The Perfect Murder: A Study in Detection
Language: English
Published by Free Press, 1989
- First Edition
- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: zenosbooks, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.zenosbooks
AbeBooks seller since March 24, 1997
Condition: Used
£ 17.48
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
New York. 1989. Free Press. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Dustjacket. 0029197708. 242 pages. hardcover. Jacket design by Reginald Perry. keywords: Mystery Literary Criticism. DESCRIPTION - Detective novels are seductive and addictive, and the American reading public has a seemingly endless appetite for them. The mystery genre's appeal uniquely transcends the ordinary barriers of class, income level, gender, and education. In this lively, enjoyable look at the best American and British detective fiction, David Lehman investigates the mystery of mysteries: the profound satisfactions we get from evil, disorder, mayhem, and deception - which we know will be put right by the last page. The first story of ratiocination' was Edgar Allan Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue:' but as Lehman shows, the detective story draws deeply from the rich ancient storytelling traditions. The mystery's conventions - the locked room, the clue hidden' in plain sight, the diabolical double, the villainous least likely suspect - work on us as childhood fairytales do; they prey upon our darkest fears, taking us to the brink of the unbearable before restoring a comforting sense of order. The myth of Oedipus, for example, contains the essential elements of a whodunit, with the twist that the murderer the detective pursues is himself. The detective novel, says Lehman, took murder out of the ethical realm and put it into that of aesthetics. Murder in a mystery becomes a kind of poetic conceit: the criminal is an artist, the detective a critic, and the blundering policeman a philistine. To this day, no other category of fiction so cleverly fuses a visceral impulse with a cerebral one - the physical action of the crime, the mental action of the detective. The impulse to treat murder as a baroque art form had its heyday between the wars in elaborate setpieces such as Agatha Christie's country house puzzlers. With their wisecracking gumshoe heroes, Dashiell Hammert and Raymond Chandler fashioned an existential romance out of the detective novel. More recent writers such as Ross Macdonald, P.D. James, and Ruth Rendell have raised the genre to a new level of psychological sophistication. Yet the form evolves still, and Lehman guides us to the epistemological riddles of Jorge Luis Borges and Umberto Eco, who challenge the notion of a knowable truth. PERFECT MURDER contains a useful selected bibliography of the best detective fiction, novels in related genres, and critical works about mysteries. Lehman also includes an annotated list of his fifteen favorite mysteries ever written. inventory #24236.…
Seller Inventory # z24236
- Title
- The Perfect Murder: A Study in Detection
- Author
- Lehman, David
- Publisher
- Free Press
- Publication year
- 1989
- Condition
- Very Good in Dustjacket
- Dust jacket
- Very Good
- Binding
- hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0029197708
- ISBN 13
- 9780029197707
- Edition
- First Edition.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Synopsis
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
zenosbooks
San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since March 24, 1997
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 5 to 14 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 4.53 | £ 9.05 |
Payment methods
- Paypal
Store description
Zenobooks.com is a secondhand and out-of-print Internet bookstore. While our stock is general, we specialize in Literature, Mysteries, Latin American Literature, African-American interest, and Translated Literature...Zeno's Web Page - www.zenosbooks.com
Specialty
modern 1sts, latin america, mystery, african american studies, translated literature, literature, modern 1sts, latin america, mystery, african american studiesSeller's business information
zenosbooks
CA, U.S.A.
Terms of sale
All books subject to prior sale. Payment via ABE or via PAYPAL or check in U.S. dollars. We generally ship priority mail (1st class) for orders within the USA and charge $6.00 for the first book, $3.00 for each additional book. If you would like your book(s) shipped via Media Rate you must indicate that to us. International orders are shipped U.S. Postal Service Global Priority unless otherwise instructed. All international shipping at cost. Books are returnable for any reason within 10 days of purchase. California residents add 9.5 % sales tax. California dealers please include resale card and number in lieu of tax.
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to zenosbooks, San Francisco, California, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.