First Edition. Hawkins dustjacket art. Rare hard-boiled mystery by this author who died young in 1945.
first novel with private eye Cellini Smith
there had been seven Smith short stories published in Black Mask Magazine by the time of the author’s death.
“First Edition. Author’s only mystery, one which tells the tale of gangland violence in the American west. The author was a Denver detective.“
[updated 12/27/25]
1932 Grosset & Dunlap hardcover
“True First Edition (and Photoplay Edition of sorts). Mach Tey dustjacket art featuring the actress Louise Brooks. Author’s first book. Chicago underworld, gang warfare and murder. ‘You’ll love this heroine who staked her life to save her brother from the trap into which they had both fallen’.”
