""Cops on the Box"" have been among the most popular series on television for many years. From the days of Edgar Lustgarten's Scotland Yard by way of Softly, Softly; Maigret; The Professionals and more recently, New Columbo, these stories of crime busters battling to bring criminals to justice have proved to be enormously popular with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. This collection brings together for the first time a number of the short stories on which these series were based, most by writers whose names are now automatically linked with the genre, including such legendary authors from the past as George Harmon Coxe and Elwyn Jones to current leading contributors like Dick Francis and Ruth Rendell. This is a book for all fans of detective fiction -- as well as enthusiasts of TV crime series.