Bibliographies

Locked Room Murders by Robert Adey, 1979 and 1991
The expanded 1991 version of this indispensable bibliography lists nearly 2000 locked room novels and short stories with a very brief summary of each and an even briefer solution given at the back of the book. The thirty-plus pages of introduction constitute an outstanding history of the genre.  Locked Room International have now reprinted the Second Edition.

Locked Room Murders Supplement by Brian Skupin, 2019
A completely new addition to Robert Adey’s bibliography, published by Locked Room International and containing 1,156 new entries not included in that pioneering work — comprising not just novels and short stories, but also examples found in movies, television shows, manga, and anime.  Also includes listings for short story anthologies, reference works, and blogs and websites which regularly discuss impossible crimes and locked room mysteries.

Chambres Closes, Crimes Impossibles by Soupart, Fooz and Bourgeois, 1997
The French-language equivalent of the Adey bibliography, with a fuller description of the problem but the solutions in the form of coded references to a classification table. Over half the references are to stories originally published in English. The French is easily manageable by anyone who reached high-school level in the language, and well worth the effort.

1001 Chambres Closes by Roland Lacourbe, Vincent Bourgeois, Philippe Fooz and Michel Soupart, 2003
This is an updated and vastly expanded version of the 1997 bibliography with 600 novels and 500 short stories, with a comprehensive review of each. It should be a valuable addition to any locked room aficionado’s library, even though it is in French. Unlike the 1997 version, there is no classification of the solutions provided. Lists of “”***** masterpieces” and “”****not to be missed” are provided (see Articles).

Mike Grost
Mike Grost is an expert on all things mysterious, present and past. His website contains an excellent Guide to Classic Mystery and Detection featuring many impossible crime stories

Blogs

The following highly recommended blogs are not exclusively devoted to locked room mysteries, but their authors are knowledgeable and articulate enthusiasts of the sub-genre:
At the Scene of the Crime
At the Villa Rose
Classic Mysteries podcasts
Death Can Read
The Green Capsule
Martin Edwards
Ho-Ling Wong
The Invisible Event
Moonlight Detective
Mysteries Ahoy!
Puzzle Doctor

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

The impossible crime short stories listed below have appeared or will appear in EQMM

‘The Call of the Lorelei‘ by Paul Halter – July 2004 (trans. Peter Schulman) [In The Night of the Wolf (new translation)]
‘The Tunnel of Death’ by Paul Halter – March/April 2005 [In The Night of the Wolf]
‘The Night of the Wolf’ by Paul Halter – May 2006 [In The Night of the Wolf]
‘The Robber’s Grave’ by Paul Halter – June 2007 [In The Helm of Hades]
‘Nausicaa’s Ball’ by Paul Halter – September/October 2008 [In The Helm of Hades]
‘The Gong of Doom’ by Paul Halter – June 2010 [In The Helm of Hades]
‘The Mystery of the Green Room’ by Pierre Very – August 2011
‘The Man With the Face of Clay’ by Paul Halter – July 2012 [In The Helm of Hades]
‘House Call’ by Alexandre Dumas – April 2013 [In The Realm of the Impossible]
‘The Locked House of Pythagoras’ by Shimada Soji – August 2013 [In The Realm of the Impossible]
‘Jacob’s Ladder’ by Paul Halter – February 2014 [In The Realm of the Impossible]
‘The Ghost of the Badminton Court’ by Szu-Yen Lin – August 2014
‘The Lure of the Green Door’ by Norizuki Rintaro – November 2014 [In The Realm of the Impossible]
‘The Wolf of Fenrir’ by Paul Halter  – March/April 2015 [In The Helm of Hades]
‘The Executive Who Lost His Mind’ by Shimada Soji  – August 2015
‘The Spider’ by Kago Saburo  – December 2015
‘The Scarecrow’s Revenge’ by Paul Halter  – May 2016 [In The Helm of Hades]
‘Miracle on Christmas Eve’ by Szu-Yen Lin – May 2016 [In The Realm of the Impossible]
‘The Cold Night’s Clearing’ by Osaka Keikichi – May 2016 [In The Ginza Ghost]
‘Windfall’ by Ulf Durling – November 2016 [In The Realm of the Impossible]
‘The Yellow Book’ by Paul Halter – July/August 2017 [In The Helm of Hades]
‘Bank Holiday Murder’ by Christianna Brand – September/October 2017
‘The Running Dead’ by Shimada Soji – November/December 2017
‘The Fires of Hell’ by Paul Halter – May/June 2018 [In The Helm of Hades]
‘The Helm of Hades’ by Paul Halter – March/April 2019 [In The Helm of Hades]
‘A Smart Dummy in the Tent’ by Takemaru Abiko – July/August 2019
‘The Poet Who Locked Himself In’ by Anne Van Doorn – September/October 2019
‘The Dashing Joker’ by Taku Ashibe – September/October 2020
‘The Celestial Thief’ by Paul Halter – September/October 2021
‘The Wendigo’s Spell‘ by Paul Halter – May/June 2023

List of Anthologies in English and French

The Locked Room Reader edited by Hans Santesson
Locked Room Puzzles edited by M. Greenberg
All But Impossible! edited by Ed Hoch
Death Locked In edited by Doug Greene and Bob Adey
Murder Impossible by Jack Adrian and Bob Adey
Whodunit? Houdini? edited by Otto Penzler
The Mammoth Book of Locked Room Mysteries edited by Mike Ashley
Tantalizing Locked Room Mysteries edited by Isaac Asimov
101 Years of Entertainment edited by Ellery Queen
Sleight of Crime edited by Clute, C. and Lewin, N.
The Mammoth Book of Perfect Crimes and Impossible Mysteries edited by Mike Ashley
The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler
Miraculous Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards
The Realm of the Impossible edited by John Pugmire and Brian Skupin

Ironically, if you’re prepared to try out your high school French armed with, say, the Oxford-Hachette English-French Dictionary on CD, a vastly greater choice is available to you. For, while–at a guess–over 90% of impossible crime short stories were originally written in English, the most prolific anthology editors have been the team of Roland Lacourbe and Daniele Grivel (Roland is Bob Adey’s counterpart in France and Daniele is the excellent translator) who have produced the following French- language anthologies:
Les Meilleurs Histoires de Chambres Closes
Les Detectives de l’Impossible
Les Magiciens du Crime
25 Histoires de Chambres Closes
20 Defis a l’Impossible
Mysteres a Huis Clos
Petits Crimes Impossibles
Vingt Pas dans l’Insolite
Les Chambres Closes du Dr Hawthorne

Collections

Collections differ from anthologies in that all stories are by the same author
The Mysteries of the Reverend Dean by Hal White – Hal’s website gives an excellent overview of many anthologies and collections
Diagnosis Impossible by Ed Hoch – 12 stories about the inimitable Dr. Hawthorne
More Things Impossible by Ed Hoch – 15 more Dr. Hawthorne stories
Nothing Is Impossible by Ed Hoch – 15 more Dr. Hawthorne stories
All But Impossible by Ed Hoch – 15 more Dr. Hawthorne stories
Challenge the Impossible by Ed Hoch – 15 more Dr. Hawthorne stories
Funeral in the Fog by Ed Hoch – 16 Simon Ark stories
The Curious Cases of Cyriack Skinner Grey by Arthur Porges
These Daises Told by Arthur Porges
No Killer Has Wings by Arthur Porges
The Island of Coffins and Other Mysteries from the Casebook of Cabin B-13 by John Dickson Carr – radio plays