
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


better image than previously posted
cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer
~ Guthrie Brown,âTouchstoneâ, Western, 2nd of 2 BM stories
~ Paul Cain, âParlor Trickâ, âcriminal narratorâ, later released as one of the Seven Slayers (1950 Avon), reprinted in The Arbor House Treasury of Detective & Mystery Stories from the Great Pulps (1983), reprinted in The Complete Slayers (2011 Centipede Press), 5th of 17 stories in BM
~ Carroll John Daly, âThe Amateur Murdererâ, 46th of 53 with Race Williams, part 4 of 4, published as a novel in 1933, 58th of 71 appearances in BM
~ Ramon Decolta (Raoul Whitfield), âClimbing Deathâ, aviation plays a roll, 21st of 24 Jo Gar stories in BM, reprinted in West of Guam: The Complete Cases of Jo Bar (Altus Press, 2013)
~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, âNew Bossâ, 18th of 32 with Stuart âBlackâ Burton, âsquare-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the lawâ, 25th of 39 stories in BM, reprinted Sept â50 with different title, âPatsy in Slaughterlandâ]
~ J.J. Des Ormeaux, âThe Devil Suitâ, 2nd and last âJack McGuire, Federal dick, 1st-person narrator, reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Omnibus (1946)â, 4th of 5 stories in BM (pseudonym of Forrest Rosaire)
~ Erle Stanley Gardner, âRough Stuffâ, 45th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, 62nd of 99 stories in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
[image updated 10/27/25]

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer
~ Tom Curry, âThe Webâ, John Flahertie, the lone wolf, Macnamara (Mac), NYPD 1st grade dick, a secondary character. 34th of 39 stories in BM
~ Carroll John Daly, âThe Silver Eagleâ, 32nd of 53,âPt. 1, Race Williams & The Flame; serial dropped after Pt.2â, 44th of 71 appearances in BM
~ Erle Stanley Gardner, âStraight from the Shoulderâ, 28th of 73 with Ed Jenkins, with Helen Chadwick and Arthur Hemington, âhere & elsewhere; cf. âTriple Treacheryââ [12/1929 issue], 45th of 99 stories in BM
~ Dashiell Hammett, âThe Maltese Falconâ, part 2 of 5 serialized parts before hardcover publication (1931), reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 36th of 45 stories in BM
~ Horace McCoy, âHellâs Stepsonsâ, 2nd of 14 Frost stories with âCapt. Jerry Frost, Texas (Air) Rangerâ, 3rd of 17 stories in BM
~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, âSal the Dudeâ, Gary Greer, last (9th) in the Laughing Dead series, âpresented as separate stories rather than conventional serial; pub. As Five (1931) under the pseudonym of Temple Fieldâ, 34th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta], reprinted in The Black Mask Boys (1985, Morrow)
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
better image than previously posted

cover art by Fred Craft
better image than previously posted
~ Tom Curry, âThe Terrorâ, 18th of 23 with Macnamara (Mac), NYPD 1st grade dick, 32nd of 39 stories in BM
~ Carroll John Daly, âGet Race Williamsâ, 30th of 53 with RW, âThe Flameâ aka Florence Drummond, âThe Girl with the Criminal Mindâ, 3rd of a loosely organized 4-pt. serial; pub. as The Tag Murders (1930)â, reprinted in The Snarl of the Beast: The Collected Hard-boiled Stories of Race Williams, v.2 (Altus, 2016), 42nd of 71 appearances in BM
~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, âGambling in Yellowâ, 10th of 32 with Stuart âBlackâ Burton, âsquare-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the lawâ, 14th of 39 stories in BM
~ Frederick L. Nebel, âGraftâ, 5th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, 5th and last of the âCrimes of Richmond Cityâ sub-series, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Vintage, 2007), reprinted in Raw Law: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kennedy, v.1 (Altus, 2013), 17 of 67 stories in BM
~ Earl and Marion Scott, âGat Grabs the Shadowsâ, âGat Wilson, gangsterâ, 5th of 17 stories in BM as a couple
~ Victor Shaw, âPack Ratsâ, mining, 4th of 5 stories in BM
~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, âHigh Oddsâ, Gary Greer, 4th (of 9) in the Laughing Dead series, âpresented as separate stories rather than conventional serial; pub. As Five (1931) under the pseudonym of Temple Fieldâ, 29th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]. Reprinted in Laughing Death (Steeger Books, 2021).
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

better image than previously posted
cover art by Onestus Uzzell
~ Carl Asher, âAnd This Is How It Isâ, âshort story; âa satireââ, authorâs sole appearance in BM
~ John Ayotte, âRiflesâ, âCapt. Ayotte has departed Hawaii in fact & fictionâ, 8th of 10 stories in BM
~ Ray(mond King) Cummings, âT. McGuirk, Movie Actorâ, â8th of 14 McGuirk stories, billed as âthe quaintest character in the Underworldâ & honest, more of lessâ, 8th of 15 stories in BM
~ Charles M. Green [pseud. of Erle Stanley Gardner], âThe Verdictâ, last of 3 stories in BM under this name
~ Dashiell Hammett, âNight Shotsâ, âthe Op [3rd of 22] or as BM bills him âMr. Hammettâs nameless detectiveâ, 6th of 45 stories in BM
~ C.S. Montanye (Carleton Stevens), âThe Sandalwood Boxâ, 5th of 10 with âCaptain Valentine, that âattractive European scalawagâ, adventurer and rascalâ, 21th of 29 stories in BM
~Jennings Perry, âThe Master of the Maisieâ, 1st of 2 stories in BM
~ Herman Petersen, âThat Yellow Devilâ, 1st of 2 parts, ‘Madame Pinar, Eurasianâ, 16th of 20 stories in BM
~ Henry Serrano, âThe Ghost of the Hesperidesâ, authorâs sole appearance in BM
~ Don Cameron Shafer, âThe Huntersâ, âtiger-hunting in Indiaâ, authorâs sole appearance in BM
~ Charles Somerville, âThe âCatâ Detectiveâ, 24th of 47 articles in the âManhunterâ series
~ Edward Parrish Ware, âThe Kidâs Hole Cardâ, âWesternâ, 3rd of 9 stories in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
[cover updated 11/8/25]

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer
better image than previously posted
~ Carroll John Daly, ââThe Flameâ and Race Williamsâ, 40th of 53 with RW, part 2 of 3, âpub.as The Third Murderer (1931)â, 52nd of 71 appearances in BM
~ Ramon Decolta (Raoul Whitfield), âBlue Glassâ, 5th of 6 parts in the âRainbow Diamondsâ sequence that take Jo Gar from Manila to San Francisco, 14th of 24 Gar stories in BM, reprinted in West of Guam: The Complete Cases of Jo Bar (Altus Press, 2013)
~ Erle Stanley Gardner, âTommy Talkâ, 35th of 73 Ed Jenkins, returns after the death of his wife Helen, out of hospital and in Chinatown with Soo Hoo Duck, Ngat Tâoy, 1st of 3 connected stories (9/1931 and 12/1931), 52nd of 99 stories in BM
~ Frederick L. Nebel, âDeath for a Dagoâ, 15th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in Winter Kill: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kenney, v.2 (Altus, 2013), 32 of 67 stories in BM
~ Bertrand W(illiam) Sinclair, âAnanias and the Sapphiresâ, âWestern; Andy Nasonâ, 2nd of 3 stories in BM
~ Stewart Stirling, (possible pseud. of Stewart Sterling?), âCold Bloodâ, 3rd of 8 stories with âJohnny Hi Gear, a.k.a. K-5, Undercover Agentâ
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

Out of the Past (RKO, 1947)m directed by Jacques Tourneur
signed by the stars
best of film noirs, screenplay by Daniel Mainwaring, adapting his own novel, Build My Gallows High, published as by Geoffrey Homes.

September 1959 Dell reissue, first printing, from the 1958 Random House hardcover
winner of the 1959 Best Novel Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America
cover painting by Robert McGinnis