IMPOSSIBLE CRIME CLASSICS

Serling Lake's ‘Impossible Crime Classics’ collection features rare, obscure and long-forgotten impossible crime and locked-room mystery fiction titles that had fallen out of print.

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While masters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction like John Dickson Carr, Agatha Christie and Ellery Queen are celebrated for perfecting the impossible crime puzzle, the true roots of the genre lie in the foundational years that preceded them. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, mystery fiction underwent a fascinating period of experimentation. Trailblazing authors tested the boundaries of the impossible, inventing the intricate mechanical tricks, psychological misdirections, and narrative rules of the game that would go on to define the genre.

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We seek out the quintessential puzzles of the era: murders committed inside hermetically sealed rooms, culprits who vanish into thin air while under strict observation, and deadly attacks where the weapon simply ceases to exist. By tracking down and republishing these texts, we aim to provide mystery enthusiasts with a collection that reflects the true richness, variety and intellectual challenge of the genre’s evolution.