November 1950 issue ~ cover art by Norman Saunders

November 1950

cover art by Norman Saunders

better image than previously posted

Robert Martin, “Slayers Burn Slow” (Jim Bennett)

Donn Mullally, “A Bullet for Baby”

T.T. Flynn, “Build-Up for Murder”*

Rufus Bakalor, “Homicidal Hobby”

Raymond Drennan, Jr., “Killer’s Luck”

John D. MacDonald, “Tri-Kill Cutie”

*reprint from 1941

January 1948 issue ~ cover art by Paul Stevens

January 1948 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by Peter Stevens

~ Curtis Cluff, “Snow at Waikiki”, 1st of 3 with Honolulu PI Johnny Ford, ‘1st-person narrator, ‘snow=heroin’, 1st of 4 stories in BM

~ Merle Constiner, “Bury Me Not”, ‘Luther McGavock, private detective; he works for Atherton Browne who heads a Memphis-based agency, last 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), last of 12 stories in BM

~ Norman A. Daniels, “Death is No Stranger”, Rick Trent, ex-PI, ex-con, 1st person narrator, 3rd of 4 stories in BM

~ Robert C. Dennis, “Murder Tops the Cast”, 4th of 6 with ‘William (Willie) Carmody, Confidential Investigations & Margaret O’Leary, writer, Hollywood, WC is first-person narrator’, 4th of 10 stories in BM

~ C.P. Donnel, Jr., “Keep the Killing Quiet”, ‘1st-person narrator’, last of 20 stories in BM

~ George F. Kull, “Red Christmas”, ‘in Reno‘, 1st of 2 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

[updated 2/28/26]

cover art by George Gross

George Gross (American, 1909-2003)
oil on canvas, 16-1/2 x 12-1/8 inches (41.9 x 30.8 cm) (image), not signed

George Gross originally created this work for use as the cover of the October, 1952 issue of the pulp digest Special Detective. After publication, as was a common practice, he reworked the background slightly, adding grey curtains to the upper edges of the scene.



In this final form, the work got a second life as paperback cover art for The Mistress by Colin Ross (Beacon Books, 1958).