Set in ancient Thebes during the 11th dynasty, the novel places a household under scrutiny after a series of deaths.

A woman linked to an academic community returns to a college where puzzling acts and a climate of fear have erupted; an investigator connected to her seeks to discover who is behind the incidents and why.

Told from the viewpoint of a returning World War II veteran, the novel follows his arrival in Los Angeles and the tense relationships he forms there while an external string of murders and police investigation encircle him.

A celebrated detective traveling home is detained when a murder is found on the Orient Express after heavy snowfall. Stranded passengers become a finite pool of suspects and the detective must sort through conflicting alibis, motives, and testimony to reconstruct what happened before the train resumes its journey.

Set on Chicago's South Side in the 1930s, the novel follows Bigger Thomas, a young Black man shaped by crushing poverty and social isolation.

Philip Marlowe, a laconic private detective, is hired by an elderly wealthy client to look into a potentially embarrassing or criminal affair involving her family.

A country solicitor is drawn into defending a mother and daughter accused of abducting and assaulting a visiting young woman. The plot hinges on assembling testimony, scrutinizing inconsistent claims, and testing how community suspicion and newspaper pressure shape culpability.

Set around a criminal investigation, the novel focuses on a case that raises questions about identity and culpability when the accused exhibits signs of multiple personality or severe mental disturbance.

A San Francisco private detective becomes tangled in a case that hinges on a coveted object and a series of killings. The narrative presents events from an external third-person viewpoint—reporting only actions, dialogue, and appearances—so the mystery and shifting loyalties carry the dramatic weight.