[PDF] The Reader And The Detective Story eBook

Author : P. D. James
Publisher : Vintage
Page : 210 pages
File Size : 14,96 MB
Release : 2011-05-03
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 0307743136

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P. D. James, the undisputed queen of mystery, gives us an intriguing, inspiring and idiosyncratic look at the genre she has spent her life perfecting. Examining mystery from top to bottom, beginning with such classics as Charles Dickens's Bleak House and Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White, and then looking at such contemporary masters as Colin Dexter and Henning Mankell, P. D. James goes right to the heart of the genre. Along the way she traces the lives and writing styles of Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, and many more. Here is P.D. James discussing detective fiction as social history, explaining its stylistic components, revealing her own writing process, and commenting on the recent resurgence of detective fiction in modern culture. It is a must have for the mystery connoisseur and casual fan alike.

Author : George N. Dove
Publisher : Popular Press
Page : 220 pages
File Size : 21,76 MB
Release : 1997
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9780879727321

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As every detective novel addict knows, there's no greater high than figuring out "whodunit" before the final revelation, resulting in the kind of intellectual satisfaction a shot of bourbon can never offer. Dove takes this reader/writer play to a new level by critically assessing the genre through the principles of Reader Response Theory, outlining the detective story as a special case of reading governed by rules and a specialized formula that traces its genealogy back to Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Paper edition (unseen), $18.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Author : Patricia Craig
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 554 pages
File Size : 32,34 MB
Release : 1992
Category : Detective and mystery stories, English
ISBN : 9780192829689

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Essential reading for all armchair detectives, this collection of 33 classic whodunits is the cream of crime writing.

Author : Lilly Dancyger
Publisher : Santa Fe Writers Project
Page : 281 pages
File Size : 28,92 MB
Release : 2021-05-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1951631048

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Despite her parents' struggles with addiction, Lilly Dancyger always thought of her childhood as a happy one. But what happens when a journalist interrogates her own rosy memories to reveal the instability around the edges? Dancyger's father, Joe Schactman, was part of the iconic 1980s East Village art scene. He created provocative sculptures out of found materials like animal bones, human hair, and broken glass, and brought his young daughter into his gritty, iconoclastic world. She idolized him—despite the escalating heroin addiction that sometimes overshadowed his creative passion. When Schactman died suddenly, just as Dancyger was entering adolescence, she went into her own self-destructive spiral, raging against a world that had taken her father away. As an adult, Dancyger began to question the mythology she'd created about her father—the brilliant artist, struck down in his prime. Using his sculptures, paintings, and prints as a guide, Dancyger sought out the characters from his world who could help her decode the language of her father's work to find the truth of who he really was.

Author : Philip Pullman
Publisher :
Page : 223 pages
File Size : 28,5 MB
Release : 2004-06-21
Category : Children's stories
ISBN : 9780753410110

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This book features a marvellous collection of murderous, greedy and immoral villains brought to book by the greatest fictional detectives, who date from the golden age of crime literature as well as the present day. Follow in the footsteps of criminal masterminds and marvel at the inspired deductions of Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and the brilliant (if timid) Mr Budd. Nick Hardcastle's line drawings make these riveting stories come alive

Author : Leonie Swann
Publisher : Anchor Canada
Page : 369 pages
File Size : 35,34 MB
Release : 2010-10-29
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 0385673795

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A witty philosophical murder mystery with a charming twist: the crack detectives are sheep determined to discover who killed their beloved shepherd. On a hillside near the cozy Irish village of Glennkill, a flock of sheep gathers around their shepherd, George, whose body lies pinned to the ground with a spade. George has cared devotedly for the flock, even reading them books every night. Led by Miss Maple, the smartest sheep in Glennkill (and possibly the world), they set out to find George’s killer. The A-team of investigators includes Othello, the “bad-boy” black ram; Mopple the Whale, a Merino who eats a lot and remembers everything; and Zora, a pensive black-faced ewe with a weakness for abysses. Joined by other members of the richly talented flock, they engage in nightlong discussions about the crime, wild metaphysical speculations, and embark on reconnaissance missions into the village, where they encounter some likely suspects. Along the way, the sheep confront their own all-too-human struggles with guilt, misdeeds, and unrequited love. Funny, fresh, and endearing, it introduces a wonderful new breed of detectives to Canadian readers.

Author : George N. Dove
Publisher : Popular Press
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 34,81 MB
Release : 1997
Category : Fiction
ISBN :

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The Reader and the Detective Story is unique in the criticism of detective fiction, in the sense that it treats the detective story as a special case of reading, governed by special rules and shaped by a highly specialized formula. The method of interpretation is the application of the principles of Response Theory (especially those developed by Hans-Georg Gadamer, Wolfgang Iser, and Hans Robert Jauss) to the reading of a tale of detection. Dove shows how the "English" soft-boiled mystery and the "American" private eye story, although they have different settings and develop different plots, belong in the same subgenre and follow the same formula, inherited directly from Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". The Reader and the Detective Story is bound to arouse controversy and to stimulate a reexamination of the nature and purpose of detective fiction.

Author : Howard Haycraft
Publisher : Dover Publications
Page : 433 pages
File Size : 38,41 MB
Release : 2019-02-13
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 0486829308

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"Genuinely fascinating reading."—The New York Times Book Review "Diverting and patently authoritative."—The New Yorker "Grand and fascinating … a history, a compendium and a critical study all in one, and all first rate."—Rex Stout "A landmark … a brilliant study written with charm and authority."—Ellery Queen "This book is of permanent value. It should be on the shelf of every reader of detective stories."—Erle Stanley Gardner Author Howard Haycraft, an expert in detective fiction, traces the genre's development from the 1840s through the 1940s. Along the way, he charts the innovations of Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, and Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as the modern influence of George Simenon, Josephine Tey, and others. Additional topics include a survey of the critical literature, a detective story quiz, and a Who's Who in Detection.

Author : William Shaw
Publisher : Mulholland Books
Page : 284 pages
File Size : 16,13 MB
Release : 2017-06-27
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 0316316253

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Police Sergeant William South has a good reason to shy away from murder investigations: he is a murderer himself. A methodical, diligent, and exceptionally bright detective, South is an avid birdwatcher and trusted figure in his small town on the rugged Kentish coast. He also lives with the deeply buried secret that, as a child in Northern Ireland, he may have killed a man. When a fellow birdwatcher is found murdered in his remote home, South's world flips. The culprit seems to be a drifter from South's childhood; the victim was the only person connecting South to his early crime; and a troubled, vivacious new female sergeant has been relocated from London and assigned to work with South. As our hero investigates, he must work ever-harder to keep his own connections to the victim, and his past, a secret. The Birdwatcher is British crime fiction at its finest; a stirring portrait of flawed, vulnerable investigators; a meticulously constructed mystery; and a primal story of fear, loyalty and vengeance. **Longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year

Author : Roderick Thorp
Publisher : Open Road Media
Page : 521 pages
File Size : 37,35 MB
Release : 2014-12-02
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 1497680948

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In this bestselling book that inspired the hit movie by the same name, starring Frank Sinatra, an apparent suicide forces a PI to reconsider his most famous case Joe Leland returned from World War II with a chest full of medals, but his greatest honor came after he traded his pilot’s wings for a detective’s shield. Catching the Leikman killer made Joe a local hero, but the shine quickly wore off, and it wasn’t long before he left the police force to start his own private agency. Years after his greatest triumph, Joe has a modest income and a quiet life—both of which may soon fall apart. When Colin MacIver dies at the local racetrack, the coroner rules that he took his own life, but his widow knows better. Because MacIver’s life insurance policy doesn’t cover suicide, his wife is left broke, desperate, and afraid for her safety. She hires Leland to find out who could have killed her gentle, unassuming husband—a simple question that will turn this humble city inside out.