
1953 Morrow hardcover
1962 Great Pan reissue – cover art by Harry Sheldon
44th Perry Mason novel
better image than previously posted

1953 Morrow hardcover
1962 Great Pan reissue – cover art by Harry Sheldon
44th Perry Mason novel
better image than previously posted

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer
~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “The Crime Crusher”, 32th Ed Jenkins & his wife Helen Chadwick, 1st of a 3-part story, 49th of 99 stories in BM
~ Dashiell Hammett, “Dagger Point”, Ned Beaumont, 3rd of 4 stories that will go together to make up The Glass Key (published 1931), 43rd of 45 stories in BM
~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Slowdown Hands”, 14th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, 18th of 39 stories in BM
~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Street Wolf”, ’Napoleon Damiani, gangster’, 23 of 67 stories in BM
~ Reuben Jennings Shay, “Backfire”, 1st of 2 in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

9th with private eye team Bertha Cool and Donald Lam



August 1950 issue ~ cover art by Rudolph Belarski

published in 1951 by Heinemann in London as An Axe to Grind. this the 1960 Australian edition by Horowitz


cover art by Harry Bennett
better image than previously posted

41st Perry Mason novel

cover photo of Ellen Burstyn by Silver Studios

1961 Great Pan edition from the UK – cover art by Sam Peffer

November 1962 Pocket reissue, 5th printing
cover art Robert McGinnis
better image than previously posted

better image than previously posted
cover art by Fred Craft
~ John L. Chambliss, “The Contact”, NYC PI Schuyler Blake, only appearance in BM
~ Raymond Chandler, “Blackmailers Don’t Shoot”, his debut in BM, his first published writing, 1st of 2 with PI Mallory, 1st of 11 stories in BM, first book appearance in Five Murderers (Avon digest, 1944), reprinted in Red Wind (Tower hc, 1946), The Smell of Fear (Hamish Hamilton/UK hc, 1965), Midnight Raymond Chandler (Houghton Mifflin hc, 1971), The Black Mask Boys (Morrow, 1985)
~ Eugene Cunningham, “Chalk”, 2nd of 5 with undercover Texas Ranger Cleve Corby, 8th of 14 stories in BM
~ Tom Curry, “Clancy Takes the Air”, Clancy, NYPD 1st grade dick, author’s last of 39 stories in BM
~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Dead Men’s Shoes”, 53th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, ‘The Phantom Crook’ with Ngat T’oy, 77th of 99 stories in BM
~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Murder Again”, ‘L.A. County dicks; Hollywood story’, 65th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

better image than previously posted
cover art by Fred Craft
~ Tom Curry, “The Raiders”, 11th of 23 with Macnamara (Mac), NYPD 1st grade dick, 18th of 39 stories in BM
~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “The Wax Wagon”, 17th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, with Helen Chadwick & Soo Hoo Duck, 27th of 99 stories in BM
~ Dashiell Hammett, “The Cleansing of Poisonville”, 1st of 4 Continental Op stories that will go together to make up Red Harvest (published 1929), 26th of 45 stories in BM
~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Get Burton”, 8th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, 10th of 39 stories in BM
~ Raymond Emery Lawrence, “Riker Accomodates” [spelling in Hagemann], ‘aviator’, 1st of 2 stories in BM
~ John W. McCardell, “The Return of Gun Eagen”, ‘Western’, 1st of 2 stories in BM
~ Frederick L. Nebel, “With Benefit of Law”, ’boxing & crooks’, reprinted in Street Wolf (Altus Press, 2014), 9 of 67 stories in BM
~ Everett H. Tipton, “One Bad Man”, ‘Western’, 1st of 7 stories in BM
~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Red Pearls”, ‘police dick, Lou Kyle’, 16th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer
better image than previously posted
~ Ramon Decolta (Raoul Whitfield), “The Javanese Mask”, 1st of 2 stories in this issue by RFW, Jo Gar, 17th of 24 Gar stories in BM, reprinted in West of Guam: The Complete Cases of Jo Bar (Altus Press, 2013)
~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Strictly Personal”, 39th of 73 Ed Jenkins, ‘Jenkins’ return after death of his wife, Helen, which had broken him; out of hospital & in Chinatown with Lui Sing Fong’, [patriarchal master of Chinatown], last of 3 connected stories (7/1931 and 9/1931), 56th of 99 stories in BM
~ Ed Lybeck, “Leaded Ink”, ’debut of Francis St. Xavier Harrigan, reporter on Leader’, 1st of 4 stories in BM
~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Some Die Young”, 16th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in Winter Kill: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kenney, v.2 (Altus, 2013), 37 of 67 stories in BM
~ Henry Wallace Phillips, “For Sale, The Golden Queen”, ‘Western; Agamemnon Jones & Hy, 1st-person narrator, Golden Queen is a gold mine’, 7th of 8 with Red Saunders, 11th of 12 stories in BM
~ Stewart Stirling, (possible pseud. of Stewart Sterling?), “600 to 1”, 5th of 8 stories with ‘Johnny Hi Gear, a.k.a. K-5, Undercover Agent’ with ‘King Collis, Negro policy king; racial slurs’
~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Unfair Exchange”, ‘Alan Van Cleve, wealthy sportsman, man-about-town, 5th (of 6) segment in The Skyline Murders series; printed as separate stories rather than conventional serial’; pub. as Killer’s Carnival (1932) under pseudonym of Temple Field’, 2nd story in this issue, 53rd of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop