
cover by Norman Saunders
better image than previously posted


cover art by Peter Stevens
~ D.L. Champion, “Down Payment on Death”, 24th of 26 stories with Rex Sackler, reprinted in Murder Costs Money: The Complete Black Mask Stories of Rex Sackler (Steeger, 2020), 26th of 30 stories in BM
~ Bruno Fischer, “Middleman for Murder”, ‘Willie, narrator, is blackmailer, etc.’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 3rd of 5 stories in BM
~ William Campbell Gault, “The Case of the Sleeping Beauty”, 4th of 5 with PI Mortimer Jones, reprinted in Hot-House Homicide: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Mortimer Jones (Steeger, 2925), 5th of 9 stories in BM
~ R.M.F. Joses, “Red Pearls”, 2nd of 3 with ‘Hollywood private snoop Duane, 1st person narrator’, 2nd of 4 stories in BM
~ Julius Long, “Call in the Coroner”, last of 17 stories with ‘Ben Corbett, D.A.’s chief investigator, 1st -person narrator’, 22nd of 23 stories in BM
~ H.H. Stinson, “Please Kill Me Carefully”, “Ned Healey, L.A. private eye’, 25th of 27 stories in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

same cover art but different content

cover art by L.L. Balcom
better image than previously posted
~ John Ayotte, “A Pillar of Flame”, 2nd of 10 stories in BM
~ Raymond J. Brown, “Phantom Bullets”, part 3 of 5, only work in BM
~ Randal J. Carnes, “Civilized”, only story in BM
~ Ralph Cummins, “The Gas Heater Mystery”, 2nd of 3 stories in BM
~ Frederick C. Davis, “All Things Considered”, 3rd of 16 stories in BM (Davis won’t appear again in BM until 8/38)
~ Fairfax Downey, “Blood or Wine”, 1st of 2 stories in BM
~ John B. Hyde, “The Black Fin”, author’s sole appearance in BM
~ Harford Powel, Jr., “Mystery Ship” and “How Two Men Died”, a ‘brief-brief’, 2nd and 3rd pieces in BM
~ J. Fortune Reade, “The End of the Measure”, 1st of 3 stories in BM
~ Charles Somerville, “A Crook Deluxe”, 7th of 47 articles in the articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, reprinted in 5 parts through consecutive issues of Flynn’s Weekly Detective Fiction, July 23 – August 20, 1927 issue, 7th of 49 total articles in BM
~ Joe Taylor, “Alias Claire”, 7th of 12 tales in ‘My Underworld’ series, 8th of 13th appearances in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

1941 Morrow hardcover
4th in the Bertha Cool & Donald Lam series

cover art by George A. Frederiksen/ mapback by Ruth Belew


1951 British Pocket paperback edition
cover art by Roland Davies

1959 Panther edition from Britain – cover art by Ley Kenton

1952. Dell reissue – cover art by Carl Bobertz

1957 Dell reissue – cover illustration by by Push-Pin Studios

April 1962 Dell reissue – cover art by Harry Bennett

1967 Dell reissue – cover art by Robert Abbett