There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.

He snorted and hit me in the solar plexus. I bent over and took hold of the room with both hands and spun it. When I had it nicely spinning I gave it a full sw…

The solution, once revealed, must seem to have been inevitable. At least half of all the mystery novels published violate this law.

Love interest nearly always weakens a mystery because it introduces a type of suspense that is antagonistic to the detective's struggle to solve the problem. I…

April, April, Laugh thy girlish laughter; Then, the moment after, Weep thy girlish tears!

One afternoon in early January, the weather showed a lack of character. There was no frost nor wind: the trees in the garden did not stir.

Folds of scarlet drapery shut in my view to the right hand; to the left were the clear panes of glass, protecting, but not separating me from the drear Novembe…