Amateur in Violence

(CC) Photo: Jerry Bauer
Michael Gilbert on the back cover of Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens, 1982

Amateur in Violence is a collection of mystery stories by the British thriller writer Michael Gilbert, published in the United States in 1973 by Davis Publications, a publishing house for magazines, but not in England. The book is edited, and has an introduction by, Ellery Queen, the founder and long-term editor of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. It contains 10 stories and a short novel that had been previously uncollected in the United States. Some of them feature characters who have figured in other novels and short stories by Gilbert. Three stories feature Inspector Hazlerigg and four Inspector Petrella. The short novel, "Stay of Execution", had previously given its name to the title of a collection published in England in 1971.

Stories in order

• Introduction, page 4, by Ellery Queen
• Amateur in Violence, page 7, Inspector Hazlerigg
• Modus Operandi, page 15, Inspector Hazlerigg
• Tea Shop Assassin, page 25, Inspector Hazlerigg
• Something Like Hard Work, page 33, Chief Inspector Hazlerigg
• Balloons Will Be Released, page 39, Chief Inspector Hazlerigg
• The Awkward Customer, page 49, Chief Inspector Hazlerigg
• Follow the Leader, page 54, Chief Inspector Hazlerigg
• After All These Years, page 59, Henry Bohun
• Every Monday, A New Letter, page 63, Henry Bohun
• An Appealing Pair of Legs, page 68, Henry Bohun, plus a role for Superintendent Hazlerigg
• Money Is Honey, page 73 Henry Bohun, plus a mention of Superintendent Hazlerigg
• The Craven Case, page 94, Henry Bohun
• The Man at the Bottom, page 109, Detective Chief Inspector Mercer, plus a mention of Chief Superintendent Morrissey
• The Man in the Middle, page 128, Detective Chief Inspector Mercer, plus a role for Chief Superintendent Morrissey
• The Man at the Top, page 149, Detective Chief Inspector Mercer, plus an important role for Chief Superintendent Morrissey
• The Terrible Mrs. Barker, page 168, Detective Inspector Petrella
• Petrella's Holiday, page 182, Detective Inspector Petrella—Wilfred Wetherall, the protagonist of Fear to Tread, has a small but vital role
• The Man Who Hated Banks, page 208, Detective Inspector Petrella