This Edgar Awardâwinning collection from the author behind the Peter Duluth novels delivers âa dozen shock treatments for varying degrees of murderâ (Kirkus Reviews).
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Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: âQuentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace which make him one of the leading American fabricants of the murderous comedy of manners; but this surface smoothness conceals intricate and meticulous plot construction as faultless as that of Agatha Christie.â
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This Edgar Awardâwinning short story collection introduces multiple murderers with a myriad of motives:
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In the title story, which was adapted for an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, a wealthy woman trapped in a vault passes the hours pondering her life and her loves as timeâand her oxygen supplyâruns out . . .
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In postâWorld War II Sicily, a visiting American discovers that his charity toward a young boy has ensnared him in a trap only a child could have dreamed up . . .
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A cheating husband planning on killing his wife learns that even the best-laid plans can go astrayâespecially if your wife is a lot smarter than you . . .
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A child writes down what sheâs going to say in a court case, revealing the honest, innocent heart of a little girlâand the cold, calculating mind of a monster . . .
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Quentinâs collection of crimes âproduces a cool chill and a calculated thrillâ (Kirkus Reviews) and includes: âThe Ordeal of Mrs. Snow,â âA Boyâs Will,â âPortrait of a Murderer,â âLittle Boy Lost,â âWitness for the Prosecution,â âThe Pigeon-Woman,â âAll the Way to the Moon,â âMother, May I Go Out to Swim?,â âThou Lord Seest Me,â âMrs. Applebyâs Bear,â âLove Comes to Miss Lucy,â and âThis Will Kill You.â
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