cover art by Rafael DeSoto
better image than previously posted
Carroll John Daly, “Cash for a Killer” (Race Williams)
Jan Dana, “One Vote for Murder” (Acme Indemnity Op)
Roger Torrey, “Lock, Stock and Barrel”
Norbert Davis, “Murder Down Deep” (William ‘Bail-Bond’ Dodd)
Leslie T. White, “Rough on Rats”
Riley Williams, “The Corpse with the Missing Finger”
cover art by Rudolph Belarski
better image than previously posted
~ William Donald Bray, “Hot Gold”, 3rd of 4 Britt Hardsley stories, of the Carneal Construction Co., ‘man of murder and mystery’, 1st person narrator, 10th of 12 stories in BM
~ George Harmon Coxe, “Buried Evidence”, ‘Tom Wade with Flashgun Casey’, 12th of 27 with Flashgun Casey, 12th of 31 stories in BM
~ B.B. Fowler, “A Frame Should Stick”, ‘Red Candless, reporter’, 1st of 2 stories in BM
~ Dick Moreland, “Blue Dandy”, ‘Jim Delf, owner of Blue Dandy Kennels‘, author’s sole appearance in BM
~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Murderer’s Guest”, ‘11th (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’, 12th of 26 stories in BM. Reprinted in South Wind: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Tracy (Steeger Books, 2021).
~ Roger Torrey, “Nose Trouble”, ‘3rd of 4 stories starring 1st-person narrator Mike O’Dell, ex-wrestler, now bodyguard’, 17th of 50 appearances in BM. Reprinted in South Wind: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Tracy (Steeger Books, 2021).
~ Thomas Walsh, “Death Can Come Hard”, ‘Dr. Ed French, interne, 1st-person narrator’, 5th of 6 stories in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
cover art by John Drew
better image than previously posted
~ W.T. Ballard, “Fugitive for Justice”, 4th of 7 with ‘Red Drake, undercover investigator for the State Racing Commission, 1st-person narrator’, 20th of 43 stories in BM
~ John K. Butler, “You Can’t Bribe Bullets”, ‘Marty Lewis, 1st person-narrator, & shady local politics’, 4th of 11 stories in BM
~ James Duncan, “Heir to Murder”, ‘Jerry Blaze’, 4th 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., & 1st-person narrator; with Lieutenant McFee, Homicide’, ‘California, i.e., Mexican border’, 20th of 50 appearances in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
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’, 1st person narrator, 9th of 12 stories in BM
~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “A Chance to Cheat”, 60th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, 85th 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”, 30th 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 1st-person narrator Mike O’Dell, ex-wrestler, now bodyguard’, 15th of 50 appearances in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
cover art by Raymond S. Pease
~ William R. Cox, “Half a Crook”, murder & politics, 1st of 2 stories in BM
~ Carroll John Daly, “I Am the Law”, ‘Meet that implacable, coldly reckless manhunter, Satan Hall’, 1st of 2 stories (he mostly appeared in Dime Detective Magazine), 67th of 71 appearances in BM
~ James Duncan, “A Deal in Coconuts”, 4 of 5 stories with The Parson, who lives on a ‘mythical’ (fictional?) isle, Cariba, reprinted in Murder for Pennies: The Complete Black Mask Cases of the Parson (Steeger, 2024), 9th of 10 stories in BM
~ Steve Fisher, “Wait for Me”, ‘murder & intrigue in Shanghai’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 5th of 9 stories in BM
~ Frank Gruber, “Death Sits Down”, 5th of 10 with ‘Oliver Quade, The Human Encyclopedia’, 7th of 14 stories in BM
~ Roger Torrey, “Murder Link”, ‘7th (of 14) in Pat McCarthy series, with Marge Chalmers often his “sidekick”; he is ex-NYC cop, ex-agency man (Chicago & St. Louis) who dislikes cops’, 34th of 50 appearances in BM
~ Donald Wandrei, “Game of Legs”, ‘wrestler’, 2nd of 6 stories in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
cover art by Fred Craft
better image than previously posted
~ W.T. Ballard, “In Dead Man’s Alley”, 10th of 27 stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, 10th of 43 stories in BM
~ Eugene Cunningham, “Room Service”, last of 5 with Cleve Corby, 11th of 14 stories in BM
~ Carroll John Daly, “The Eyes Have It”, ‘last William’s caper [of 53 though Hagemann lists 54] in BM (wherein he had appeared ‘exclusively’), CJD not to pub. in BM until Mar 1938’, reprinted in If Death is Respectable: The Collected Hard-boiled Stories of Race Williams, v.4 (Altus, 2018), 66th of 71 appearances in BM
~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Hot Cash”, 59th of 73 Ed Jenkins, as Bob Sabin, 83rd of 99 stories in BM
~ Herbert Koehl, “See See Drops In”, ‘C.C. Cane, private eye, 1st person narrator‘, author’s only appearance in BM
~ Roger Torrey, “Law and Disorder”, 10th of 11 with Dal Prentice, Magna City police dick, ‘one tough guy’, title used again in April 1941 issue, not the same story, 13th of 50 appearances in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
January 1937 issue
cover art by Wilber Thomas
better image than previously posted
~ Dwight V. Babcock, “State Narcotic Dick”, ‘Bromley and muggles (marijuana)’, 13th of 21 stories in BM
~ J.M. Bell, “The Blinking Eye”, short-short, 2nd of 2 stories in BM
~ Max Brand, “Bulldog”, 1st of 2 stories in BM
~ Raymond Chandler, “Try the Girl”, 4th and last Carmady story, first reprint and first book appearance Killer in the Rain (Hammish Hamilton, 3/26/64), last of 11 stories in BM
~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Little Guy”, ‘18th (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’, reprinted in Murder Maze: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Tracy, vol.2 (Steeger 2022), 19th of 26 stories in BM
~ Roger Torrey, “Murder Frame”, ‘Cassidy, cop, is framed’, 24th of 50 appearances in BM
~ Cornell Woolrich, “Shooting Going On”, ‘Hollywood murder’, 1st of 24 (22 original) stories to appear in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop
