Those of you who have been visiting us over the last few years, then you have probably been made aware of the classic British mysteries that we have been getting through the British Library. I am quite certain that this series of late 19th-early 20th century works, with its attractive railway mural covers, will continue to be featured here in the new Whodunit?, and if you are interested in reading some of the lost classics of the genre, you should check the series out on the shelf we keep them all together on (or in the link above if you receive this by email).
This is not the only one of these collections that exist, although it has proven to be the most popular. The Detective Club Crime Classics, which actually contain a number of the same works as the British Library series, has not seemed to inspire the same level of devotion from our readers. A part of this may be that this series comes in the dreaded hardcover, even if it is a hardcover that is comparably priced to the British Library paper editions. Many of these authors and titles have also been released in previous, similar collections, and can also be found in their earlier formats in our used section. We do not have many of these in the shop at the time of this printing, but if you are looking for a starting point to build a mystery library of your own (or for someone else), we can order them for you.
While both of those series have a British focus, the god-father of American mystery bookshops, and, in some ways, American mysteries themselves, Otto Penzler has started a series of American Mystery Classics in response. Penzler, through Black Lizard/Vintage Crime has been re-releasing American mysteries for many years, and have also started to bring out compendium editions to look at some of the more famous works. This series is mostly going to be released in 2019, but they have bright attractive art, and are by some of the most notable names in the genre.
On the international scene, Pushkin Vertigo is also releasing some of the biggest names of Europe and Asia in another matching collection. Masako Togawa's Japanese thrillers are already here, and Swiss master Friedrich Durrenmatt will be among the other authors who will feature in the first year of this imprint's releases.
Of course, if you are not familiar with any of these authors, or feel overwhelmed just by the idea of starting on something that could be considered a "Crime Classic", we are always ready to be of any extra help that you might need.