M Is for Mystery

Our Quills Inspector follows a series of clues that will lead him to the next great suspense novel

by Robert Rorke -- Publishers Weekly, 7/18/2005

The Inspector arrived in a zebra-striped hearse. A daunting task awaited him. His mission: to find contemporary matches for the classic mystery and suspense novels for the upcoming Quills awards. The clues were inside the warehouse. The warehouse was on the edge of town, just past the pet cemetery and bathed in fog. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a glass key. There was no one about, except some jackal howling in the distance. Sick puppy, the Inspector thought.

The door to the warehouse opened with an elderly creak and a cloud of dust made him sneeze. As his vision adjusted to the darkness, he saw the main room was a sight for sore eyes. There were piles and piles of books inside, remaindered perhaps, or maybe in storage. His little sister, Rebecca, had a big book collection, but nothing like this. He walked down the main aisle and saw stacks of books by Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Agatha Christie. The old heroes.

The Inspector turned one corner and along came a spider to make him paw at the cobwebs around him. There were some tables set up with paperbacks by Robert Ludlum and Robert B. Parker and a full set of Dorothy L. Sayers. He wondered how long he'd be here. He had to get back to the firm before dawn. If only there was a place for him to sit, he could start reading. It was going to be a long night.

Clues (and book titles): The Zebra-Striped Hearse by Ross MacDonald; Pet Semataryby Stephen King, The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett; Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen; A Sight for Sore Eyes by Ruth Rendell; The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler; Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier; Along Came a Spider by James Patterson; The Firm by John Grisham.