Author Description

Leading critic S.T. Joshi reviews 13 mystery and crime writers: I. The Golden Age Dorothy L. Sayers: Lords and Servants John Dickson Carr: Puzzlemeister Margery Allingham: Murder, Gangs, and Spies Philip MacDonald: Expanding the “Cosy” Mystery II. The Hard-Boiled School Dashiell Hammett: Sam Spade and Others Raymond Chandler: Mean Streets Ross Macdonald: Family Affairs III. The Psychological Mystery Margaret Millar: Scars of the Psyche Patricia Highsmith: Guilt and Innocence L. P. Davies: The Workings of the Mind IV. Some Contemporaries P. D. James: The Empress’s New Clothes Ruth Rendell: The Psychology of Murder Sue Grafton: Hard-Boiled Female