Vintage Vice

A poisoned opera prompter. A conjure-man bludgeoned with a bone. A hat-pin used as a murder weapon. A cat burglar jumping across the roof of a chateau. A police chief draining a lake to look for a missing girl.

These characters and hundreds more can be found in the Library of Congress Crime Classics series. Launched in April 2020, the critically acclaimed series features some of the finest American crime writing from the 1860s to the 1960s. Drawn from the Library’s collections, each volume includes the original text, an introduction, author bio, notes, recommendations for further reading and suggested discussion questions from mystery expert Leslie S. Klinger.

This past summer, the Library published the 20th title in the series “Uncle Abner”; the most recent one, “The Cannibal Who Overate,” hit shelves Dec. 9.

Many of the stories take place in New York City. But mysteries also abound in places such as a Massachusetts women’s college; the backwoods of West Virginia; a small town in Ohio; Los Angeles and Boston; the Mexican desert; the gorgeous French Riviera; the fog-filled streets of Victorian London; and even the Metropolitan Opera’s backstage.

Historic firsts are presented: the first full-length American detective novel (“The Dead Letter,” from 1866); the first female sleuth to appear in a crime novel series (Amelia Butterworth in “That Affair Next Door,” from 1897); the first novel to feature a Black detective and all Black characters (“The Conjure-Man Dies,” from 1933); and the first police procedural (“V as in Victim,” from 1945).

Whether you enjoy witty short stories, longer complex novels, detectives who use scientific instruments or sleuths who crack cases using their fists, there’s something for all mystery lovers in the Library of Congress Crime Classics. All books in the series are available in the Library of Congress Store and from booksellers worldwide.