In these classic mystery tales, literature is a matter of life or death. Of crime fictions many sub-genres, none is so reflexive and so intriguing as the "bibliomystery": stories that involve crimes set, somehow, in the world of books. In Vincent Starretts "A Volume of Poe," a bookseller is murdered; in Ellery Queens "The Adventure of the Three Rs," the detective tracks the disappearance of a local Missouri author; and a killer stalks the stacks of the New York Public Library in Robert L. Blochmans "Death Walks in Marble Halls." With fourteen tales of bibliophilic transgression from the Golden Age of the mystery genre (the decades between the two World Wars), this volume collects stories guaranteed to entertain, featuring work from well-remembered authors such as Cornell Woolrich and Anthony Boucher and from those that are lesser-known today, such as Carolyn Wells and James Gould Cozzens. Edgar Award-winning anthologist, editor, bookseller, and mystery scholar Otto Penzler has focused extensively on the history of the bibliomystery, and his expertise shines in this enjoyable collection--both in the selection of stories, and in the informative and illuminating introductions that accompany each one."Of crime fictions many sub-genres, none is so reflexive and so intriguing as the "bibliomystery": stories that involve crimes set, somehow, in the world of books. With fourteen tales of bibliophilic transgression from the Golden Age of the mystery genre (the decades between the two World Wars), this volume collects stories guaranteed to entertain, featuring work from well-remembered authors such as Cornell Woolrich and Anthony Boucher and from those that are lesser-known today, such as Carolyn Wells and James Gould Cozzens"-- Provided by publisher.