“A locked-room mystery preoccupies Boucher’s brilliant clerical sleuth, Sister Ursula, in this stellar entry . . . a witty satire of SF and fantasy authors.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Legendary science fiction author Fowler Foulkes may be dead, but his creation, the iconic Dr. Derringer, lives on in popular culture. Or, at least, the character would live on if not for Foulkes’s predatory and greedy heir Hilary, who, during his time as the inflexible guardian of the estate, has created countless enemies in the relatively small community of writers of the genre. So when he is stabbed nearly to death in a room with only one door, which nobody was seen entering or exiting, Foulkes suspects a writer. Fearing that the assailant will return, he asks for police protection, and when more potentially-fatal encounters follow, it becomes clear to Detective Terry Marshall and his assistant, the inquisitive nun, Sister Ursula, that death awaits Mr. Foulkes around every corner. Now, they’ll have to work overtime to thwart the would-be murderer―a task that requires a deep dive into the strange, idiosyncratic world of science fiction in its early days.
With characters based heavily on Anthony Boucher’s friends at the Manana Literary Society, including Robert Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and Jack Parsons, Rocket to the Morgue is both a classic locked room mystery and an enduring portrait of a real-life writing community. Reprinted for the first time in over thirty years, the book is a must-read for fans of mysteries and science fiction alike.
“A privileged and unusual glimpse into a specific time and place concerning the formation of the Golden Age of American science fiction.” —MysteryTribune
- Arab American Heritage Month
- National Autism Awareness Month
- National Poetry Month
- Blake Crouch: Dark Matter and More
- She doesn't even go here!: For fans of Mean Girls
- April Showers Bring May Flowers
- Not Just Another Teen Book- YA for Adults
- Retro Reads - Books from the 1900s
- New eBook additions
- Page to Screen
- Best Books of 2023
- Sustainable Living
- Career & Self Help
- See all
- Arab American Heritage Month
- National Autism Awareness Month
- Poetry Is Meant To Be Spoken
- National Poetry Month
- She doesn't even go here!: For fans of Mean Girls
- April Showers Bring May Flowers
- Page to Screen
- Not Just Another Teen Book- YA for Adults
- Retro Reads - Books from the 1900s
- New audiobook additions
- Now Available! Popular Audiobooks You May Have Missed
- Best Books of 2023
- #LiveYourBestLife Adult Reads
- See all
- #ownvoices / Diverse Books
- Antiracism Resources
- Sheet Music & Song Books
- Bücher auf Deutsch / Books in German
- Civil Service Test Prep
- The Great Courses
- QuickReads Collection
- See all