В сборник вошли избранные страницы устных мемуаров Жоржа Сименона (р. 1903 г.). Печатается по изданию Пресс де ла Сите, 1975–1981. Книга познакомит читателя с почти неизвестными у нас сторонами мастерства Сименона, блестящего рассказчика и яркого публициста.

Given its extraordinary span, its international scope, and its variant styles and groundbreaking stylists, A Century of Great Suspense Stories is a singular achievement. A bestselling master of suspense himself Jeffery Deaver had the enviable task of selecting from the thousands of stories written over the past one hundred years those which best represented the classic form, as well as the justly celebrated authors whose ironic twists and stunning payoffs left a lasting, vivid, and unnerving impression. The result is a triumph.

In this ambitious anthology you’ll revel in the sardonic, overtly amoral plotting of Patricia Highsmith. You’ll rediscover the strangely poignant and surprising turns of Stanley Ellin, and the profoundly underrated Margaret Millar, a genius who mixed savage social satire with brooding horror. You’ll be treated to Stephen King at his chilling best. You’ll find yourself on the violent urban streets of Ross Macdonald and Mickey Spillane, and seeped in the ominous regional flavor of Sharyn McCrumb and Tony Hillerman. You’ll marvel at the cunning webs spun by Lawrence Block, Ruth Rendell, Anthony Boucher, and Sara Paretsky, all of whom defy expectations as they reinvent the genre. And you’ll understand the awesome reputations of those authors who set the standard, such as the legendary Harlan Ellison, Fredric Brown, the master of the twist ending, and James M. Cain, uncannily skilled at knowing what went on between men and women behind closed doors. (The darker the room the better.)

Delivering everything from the one-two punch of the detective story to the ingeniously precise trappings of the police procedural, from the disquieting corners of the criminal mind to sheer dread-inducing horror, A Century of Great Suspense Stories is a rich anthology of this popular literary genre, a stunning tribute to the art of storytelling, and to the men and women who have done it best.

Pliaupiant lietui ir tvyrant rūkui upių uosto arklidėje netoli šliuzo nr. 14. randamas madingais drabužiais vilkinčios moters lavonas. Kas ji ir kaip tokioje vietoje atsidūrė? Tai, rodos, neįmenama paslaptis, bet atplaukia sero Volterio Lempsono jachta ir paaiškėja, kad velionė - ponia Meri Lempson. Įtarimai išsyk krinta ant abejingo jos vyro. Kol narpliojama ši byla, kanale randamas sero Lempsono kompaniono lavonas... Prieš komisaro Megrė akis atsiveria aistrų kupinas uosto gyvenimas, ir jis netrunka savęs paklausti, ar Meri Lempson - tikrai Meri Lempson?

Keso Popingos gyvenimas daugelį metų sruveno ramiai. Vieną dieną bendrovė, kurioje jis dirba ir į kurią yra įdėjęs visus savo pinigus, bankrutuoja. Nuo šios akimirkos jo gyvenimas gali pakrypti visai kita vaga... Ką pasirinks Kesas Popinga – bandys išsaugoti savo miesčionišką namų jaukumą ar sės į naktinį traukinį, riedantį išsvajotos laisvės link? Kas jis iš tiesų – beprotis maniakas, pavojingas žudikas ar tik nelemtai susiklosčiusių aplinkybių auka?