title: The History of Mystery (Art Fiction Series)
author:  Max Allan Collins 
description: <B>Penzler Pick, <a href="/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/232732/${0}">December 2001</a>:</B> It may start to look as if I have stock in Collectors Press because I've praised one of its books for three months in a row (<I><a href="/exec/obidos/ASIN/1888054506/${0}">The Great American Paperback</a></I> in October and <I><a href="/exec/obidos/ASIN/1888054123/${0}">Pulp Culture</a></I> in November). Well, I wish I did, because this group of books includes some of the most beautiful and exciting mystery reference books ever produced.
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  # _Acclaim for the Work of MAX ALLAN COLLINS!_
  
  
  “Crime fiction aficionados are in for a treat...a neo-pulp noir classic.”
  
  
  _—Chicago Tribune_
  
  
  “No one can twist you through a maze with as much intensity and suspense as
  Max Allan Collins.”
  
  
  _—Clive Cussler_
  
  
  “Collins never misses a beat... All the stand-up pleasures of dime-store pulp
  with a beguiling level of complexity.”
  
  
  _—Booklist_
  
  
  “Collins has an outwardly artless style that conceals a great deal of art.”
  
  
  _—The New York Times Book Review_
  
  
  “Max Allan Collins is the closest thing we have to a 21st century Mickey
  Spillane and...will please any fan of old-school, hardboiled crime fiction.”
  
  
  _—This Week_
  
  
  “A suspenseful, wild night’s ride [from] one of the finest writers of crime
  fiction that the U.S. has produced.”
  
  
  _—Book Reporter_
  
  
  “This book is about as perfect a page turner as you’ll find.”
  
  
  _—Library Journal_
  
  
  “Bristling with suspense and sexuality, this book is a welcome addi