cover art by Rafael DeSoto
better image than previously posted
John Lawrence, “Murder in the Family” (Marquis of Broadway)
Norbert Davis, “Give the Devil His Due” (Max Latin)
C.P. Donnel, Jr., “Footprints on the Ceiling” (Colonel Kaspir)
D.L. Champion, “Tell It to Homicide” (Inspector Allhoff)
Alan Anderson, “Prowl the Night”
March 1945 issue
cover art by Gloria Stoll
~ D.L. Champion, “Dead As in Blonde”, 17th of 26 with Rex Sackler, reprinted in Murder Costs Money: The Complete Black Mask Stories of Rex Sackler (Steeger, 2020), 19th of 30 stories in BM
~ Dale Clark, “Murder Had a Little Lamb”, 20th of 28 with house dick Mike O’Hanna story, at San Alpa Resort hotel, 23rd of 32 stories in BM
~ Merle Constiner, “Until the Undertaker Comes”, ‘Luther McGavock, private detective; he works Atherton Browne who heads a Memphis-based agency, 8th 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), 8th of 12 stories in BM
~ Julius Long, “Goon My Way?”, 4th of 17 stories with ‘Ben Corbett, D.A.’s chief investigator, 1st -person narrator’, 9th of 23 stories in BM
~ H.H. Stinson, “Get Your Own Corpse”, 12th of 14 with ‘Ken O’Hara, fighting reporter on Los Angeles Tribune’, 19th of 27 stories in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
cover art by John Fleming Gould
better image than previously posted
Carroll John Daly, “The Quick and the Dead” (Race Williams)
Frederick C. Davis, “The Ghoul Hangs High” (Keyhole Kerry)
D.L. Champion, “Lock the Death House Door!”
O.B. Myers, “Don’t Bet on Ghosts” (Doc Kincaid)
Mark Harper, “Frame for a Fall-Guy”
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 Rafael DeSoto
better image than previously posted
T.T. Flynn, “Hayseed Homicide”
Dale Clark, “Tag! You’re Dead” (Plates O’Rion)
D.L. Champion, “Go Home and Die! (Insp. Allhoff)
Cornell Woolrich, “What the Well-Dressed Corpse Will Wear”
Julius Long, “Accidents Will Happen”
cover art by John Fleming Gould
better image than previously posted
Carroll John Daly, “The White-Headed Corpse” (Race Williams)
Michael Sutton, “The Devil’s Portrait”
Jan Dana, “Too Week to Kill” (Acme Indemnity Op)
Dale Clark, “The Short and Merry One”
Roger Torrey, “Fire Test”
Maurice Beam, “Mind Over Matter”
Robert K. Adams, “Curtain Call”
D.L. Champion, “Dumb Dick”
cover art by Rafael DeSoto
better image than previously posted
Peter Paige, “The Riddle of Pap Rio” (Cash Wale)
H.H. Stinson, “The Good-Murder Policy” (Pete Rousseau)
D.L. Champion, “One Killer Too Many” (Insp. Allhoff)
Frederick C. Davis, “All This and Homicide Too” (Sam Squire of the Drumm Agency)
cover art by Rafael DeSoto
better image than previously posted
~ Francis K. Allan, “That Second Answer”, ‘Shamus Tim Hall of Hall & Branch, NYC; info on FKA, p.8’, 1st of 2 stories in BM, but only original appearance
~ D.L. Champion, “Murder By the Ears”, 10th of 26 with Rex Sackler, reprinted in Murder Costs Money: The Complete Black Mask Stories of Rex Sackler (Steeger, 2020), 11th of 30 stories in BM
~ C.P. Donnel, Jr., “Blood on the Book”, 11th of 16 with Colonel Walter (Doc) Rennie, USA Medical Corps, 11th of 20 stories in BM
~ John Lawrence, “Detour to Death”, last of 14 appearances in BM
~ Curt Siodmak, “Donovan’s Brain”, 2nd of 3 parts, serialization of the novel published in 1943, only 3 appearances in BM by the author and director
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
cover art by John Fleming Gould
better image than previously posted
D.L. Champion, “Cover the Corpse’s Eyes” (Insp. Allhoff)
Cornell Woolrich, “Charlie Won’t Be Home Tonight”
Sam Merwin, Jr., “Murder for Syndication”
Jan Dana, “The Second Loop” (Acme Indemnity Op)
Leslie T. White, “Me and My Shadow” (Omar MacKenzie)
[updated 2/2/26]
cover art by Rafael DeSoto
better image than previously posted
~ D.L. Champion, “Split Fee”, 4th of 26 with Sackler, 5th of 30 stories in BM
~ Dale Clark, “Hot Towels”, 5th of 28 with house dick Mike O’Hanna story, at San Alpa Resort hotel, 7th of 32 stories in BM
~ C.P. Donnel, Jr., “Death Do Us Part”, 4th of 16 with Colonel Walter (Doc) Rennie, USA Medical Corps psychiatrist, 4th of 20 stories in BM
~ Robert Reeves, “The Cat with a Headache”, 5th of 10 with PI Cellini Smith, reprinted in Dead and Done For: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Cellini Smith (Steeger, 2020), 6th of 12 appearances in BM
~ Stewart Sterling, “Over My Dead Body”, 4th of 9 stories with ‘Special Squad (Bomb & Forgery); see p.8 for note by SS on story’, 7th of 12 stories under this name in BM [Sterling and Stirling were pen names of Nathaniel Prentice Winchell, 20 total stories in BM]
~ Roger Torrey, “Snakes in the Grass”, ‘3rd of Bryant (4 stories), a regular U.S. Army man, who works in a CCC camp; 1st-person narrator’, ‘- in a Southern CCC camp’, 49th of 50 appearances in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
reprint of June 1941 US issue
SMB Noir 
