A collection of obscure, forgotten gems from early mystery writers, several who struggled to attain recognition within their lifetimes. In “The Red Room,” a man who sought fortune in gold-prospecting is tricked into an elaborate murder chamber. In “The Statement of Jared Johnson,” a young model appears to have been bludgeoned by a maniac—but was the killer even human? These underappreciated vintage gems, written by contemporaries of Doyle, Poe, and Collins, showcase the mingling of the logical and the Gothic that makes whodunits so compulsively readable.