
1952 Crown hardcover
September 1953 Signet paperback, 1st print
cover art by James Meese?
2nd with Kansas City private eye Johnny April


1952 Crown hardcover
September 1953 Signet paperback, 1st print
cover art by James Meese?
2nd with Kansas City private eye Johnny April


1955 Crown hardcover
November 1956 Signet reissue
cover art by Robert Maguire
4th with Kansas City private eye Johnny April
3rd print March 1964

[both property of the host]

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer
~ Norbert Davis, “Kansas City Flash”, ‘Mark Hull, ex-stunt man, in Hollywood & L.A; reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Detective (1977)’, 2nd of 13 stories in BM
~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Red Jade”, 48th of 73 Ed Jenkins in Chinatown with Soo Hoo Duck, Ngat T’oy; ‘see p.5 for a letter from ESG to JTS’ [Joseph T. Shaw, ed.], 69th of 99 stories in BM
~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Rough Reform”, 20th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in Too Young to Die: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kennedy, v.3 (Altus, 2013), 45 of 67 stories in BM
~ Norvell Page, “The Confessional”, ‘2nd of 3 Jules Tremaine stories; Manhattan and Little Italy; (ed. note) a projected & potentially important series that never developed’ [Hagemann doesn’t explain his editor’s note], only these 3 stories in BM. Reprinted in Black Harvest: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jules Tremaine (Steeger Books, 2021).
~ William Rollins, Jr., “K.O. Carries On”, 2nd of 4 stories with ‘Kenneth Osborne from ‘No’th Cah’lina’; 1st person narrator’, 19th of 23 stories in BM
~ Theodore A. Tinsley “Help Wanted”, ‘6th (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’, 6th of 26 stories in BM. Reprinted in South Wind: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Tracy (Steeger Books, 2021).
~ Roger Torrey, “A Night in Menlo”, ‘Western; Deputy Marshall Henry Corbin in town of Menlo’, 2nd of 50 appearances in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

1952 Crown hardcover
October 1952 Signet paperback, first printing
first of the series, introducing Kansas City private eye Johnny April, written by a pair of detectives – John Roscoe and Michael Ruso – who worked together at Hargrove’s Detective Agency in KC
cover painting by D.G Summers


1958 Ace Double paperback original
cover art by Verne Tossey
last of five with Kansas City private eye Johnny April