The Incredibly Prolific Edward Hoch

Written By ZUrlocker

I was introduced to Edward Hoch’s short stories by renowned mystery editor and publisher Otto Penzler. Hoch was a legendary short story writer publishing almost a thousand short stories including a 35 year streak in every issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine from 1966 until his death in 2008. (Actually, he still had a couple stories in the queue.)

Hoch had several different series characters. I’ve become a huge fan of three in particular:

  • Capt. Leopold - Hoch published more than 100 police procedurals

  • Sebastian Blue - A short-lived series of 14 Interpol stories

  • Rand - My favorite are the Rand spy stories

He’s got plenty of others though including thief Nick Velvet, Sam Hawthorne with his impossible murders and more.

Hoch was not the greatest writer, but his stories have a consistent puzzle structure that makes them fun to read and satisfying.

With so many stories, it’s virtually impossible to read all his work, though I’m buying an awful lot of old EQMM back-issues to get as many Rand stories as I can. Crippen & Landru have reprinted several collections of his works. I highly recommend the Leopold, Rand and Blue books.

ZUrlocker

Zack Urlocker is a tech executive, writer, musician, cyclist and occasional marathon runner.

Next

New Book Trailer