Jack Vance wrote mystery and suspense novels under his given name of John Holbrook Vance. The three mysteries featured here, The Fox Valley Murders, The Pleasant Grove Murders and The Dark Ocean, were produced during the mid-60s, in the same years that Jack sent Cugel the Clever off exploring the Dying Earth in The Eyes of the Overworld, left Sklar Hast to face danger among the kragen in The Blue World and gave Kirth Gersen a third Demon Prince to track down in The Palace of Love. These stories include adventures for Sheriff Joe Bain in Central California's San Rodrigo County, a setting as intricate and closely observed as any of his science fiction and fantasy creations. He also wrote of Betty Haverhill and her experiences aboard the Italian freighter Garda on its way to Europe.