fergus truslow – SMB Noir

May 1949 issue

May 1949 issue

cover art attributed to both Norman Saunders and Peter Stevens

~ Ed Barcelo, “Suicidal Slay Ride”, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Bruno Fischer, “Five O’Clock Menace”, ‘1^st-person narrator in barber’s chair, reprinted, The Hard-Boiled Detective (1977)’, 4^th of 5 stories in BM

~ John P. Foran, “Copper, Come Back to Me”, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ John D. MacDonald, “Murder in One Syllable”, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 4^th of 6 stories in BM

~ Robert Martin, “Death’s Glass Slipper”, 2nd of 6 stories with ‘Dr. Clint Colby, medical detective’, 4^th of 8 stories in BM

~ Marian O’Hearn, “Diary of a Deadly Dame”, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Fergus Truslow, “Pardon My Poison Platters”, ‘the record business’, last of 6 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

March 1948 issue ~ cover art by Peter Stevens

March 1948 issue

cover art by Peter Stevens

better image than previously posted

November 1945 issue ~ cover art by Samuel Cherry

cover art by Samuel Cherry

November 1945 issue

better image than previously posted

G.T. Fleming-Roberts, “Medium Dead” (Jeffrey Wren )

T.T. Flynn, “Murder in the Saddle” (Mr. Maddox)

D.L. Champion, “A Toast to the Killer” (Mariano Mercado)

Fergus Truslow, “The Corpse in a Golden Shay”

Jean Prentice, “The Perfectionist

March 1946 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

March 1946 issue

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

~ Thorne Lee, “The Mad Dog of Lame Creek”, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Julius Long, “Forgive Not Our Trespassers”, 11th of 17 stories with ‘Ben Corbett, D.A.’s chief investigator, 1^st -person narrator’, 16th of 23 stories in BM

~ Dick Pearce, “Homicide Hangover”, ‘Major Bill Boyle, just back from WWII’, only appearance in BM

~ H.H. Stinson, “You’re the Crime in My Coffin”, ‘Gerry Fowler of Fox, Fox, Shapiro & Fox, law firm’, 22nd of 27 stories in BM

~ Fergus Truslow, “The Killing Was Mutuel”, ‘Private snoop Galahan around Del Mar (California)’, 3rd of 6 stories in BM

~ K. Webster, “One Fall for Murder, ‘Steve Ransom, reporter; wrestling story’, last of 3 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

[cover updated 1/29/26]

December 1944 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

December 1944 issue

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

Frederick C. Davis, “Death Wears Red Heels” (Bill Brent)

T.T. Flynn, “Calamity Lou” (Mr. Maddox)

D.L. Champion, “The Vanishing American” (Mariano Mercado)

Fergus Truslow, “Knit One – Kill Two”

Julius Long, “Nobody Cried”

better image than previously posted

[image updated 1/25/25]

November 1944 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

November 1945 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

~ D.L. Champion, “Money Makes the Mare Go”, 19^th of 26 with Sackler, ‘here dubbed “The Shylock of the Shamuses”’, 21^st of 30 stories in BM

~ Julius Long, “Never Kid a Killing”, 8th of 17 stories with ’Ben Corbett, D.A.’s chief investigator, 1^st -person narrator’, 13th of 23 stories in BM

~ E. Hoffmann Price, “I’ll Be Slaying You”, ‘Dave Stanton in military service; Bagdad, California’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ H.H. Stinson, “Your Corpses Are Showing”, 13th of 14 with ‘Ken O’Hara, fighting reporter on Los Angeles’ Tribune, 21st of 27 stories in BM

~ Fergus Truslow, “Hardboot Homicide”, ‘ex-jockey Nick Apelman’, 2nd of 6 stories in BM