This is a new anthology of detective stories with an international flavour, from the middle of the last century to the present day. Ranging from 19th-century France to contemporary Scotland via Denmark, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Japan, America, Canada, and elsewhere, the anthology shows how different nationalities imposed their own stamp on the genre.

This collection of 33 stories shows the scope, vigor, and enduring fascination of the detective story and gathers together a wide range of work by writers including Julian Symons, Michael Gilbert, P.D. James, and Ruth Rendell.