An original and terrifying mystery by noir writer Fredric Brown.Once upon a time, a girl named Jenny Ames was murdered in a lonely house. No one knew where she had come from, or why she had died, or who killed her. Years later, a man moved into the same house - and discovered that nothing is more seductive than an unsolved murder. George Weaver was looking for peace and quiet, not murder, when he rented a house ten miles outside the town of Taos, New Mexico. However, murder soon comes to occupy George's sleeping and waking thoughts when he begins to dig out the details of a celebrated, unsolved case which happened years before in the very house he is living in. He finds himself falling in love with the dead girl, Jenny Ames, idealizing her, wishing it were she he'd married instead of Vi, to whom he is so unwillingly and unhappily married. The Far Cry is another top Fredric Brown job - a most adroit, inventive, and utterly horrifying mystery.   

A small-town reporter must investigate a murder in a motel—before he becomes the story—in this mystery from an Edgar Award winner and "real pro" (The New York Times Book Review). Bob Spitzer is a young newspaperman in Arizona, and the owner of the local motel has just called. A woman named Amy Waggoner has been found naked and stabbed to death on the premises. As the reporter and the police chief survey the lurid scene, Spitzer reflects on the fact that he once showed a romantic interest in the victim—a fact that could put the spotlight of suspicion directly on himself. His only hope for taking the heat off is to put his investigative skills to work—not something he needs to do very often working for a weekly rag in a sleepy town—and locate the elusive murderer . . .

Review‘A mass-murderer is eliminated in a fitting manner and so nicely calculated are the narrative surprises that not another word should be said concerning the plot …’ – Anthony Boucher, The New York Times Book ReviewProduct DescriptionLogical add-on to the old phrase about a busybody never resting. Fred Brown's Lenient Beast is a five-part narrative telling of the perfect crime. The killer is driven not out of lust, greed or any of the usual sobs, rather 'cause he cares so much for all of us. First published 1956.

"A masterfully delivered tale of an inconspicuous citizen who [finds] murder simple . . . The climax packs a brilliant wallop." —Chicago Tribune Relentlessly twisting and blackly funny, this noir novel by Edgar Award winner Fredric Brown is a portrait of a seemingly upstanding print shop owner in mid-twentieth-century Los Angeles who has successfully murdered his wife—and is now feeling quite confident about his criminal skills. As victims start falling like dominoes, this fast-paced tale works its way to a memorable end, marking a masterwork by this celebrated author of mysteries and crime thrillers. "A real pro . . . a natural storyteller." —The New York Times Book Review

Eighteen Stories by Fredric Brown: 1.The Laughing Butcher2.The Four Blind Men3.The Night the World Ended4.The Motive Goes Round and Round5.Cry Silence6.The Nose of Don Aristide7.A Voice Behind Him8.Miss Darkness9.I'll Cut Your Throat Again, Kathleen10.Town Wanted11.The Greatest Poem Every Written (orig: Four Letter Word)12.Little Apple Hard to Peel13.This Way Out14.A Little White Lye15.The Dangerous People (orig: No Sanctuary)16.Cain (orig: Each Night He Died)17.The Death of Riley (orig: The Ghost of Riley)18.Don't Look Behind You

Written late in his career and while at the height of his powers, KNOCK-THREE-ONE-TWO is Fredric Brown's tour de force of suspense. Taking place over the span of a single evening, we find a city enflamed by fear. A serial killer is on the loose, and while the maniac ties the city into knots, the lives of ordinary citizens are drawn into an inescapable spiral of greed and chance. Brown, purveyor of the surprise ending, does not disappoint. Step now into a world of shadow and anxiety. You need only knock 3-1-2.

With no more room left on Earth, and with Mars hanging up there empty of life, somebody hit on the plan of starting a colony on the Red Planet. It meant changing the habits and physical structure of the immigrants, but that worked out fine. In fact, every possible factor was covered—except one of the flaws of human nature....