Alfred Hitchcock's Daring Detectives

by Alfred Hitchcock (Editor)

Daring detectives look for trouble!

* Ellery Queen wonders why a cat-hating old lady is buying cats...
* A kid named Frankie searches for a murder case that his detective father can solve
* Perry Mason tries to clear a known criminal mixed up in a robbery...
* Hercule Poirot bets that he can locate a missing financier- without leaving home!

Watch these bold sleuths and four others take on tricky, brainteasing cases- and find excitement and danger. Their stories- selected by Alfred Hitchcock- will have you gasping, chuckling and chewing your nails!

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Mystery Thriller, Childrens

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (1899-1980) was an iconic and highly influential film director and producer, who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres.

Following a very substantial career in his native Britain in both silent films and talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood and became an American citizen with dual nationality in 1956, thus he also remained a British subject.

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career which spanned six decades, from the silent film era, through the invention of sound films, and far into the era of colour films. For a complete list of his films, see Alfred Hitchcock filmography.

Hitchcock was among the most consistently recognizable directors to the general public, and was one of the most successful film directors during his lifetime. He continues to be one of the best known and most popular filmmakers of all time.

Reviews

[Phillip Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is amazing and unbelievable how the detectives in this book can solve a mystery using a few clues that seem insignificant at first. A glass eye that is found in an alley leads to a murder, an old man figures out why a school bus vanished. and a banker not sleeping with his wife becomes a major lead. These stories are more entertaining as shock endings than a mystery but they are still good reading.

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first-ever Hitchcock collection, aimed at young readers - and I loved it. Especially Basil Copper's take-off on Sherlock Holmes (Solar Pons), Ellery Queen and John Dickson Carr's strange story, "The Footprint in the Sky".

[Brody Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good

[Carla Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good for a collection aimed at young adults. I didn't read every story, but a few I enjoyed - mysteries from the 1930s - 50s. I bought this (at the Goodwill) because it included a Cornell Woolrich story, and it has phenomenal illustrations too.

[B.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loads of interesting and fun stories by the greats in mystery fiction. Not a bad one in the bunch.

[Michael Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alfred Hitchcock’s Daring Detectives [Random House, 1969].

A collection of detective stories, ghost edited by Robert Arthur, includes:

“The Day the Children Vanished,” Hugh Pentecost. When a small town’s children vanish suspicion falls on the school’s driver who is also missing. The driver’s father, an Irish-American former vaudevillian, sets out to find his son (and the children) and clear his name.

“The Adventure of the Seven Black Cats,” Ellery Queen. Queen investigates the disappearance of elderly sisters, one of whom, an invalid known to hate cats, had recently purchased six black cats.

“The Case of the Irate Witness,” Erle Stanley Gardner. On his way to a fishing trip, Perry Mason is ensnared in a case involving a payroll robbery in a mining town.

“Adventure of the Grice Patterson Curse,” by Lovecraft protégé August Derleth, involves a misanthrope’s revenge plot from beyond the grave.

“The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim,” Agatha Christie. Hercule Poirot investigates a missing persons case involving a man who may have run away to Central America…

and more! A fun collection!

[LobsterQuadrille · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection as a whole is uneven, with exactly 50% stories I liked and 50% I didn't. The weakest were "The Case of the Irate Witness"(dull) and "Adventure of the Grice-Paterson Curse"(for its goofy killer reveal). But the good stories are enough to push my rating up to four stars. My favorites are:
-The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
-The Adventure of the Seven Black Cats
-The Day the Children Vanished(probably my favorite overall)
-The Footprint in the Sky

[Sohel Merchant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short mysterious stories of which a few are predictable, a few are ununderstandable and a few are interesting. Good for a detour read from a heavy book.

[Nik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Svenska versionen bara halva av den engelska.

[Macel Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Familiar faces. Almost all of the selections, I've already read in other anthologies.

[Redwan Orittro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of short detective stories. Each of them is set in a different social scenario so the reader will have a fresh start with every story.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Old Children's Book. Liked it as a kid, but haven't read it in years.