Teton County Library

Maisie Dobbs entered domestic service in 1910 at thirteen, working for Lady Rowan Compton. When her remarkable intelligence is discovered by her employer, Maisie becomes the pupil of Maurice Blanche, a learned friend of the Comptons. In 1929, following an apprenticeship with Blanche, Maisie hangs out her shingle: "M. Dobbs, trade and personal investigations." She soon becomes enmeshed in a mystery surrounding The Retreat, a reclusive community of...

The Boston PI agrees to an interview in this entertaining blend of short story and biographical profile by the legendary mystery author. Spenser and his psychologist girlfriend, Susan, are relaxing in a courtyard on a lovely June afternoon. But accompanying them is Susan's friend Amy, and she's got a project: a book examining the men in risky professions-cops, firemen, special forces soldiers . . . and PIs. Requesting some help in her research,...

Decades after his adventure in the classic Six Days of the Condor, the eponymous spy reflects on his life while awaiting his next target in this tense novella. Ronald Malcolm, codename Condor, is still in the spy game. He may be older now, but in a world where hardly anybody sees anybody, nobody sees old. He's the perfect choice to sit in New York City's Penn Station and wait for what he calls "the killing train." And while he waits for someone...

The #1 New York Times–bestselling author shares the origin story of his infamous game warden character, Joe Pickett, as he investigates a local poachers attack. Since his first appearance in Open Season, Wyoming gamekeeper Joe Pickett has solved all sorts of mysteries. But now his daughter, Sheridan, would like to solve the mystery that is her father . . . The Pickett family is gathered around the table for Thanksgiving dinner when they're...

The four-time Shamus Award—winning author takes his readers behind-the-scenes of his long running detective series. In 1980, readers first encountered hard-boiled private detective Amos Walker as he searches for an ex-mobster's missing daughter in Motor City Blue. Many mysteries and decades later, the investigator is still scuffling with bad guys on the streets of Detroit. But when and where did award-winning author Loren D. Estleman conceive...

In this short story, the New York Times—bestselling author delves into the private lives and personal histories of her "extremely congenial characters" (The Philadelphia Inquirer). It is 1912, and Peter Naylor calls at the home of Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould, longtime friend of Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte. Clouds are gathering in Europe, and the prime minister is considering Thomas to head up the country's intelligence services-the king...

The bestselling author shares how he developed his celebrated sleuth, a Nottingham detective akin to Jim Rockford but dressed like Columbo. In 1989, Lonely Hearts, a police procedural by John Harvey, introduced Det. Insp. Charlie Resnick to the world. The book was followed by a series and went on to be named one of the 100 Best Crime Novels of the Last Century by the Times. But how did the sandwich-loving policeman and jazz aficionado come to be? In...

The New York Times–bestselling author tells the story behind Inspector Rebus, the hard-edged Edinburgh cop and "superbly drawn character" (The Times, London). In this short work, Edgar and Diamond Dagger Award winner Ian Rankin delves into DI John Rebus's origins as a character, as well as his own origins as a writer. While author and character share a love of literature and a deep affection for Scotland's capital city, they differ in other...

In this profile, the bestselling author of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series recounts the creation of his popular Botswanan sleuth. In 1998, Mma Precious Ramotswe made her debut in Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. The Plain Dealer hailed the novel as "One of the best, most charming, honest, hilarious and life-affirming books to appear in years." Decades and many books later, Precious has her own bestselling series,...

The #1 New York Times—bestselling author tells the origin story of LA defense attorney Mickey Haller. In this concise, absorbing account, Michael Connelly reveals the work, and the strokes of luck, that contributed to his creation of the character Mickey Haller, the subject of multiple bestselling novels as well as the hit Netflix series. He reveals the lawyers, both fictional and real-life, who played a role in shaping the sharp-witted attorney...