Contents
COPYRIGHT INFO
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series
GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE, by James Holding
ONCE ABOARD THE LUGGER, by Stuart Palmer
THE STEPS TO MURDER, by Rufus King
MURDER HUNCH, by John Benton
PROXY, by Talmage Powell
CORPORAL DOWNEY CALLS THE TUNE, by James B. Hendryx
ARMORED CAR RENDEZVOUS, by Lawrence DeFoy
MURDER SET-UP, by Charles Marquis Warren
PAY FOR YOUR PEANUTS, by Tom Thursday
THE AVALANCHE MAKER, by W. Ryerson Johnson
THE DOORBELL, by David H. Keller
CASTLE OF THE DOOMED, by David M. Norman
THE MUMMY’S CURSE, by Anonymous
THE MURDER OF SILAS CORD, by Harold F. Sorensen
THE PERFUMED PERIL, by Emil Petaja
MURDER HUNCH, by John Benton
WINGS FOR AN ANGEL, by C. S. Montanye
WRITTEN IN BLOOD, by Seabury Quinn
CARTE BLANCHE FOR MURDER, by Arthur Humbolt
SLUGS ALONG THE MOHAWK, by Ted Stratton
MURDER ISN’T EVERYTHING, by Kingsley Smith
SURROGATE, by Janet Fox
THE BODY IN THE ROCKPIT, by Rufus King
COPYRIGHT INFO
The Murder MEGAPACK™ is copyright © 2015 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Cover art copyright © James Thew / Fotolia.
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The MEGAPACK™ ebook series name is a trademark of Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.
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“Grounds for Divorce”, by James Holding, was originally published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, March 1966. Copyright © 1966 by James Holding. Reprinted by permission of the author’s estate.
“Once Aboard the Lugger,” by Stuart Palmer, was originally published in Mercury Mystery Book, Sept. 1957.
“The Steps to Murder,” by Rufus King, was originally published in The Steps to Murder (1960). Copyright © 1960 by Rufus King, copyright renewed 1988. Reprinted by permission of the author’s estate.
“Murder Hunch, by John Benton, was originally published in Thrilling Detective, August 1951.
“Proxy,” by Talmage Powell, was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, June 1966. Copyright © 1966 by Talmage Powell. Reprinted by permission of the author’s estate.
“Corporal Downey Calls the Tune,” by James B. Hendryx, was originally published in Short Stories, May 1937.
“Armored Car Rendezvous,” by Lawrence DeFoy, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, January, 1947.
“Murder Set-Up,” by Charles Marquis Warren, was originally published in Secret Agent X, January 1936.
“Pay for Your Peanuts,” by Tom Thursday, was originally published in Crack Detective, May 1943.
“The Avalanche Maker,” by W. Ryerson Johnson, was originally published in West, July 22nd 1931.
“The Doorbell,” by David H. Keller, was originally published in Wonder Stories, June 1934.
“Castle of the Doomed,” by David M. Norman, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, January, 1942.
“The Mummy’s Curse,” by Anonymous, was originally published in Beyond Comics, November, 1950.
“The Murder of Silas Cord,” by Harold F. Sorensen, was originally published in Ten-Story Detective, January 1942.
“The Perfumed Peril,” by Emil Petaja, was originally published in Ten Detective Aces, May, 1945.
“WINGS FOR AN ANGEL,” by C. S. Montanye, was originally published in Thrilling Detective, Jan. 1948.
“Written in Blood,” by Seabury Quinn, was originally published in Real Detective Tales Aug.-Sept. 1926.
“Carte Blanche for Murder,” by Arthur Humbolt, was originally published Spicy Detective, September 1934.
“Slugs Along the Mohawk,” by Ted Stratton, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, July, 1943.
“Murder Isn’t Everything,” by Kingsley Smith, was originally published in Short Stories, September 1946.
“Surrogate,” by Janet Fox, was originally published in Fears. Copyright © 1980 by Janet Fox. Reprinted by permission of the author’s estate.
“The Body in the Rockpit,” by Rufus King, was originally published in The Saint Detective Magazine, October 1955. Copyright © 1955, 1983 by Rufus King. Reprinted by permission of the author’s estate.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
Murder—it’s one of the staples of mystery fiction. One of the unwritten rules of the mystery novel is to start your murder in the first chapter…and on the first page, if possible!
Collected here are 23 tales of murder. Some are fiendish. (“The Doorbell” is especially chilling.) Some are exotic. (Egyptian mummy murder? You bet!) Some take place in exotic locations. (The Canadian woods? At sea? In foreign countries? Why not!)
What they all have in common, though, is a fiendish mastermind trying (and sometimes succeeding) in getting away with the ultimate crime...murder!
Enjoy!
—John Betancourt
Publisher, Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidepress.com
ABOUT THE SERIES
Over the last few years, our MEGAPACK™ ebook series has grown to be our most popular endeavor. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”
The MEGAPACK™ ebook series (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Shawn Garrett, Helen McGee, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)
RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?
Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the MEGAPACK™ ebook series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).
Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.
TYPOS
Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.
If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at [email protected] or use the message boards above.
The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series
MYSTERY
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The Second Mystery MEGAPACK™
The Anna Katharine Green Mystery MEGAPACK™
The Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™
The Bulldog Drummond MEGAPACK™*
The Carolyn Wells Mystery MEGAPACK™
The Charlie Chan MEGAPACK™*
The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective MEGAPACK™
The Detective MEGAPACK™
The Dickson McCunn MEGAPACK™,* by John Buchan
The E. Hoffmann Price Spicy Story MEGAPACK™
The Father Brown MEGAPACK™
The Johnston McCulley Mystery MEGAPACK™
The Lady Sleuth MEGAPACK™
The Mary Fortune Mystery & Suspense MEGAPACK™
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The Second R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*
The Third R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*
The Jacques Futrelle MEGAPACK™
The George Allan England MEGA
PACK™
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The Richard Hannay Spy MEGAPACK™*, by John Buchan
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GENERAL INTEREST
The Adventure MEGAPACK™
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The Christmas MEGAPACK™
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The Classic American Short Stories MEGAPACK™, Vol. 1.
The Classic Humor MEGAPACK™
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The Military MEGAPACK™
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The Pirate Story MEGAPACK™
The Sea-Story MEGAPACK™
The Thanksgiving MEGAPACK™
The Utopia MEGAPACK™
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THE GOLDEN AGE OF PULP FICTION
1. George Allan England
THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION
1. Winston K. Marks
2. Mark Clifton
3. Poul Anderson
4. Clifford D. Simak
5. Lester del Rey (vol. 1)
6. Charles L. Fontenay
7. H.B. Fyfe (vol. 1)
8. Milton Lesser (Stephen Marlowe)
9. Dave Dryfoos
10. Carl Jacobi
11. F.L. Wallace
12. David H. Keller, M.D.
13. Lester del Rey (vol. 2)
14. Charles De Vet
15. H.B. Fyfe (vol. 2)
16. William C. Gault
THE GOLDEN AGE OF WEIRD FICTION
1. Henry S. Whitehead
2. George T. Wetzel
3. Emil Petaja
4. Nictzin Dyalhis
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
The First Science Fiction MEGAPACK™
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The A. Merritt MEGAPACK™*
The A.R. Morlan MEGAPACK™
The Andre Norton MEGAPACK™
The C.J. Henderson MEGAPACK™
The Charles Dickens Christmas MEGAPACK™
The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK™
The Dragon MEGAPACK™
The E. Nesbit MEGAPACK™
The Edmond Hamilton MEGAPACK™
The Edward Bellamy MEGAPACK™
The First Reginald Bretnor MEGAPACK™
The First Theodore Cogswell MEGAPACK™
The Fred M. White Disaster MEGAPACK™
The Fredric Brown MEGAPACK™
The H. Beam Piper MEGAPACK™
The Jack London Science Fiction MEGAPACK™
The Lloyd Biggle, Jr. MEGAPACK™
The Lost Worlds MEGAPACK™
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The Mad Scientist MEGAPACK™
The Martian MEGAPACK™
The Milton A. Rothman Science Fiction MEGAPACK™
The Miss Pickerell MEGAPACK™
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The Philip K. Dick MEGAPACK™
The Plague, Pestilence, & Apocalypse MEGAPACK™
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The Science-Fantasy MEGAPACK™
The Space Opera MEGAPACK™
The Space Patrol MEGAPACK™, by Eando Binder
The Second Space Patrol MEGAPACK™, by Eando Binder
The Steampunk MEGAPACK™
The Stephen Vincent Benét MEGAPACK™
The Time Travel MEGAPACK™
The Second Time Travel MEGAPACK™
The Utopia MEGAPACK™
The Willam P. McGivern Fantasy MEGAPACK™
The First Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™
The Second Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™
The William Hope Hodgson MEGAPACK™
The Wizard of Oz MEGAPACK™
The Zanthodon MEGAPACK™, by Lin Carter
HORROR
The 2014 Halloween Horrors MEGAPACK™
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The Second Horror MEGAPACK™
The Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™
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The E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™
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The Cthulhu Mythos MEGAPACK™
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The Sixth Ghost Story MEGAPACK™
The Gothic Terror MEGAPACK™
The Haunts & Horrors MEGAPACK™
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The M.R. James MEGAPACK™
The Macabre MEGAPACK™
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The Arthur Machen MEGAPACK™**
The Monster MEGAPACK™
The Mummy MEGAPACK™
The Occult Detective MEGAPACK™
The Penny Dreadfuls MEGAPACK™
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The Uncanny Stories MEGAPACK™**
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YOUNG ADULT
The Bobbsey Twins MEGAPACK™
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The Tom Swift MEGAPACK™
The Wizard of Oz MEGAPACK™
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SINGLE-AUTHOR
The A. Merritt MEGAPACK™*
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The Anatole France MEGAPACK™
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The Arthur Conan Doyle MEGAPACK™: Beyond Sherlock Holmes
The Arthur Leo Zagat Science Fiction MEGAPACK™
The Arthur Machen MEGAPACK™**
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The E. Hoffmann Price Spicy Story MEGAPACK™
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The Second E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™
The Edmond Hamilton MEGAPACK™
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The Murder Megapack Page 1
