In 1950, experts at Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine voted on the best detective stories ever written, and the result was this dazzling dozen. Two of the choices—Edgar Allan Poe's "The Purloined Letter" and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Red-Headed League"—were regarded by their authors as their finest short stories. The remaining tales offer similarly high levels of excitement and mystery.

Featured stories include G. K. Chesterton's "The Invisible Man," from The Innocence of Father Brown; "Suspicion" by Dorothy L. Sayers; Aldous Huxley's "The Gioconda Smile"; and "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole" by Thomas Burke. Additional tales include "The Avenging Chance" by Anthony Berkeley; "The Absent-Minded Coterie" by Robert Barr; Jacques Futrelle's "The Problem of Cell 13"; Melville D. Post's "Naboth's Vineyard"; "The Yellow Slugs" by H. C. Bailey; and E. C. Bentley's "The Genuine Tabard."