thomas walsh – SMB Noir

Nightmare in Manhattan x 3

1950 Little Brown hardcover

cover art by F. G. Kutner

1951 Bantam reissue

better image than previously posted

1964 Macfadden UK reissue

cover art by Robert E. Schulz

August 1936 issue ~ cover art by Malvin Singer

August 1936

cover art by Malvin Singer

better image than previously posted

October 1934 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

October 1934 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by Fred Craft

~ W.T. Ballard, “Snatching Is Dynamite”, ‘Lennox & ‘The Secret Five’ of Hollywood’, 9th of 27 BM stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, 9th of 43 stories in BM

~ Raymond Chandler, “Finger Man”, “Finger Man”, unnamed LA PI, first person narrator, first book appearance in the collection The Simple Art of Murder (Houghton Mifflin hardcover, 1950), first paperback, Trouble is My Business (Pocket, 10/51), various paperback editions, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Vintage, 2007), 3^rd of 11 stories in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Immunity Murders”, 21^th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, with his wife Vivian, 28^th of 39 stories in BM

~ Horace McCoy, “Somebody Must Die”, last of 14 Frost stories with ‘Capt. Jerry Frost, Texas (Air) Ranger, last of 17 appearances in BM

~ Thomas Walsh, “Best Man”, ‘Carver, plain-clothesman, Homicide; reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Omnibus (1946)’, 4th of 6 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

March 1936 issue ~ cover art by John Drew

March 1936 issue

cover art by John Drew

better image than previously posted

~ John K. Butler, “Guns for a Lady”, ‘ex-pug, 1^st-person narrator; bodyguard for girl’, 2^nd of 11 stories in BM

~ Paul Cain, “Pineapple”, ‘Nick Green & Blondie Kessler, police-reporter’, later released as one of the Seven Slayers (1950 Avon), reprinted in The Complete Slayers (2011 Centipede Press), 16^th of 17 stories in BM

~ Raymond Chandler, “The Man Who Liked Dogs”, ‘1^st of 4 Carmady stories, reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Omnibus (1946)‘ [Simon & Schuster, first hardcover and first book appearance], and Killer in the Rain (Hammish hc, 1964), 7^th of 11 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “You Gotta Be Tough”, 1^st of 4 stories with Paul Baron, 16^th of 31 stories in BM

~ Thomas Walsh, “Diamonds Mean Death”, ‘Joe Keenan, private copper’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), last of 6 stories in BM

~ Edward S. Williams, “Death Has Green Eyes”, ‘Mike Dunneen, private ‘tec’, 1^st of 8 appearances in BM

[cover updated 10/27/25]

January 1956 issue ~ cover art by Ed Emshwiller

January 1956 subscription issue – different cover from the newsstand issue

gouache on illustration board, 13″ x 18″

[post updated 1/1/24]