Ellery Queen (Lee and Dannay) Photo: Bettmann / Getty Images
Sample of authors
Queen, Ellery
Ellery Queen is a pen name shared by Frederic Dannay, born Daniel Nathan, and Manfred B. (Bennington) Lee, born Manford Lepofsky, both from New York. They were cousins who attended Boy's High School, Brooklyn, together and later worked independently within PR and advertising before they started writing full time in 1931.
Ellery Queen is something of institution in the detective genre; the books...
James M. Cain 1946 Photo: AP / TT
Sample of authors
Cain, James M.
The American author and journalist James Mallahan Cain was a prominent figure in 20th century fiction. Alongside Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, he was among the first authors of "hardboiled" crime fiction that came to influence American noir fiction and film. Many of his works are considered classics, especially the novellas The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) and Double Indemnity...