Victorian Villainy — Michael Kurland

In the tradition of the old Ace Double two-in-one books (flip one book over to read the other), here's the seventh Wildside Mystery Double: VICTORIAN VILLAINY: A Collection of Moriarty Stories, by Michael Kurland. Among the world's great fictional villains, Prof. James Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes's chief nemesis, stands alone. But how evil was he? These four stories suggest that Moriarty wasn't evil at all--and the reason for Holmes's characterization of him as "The Napoleon of Crime" was quite simple: Moriarty was the smarter of the two, and Holmes just couldn't stand it! Great Victorian mystery tales! THE TRIALS OF QUINTILIAN: Three Stories of Rome's Greatest Detective, by Michael Kurland. Set at the height of the Roman Empire, these tales chronicle one of the few actual crime-solvers known to have lived in the ancient world. Quintilian, a teacher, jurist, and friend of Emperor Vespasian, was also something of a detective. The first tale in this volume, "Blind Justice," is based on an actual case he's said to have solved while acting as defense counsel in a trial. Great historial mysteries!