Bradbury, Ray. “The Town Where No One Got Off.”
A tale of suspense, centering on the desire to commit the “perfect crime.”
Doyle, Arthur Conan. “The Adventure of the Blue Diamond.”
An exercise in deduction assumes importance as connections with a crime are made. The lesson: forgive and forget.
___. “The Adventures of the Speckled Band.”
A locked room mystery which hinges on “detecting” rather than on “seeing.”
Jackson, Shirley. “Louisa, Please Come Home.”
A mysterious tale, rather than a tale of mystery. Again, seeing/not seeing is a theme.
Saki. “The Open Window.”
An expert young “storyteller,”
i.e
., liar, creates havoc.
Tellez, Hernando. “Lather and Nothing Else.”
A suspense tale centering on a revolutionary’s thoughts as he considers committing murder. Surprise ending.
Wright, Betty Ren. “The Mother Goose Madman.”
All stories listed above are widely anthologized. I will add other stories to the unit once I am teaching it.