Marking the launch of the new Dime Crime series of classic crime fiction comes Valentine for a Dead Lady, an introduction to Mel Ames’s classic intrepid and daring Detective Cathy Carruthers. In the male dominated world of hard-boiled detectives, Ames’s genre changing Lieutenant Carruthers pioneered a new exciting direction with these fast-paced tales of vice and villainy.

Originally published in Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, Ames’s stories evoke the golden era of short crime stories that filled pulp magazines. This anthology compiles the first five stories of Detective Caruthers, with introductory story “A Matter of Observation” and four other expertly crafted tales of murder and deception. Years before Elmore Leonard introduced his smart and savvy female detective Karen Sisco, Mel Ames’s razor sharp Cathy Carruthers expertly and cleverly out manoeuvres duplicitous crooks and cynical partners to solve complex and nuanced homicides.

When originally published thirty years ago, these stories were praised for their originality and quality, as the editor of Mike Shayne stated that Ames’s serialised female detective stories “blend character, story and plot into an entertaining read” while Canada’s national newspaper the Globe & Mail declared Ames to be a “superior talent”.