Category: crime fiction

May 1941 issue ~ cover art by Grant Hargis

May 1941 

cover art by Grant Hargis

Russell Gray, “Satan’s Watch Fob”

Philip Ketchum, “The Dead Sail Down to Rio”

Edith & Ejler Jacobson, “Through Hell’s Cold Portal”

William R. Cox, “Death’s Black Ace” (Tom Kincaid)

Ward Hawkins, “Roses for the Dying”

better image than previously posted

March 1936 issue ~ cover art by John Drew

March 1936 issue

cover art by John Drew

better image than previously posted

~ John K. Butler, “Guns for a Lady”, ‘ex-pug, 1st-person narrator; bodyguard for girl’, 2nd of 11 stories in BM

~ Paul Cain, “Pineapple”, ‘Nick Green & Blondie Kessler, police-reporter’, later released as one of the Seven Slayers (1950 Avon), reprinted in The Complete Slayers (2011 Centipede Press), 16th of 17 stories in BM

~ Raymond Chandler, “The Man Who Liked Dogs”, ‘1st of 4 Carmady stories, reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Omnibus (1946)‘ [Simon & Schuster, first hardcover and first book appearance], and Killer in the Rain (Hammish hc, 1964), 7th of 11 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “You Gotta Be Tough”, 1st of 4 stories with Paul Baron, 16th of 31 stories in BM

~ Thomas Walsh, “Diamonds Mean Death”, ‘Joe Keenan, private copper’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), last of 6 stories in BM

~ Edward S. Williams, “Death Has Green Eyes”, ‘Mike Dunneen, private ‘tec’, 1st of 8 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

[cover updated 10/27/25]

November 1943 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

November 1943 issue

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

~ William E. Brandon, “It’s So Peaceful in the Country”, ‘Horse Luvnik, ex-con goes to work for academic types, reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Detective (1977)’, last of 7 stories in BM

~ Merle Constiner, “Kill One, Skip One” ‘Luther McGavock, private detective; he works Atherton Browne who heads a Memphis-based agency, 5th of 11 of the McG stories; usually rural setting’, reprinted in Let the Dead Alone: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Luther McGavock (Steeger, 2020), 5th of 12 stories in BM

~ C.P. Donnel, Jr., “So Red the Ruby”, ‘Privates Maguire & Caldwell on a 3-day leave in NYC’, 16th of 20 stories in BM

~ Julius Long, “The Devil’s Jack-Pot”, ‘Addison Secore, criminal lawyer, is villain‘, 4th of 23 stories in BM

~ H.H. Stinson, “Two Rings for Murder”, ‘Sam South, loan company proprietor, & Nazi spies’, 18th of 27 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop