


January 1960 Bantam reissue, first printing, first paperback edition
from the July 1957 Random House hardcover
also published as The Soft Talkers

1955 Crown hardcover
November 1956 Signet reissue
cover art by Robert Maguire
4th with Kansas City private eye Johnny April
3rd print March 1964

[both property of the host]

cover art by Peter Stevens
better image than previously posted
~ Fredric Brown, “Cry Silence” – his only appearance in BM, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010)
~ Curtis Cluff, “Overdose of Lead”, NYC PI Chuck Conrad, last of 4 stories in BM
~ Mel Colton, “Dead Men Can’t Welsh”, ‘Jimmy Rock, p.i.’, 1st of 2 stories in BM
~ William Campbell Gault, “The Bloody Bokhara”, ‘the carpet business!’, 8th of 9 stories in BM
~ Don M. Mankiewicz, “Odd on Death”, author’s sole appearance in BM
~ Tom Marvin, “Harm’s Way”, last of 3 stories in BM
~ Coleman Meyer, “Gun in His Back”, ‘cop story’, 2nd of 2 stories in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop


2005 Minotaur hardcover, first print, author’s debut noir novel, classic in that everybody burns