Intrigue. Murder. Romance. Thrill. These are the words that come to mind when you think of the library. Wait, they’re not? Okay, but perhaps they will be after you learn about the Otto and Marie Maurer Mystery Collection. Thousands of mystery books live on the 4^th floor of Walsh Library, ranging from classics like Agatha Christie to contemporaries like Dean Koontz. Throughout October, find some of our favorites on display in the Walsh Library atrium. While you’re there, take a look in the accompanying exhibit case to see some gems that are normally housed in our Archives and Special Collections.

Keep reading to learn more about the Otto and Marie Maurer Mystery Collection, and scroll to the bottom of this post to see a complete list of the titles included in this month’s book display.

Otto Maurer is a lifelong devotee to the mystery genre. By the time he donated his collection of mystery books to Walsh Library in 2005, it contained over 7,000 volumes. With this donation, Fordham Libraries became home to one of the largest collections of mystery novels in the country at the time. Since then, the collection has continued to grow and now includes 9,244 volumes.

Mr. Maurer was a two-time Fordham alum, graduating from Fordham College at Rose Hill in 1963 and the Fordham School of Law in 1966. His wife, Marie Maurer, graduated from Marymount College in 1965.

A large portion of the Maurer Mystery collection can be browsed in the stacks on the 4^th floor of Walsh Library, directly adjacent to the Special Collections area. The remainder, which includes rare editions and signed volumes, are shelved within Archives & Special Collections.

Books on Display

• Chandler, Raymond – Farewell, My Lovely, PS3505 .H3224 F3
• Christie, Agatha – The Unexpected Guest, PR6065.S15 U54 1999
• Christie, Agatha – Agatha Christie: an autobiography, PR6005.H66 Z45 1977
• Clancy, Tom – Red Storm Rising, PS3553.L257 R4 1986
• Clark, Mary Higgins – All By Myself, Alone PS3553 .L287 A762 2017
• Coben, Harlan – Fool Me Once, PS3553.O225 F66 2016
• Cornwell, Patricia – Flesh and blood, PS3553.O692 F57 2014
• Craig, Patricia and Mary Cadogan – The lady investigates: women detectives and spies in fiction, PR830 .D4 C72 1981
• Crichton, Michael – Dragon teeth, PS3553.R48 D73 2017
• Dobson, Joanne – The raven and the nightingale : a modern mystery of Edgar Allan Poe, PS3554.O28 R38 1999
• Galbraith, Robert – The Cuckoo’s Calling, PR6068.O93 C83 2013
• Gardner, Erle Stanley – The case of the phantom fortune, PS3513.A6322 C3445 1964
• Gardner, Erle Stanley – The case of the duplicate daughter, PS3513.A6322 C377 1969
• Goodrum, Charles A. – Dewey decimated, PS3557.O59 D4 1977
• Grace, C.L. – The Book of Shadows, PR6054.O37 B66 1996
• Grafton, Sue – P is for Peril, PS3557.R13 P3, 2001
• Greenberg, Martin H. – Tales of the Batman, PN6728 .B36 T343 1995
• Hammett, Dashiell – The Maltese falcon, PS3515 .A34 M3 1957 (NOT Mystery)
• Hammett, Dashiell – Nightmare Town, PS3515.A34 A6 1999
• Highsmith, Patricia – The black house, PS3558 .I366 B53 1988
• Hughes, Dorothy B. – Erle Stanley Gardner: the case of the real Perry Mason, PS3513.A52 Z68
• King, Stephen – Firestarter, PS3561.I483 F57 1980
• King, Stephen – The eyes of the dragon, PS3561.I483 E9 1987
• Le Carre, John – A most wanted man, PR6062 .E33 M67 2008
• Lehane, Dennis – Mystic river, PS3562.E426 M97 2001
• Lippman, Laura – The best American mystery stories 2014, PS648 .D4 B47 2014
• McBain, Ed – Tricks: an 87th Precinct novel, PS3515 .U585 T7 1987
• McBain, Ed – Doll: an 87th precinct novel, PS3515.U585 D6 1965
• McGown, Jill – Murder at the old vicarage, PR6063 .C477 M8 1988
• Millar, Margaret – Beyond this point are monsters, PS3563 .I3725 B3 1970
• Mosley, Walter – Devil in a Blue Dress, PS3563.O86 D48 1990
• Paretsky, Sara – Women on the case, PS648 .D4 W54 1996
• Parker, Robert B. – Rough weather, PS3566 .A686 R68 2008
• Patterson, James – The big bad wolf, PS3566.A7892 B54 2003
• Perry, Anne – The twisted root, PR6066.E693 T88 1999
• Poe, Edgar Allan – Tales of mystery and imagination, PS2612 .A3 1987
• Rankin, Ian – Saints of the Shadow Bible, PR6068 .A57 S25 2014B
• Rendell, Ruth – The girl next door, PR6068.E63 G57 2014
• Roberts, Nora – Key of light, PS3568.O2459 K48 2003
• Sayers, Dorothy L. – The Scoop, PN6071 .D45 S3 1983
• Shatner, William – TekWar, PS3569.H347 T45 1989
• Stout, Rex – Fer-de-lance: a Nero Wolfe mystery, PS3537.T65 F43