her, and when the house burns down she cannot be found.
Where has she gone?
Sara Paretsky, born in Iowa in 1947, did a variety of jobs after
leaving university before becoming a full-time writer. She has
won many prizes for her crime writing and is particularly well
known for her stories about V. I. Warshawski, a female private
detective. In ‘At the Old Swimming Hole’, a woman is shot. V. I.
follows the clues, but who is actually following who?
Patricia Highsmith (1921-95), who also wrote under the name
Claire Morgan, was from Texas, although she lived in Europe for
much of her later life. Her first book, Strangers on a Train (1950),
was very successful and was made into a film by Alfred
Hitchcock. She too won many writing prizes and two of her
stories are included in this collection. ‘Slowly, Slowly in the
Wind’ tells the story of an argument between neighbours that
gets out of control. In ‘Woodrow Wilson’s Tie’ a young delivery
boy visits the waxworks and has a strange idea, but who will
believe him?
American short story writer John George Reitci (1922-83)
wrote under the name of Jack Ritchie. He was educated in
Wisconsin, served in the United States Army, and wrote his best
stories in the 1960s and 1970s. These stories have been reprinted
many times in collections. A number of unusual detectives appear
in his mystery stories; often they are not very good at detective
work, and find the right solution by accident. In The Absence of
Emily’, Jack and Emily live next door to Emily’s sister, Millicent.
When Emily goes away without telling her, Millicent starts to
worry. Is it possible that Jack has killed her?
Colin Dexter, born in 1930 in Lincolnshire, England, became
a schoolteacher after leaving Cambridge University. He later
moved to Oxford where many of his stories, including the
Inspector Morse mysteries, take place. Morse works closely with
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