Candy Matson was a response to all the hard-boiled detectives on the radio, like Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, and Pat Novak, and all those other detectives who were beaten up on a regular basis. Candy, played by Natalie Park, was hard-boiled in her own way. She never compromised her femininity, but she did know how to use a gun and didn't hesitate to use it when it was necessary. She didn't take any guff from the guys - the good guys or the bad guys. With a snappy comeback, she could take anybody's head off.

Thrill to the hardboiled adventures of Ellery Queen, Philip Marlow, Dragnet, The Man called X, Philo Vance, Rocky Fortune and so many more as heroes fight the bad guys. 100 great detective classics in one collection.

Created by S.S. Van Dine, Philo Vance was quite popular in books, movies, and on radio. He was portrayed as a stylish, very intelligent, and cultured private detective - an Americanized Sherlock Holmes - working out of New York. Not that Vance needed any help solving a crime, he did work closely with his secretary and right-hand woman Ellen Deering and his pal John Markham, New York County District Attorney. First heard for a brief time on NBC radio in 1945-46, it enjoyed success in syndication beginning in 1948 starring Jackson Beck.

Horatio Black was known to friend and foe as Boston Blackie - an ex-jewel thief and safecracker constantly suspected of crimes he did not commit and forced to play the role of detective to clear his name. His girlfriend, Mary Wesley, assisted Blackie from time to time, as did his pal Shorty. Forced to defend himself against the accusations of New York Police Inspector Faraday, Blackie always managed to stay one step ahead of the cops in solving a crime. The wisecracks exchanged between Blackie and Faraday made the program an enjoyable mix of comedy and mystery.

Richard Diamond, Private Detective came to NBC Radio in 1949, starring film actor and crooner Dick Powell. Powell had recently played Philip Marlowe in the popular RKO film Murder, My Sweet and jumped at the chance to play a suave detective on the radio. Diamond was a lighthearted, New York - based private eye who enjoyed ribbing the cops and singing songs to his millionaire girlfriend, Helen Asher.

Created in 1934 by American mystery author Rex Stout, Nero Wolfe is one of the most iconic private investigators in crime fiction. As Watson did for Holmes, Archie Goodwin, Wolfe's confidential assistant, narrates the cases of the detective genius. Wolfe was an armchair detective who rarely left his luxurious brownstone in New York, so Archie would collect the facts and report back. Wolfe would probably not have taken on many cases had he not needed his client's money to pay for his two true passions: fine food and his orchid collection.

First heard on network radio in 1948, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar chronicled the adventures of freelance insurance investigator Johnny Dollar, "the man with the action-packed expense account." For 15 years, it was one of the most popular detective shows on the air, lasting until the final days of network radio drama in 1962. Each story started with a phone call from an insurance executive calling on Johnny Dollar to investigate an unusual claim.

Before TV’s The Twilight Zone, there was radio’s The Inner Sanctum Mystery, Lights Out!, The Weird Circle, and so many other great mysteries starring Orson Welles, Jane Wyman, Dana Andrews, Edmond O’Brien, James Cagney and more. 100 great mystery classics in one collection.

The detective character, Sam Spade, was created by Dashiell Hammett for his crime novel The Maltese Falcon. Spade was a hard-boiled detective with cold detachment, a keen eye for detail and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice. The character is most closely associated with Humphrey Bogart who played Sam Spade in the third and most famous film version of The Maltese Falcon. In 1946, one of radio’s top producers (William Spier) brought “Sam Spade” to CBS radio starring newcomer Howard Duff with Lurene Tuttle.

Created by Blake Edwards (of "Pink Panther" fame), Richard Diamond, Private Detective came to NBC radio in 1949 starring film actor and crooner Dick Powell. Powell had recently played 'Philip Marlowe' in the popular RKO film "Murder My Sweet" and jumped at the chance to play a suave detective on radio. Richard Diamond was a light-hearted New York-based private eye who enjoyed ribbing the cops and singing songs to his millionairess girlfriend, Helen Asher (played by Virginia Gregg).

Tough, yet compassionate - and a first-class detective besides - that's Boston Blackie. The infamous safe cracker turned private eye will lead you through 16 hard-hitting crime classics from 1947-48! Richard Kollmar stars as Blackie, with Lesley Woods as Mary Wesley, and Maurice Tarplin as Inspector Faraday. The race is on for our hero to capture the killers, recover the diamonds, and clear his own name!

Roll on the floor with laughter with comedy legends such as Abbott & Costello, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Ozzie and Harriet, Jack Benny, Bob & Ray and so many more in one collection.

The golden age of radio had incredibly scary mystery shows that kept Americans chilled and thrilled. Families gathered around their living room radios to be entertained by the greatest names in Hollywood each and every day. This terrific collection of 12 great radio mystery shows includes Boris Karloff on "Lights Out!", Peter Lorre in the story of Jack-the-Ripper on "Mystery in the Air", Vincent Price and Ida Lupino in a tale well-calculated to keep you in "Suspense", the story of Lizzie Borden on "Crime Classics" and many more!

The Golden Age of Radio had incredible detective shows that kept Americans glued to their radio sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to hear their favorite Hollywood stars voicing fiction’s most famous gumshoes. This collection includes Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade searching for the Black Bird in The Maltese Falcon in a radio adaptation that co-starred the original film cast of Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre.

The world-weary private investigator Harry Nile is one step ahead of the mob, but one step behind the bill collectors. That's why he takes pretty much any case he can catch—from robbery to kidnapping to murder. Phil Harper stars as Harry in twenty-one mood-filled mysteries, aided and assisted by Pat French as Murphy, his secretary extraordinaire. This is classic radio noir for a new generation, created and produced by Jim French.

Timothy and Jonah, wealthy entrepreneurs with a spoiled son, hide sins from their past—one involving a death on a cruise, the other a crime in Bali. Nathan and Samantha, the hot ex-nanny turned trophy wife, grapple with infertility and a shocking paternity secret. Bartosz and Angelika (he’s a chef, she’s a former sex worker) carry debts to the other couples they don’t even realize they owe. Over fourteen days, the couples bond—but their pasts are too deeply intertwined to stay hidden. The sly concierge, Putu, knows more than he lets on.

Lana Fleming’s sister has vanished from the set of TV’s hottest show, and no one seems to care. Desperate for answers, Lana sneaks in as an extra, only to get stranded with Griffin Hart, an A-list action star with a reputation for good abs and bad decisions. Though Griffin didn’t expect to be cast as a librarian’s sidekick in a real-life thriller, he’s weirdly into it—and into her. Even more unsettling—she sees right through his playboy persona. But their meet-cute soon turns deadly when they uncover a Hollywood scandal for the ages.

Amy Nicols (Lizzy Caplan) was an FBI agent with a dogged need to protect everyone—until that instinct caused her to mishandle a crisis, lose innocent lives, and lose her job. Now a civilian working in private security, that mistake still haunts her. One morning on the commuter train, she overhears a young couple plotting a murder. Ignoring warnings from her family and friends, Amy’s instinct to protect and serve compels her to investigate. But the further she goes, the more she finds her own life in danger.

Nathan Tyler is an unassuming professor at a middling American university with a rather obscure specialty in mathematics—in short, a nobody from nowhere. So why is the White House calling? Summoned to Washington, DC, for a top-secret briefing, Nathan discovers that he’s the key to a massive foreign intelligence breakthrough. Reading between the lines of a cryptic series of equations, he could open a door straight into the heart of the Kremlin and change the global balance of power forever.

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.

It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.

Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.

Cassie thinks she has met the perfect man. Joel is sweet, handsome, romantic, and best of all, he’s crazy about Cassie. She thinks she’s found the guy she’ll spend the rest of her life with. Have children with. Grow old with. Yes, she knows about his perfect ex-girlfriend, Francesca. The beautiful, brilliant chef, beloved by all his friends. But she thinks Francesca is out of the picture. She thinks Francesca is gone for good. Think again, Cassie.

Tess Strebel can’t recognize her own face. She can’t recognize her home. Her bedroom is unfamiliar. And she can’t remember the handsome stranger lying next to her in bed. A stranger who claims he’s her husband. Tess reads a letter in her own handwriting, composed during a rare lucid day, explaining her life as it now exists: she was in a terrible car accident one year ago. Every morning, she wakes up unable to remember most of the last decade. Including her own wedding.

Ever since he made his first appearance in A Study In Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes has enthralled and delighted millions of fans throughout the world. Now Audible is proud to present Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, read by Stephen Fry. A lifelong fan of Doyle's detective fiction, Fry has narrated the definitive collection of Sherlock Holmes - four novels and four collections of short stories. And, exclusively for Audible, Stephen has written and narrated eight insightful introductions, one for each title.