.00 Wellington, Barrett R. . THE MYSTERY OF ELIZABETH CANNING THE GREAT RIDDLE OF THE LAW COURTS
NY 1940. Introduction by John Henry Wigmore. Hardcover, Octavo, 209pp. Inscribed and signed by Mary Wellington, the author's sister. VG in Good DJ, soiled, slight chip at head of spine. (a27090)
$20.00 Wellington, Barrett R. . THE MYSTERY OF ELIZABETH CANNING THE GREAT RIDDLE OF THE LAW COURTS
NY 1940. Introduction by John Henry Wigmore. 8vo., 209pp., hardcover. Good plus, no DJ. (a52544)
$30.00 Woodthorpe, R.C. . DEATH IN A LITTLE TOWN
NY 1937 Sun Dial. VG, no DJ. (a17178)
$35.00