First in a series of lighthearted historical mysteries set in 1890s San Francisco featuring a former Pinkerton operative and an ex-Secret Service agent.Private detectives Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon undertake what initially appear to be two unrelated investigations. Sabina's case involves the hunt for a ruthless lady "dip" who uses fiendish means to relieve her victims of their valuables at Chutes Amusement Park and other crowded places. Quincannon, meanwhi...

In the captivating world of 19th century San Francisco, detectives Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon face their most baffling cases yet in The Plague of Thieves Affair.Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon, the dynamic duo behind Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services, have cracked numerous mysteries in their five years of operation. However, one case continues to elude them: the enigmatic madman claiming to be Sherlock Holmes, who con...

The "Nameless Detective" and Sharon McCone join forces at a San Diego private detective convention to investigate a case involving multiple murder, a crime ring dealing in smuggled fugitives, and bizarre, kinky lifestyles.

Anticipating a peaceful and relaxing year in which to write and illustrate a book, college professor Jan Ryerson and his artist wife Alix move to the isolated Cape Despair Lighthouse on a desolate stretch of Oregon coast. But their well-laid plans are twisted awry shortly after their arrival. Jan experiences several terrifying blackouts, but conceals them from his wife, fearing that she will leave him if she knows that he will soon be blind. The villagers, suspicious of the couple from the...

Can the true identity of the Sherlock Holmes imposter be revealed at last?Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon are no stranger to mysteries. In the five years since they opened Carpenter and Quinncannon, Professional Detective Services, they have solved dozens, but one has eluded even them: Sherlock Holmes or, rather, the madman claiming his identity, who keeps showing up with a frustrating—though admittedly useful—knack for solving difficult cases.Roland W. Fairchild, rece...

A detective duo in turn-of-the-twentieth-century San Francisco investigate a debutante's suspicious suicide and an expensive heist in this historical mystery."Muller and Pronzini are a duo who make beautiful mystery music together." — The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionIn 1895 San Francisco young debutantes don't commit suicide at festive parties, particularly not under the eye of Sabina Carpenter. But Virginia St. Ives evidently did,...

For these Victorian-era PIs, stopping extortionists is not only grand, but excitingly lucrative—from the authors of The Plague of Thieves Affair.When a pleasant afternoon's bicycling through Golden Gate Park with a friend ends with the revelation of threatening letters, followed by a gunshot in a mansion garden, Sabina Carpenter knows this is a case that demands her immediate and undivided attention.The questions her partner John Quincannon has to un...

The world's first two-author, husband-and-wife short story collection.Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini are two of the world's most popular and respected mystery authors. Their new collection demonstrates why this team has so many fans.Here you'll find Muller's famous Sharon McCone searching for the dark truth in "Somewhere in the City." Pronzini's long-heralded private eye Nameless is tracking down a clever killer in "Home is the Place Where." McCone and Nameless team up in ...

Drug lords, missing millionaires, corrupt cops. It’s just another day for the Carpenter and Quincannon Detective Services.Two missing bodies and two separate investigations take the detectives from the heights above San Francisco Bay to the depths of Chinatown's opium dens.John Quincannon must search a Chinatown opium den for his client's husband, missing in the middle of a brewing tong war set to ignite over the stolen corpse of Bing Ah Kee. Meanwhile, his...

In The Bughouse Affair, former Pinkerton operative Sabina Carpenter and her detective partner, ex-Secret Service agent John Quincannon, undertake what initially appear to be two unrelated investigations. Sabina's case involves the hunt for a ruthless lady "dip" who uses fiendish means to relieve her victims of their valuables at Chutes Amusement Park and other crowded places.Quincannon, meanwhile, is after a slippery housebreaker who targets the homes of wealthy residents,...

The bestselling author of "The McCone Files" teams up with the creator of the "Nameless Detective" for a collaborative mystery that bridges the San Franciscos of 1894 and 1986. Muller and Pronzini masterfully parallel the investigations of turn-of-the-century detective Quincannon and Chicana amateur sleuth Elena Oliverez.

For the firm of Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services, stopping extortionists is not only grand, but excitingly lucrative.When a pleasant afternoon’s bicycling through Golden Gate Park with a friend ends with the revelation of threatening letters, followed by a gunshot in a mansion garden, Sabina Carpenter knows this is a case that demands her immediate and undivided attention.The questions her partner John Quincannon has to unravel are not difficult: Wr...