Eight volumes in, Speaking of Mysteries co-founder Les Klinger talks about the astounding series of vintage mysteries that he edited, wrote introductions for and annotated for The Library of Congress Crime Classics. The choices may not be household names—in the homes of crime fiction fans, that is—but all them are significant for the quality of the writing; the variety of sub-genres, including procedurals, amateur detectives, procedural-amateur detective mashups, legal thrillers, nascent CSI investigation and humor; and, as Les wrote in the introduction of The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope, as “an accurate portrayal of the attitudes and behaviors of the time”

The eight books so far are: Jim Hanvey, Detective, by Octavus Roy Cohen; Final Proof, by Rodrigues Ottolengui; That Affair Next Door, by Anna Katharine Green; Last Seen Wearing, by Hillary Waugh; The Silent Bullet, by Arthur S. Reeve; The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope, by C.W. Grafton; Case Pending, by Dell Shannon; and The Dead Letter, by Seeley Regester (not all are pictured)

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