I'm not trying to dislocate my arm patting myself on the back, but next Monday, June 10, marks the fifth anniversary of the Classic Mysteries blog. The podcast, which began a little more than a year earlier, is now into its seventh year (with roughly 316 weekly reviews published so far).
I want to thank all of you who visit here, especially those of you who join in the conversation by leaving your comments. I hope you all enjoy reading this blog and listening to the podcasts. I plan to keep them going. I may start broadening the author base a bit, to include more recent, even contemporary, authors who are still turning out very good traditional puzzle mysteries. I figure five years is a good solid base, and I promise to keep building on it.
Now back to your regularly scheduled mysteries...
," published in 1991, the first of a dozen books to feature Brother Athelstan, a Dominican friar and the assistant to the King's Coroner, Sir John Cranston, in late-14th century London. "The Nightingale Gallery is the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the entire review by 
," by Melville Davisson Post. Brilliant short stories, first appearing in 1918, about Uncle Abner, a nineteenth century pioneer living in the hard mountain country of Western Virginia. Clever plots, memorable characters, beautiful settings. 
," by J. J. Connington. A marvelously nightmarish "English country house" story, with murder taking place inside a giant hedge maze - and the killer apparently on the loose inside the maze with you. 
," by Earl Derr Biggers. The second of six novels written by Biggers to feature Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan., in pursuit of thieves and murderers in the American southwest. 
," by Robert van Gulik.Set in seventh century China, it features Judge Dee, one of my favorite detective characters, as he solves a very tricky murder case. 
," by Paul Halter, a contemporary French author whose work is being compared - quite justifiably - to John Dickson Carr at his best. This one is a marvelous locked room/impossible crime situation, with plenty of unexpected twists. 
," by Arthur Upfield. This author is, I think, shamefully under-appreciated for his Australian mysteries, written during the first half of the 20th century, featuring Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, whose inherited brilliance from his Aborigine mother and his Caucasian father make him one of the ablest detectives at solving cases where other police officers have failed. 
," by Elizabeth Daly. She was said to be Agatha Christie's favorite American author, and this book may help you understand why. Her detective, Henry Gamadge, is on hand for a murder at an American country estate, and the sudden twists and turns of the story may leave you breathless. 
," by Patricia Moyes. Inspector Tibbett is on the scene when a man who was certainly alive when he got on the ski lift at the top arrives at the bottom dead from a gunshot wound. I hope this is the first of many Moyes novels to be re-issued. 
," by Stuart Palmer. A strong entry in the series featuring schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers. An impossible crime, great characters (including a foul-mouthed parrot), even an entire rodeo. Lots of fun. 
," by Rex Stout. One of the strongest plots of any book featuring Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, and the characters are particularly well done, especially a couple of the victims. Read about a book so dangerous that anybody who might have read it is murdered.