Sixteen mystery stories explore that most fascinating of crimes—murder.

The American Mystery Classics series is devoted to reissuing the greatest mystery stories and novels of the past. We call it “Mystery” but what we—most of us—really want is murder stories.

Yes, there are any number of excellent stories that involve theft, kidnapping, assault, blackmail, political chicanery, and deceptive financial practices. The opportunities for people to do bad things to other people seem limitless. But, let’s face it, when we pick up books by Ellery Queen, John Dickson Carr, Mary Roberts Rinehart, and the other giants of the mystery genre, we expect to find a tale of murder and the efforts made to bring to justice the malignant figure who committed the outrage.

There are murderers in this collection, all kinds of killers, most of whom are confident that they are doing what needs to be done. Vengeance is a popular motive, and so is greed, jealousy, and self-preservation. There is an impossible crime in this collection, hard-boiled stories from the pulps, a heart-breaking death because of a misunderstanding, an ironic tale of justice befalling criminals, and suspense so intense that you will hold your breath.

Within this compendium, readers will find tales by Queen, Rinehart, Dashiell Hammett, Cornell Woolrich, William Faulkner, and more. Selected and introduced by Edgar Award-winning mystery expert and anthologist Otto Penzler, Golden Age Murder Stories is essential reading for any murder mystery lover.