In the Spotlight
Full Henry von Stray Series Review
by Kevin Burton Smith
in
THRILLING DETECTIVE
https://thrillingdetective.com/2025/09/24/henry-von-stray/
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“I loved the delightful [Henry von Stray] characters, the history, the voice, the puzzles, the twists and turns. I loved the military details, the footnotes, the humor, the Benevolent Walnuts…. I invite you to take a step back in time and experience the Golden Age of Detection…” —Derringer winner
Stacy Woodson (From the Introduction to A Casebook of Crime, Vol. 2 - Coming March 2026)
“Recovering the first [von Stray] story was a brilliant find, but continuing the series reveals a different kind of brilliance. More than mimicry or some elevated form of pastiche, these von Stray stories—one by John McAleer, three now by Andrew—strike me as true collaborations, the father as a young boy and son as a grown man speaking with one shining voice.”
—Edgar winner Art Taylor (From the Introduction to A Casebook of Crime)
“Andrew McAleer’s light-hearted Henry von Stray extravaganzas give fresh life to characters first created by his Edgar-winning father John more than eighty-five years ago – quite something!”
—Martin Edwards, Diamond Dagger recipient, Edgar Award-winner, President of the Detection Club
“A Casebook of Crime…will attract detective fiction readers…Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts will delight in how these step-by-step von Stray cases evolve with increasing suspense, complexity, and discovery. The result is hard to put down, thoroughly engrossing, and representative of the best of Golden Age approaches to impossible clue-solving and intrigue.” —Midwest Book Review
“Sit back and savour original mystery tales written exclusively by Edgar Allan Poe and Shamus Award-winning authors… In something of a coup John McAleer’s ‘The Case of the Illustrious Banker’ makes its debut more than 80 years since it was written, and 40 years before he won an Edgar Award.”
—Crime Fiction Lover
“John McAleer’s Coign of Vantage should please mystery lovers on several levels. This is also a book for lovers of sophisticated dialogue, fanciers of libraries and bookish matters, and those who appreciate their tales laced with romance, satire, and wit.”
—Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
Art Taylor's the First Two Pages
In Edgar winner John McAleer’s “The Case of the Illustrious Banker,” 1920s London-based detective Henry von Stray and his able collaborator in the detection of crime Professor John W. Dilpate are up against a “nippy bit of work” in one of their most baffling cases yet. Discovered more than eight decades after first penned, “Illustrious Banker” makes its debut in Edgar & Shamus Go Golden. McAleer—forty years before he would win the Edgar Award unanimously beating out Christie’s autobiography—created von Stray and Dilpate in 1937 during the Golden Age of Mystery. (Down & Out Books)
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Mystery Readers Journal
https://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2025/03/basement-to-bestseller-casebook-of.html
Boston College Bookmarks
https://bcbookmarks.com/2025/05/22/mcaleers-henry-von-stray-is-on-the-case/
The Big Thrill
Rave Reviews
Featured in the Press
Author Spotlight
About the Authors
Andrew McAleer is the author of numerous books including the best-selling A Casebook of Crime Volume One and the 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists. Crime fiction works edited by Mr. McAleer have won the Agatha, Derringer, and Macavity Awards. He taught classic crime fiction at Boston College and served in Afghanistan as a U.S. Army Historian before returning to public service in the criminal justice system. He is a member of the Private Eye Writers of America and editor of Crimestalker Casebook.
John McAleer - Edgar Allan Poe Award-winning author of Rex Stout: A Biography and Pulitzer finalist for Emerson: Days of Encounter. Professor McAleer taught English at Harvard and then Boston College for more than half a century and was also a permanent fellow at Durham University, England. McAleer created 1920s London-based private detective Henry von Stray in the 1930s, during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. McAleer’s World War Two service interrupted the series and all the stories were believed lost until an original von Stray manuscript was discovered more than 80 years later.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
Andrew McAleer, a mystery writer, classic crime fiction educator at Boston College, and U.S. Army Historian, seamlessly picks up where the elder McAleer left off almost a century ago, brilliantly and authentically capturing—and not without a touch of light humor—von Stray’s thrilling adventures and unique methods of crime detection through 1920s England. So authentic in fact mystery lovers will virtually travel back in time and escape to a bygone era where they will take genuine delight in these timeless, best-selling classic-puzzle whodunits whilst pitting their powers of detection against the celebrated Detective Henry von Stray.
(Level Best Books)
Welcome to
Professor John W. Dilpate's
Detective Henry von Stray Museum of
Criminal Case Artifacts
As the official narrator of the remarkable adventures concerning the world's foremost criminologist of his time,
Detective Henry von Stray, I remain at my post providing his dedicated followers with the latest updates and artifacts
from his fascinating casefiles.
--Professor John W. Dilpate (Curator Henry von Stray Museum)
Figure 1. - Only known photograph of von Stray's archrival Le Count Vindicata Noir. Thanks to my exceptional photography skills I captured a remarkably clear photograph of this dark and sinister leader of the mysterious and treacherous criminal fraternity - the "Troupe Benighted." Von Stray's and the Count's latest duel of wits appears in my upcoming adventure, "The Case of the Counterfeit Count." (Level Best Books - 2027) --Prof. John W. Dilpate
Figure 2. - Photograph of the actual hemp rope given to von Stray and me by our dear friend, Gurnet Lighthouse Keeper, Austin Quinby. The rope proved most helpful in guiding us along the treacherous Devil's Plank during a rather bothersome pea-soup fog. Readers of these narratives will recall this chilling event from one of our more baffling cases, The Big Push or Legend of Sir Moreleans' Lost Pearls. The old rope is warn and frayed now, but the rope knot seen here is the very one tied by Quinby more than a century ago. I daresay this knot saved von Stray's life and remains to this day one of my most treasured artifacts collected during my long association with the inimitable detective Henry von Stray.
--Prof. John W. Dilpate
Figure 3. - A rare glimpse of original manuscript pages contained in one of my von Stray casefiles where I document the famous detective's amazing exploits in the fight against crime. This photograph--kindness of Inspsector Stephen Renyalds of Scotland Yard--features on the left, the ending of a published von Stray adventure, and on the right, the beginning of what proved to be one of our more difficult riddles, The Secret of the Left-Sided Cipher. After much shilly shallying by the Crown, I am delighted to report that we have at long last, received authorization from the proper authority to publish this amazing narrative with our prestigious American publishers Level Best Books. Release - March 2026. --Prof. John W. Dilpate
Figure 4. - I can still see my dear friend Henry von Stray sitting in his easy chair seen here, poring over his many scrapbooks during one of our more tragic cases, The Broken Face Affair. Our easy chairs were located in our lodging's cheery sitting-room overlooking Berkeley Square, London. The famous easy chair disappeared for many years, however, after my long quest it was found and, after being authenticated by me, it is now preserved by our dear friend and literary representative Dr. John McAleer. Presently, the chair sits in his own cheery study. The Crown attempted to enjoin the publication of The Broken Face Affair, however, after some rather fancy dancing by our prestigious American publishers, Level Best Books, this extraordinary adventure will be available to the public in March 2027.
--Prof. John W. Dilpate
Figure 5. - Famous Brady photograph of the great American stage actor Barney McNulty. The dashingly handsome actor certainly strikes a magnificent pose here in his portrayal of Dr. John Robinson. McNulty played no small role in helping bring our puzzling assignment in The Big Push to a favorable resolution. He was so impressed with von Stray's handling of the matter that he gave von Stray a cherished personal item that my friend rarely traveled without during his amazing exploits as Europe's most revered and feared private detective. I document the events meticulously in A Casebook of Crime - Vol. 1.
--Prof. John W. Dilpate
Get in Touch
For media inquiries or autograph book labels kindly reach out to Henry von Stray's literary representative, Andrew McAleer: asmcaleer@aol.com
Instagram: McAleermysteries or Henry von Stray
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