Rare books from Murder By The Book

Portishead, Bristol: UK: Scorpion Press, 1991. 1st ed. A fine, unread copy, in clear protective jacket. Very scarce. ONLY 20 LETTERED DELUXE COPIES were produced for private distribution and were SIGNED BY BOTH GASH and H.R.F. KEATING who wrote the appreciation. This is LETTER "K". Features the likeable antiques trader Lovejoy. Cream leather with light pastel green marble paper sides, hubbed spine, green top edge and tan end papers. Laid in is a note on Scorpion Press letterhead describing the De Luxe Specifications : "The de luxe presentation copies are produced in small numbers as they are intended primarily for the use of the author, contributor, editor, publisher and others associated with the authors work. These books are given a letter rather than a number and are especially handsome, bound in goatskin rather than bonded leather with five raised bands. The spine blocking is horizontal because of the raised bands. In addition these books contain the signature of… Read More

Tucson: AZ: Dennis McMillan, 1996. 1st ed. Fine in dustwrapper. Author's second book and first mystery. With a three-page foreword by James Crumley who called this book the best cop novel he had ever read. A small first printing of 1900 copies quickly sold out. SIGNED by Anderson.. the second detective Hanson novel, the protagonist of "Sympathy for the Devil," after his return from Vietnam to his job as a beat cop in Portland, Oregon -- a path the author himself also took.. Signed. First Edition. Cloth. Fine/Fine. Limited Edition.

Blakeney, Glos: England: Scorpion Press, 1998. 1st ed. A fine, unread copy. With an appreciation by Carol O'Connell. Only 16 LETTERED DELUXE COPIES were produced for private distribution and were SIGNED by both RENDELL and CAROL O'CONNELL. THIS IS LETTER "K". Very fine in green goatskin with five raised bands, with green patterned marble paper sides with green top edge and green end papers in transparent dust wrapper. Laid in is a note typed on Scorpion Press letterhead describing the De Luxe Specifications : "The de luxe presentation copies are produced in small numbers as they are intended primarily for the use of the author, contributor, editor, publisher and others associated with the authors work. These books are given a letter rather than a number and are especially handsome, bound in goatskin rather than bonded leather with five raised bands. The spine blocking is horizontal because of the raised bands. In addition these books contain the signature of the… Read More

N.Y.: Mysterious Press, 1985. First Edition, first printing November 1985., with complete number line beginning with 1. LIMITED EDITION. 1 of 24 LETTERED copies, this being letter "Z". SIGNED by O'Donnell on limitation page, in slipcase w/o dj as issued. It is an unread copy, however the red front endpaper had been misglued at publishers and when pulled apart has left a red stain on limitation page. The character Modesty Blaise was created by O'Donnell for a comic strip in the early 1960s. It was the ninth book to feature the character. While sailing a small yacht single-handedly from Australia to New Zealand, Modesty Blaise rescues Luke Fletcher, the world-renowned painter, from drowning. But how in the world did Luke Fletcher end up adrift in the Tasman Sea, after having disappeared in the Mediterranean two months earlier? Luke Fletcher is not the only person from the world of the arts who has disappeared in the last couple of years, but he is the only one who has… Read More

Blakeney, Glos: England: Scorpion Press 1995, 1995. 1st ed. Fine in unprinted acetate dust jacket as issued. Red goatskin with various colors mixed into charcoal patterned marbled paper sides, red top edge and charcoal end papers. LIMITED EDITION, one of 15 LETTERED DE LUXE COPIES, This being LETTER "K". SIGNED BY ALL 28 CONTRIBUTORS which include H.R.F. Keating, Michael Lewin,. Susan Moody, Candace Robb, Reginald Hill, Margaret Yorke, Liza Cody, Lindsey Davis, Charlotte & Aaron Elkins, John Harvey, H.R.F. Keating, Peter Lovesey, Susan Moody, Peter Robinson... Ian Rankin signed some of the books in the manner of "Knots and Crosses" a reference to his first novel and that each one is different. The signature pages are continued at the rear of the book. An unusual and desirable item. From the beginning Scorpion Press decided to include four elements: all books were autographed by the author (or authors); additional material was commissioned about the author; print runs… Read More

Arlington Hts. Illinois: Dark Harvest, 1991. First Edition, so stated. This deluxe first edition is LIMITED to 26 individually SIGNED and LETTERED copies ( this being Letter "X"). Signed by F. Paul Wilson and Phil Parks on a special limitation page. Red boards in dust jacket with just a few tiny spots and unlike the limited edition the slipcase for the Lettered Edition is made of WOOD!. Beautiful. After vowing never to return, Kara Wade is back in New York City. She's come to claim the body of her twin sister Kelly, and to find out how she died. No secret as to the cause of death--a nearly nude, twelve-story plunge from a room in the Plaza Hotel--but Kara is determined to learn what led to that plunge. Enlisting the help of an old lover, now an NYPD detective, Kara delves into her sister's life. Startling and bizarre facts begin to surface. Instead of answers, Kara finds more questions. Who was the stranger Kelly became during the months prior to her death? What was behind… Read More

N.Y.: Alfred A Knopf Inc, 1951. 1st edition, so stated. Red decorated boards with black lettering and picture at front. Very light wear at edges with some very minor soiling at spine else a near fine copy in dust jacket with very light soiling, not price clipped, $2.50 price intact, in protective mylar cover. Durrant is a psuedonym for a collaborative effort by 12 members of the California Mystery Writers of America: Terry Adler, Anthony Boucher, Eunice Mays Boyd, Florence Ostern Faulkner, Allen Hymson, Cary Lucas, Dana Lyon, Lenore Glen Offord, Virginia Rath, Richard Shattuck, Darwin L. Teilhet & William Worley. "Durrant" dedicated the book to these 12 writers. This copy, although not marked as such, comes from the Otto Penzler collection and is SIGNED BY 10 OF THE 12 CONTRIBUTORS. Rare ... [pencil notes by Otto on front free endpaper] Filmed by Allied Artists, 1958, as "Macabre" (scw: Robb White and Anthony Boucher; directed by William Castle and starring… Read More

Garden City, New York,: Crime Club Doubleday, 1945. 1st edition, so stated. A fine copy in a near fine, bright dust jacket, $2.00 price intact, in protective mylar cover. This copy, although not marked as such, comes from the Otto Penzler collection. War time production and paper shortages reduced the size of the Crime Club books. "Fast action and dark conspiracy again challange the ingenuity of Paul Kilgerrin, whose cynicism, endurance, and basic devotion to duty have made him one of the outstanding figures in mystery-adventure." [Doubleday Crime Club Compendium, 1928-1991, by Ellen Nehr; Offspring Press, 1992].. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. 4 7/8" x 7 1/8 ". Book.