Do you remember the old days when everyone gave rare books as gifts at the holidays? When you’d come rushing down the stairs in your pajamas to see whether you were going to be the proud owner of a first edition of The Call of the Wild with the tipped-in color plates, or maybe another Bond book to add to your collection of American firsts with those weird, beautiful dust jackets? Okay, those times never were, but they could be! This could be the year we all decide to give rare, limited edition, or just plain cool books as gifts to our friends and family. Anyway a website can dream. On the off chance you’re so inclined, as we are, to make this dream a reality and to make some loved ones a little confused at first but ultimately really happy, we’ve created a small guide to get you going.
Here are 20 rare and collectible books that we think would make really nice holiday gifts for the crime and mystery lovers in your life. They’re broken up by listed value, with links to online book dealers offering them now. Also, we’ve included a bit of guidance so that you can help determine which lucky person gets which book in the coming weeks. Happy holidays! Books are just the best.
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$25 – $100
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For the coolest person you know…
Signed first edition of Walter Mosley’s Devil in a Blue Dress.
From Mystery Mike, $25.
For your friend who only reads vintage crime written by men…
The Women Crime Writers of the 1940s & 50s Box Set, ed. Sarah Weinman.
From Library of America. $60.
Go on, get them two gifts…
First edition of Barbara Neely’s Blanche on the Lam.
From bookfever.com $55.
For your expat cousin who has a complicated relationship with America…
Serie noir edition of Chester Himes’s Couche dans le pain. (Real Cool Killers).
From Between the Covers Rare Books. $80.
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$100 – $200
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For the Kinsey Millhone in your life, may we all have one forevermore…
First edition of Sue Grafton’s E is for Evidence.
From Mystery Mike. $125.
For your uncle who dreams of being a hard-nosed police detective…
Limited edition of Michael Connelly’s The Late Show.
From The Mysterious Bookshop. $150.
For your uncle who dreams of being a hard-nosed private detective…
The Ross Macdonald Collection (3 volumes), ed. Tom Nolan.
From Library of America. $82.50
For your chic co-worker who gives off that seedy Hollywood bungalow vibe…
Numbered, signed Bibliomysteries edition of Megan Abbott’s “The Little Men.”
From The Mysterious Bookshop. $80.
For your significant other who dreams of being a fugitive / con artist…
The Ripley Box Set (Patricia Highsmith, Ripley Novels).
From The Folio Society. $155.
For your cousin who’s about to start law school…
First edition of Scott Turow’s One L.
From the Mysterious Bookshop. $175.
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$200 – $500
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For your friend with some serious demons but also great taste…
First edition of James Ellroy’s The Black Dahlia, inscribed by the author—”Blood Crud!”
From Charles Parkhurst Rare Books. $200.
For your old soul colleague who deserves nice things…
First edition of Ellery Queen’s There Was an Old Woman.
From Mystery Pier Books. $350.
For your slightly dissolute but still very bookish good buddy…
Signed first edition of James Crumley’s first mystery, The Wrong Case.
From the Mysterious Bookshop, $400.
For your classiest aunt…
Signed first edition of Sara Paretsky’s Indemnity Only.
From Jeff Hirsch Books. $500.
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$500+
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For the consummate New Yorker in your life…
First edition of Lawrence Block’s A Stab in the Dark, the fourth Matthew Scudder novel.
From Mystery Pier. $725.
For your design school crush who might also be a closet Sherlockian…
Sherlock Holmes for Japanese Schoolchildren, 1928.
From Honey & Wax. $850.
For your film and noir and Hollywood obsessed sibling…
First edition of Raymond Chandler’s The Little Sister.
From Peter Harrington Books, 875 pounds.
For your partner who loves mystery and also goofy Netflix Christmas movies…
Signed first edition of Agatha Christie’s The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (and a Selection of Entrees).
From Mystery Pier Books. $4,500.
For your slick con artist friend who’s going to get your $5,000 one way or another…
First edition of David Maurer’s The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game.
From Between the Covers. $5,000.
For the (twisted, morbid, mysterious) person you love most…
Deluxe Limited Edition of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination, signed by Harry Clarke.
From Honey & Wax. $8000.
