Book Read Free

The Lady Sleuths MEGAPACK ™: 20 Modern and Classic Tales of Female Detectives

Page 1

by Catherine Louisa Pirkis




  Table of Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series

  SOB SISTERS, by Kris Nelscott

  ALLIGATOR IS FOR SHOES, by C. Ellett Logan

  HILDA WADE, by Grant Allen

  THE BLACK BAG LEFT ON A DOOR-STEP, by Catherine Louisa Pirkis

  THE MURDER AT TROYTE’S HILL, by Catherine Louisa Pirkis

  THE REDHILL SISTERHOOD, by Catherine Louisa Pirkis

  A PRINCESS’S VENGEANCE, by Catherine Louisa Pirkis

  DRAWN DAGGERS, by Catherine Louisa Pirkis

  THE GHOST OF FOUNTAIN LANE, by Catherine Louisa Pirkis

  MISSING! by Catherine Louisa Pirkis

  HISTORY ON THE BEDROOM WALL, by Rebecca K. Jones and Josh Pachter

  THAT AFFAIR NEXT DOOR, by Anna Katharine Green

  BOOK I: MISS BUTTERWORTH’S WINDOW

  BOOK II: THE WINDINGS OF A LABYRINTH

  BOOK III: THE GIRL IN GRAY

  BOOK IV: THE END OF A GREAT MYSTERY

  LOST MAN’S LANE, by Anna Katharine Green

  BOOK I: THE KNOLLYS FAMILY

  BOOK II: THE FLOWER PARLOR

  BOOK III: FORWARD AND BACK

  BOOK IV: THE BIRDS OF THE AIR

  THE CIRCULAR STUDY, by Anna Katharine Green

  BOOK I: A STRANGE CRIME

  BOOK II: REMEMBER EVELYN

  MISS CAYLEY’S ADVENTURES, by Grant Allan

  DISCOVERY, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

  CAD METTI, THE FEMALE DETECTIVE STRATEGIST, by Old Sleuth

  MARY LOUISE, by L. Frank Baum

  MADEMOISELLE DE SCUDÉRI, by E.T.A. Hoffmann

  MY FAMOUS RELATIVE, by Janice Law

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Lady Sleuth MEGAPACK™ is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Cover art by © Olly / Fotolia.

  * * * *

  The MEGAPACK™ ebook series name is a trademark of Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  “Sob Sisters,” by Kris Nelscott, originally appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, November 2013. Copyright © 2013 by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Alligator Is for Shoes,” by C. Ellett Logan, originally appeared in Chesapeake Crimes: This Job Is Murder! Copyright © 2012 by C. Ellett Logan. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Discovery,” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, was originally published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, November, 2008. Copyright © 2008 by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “History on the Bedroom Wall,” by Rebecca Jones and Josh Pachter, originally appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Sept./Oct. 2009. Reprinted by permission of the authors.

  “My Famous Relative,” by Janice Law, originally appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, May 2006. Copyright © 2006 by Janice Law Trecker. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  Lady Sleuths have long been a mainstay of the mystery field. Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple is, surely, the very model of the detective in a cozy mystery. But before—and after!—Miss Marple there were such sleuths as Loveday Brooke and Amelia Butterworth (both of whose complete adventures are in this Megapack). And the lady sleuth is alive and well, with recent adventures by such diverse talents as Janice Law, C. Ellett Logan, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

  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 wildsidepress@yahoo.com or use the message boards above.

  The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series

  MYSTERY

  The Lady Sleuth MEGAPACK™

  The First Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Second 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 Father Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Girl Detective MEGAPACK™

  The Second Girl Detective MEGAPACK™

  The First R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™

  The Second R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*

  The Third R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*

  The Jacques Futrelle MEGAPACK™

  The Anna Katharine Green Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Penny Parker MEGAPACK™

  The Philo Vance MEGAPACK™*

  The Pulp Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Raffles MEGAPACK™

  The Red Finger Pulp Mystery MEGAPACK™, by Arthur Leo Zagat*

  The Sherlock Holmes MEGAPACK™

  The Victorian Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Wilkie Collins MEGAPACK™

  GENERAL INTEREST

  The Adventure MEGAPACK™

  The Baseball MEGAPACK™

  The Cat Story MEGAPACK™

  The Second Cat Story MEGAPACK™

  The Third Cat Story MEGAPACK™

  The Christmas MEGAPACK™

  The Second Christmas MEGAPACK™

  The Classic American Short Stories MEGAPACK™, Vol. 1.

  The Classic Humor MEGAPACK™

  The Dog Story MEGAPACK™

  The Doll Story MEGAPACK™

  The Horse Story MEGAPACK™

  The Military MEGAPACK™

  The Pirate Story MEGAPACK™

  The Sea-Story MEGAPACK™

  The Utopia MEGAPACK™

  The Walt Whitman MEGAPACK™

  THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION />
  1. Winston K. Marks

  2. Mark Clifton

  3. Poul Anderson

  4. Clifford D. Simak

  5. Lester del Rey

  6. Charles L. Fontenay

  7. H.B. Fyfe

  8. Milton Lesser (Stephen Marlowe)

  9. Dave Dryfoos

  10. Carl Jacobi

  SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

  The First Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Second Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Third Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Fourth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Fifth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Sixth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Seventh Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Eighth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Ninth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Edward Bellamy MEGAPACK™

  The Lloyd Biggle, Jr. MEGAPACK™

  The First Reginald Bretnor MEGAPACK™

  The Fredric Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Fred M. White Disaster MEGAPACK™

  The First Theodore Cogswell MEGAPACK™

  The Ray Cummings MEGAPACK™

  The Philip K. Dick MEGAPACK™

  The Dragon MEGAPACK™

  The Randall Garrett MEGAPACK™

  The Second Randall Garrett MEGAPACK™

  The Edmond Hamilton MEGAPACK™

  The C.J. Henderson MEGAPACK™

  The Murray Leinster MEGAPACK™***

  The Second Murray Leinster MEGAPACK™***

  The Jack London Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Lost Worlds MEGAPACK™

  The Mad Scientist MEGAPACK™

  The Martian MEGAPACK™

  The A. Merritt MEGAPACK™*

  The E. Nesbit MEGAPACK™

  The Andre Norton MEGAPACK™

  The H. Beam Piper MEGAPACK™

  The Pulp Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Mack Reynolds MEGAPACK™

  The Milton A. Rothman Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK™

  The Science-Fantasy MEGAPACK™

  The Robert Sheckley MEGAPACK™

  The Space Opera MEGAPACK™

  The Space Patrol MEGAPACK™

  The Steampunk MEGAPACK™

  The Time Travel MEGAPACK™

  The Second Time Travel MEGAPACK™

  The Utopia MEGAPACK™

  The William Hope Hodgson MEGAPACK™

  The First Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Second Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Willam P. McGivern Fantasy MEGAPACK™

  The Wizard of Oz MEGAPACK™

  The Zanthodon MEGAPACK™, by Lin Carter

  HORROR

  The 2014 Halloween Horrors MEGAPACK™

  The Horror MEGAPACK™

  The Second Horror MEGAPACK™

  The Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™

  The Second Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™

  The E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

  The Second E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

  The Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

  The Second Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

  The Cthulhu Mythos MEGAPACK™

  The Erckmann-Chatrian MEGAPACK™

  The Ghost Story MEGAPACK™

  The Second Ghost Story MEGAPACK™

  The Third Ghost Story MEGAPACK™

  The Haunts & Horrors MEGAPACK™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western MEGAPACK™

  The M.R. James MEGAPACK™

  The Macabre MEGAPACK™

  The Second Macabre MEGAPACK™

  The Third Macabre MEGAPACK™

  The Arthur Machen MEGAPACK™**

  The Mummy MEGAPACK™

  The Occult Detective MEGAPACK™

  The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK™

  The Vampire MEGAPACK™

  The Weird Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Werewolf MEGAPACK™

  The William Hope Hodgson MEGAPACK™

  WESTERN

  The Andy Adams Western MEGAPACK™

  The B.M. Bower MEGAPACK™

  The Max Brand MEGAPACK™

  The Buffalo Bill MEGAPACK™

  The Cowboy MEGAPACK™

  The Zane Grey MEGAPACK™

  The Charles Alden Seltzer MEGAPACK™

  The Western MEGAPACK™

  The Second Western MEGAPACK™

  The Third Western MEGAPACK™

  The Western Romance MEGAPACK™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western MEGAPACK™

  YOUNG ADULT

  The Bobbsey Twins MEGAPACK™

  The Boys’ Adventure MEGAPACK™

  The Dan Carter, Cub Scout MEGAPACK™

  The Dare Boys MEGAPACK™

  The Doll Story MEGAPACK™

  The G.A. Henty MEGAPACK™

  The Girl Detectives MEGAPACK™

  The E. Nesbit MEGAPACK™

  The Penny Parker MEGAPACK™

  The Pinocchio MEGAPACK™

  The Rover Boys MEGAPACK™

  The Second Carolyn Wells MEGAPACK™

  The Space Patrol MEGAPACK™

  The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet MEGAPACK™

  The Tom Swift MEGAPACK™

  The Wizard of Oz MEGAPACK™

  SINGLE-AUTHOR

  The Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™

  The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Edward Bellamy MEGAPACK™

  The E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

  The Second E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

  The Henri Bergson MEGAPACK™

  The Lloyd Biggle, Jr. MEGAPACK™

  The Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson MEGAPACK™

  The Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

  The Second Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

  The B.M. Bower MEGAPACK™

  The Max Brand MEGAPACK™

  The First Reginald Bretnor MEGAPACK™

  The Fredric Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Second Fredric Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Wilkie Collins MEGAPACK™

  The Stephen Crane MEGAPACK™

  The Ray Cummings MEGAPACK™

  The Guy de Maupassant MEGAPACK™

  The Philip K. Dick MEGAPACK™

  The Frederick Douglass MEGAPACK™

  The Erckmann-Chatrian MEGAPACK™

  The F. Scott Fitzgerald MEGAPACK™

  The First R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™

  The Second R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*

  The Third R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*

  The Jacques Futrelle MEGAPACK™

  The Randall Garrett MEGAPACK™

  The Second Randall Garrett MEGAPACK™

  The Anna Katharine Green MEGAPACK™

  The Zane Grey MEGAPACK™

  The Edmond Hamilton MEGAPACK™

  The Dashiell Hammett MEGAPACK™

  The C.J. Henderson MEGAPACK™

  The William Hope Hodgson MEGAPACK™

  The M.R. James MEGAPACK™

  The Selma Lagerlof MEGAPACK™

  The Harold Lamb MEGAPACK™

  The Murray Leinster MEGAPACK™***

  The Second Murray Leinster MEGAPACK™***

  The Jonas Lie MEGAPACK™

  The Arthur Machen MEGAPACK™**

  The Katherine Mansfield MEGAPACK™

  The George Barr McC
utcheon MEGAPACK™

  The William P. McGivern Fantasy MEGAPACK™

  The First William P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Second William P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The A. Merritt MEGAPACK™*

  The Talbot Mundy MEGAPACK™

  The E. Nesbit MEGAPACK™

  The Andre Norton MEGAPACK™

  The H. Beam Piper MEGAPACK™

  The Mack Reynolds MEGAPACK™

  The Rafael Sabatini MEGAPACK™

  The Saki MEGAPACK™

  The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK™

  The Charles Alden Seltzer MEGAPACK™

  The Robert Sheckley MEGAPACK™

  The Bram Stoker MEGAPACK™

  The Fred M. White Disaster MEGAPACK™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western MEGAPACK™

  The Walt Whitman MEGAPACK™

  The Virginia Woolf MEGAPACK™

  The Arthur Leo Zagat Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  * Not available in the United States

  ** Not available in the European Union

  ***Out of print.

  FREE PROMO MINIPACKS™

  Each one is only available for a single day on Free Ebook Monday! Join our mailing list for new title announcements.

  The Lt. Jon Jarl of the Space Patrol MINIPACK™, by Eando Binder

  The Paul Di Filippo MINIPACK™

  The John Gregory Betancourt MINIPACK™

  OTHER COLLECTIONS YOU MAY ENJOY

  The Great Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany (it should have been called “The Lord Dunsany MEGAPACK™”)

  The Wildside Book of Fantasy

  The Wildside Book of Science Fiction

  Yondering: The First Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  To the Stars—And Beyond! The Second Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  Once Upon a Future: The Third Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  Whodunit?—The First Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories

  More Whodunits—The Second Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery StorieyX is for Xmas: Christmas Mysteries

  SOB SISTERS, by Kris Nelscott

  Technically, I wasn’t supposed to be at the crime scene. I wasn’t supposed to be at any crime scene. I’m not a cop; I’m not even a private detective. I’m just a woman who runs a rape hot line in a town that doesn’t think it needs one, even though it is 1972.

 

‹ Prev