Dolores Hitchens Boeken

"It begins with a name whispered to a teacher in the schoolyard... 'Marion....Marion.' Someone is lurking in the bushes, but they run off before Miss Moynton can confront them. There is indeed a Marion in her class, so she tells the principal about the event. She even goes the parent's house to ask if someone was supposed to pick up Marion from school. But Marion's mother has other concerns, and doesn't take the question seriously. However, another nearby family, the Trents, have a daughter named Marilyn, and they have every reason to fear this schoolyard stalker. They have been living in fear of a man who blames the husband for his wife's death, and keeps threatening them on the phone. When the new substitute teacher, Marion Kennick, is kidnapped with one her students, it looks like the stalker has finally decided to strike." -- Provided by publisher

Two teenagers fresh out of stir set their sights on what looks like easy money in this classic thriller from 1958, only to get a painful education in how quickly and drastically a simple plan can spin out of control.Dolores Hitchens wrote crime novels that were both tough and compassionate, with a sharp eye for the emotional scars that violence leaves. The basis for Jean-Luc Godard's film Band of Outsiders, Fools' Gold is a swift and unadorned tale of three young people—two boys just released after being incarcerated for a juvenile offense, and an orphaned girl living in a house full of secrets—whose lives are rapidly torn apart by what starts as a simple plan of robbery. It echoes other classic American narratives of youth astray and on the run, and with its headlong pace catches the rhythm of adolescent crisis, as Hitchens's protagonists find themselves caught up in a situation spiraling beyond their control.

Rediscover one of America’s pioneering women crime writers with this classic noir starring a Long Beach private investigator reminiscent of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe “Are you trying to tell me you don't want the job, Mr. Sader?” It started as a missing persons case and grew more puzzling with the discovery of another strangely coincidental disappearance. Private eye Jim Sader finds himself deep in a multilayered intrigue revolving around oil and real estate and the sleazy underpinnings of Long Beach, California, in the 1950s. Taut, suspenseful, and gritty, many consider Sleep with Strangers to be Dolores Hitchens’ best novel.

This classic mystery features a family feud, feline intervention, and the spirited septuagenarian sleuth from The Cat Saw Murder. A strange encounter with a little girl named Claudia and a dead toad sparks elderly detective fiction fan Rachel Murdock’s obsessive curiosity, and she winds up renting the house next door just to see how things play out. But soon after she and her cat Samantha move in, Rachel realizes they’ve landed right in the middle of a deadly love triangle that’s created animosity among the three families who now surround her. When Rachel finds Claudia’s great-grandmother dead in her basement, she reaches out to a friend in the LAPD to solve the crime. They soon learn the three households have been torn apart by one husband’s infidelity and a complicated will that could lead to a fortune. In a house plagued by forbidden love, regret, and greed, Rachel will have to trust her intuition, as well as Samantha’s instincts, to survive—and keep Claudia out of the hands of a killer whose work has just begun.…

A drunken man is shot dead on his doorstep in this classic mystery starring the "observant [and] appealing" seventy-year-old sleuth (Publishers Weekly).

The story unfolds as Rachel and Jennifer rush to Breakers Beach to aid their niece Lilly, bringing along their beloved cat Samantha. Unbeknownst to them, Samantha is an heiress to a vast fortune, making her a target for danger. After a failed attempt on the cat's life, the situation escalates when Lilly is tragically murdered. The narrative intertwines themes of family loyalty, unexpected inheritance, and the dark side of wealth as the sisters navigate the mystery surrounding their niece's death and the threats against Samantha.

STRIP FOR Mark Bellew presents himself as a Theatrical Representative, but what he really does is supply strippers for private parties. Years ago he made a mistake, and one of his girls was raped, then killed herself. He got out of the business for a while, but realizing that this is the only business he knows, he now keeps a small office just off Wilshire Boulevard. But someone who knows about his past is now sending him threatening letters. The only person Bellew can ask to investigate these letters is Ed Warne, an insurance adjustor who shares the upper floor with him. Warne agrees to do some checking but gets more than he bargains for—because whoever is writing the letters has now committed murder. And who knows how far they’ll go to settle this old score.Also included are two Dolores Hitchens stories from the pages of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine .

Set against a backdrop of personal loss and existential questioning, the narrative follows a protagonist grappling with grief and the search for meaning. As they navigate through memories and relationships, the story explores themes of isolation, hope, and the struggle to find one's place in the world. The evocative writing style captures the emotional depth of the characters' journeys, making it a poignant reflection on the complexities of human experience and the paths we take towards healing.

Private eye Jim Sader returns in a hard-hitting thriller set in the dark corners of sunny southern California "You're playing with a child's life": The search for a kidnapped boy leads private detective (and ex-alcoholic) Jim Sader through a labyrinth of well-hidden family secrets and into the heart of an elaborate and malevolent deception. With little to go on--a tight-lipped client, an anonymous letter, a mother who is supposed to be dead--Sader must rely on his wits to find the child even as he outraces the demons that dog him. Sleep with a Slander has been called "the best hard-boiled private eye novel written by a woman—and one of the best written by anybody" (1001 Midnights: The Aficionado's Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction).