gambling fiction – SMB Noir

August 1936 issue ~ cover art by John Drew

August 1936 issue

cover art by John Drew

~ W.T. Ballard, “Fugitive for Justice”, 4^th of 7 with ‘Red Drake, undercover investigator for the State Racing Commission, 1^st-person narrator’, 20^th of 43 stories in BM

~ John K. Butler, “You Can’t Bribe Bullets”, ‘Marty Lewis, 1^st person-narrator, & shady local politics’, 4^th of 11 stories in BM

~ James Duncan, “Heir to Murder”, ‘Jerry Blaze’, 4^th of 10 stories in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Homicide Cue”, 27th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, 34th of 39 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Deep Red”, last of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in Winter Kill: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kennedy, v.4 (Altus, 2013), last of 66 original stories in BM (plus reprints from outside BM)

~ Roger Torrey, “Border Blockade”, ‘4th (of 5) of George Killeen, private ‘tec in L.A., & 1^st-person narrator; with Lieutenant McFee, Homicide’, ‘California, i.e., Mexican border’, 20th of 50 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

May 1935 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

May 1935 issue

cover art by Fred Craft

better image than previously posted

~ William Donald Bray, “A Call for Honor”, 2nd of 4 Britt Hardsley stories, of the Carneal Construction Co., ‘man of murder and mystery’, 1^st person narrator, 9th of 12 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “A Chance to Cheat”, 60th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, 85^th of 99 stories in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Salon Piece”, 22nd of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, with his wife Vivian, ‘they do not cohabitate’, 29th of 39 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “That’s Kennedy”, 30^th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in Winter Kill: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kennedy, v.4 (Altus, 2013), 59 of 67 stories in BM

~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Keep on Asking”, ‘10th (of 25) Jerry Tracy capers, columnist on the (NYC) Planet, ‘mixer with poor and rich, the crooked and the straight, trailer of trouble and happiness’, 11th of 26 stories in BM. Reprinted in South Wind: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Tracy (Steeger Books, 2021).

~ Roger Torrey, “Win – Place – and Show”, ‘2nd of 4 stories starring 1^st-person narrator Mike O’Dell, ex-wrestler, now bodyguard’, 15th of 50 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

July 23, 1938 issue ~ cover art by Emmett Watson

July 23, 1938

cover art by Emmett Watson

January 1944 issue ~ cover art by H.J. Ward

January 1944

cover art by H.J. Ward

better image than previously posted

1958 Cardinal paperback original – cover art by Lou Marchetti

1958 Pocket paperback original, Cardinal edition

cover by Lou Marchetti

better image than previously posted

Dark Hazard x 3

1933 Harper hardcover ~ his 3rd book

1933 Harper book club hardcover edition

1949 Hillman reprint

better image than previously posted

December 1921 issue

December 1921 issue

better image than previously posted

~ Meredith Beyers, “The Dark Brown Dress”, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Walter Deffenbaugh, “Hear Not, See Not. Speak Not Evil”, 1^st story in this issue

~ Walter Deffenbaugh, “Fit for a King”, 2^nd story in this issue, 7^th and 8^th stories in BM

~ Elizabeth (Bessie) Dudley, “Ananias Ltd”, ‘A Chinese among the characters’, 3rd of 4 stories in BM

~ John B. Hart, “In Full Payment”, author’s only appearance in BM

~ J.B. Hawley, “The Mystery of the One-Legged Man”, 8^th of 12 stories in BM

~ Pettersen Marzoni, “Fear”, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ David Morrison, “Thornton Smiled Significantly”, 2^nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Harry M. Sutherland, “The Weeping Killer”, short-short, 1st of 2 stories in BM

~ John D. Swain, “The Man Who Knew Too Much”, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Frederic J. Thorne, “The Prisoner Speaks”, ‘A Complete Mystery Novelette’, 7th of 10 stories in BM

~ Harold Ward, “The Woman Who Cursed a Man”, 19th of 29 stories under this name in BM [29th of 46 stories in BM under three different names – Ward Sterling and H.W. Starr]

~ Henry S. Watson and Asa Steele, “The Trap Thief”, 2^nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Charles S. Wolfe, “The Finishing Touch”, 1^st of 3 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop