Detective Scattergood Baines

MYSTERY ENTHUSIASTS WILL BE CHARMED BY SCATTERGOOD BAINES! Critics sing praises of the Scattergood Baines Mystery Stories: 'Baines is an American icon ... the most amusing and intriguing of rural minds. A man who, in his life and daily actions, embodied the astute down-easterner, protector and solver of neighbors' issues. And when Baines becomes a detective, our joy knows no bounds.' That quintessential American figure, that magazine and film favorite—Scattergood Baines—had his unique manhunting approach. 'I don't put much stock in clues, not the kind you can see or touch.' He could 'grasp the true essence' of an assault and robbery—and that's genuine detective work. Scattergood Baines embodies the role of a genuine detective, in the purest American tradition. 'The scenario: Justice tempered by compassion. Scattergood runs the town from his hardware store. He wakes early, enjoys a 'light breakfast of flannel cakes, baked beans, salt pork, and two kinds of pie—not to mention porridge, hot biscuits, and coffee.' When one of his farmer neighbors is robbed, he determines the culprit by pondering the county's residents with personalities fitting the crime's manner.' The Scattergood Baines Method: 'He reclined on the specially reinforced chair on the piazza of his hardware store, removed his shoes and socks, and began to wiggle his toes—to his wife Mandy's dismay. His mind worked more freely when his toes were unrestrained, allowing him to wriggle them as he pondered.' Here are 12 classic mysteries featuring the three-hundred-pound Sage of Coldriver. Outsmart Scattergood as he unravels bank robberies, fraud, impersonation, forgery, smuggling, and other criminal activities, including murder. Written during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, and published in the same magazines as Rex Stout, Agatha Christie, and Erle Stanley Gardner, most Scattergood Baines tales have never been reprinted before. For fans of Nero Wolfe, Miss Marple, and Father Brown, this unique collection, selected from The Saturday Evening Post and The American Magazine, is an unparalleled delight. Join this renowned detective as he wriggles his toes through such conundrums as: The Missing Organ Fund, Scattergood Becomes a Private Detective, Scattergood Sums up the Evidence, Scattergood Causes a Snake to Bite, Scattergood Takes to His Bed, The Touchstone, A Piece of String, Scattergood Discovers Society, Dancing Daughter, Angel in the Woods, Leopards Don't Change Spots, Scattergood Pulls the Strings, Scattergood and the Bearded Brothers.

• The Organ Fund's Disappearance: Scattergood Investigates
• Scattergood's New Venture: Private Detective
• Scattergood's Method: Summarizing the Evidence
• Snake Bite Incident: Scattergood's Involvement
• Scattergood's Bedtime Pondering: A Case Study
• The Touchstone Enigma: Scattergood's Take
• The String Puzzle: Scattergood's Approach
• Scattergood Discovers High Society: A Case
• Dancing Daughter: Scattergood's Involvement
• Angel in the Woods: Scattergood's Investigation
• Leopards' Spots: Scattergood's Unchanging Suspects
• Scattergood's Master Plan: Pulling Strings
• The Bearded Brothers' Case: Scattergood's Involvement