Bøger af Michael Kurland

It's a Mystery to Me is a book every fledgling writer of crime stories should read and study. It's packed with the kind of practical advice, incisively and wittily presented, that only a seasoned professional can provide. Kudos to Michael Kurland for a masterful how-to-dunnit. -- Bill Pronzini

A small, oil-rich Arab nation is about to lose its status as a British protectorate. A superior enemy force lurks in the wings, waiting to invade, led by Soviet tanks. How many men from War, Inc. (a company with an ultra-scientific approach to warfare) does it take to stop an army of tanks? Six - debonair Peter Carthage and five specialists, accompanied by a plucky young British woman determined to rescue a kidnapped brother.In the late 1960s, the Cold War threatened the survival of mankind. The map of the world was being recolored. And so, to help keep the uneasy peace a new group of mercenaries was born, known as Weapons Analysis and Research, Incorporated.WAR, Inc., did not supply fighting troops. It did supply training, equipment, systems, advice and technical knowhow for using the equipment of modern warfare. Its men were carefully-selected experts at their jobs, men such as Peter Carthage, formally a major in the Intelligence branch of the United States Army.

In the late 1960s, the Cold War threatened to recolor the world map. To keep the uneasy peace a new group of mercenaries was born: Weapons Analysis and Research, Incorporated.WAR, Inc., did not supply fighting troops - Only training, equipment, systems, advice and technical knowhow for using the equipment of modern warfare. Its men were carefully-selected experts at their jobs, men such as Peter Carthage, formally a major in the Intelligence branch of the United States Army.Now Carthage leads his men into the hostile jungles of Bonterre, to prevent the overthrow of its government by guerillas and the mysterious Third Force known only as 'X'...

The ninth issue of Black Cat Mystery features a stellar lineup of new stories (and one classic reprint). Here are-- LAST RITES, by Stacy WoodsonTHE JERICHO TRAIN, by John M. FloydCORAL COVE, by B.A. PaulTHE ALLEY, by Ann AptakerSONNY'S ENCORE, by Michael BrackenSWITCH AND BAIT, by Cynthia WardBECOMING ZERO, by James A. HearnTHE MURDER OF JONATHAN GREYSTONE, by Barry FultonYOU GOTTA BE IN IT!, by Elliott CaponTHE YOU-DON'T-KNOW-THE-HALF-OF-IT-DEARIE BLUES, by Michael KurlandA FIGHTER BY HIS TRADE, by Graham Powell Classic reprint: SMELLING LIKE A ROSE, by Gil Brewer

Lord Darcy and Master Wizard Sean O Lauchlainn return in this authorized sequel to the stories of Randall Garrett. In 1988, in an alternate universe in which the Plantagenets still rule Britain, France, and the New World, and where magic has displaced science, King John IV's chief detectives are called in to investigate a series of impossible murders of accomplished sorcerers. As the bodies pile up, and the monarch himself is threatened, Darcy and Sean must race against the clock to find the killer before the political balance of Europe is upset. Great fantasy (and mystery) adventure!

A furtive tipster gives nightclub columnist Alexander Brass an envelope filled with photographs of several powerful people caught in compromising sexual positions. Intrigued, Brass sends a newspaper stringer to follow the mystery man. When the stringer is murdered, Brass and his team resolve to find the killer.

Blue blood is flowing in London as a killer slits the throats of the cream of England's aristocracy. Naturally Scotland Yard enlists the great Sherlock Holmes himself. Only when this ultimate weapon of the law failed to stem the deaths are they forced to play a last desperate card - Professor James Moriarty, the Napoleon of Crime.

Moriarty is awaiting trial for murder when Queen Victoria's grandson mysteriously disappears. In exchange for his release and the murder charges (of which he's innocent) being dropped, the so-called "Napoleon of Crime" must track down the missing prince and find out who is behind his disappearance and the brutal murders left in his wake.

When American journalist Benjamin Barrett is sent to Constantinople to report on the sea trials of a new submarine, the assignment soon becomes more eventful than he had predicted, particularly after rescuing a certain professor from an attack...

The rise of scientific thinking in finding, catching, and convicting criminals-and, just as important, freeing the innocent-has transformed society's assault on crime. Before scientific detective work, early attempts to maintain public safety relied on the severity of punishment rather than any probability of apprehension. But with the rapid development of the sciences in the nineteenth century, some techniques began to spill over into more effective police work. Michael Kurland's engrossing history of forensic science recounts this remarkable progress, which continues to the present. He traces the history of the major techniques of criminal detection and many of the minor ones. Here are Bertillon's physical measurements used to recognize habitual criminals; the study of fingerprints identifying criminals long after they have left the scene of the crime; Gravelle's comparison microscope comparing bullets to determine if they have been fired from the same gun; the development of bloodstain identification and, ultimately, the blood type involved. Mr. Kurland explains how once-accepted techniques have fallen by the wayside-handwriting analysis, for example-and how methods such as lie detectors, voice spectrum analysis, bite mark evidence, and other methods have proven unworthy. Finally Irrefutable Evidence explores the rise of modern DNA typing techniques, which have proven the innocence of many persons convicted of major crimes and resulted in the exoneration of more than two hundred on death row. With 12 black-and-white illustrations.