Jump to: navigation, search

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Month of Mystery (book)

front cover

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Month of Mystery

  • published in 1969 in the USA by Random House (hardback)
  • 403 pages

Contents

  1. The Dusty Drawer by Harry Muheim
  2. Drum Beat by Stephen Marlowe
  3. South of Market by Joe Gores
  4. The Uses of Intelligence by Matthew Gant
  5. Love Will Find a Way by David Alexander
  6. Retribution by Michael Zuroy
  7. The Queen's Jewel by James Holding
  8. Pool Party by Andrew Benedict
  9. That Touch of Genius by William Sambrot
  10. The Crooked Road by Alex Gaby
  11. A Taste for Murder by Jack Ritchie
  12. The Twelve-Hour Caper by Mike Marmer
  13. The Amateur by Michael Gilbert
  14. Death Wish by Lawrence Block
  15. The Singing Pigeon by Ross Macdonald
  16. Justice Magnifique by Lawrence Treat
  17. The White Hat by Sax Rohmer
  18. Hard Sell by Craig Rice
  19. Greedy Night by E.C. Bentley
  20. A Twilight Adventure by Melville Davisson Post
  21. Murder Matinee by Harold Q. Masur
  22. A Humanist by Romain Gary
  23. The Oblong Room by Edward D. Hoch
  24. Love Me, Love Me, Love Me by M.S. Waddell
  25. Special Handling by John Keefauver
  26. Dead Man's Story by Howard Rigsby
  27. The Legend of Joe Lee by John D. MacDonald
  28. Crooked Bone by Gerald Kersh
  29. The Janissaries of Emilion by Basil Copper
  30. Chinoiserie by Helen McCloy
  31. Soldier Key by Sterling E. Lanier

front cover

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Dates With Death

  • subtitle: Formerly, tales from A Month of Mystery
  • published in January 1972 in the USA by Dell Publishing (paperback)
  • 214 pages

Tagline

  • When Hitchcock asks you out, get ready for a bloody good time

Contents

  1. The Dusty Drawer by Harry Muheim
  2. Drum Beat by Stephen Marlowe
  3. The Uses of Intelligence by Matthew Gant
  4. The Queen's Jewel by James Holding
  5. That Touch of Genius by William Sambrot
  6. The Crooked Road by Alex Gaby
  7. The Amateur by Michael Gilbert
  8. The Singing Pigeon by Ross Macdonald
  9. Justice Magnifique by Lawrence Treat
  10. Greedy Night by E.C. Bentley
  11. A Humanist by Romain Gary
  12. The Oblong Room by Edward D. Hoch
  13. Dead Man's Story by Howard Rigsby
  14. The Janissaries of Emilion by Basil Copper
  15. Chinoiserie by Helen McCloy

Inner Page

ALFIE AND THE INFERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

Every year at tax time Alfred Hitchcock has a hard time justifying some of the items on his expense account.

"What's this deduction for arsenic?" asks the tax man. Or, "How can you write off this grave-digger's shovel?" Or, "We can't accept this claim for three silencers, two sharp knives and a length of hemp on a pear tree."

This year, however, Alfie has his finest proof ever that perverse pleasures and ghoulish delights are his life's work. He has only to have the government grand inquisitor read—

DATES WITH DEATH
Tales from A MONTH OF MYSTERY

Acknowledgement

  • The editor gratefully acknowledges the invaluable assistance of Robert Arthur in the preparation of this volume

Introduction

IF, INDEED, IT IS EVENING—

GOOD EVENING.

I'm sure you will all be intrigued to know that I am currently engaged in a project which will bring you those two words live in future volumes. Unfortunately, for the moment we can only reproduce them in ink. Therefore, they lack the nuances of delivery which I like to believe I perfected through long years before the television cameras.

However, at some future date I am confident that when you open one of my books it will speak aloud to you, saying in a firm and pleasant tone, "Good evening." Of course, if you open the book in the morning, this may not be entirely appropriate. This is one of the details we are still struggling to overcome.

In any case, I feel that evening is the best time to approach the stories I have gathered together. An easy chair, a darkened room, and a pool of light to read by offer the ideal setting in which to enjoy the varied attractions of these tales. If at all possible, avoid sharing the room with a teen-ager playing records that thump, shriek, and wail at you. This is bound to be distracting. Unless, of course, you are a teen-ager yourself. But if you are a teen-ager, what are you doing reading this book? Shouldn't you be out organizing a protest against something?

So much for that. This time, as you will see, I have assembled a sample of stories embracing many aspects of the mystery tale. Start anywhere and read as fast as you please. Now I must get back to the laboratory. There's work to be done.

Alfred J. Hitchcock

Back Cover

ALFIE'S ALL BOOKED UP

Hurry, hurry, hurry. Alfred Hitchcock, that loveable lover of lethal legerdemain, often wishes the day had twenty-five hours so that he could fit a few more appointments with the diabolical deviltry into his always crowded day. There's so much delicious evil in the world, says Alfred, and such little time to enjoy it all. So to help the reader pack in as much fiendish fun as possible within the covers of a book, the master presents his very favorite tales of mystery and suspense...


front cover

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Terror Time

  • subtitle: More tales from A Month of Mystery
  • published in February 1972 in the USA by Dell Publishing (paperback)
  • 205 pages

Tagline

  • Alfie says it's time to let off a little scream

Contents

  1. South of Market by Joe Gores
  2. Love Will Find a Way by David Alexander
  3. Retribution by Michael Zuroy
  4. Pool Party by Andrew Benedict
  5. A Taste for Murder by Jack Ritchie
  6. The Twelve-Hour Caper by Mike Marmer
  7. Death Wish by Lawrence Block
  8. The White Hat by Sax Rohmer
  9. Hard Sell by Craig Rice
  10. A Twilight Adventure by Melville Davisson Post
  11. Murder Matinee by Harold Q. Masur
  12. Love Me, Love Me, Love Me by M.S. Waddell
  13. Special Handling by John Keefauver
  14. The Legend of Joe Lee by John D. MacDonald
  15. Crooked Bone by Gerald Kersh
  16. Soldier Key by Sterling E. Lanier

UK paperback

Alfred Hitchcock: A Month of Mystery - Book One

  • published in 1972 in the UK by Pan Books Ltd (paperback)
  • 208 pages

Contents


Alfred Hitchcock: A Month of Mystery - Book Two

  • published in 1973 in the UK by Pan Books Ltd (paperback)
  • 241 pages

Contents


Notes

Links

Image Gallery

Images from the Hitchcock Gallery (click to view larger versions or search for all relevant images)...