Books Q-R

Quill, Monica (pseudonym of Ralph McInerney) Nun Plussed. New York, St. Martin's 1993 The wife of a dealer in rare books and manuscripts has been murdered and the chief suspect is her husband. 8th in the Sister Mary Teresa mystery series.
Randisi, Robert J. The Steinway Collection. New York, Avon, 1983 Death in a private library. 2nd Miles Jacoby novel Randisi , Robert J. and Christine Matthews. Murder is the Deal of the Day. Amateur sleuth Gil Hunt owns a secondhand bookstore. His wife Claire is a TV host who gets involved in a murder.
Raphael, Lev. The Edith Wharton Murders: A Nick Hoffman Mystery. New York, St. Martin's, 1997 Murder of a literary critic. A blend of scholarly intrigue and satire with amateur sleuth and English professor Nick Hoffman.
Reach, Angus B. Clement Lorimer, or, The Book with the Iron Clasps. A Romance. London, David Bogue, 1849 First published in monthly parts from 1848 to 1849. Another early ed. London, John Lofts, 1849 The Bogue edition was bound in Morocco and had iron clasps. Both eds. included 12 etched plates by George Cruishank. A very early bibliomystery concerning a book with… what else? Iron clasps.
Reeves, Robert. Peeping Thomas. New York, Ivy, 1990 Briefly features Boston Public Library and a Boston publishing house. Second book in the series featuring bumbling professor Thomas Theron, herein investigating the Boston porn industry.
Reno, Marie R. Final Proof. New York, Popular Library, 1976 Marcia Richardson, editorial director for the Reader's Circle is found shot to death over a galley proof. Written with an insider's knowledge of the publishing industry.
Reynolds, Barbara. Alias for Death. London, Frederick Muller, 1945 1st U.S., New York, Coward McCann, 1950 Mystery writer heroine solves murder involving soldier. Set in Dayton, Ohio area
Rhode, John. (Pseudonym of Miles Burton). Death of an Author. London, Geoffrey Bles, 1947; 1st U.S., . New York, Dodd Mead, 1948 Murder in the publishing world
Richardson, Robert. The Latimer Mercy. London, Victor Gollancz, 1985; 1st U.S., New York, St. Martin's, 1985 The first adventure of playwright Augustus Maltravers who is forced into the role of detective when a rare Bible is stolen from a cathedral. In style of the classical English detective story. Winner of the Crime Writers Association's John Creasey Memorial Dagger Award for Best First Novel The Book of the Dead. London, Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 1985 1st U.S., New York, St. Martin's, 1989 A murder and the theft of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's last, unpublished Sherlock Holmes adventure.
Riddell, John. (pseudonym of Corey Ford) The John Riddell Murder Case. New York, Scribners, 1930 Parody of Philo Vance mysteries. Twelve full-page Miguel Covarrubias caricatures. Had seal protecting the last few pages to keep the reader from reading the resolution of the mystery.
Roberts, F.C. The Strange Case of the Megatherium Thefts. Cambridge, University Press, 1945 Theft of library books
Roberts, Gillian. The Bluest Blood. New York, Ballantine, 1998 A party for Philadelphia Prep School's Library while a group of anti-book protesters burn the party host in effigy introduces Amanda to a very nasty side of high society Adam and evil, an Amanda Pepper mystery. New York, Ballantine, 1999. Amanda investigates the murder of a young woman at the Philadelphia Free Library.
Roberts, Les. An Infinite Number of Monkeys. London, Macmillan , 1987; 1st U.S., New York, St. Martin's, 1987 Introduces LA actor/detective Saxon who investigates the attempted murder of pulp author Buck Weldon. Debut novel and winner of the Best 1st Private Eye Novel Contest.
Robinson, Peter. A Dedicated Man. Ontario, Viking, 1988 It was an idyllic summer in Swainsdale where Harry Steadman was preparing a book on the area while his wife Emma simply enjoyed. Ten years later the memories of that perfect summer are shattered by Harry's brutal murder. Who would want to kill the kindly scholar and what could it possibly have to do with the events of that summer? 2nd in the Inspector Banks mystery series. Caedmon's Song. Ontario, Viking, 1990 While a series of mutilated victim rapes is occurring in the north of England, Martha Browne arrives in the coastal town of Whitby, posing as an author doing research for a book. But her research is of a particularly macabre nature. Who is she hunting with such deadly determination? And why?
Robinson, Robert. Landscape With Dead Dons. London, Gollancz, 1986; 1st U.S., New York, Rinehart & Co., 1956 A classic academic bibliomystery. Rare books missing from the Bodleian Library and murder.
Rodney, Bryan. The Owl Flies Home. London, Wright, 1942 Protagonist is based on the English nobleman, Francis Villiers, world famous bookman and collector who, for the purposes of his novels, Rodney turns into a jewel thief or 'cracksman' in order to finance his bibliophilic interests. The Owl Hoots. London, Wright, 1945 Bibliophile who turns cracksman in order to finance his bibliophilic interests
Roe, C.F. Bad Blood. London, Headline, 1991; 1st U.S., titled: A Fiery Hint of Murder. New York, Signet, 1993 Dr. Jean Montrose & Insp. Douglas Niven investigate the murder of a science teacher. Could the murderer be the vengeful librarian, ex-wife of the victim? Series character: Dr. Jean Montrose
Ronns, Edward. (pseudonym of Edward S. Aarons) Terror in the town. New York, American Mercury, 1947 Someone is ransacking New England libraries
Rosenbaum, Ron. Murder at Elaine's. New York, Stonehill Publishing, 1978 Reporter Guy Davenport's obsessive pursuit for the mystery behind the century-old "cover-up" in the death of Charles Dickens is interrupted by the murder of media power Walter Foster at Elaine's restaurant.
Rosenfeld, Lulla. Death and the I Ching. New York, Clarkson N. Potter, 1981 A group of theater people gather for an evening in a townhouse. They decide to pose questions to the ancient Book of Oracles, the I Ching, but the book responds with a message of impending doom. Before the night ends, the prediction of the I Ching comes true and one of the guests is murdered.
Ross, Barnaby. (Ellery Queen [Frederick Dannay] as Barnaby Ross) Drury Lane's Last Case. New York, Viking, 1933 Characters include a librarian. Completes the deaf detective's tetralogy, the first 3 volumes of which were : The Tragedy of X/ The Tragedy of Y/ The Tragedy of Z.
Rowe, Jennifer. Murder by the Book. Sydney, Allen and Unwin, 1989; 1st U.S., New York, Bantam, 1992 Who is killing a publishing house's top authors? 2nd w. series character Verity 'Birdy' Birdwood.
Rowland, Peter. The Disappearance of Edwin Drood. London, Constable & Co, 1991 John Jasper asks S. Holmes to look into the 'murder' of his nephew, Edwin Drood. How Dickens' unfinished book would have ended?
Rowlands, Betty. A Little Gentle Sleuthing. London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1990; 1st U.S., New York, Walker and Co, 1991 First in series: crime novelist Melissa Craig Finishing Touch. London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1991; 1st U.S., New York, Walker and Co, 1992 Mystery writer Melissa Craig agrees to teach writing at the college near her home in the Cotswolds but she's distracted by murder, especially when the police start suspecting her new beau. 2nd in Melissa Craig series Over the Edge. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1992; 1st U.S., New York, Walker and Co, 1993 3rd in Melissa Craig series Exhaustive Enquiries. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1993; 1st U.S., New York, Walker and Co, 1993 Melissa Craig takes time out from her novel writing to script a play for an amateur theater company. "Murder With a Giggle" is fun, until a cast member is found dead. 4th in Melissa Craig series Deadly Legacy. 5th in Melissa Craig series Malice Poetic. London, Hodder & Stoughton,1995; New York, Berkley Prime crime, 1996 6th in Melissa Craig series The Cherry Pickers. London, Hodder & Stoughton,1998 Melissa Craig, now Cotswalds Crime Reporter, investigates the death of a local Gipsy girl. 7th in Melissa Craig series

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