It's a Mystery! The Forgotten Innovators of Crime Fiction (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798887718934)

Why have some mystery authors become legendary, while others of equal contemporary renown have completely fallen out of public view? How can some storytellers stay in the public consciousness year after year, decade after decade, even century after century while others of equal import to the development of the genre have become completely forgotten?

It's a mystery. In fact, It's A Mystery!

In It's A Mystery! writer and popular culture historian Michael Mallory examines the lives and careers of scores of authors, television and radio programs, and even trends that were hugely popular in their time but proved to have a definite shelf life. Through exhaustive research and insightful analysis, these now-forgotten creative powerhouses are offered a new spotlight and their often groundbreaking works are heralded once more.

It's A Mystery! is nothing less than a "finding-your-roots" mission for the entire mystery/crime/thriller fiction genre as we know it today. In the process it reveals many long-forgotten ancestors in the field who were not only contenders, but contributed mightily to the ever popular genre that would follow them.