It continued to be published under the name of Real Detective Tales and then Real Detective Tales and Mystery Stories until around 1931. From this time the magazine began to reduce the number of fiction stories that it published and replaced them with non-fiction stories. As the magazine continued it became more focused on the non-fiction aspect and the final name change to Real Detective reflected the change in content.

Listed on this page are the pulp magazines that were available under the titles Real Detective Tales, Real Detective Tales and Mystery Stories and Real Detective. With the magazine name providing you with an indication of when it was published.

Buy a copy of Real Detective Magazine

REAL DETECTIVE 1952 FEBRUARY SPICY COVER    US $39.95

REAL DETECTIVE 1958 AUGUST WOMAN MURDER ON COVER    US $39.95

Real Detective Magazine September 1941    US $30.00

79 Real Detective Annual PRETTY CARHOP MURDER Nebraska    US $14.95

REAL DETECTIVE 1932 NOV HARDBOILED PULP FICTION CRIME    US $124.99

REAL DETECTIVE 1981 APR HARDBOILED PULP MYSTERY CRIME    US $14.99

REAL DETECTIVE 1932 DECEMBER COVER BY H FORSGREN    US $124.95

REAL DETECTIVE 1938 MAY MURDERS AND MYSTERY MAGAZINE    US $94.95

REAL DETECTIVE 1967 JULY SPICY CVR    US $24.95

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This was the magazine where the strange and the bizarre was presented in the most entertaining and downright disturbing stories you can imagine. And the audience lapped it up. For more than 30 years the stories were contributed by such notable authors as Robert Bloch, H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Ray Bradbury and many others.

The Weird Tales name was seen again in the 1970s and 80s when the magazine was revived for another run. Most recently the magazine has been purchased by Nth Dimension Media, Inc., and the science fiction, fantasy and horror stories should continue to be showcased under this famous title.

Buy Weird Tales Magazines

WEIRD TALES MAGAZINE 348    US $6.99

WEIRD TALES JULY 1940 ROBERT BLOCH WELLMAN FRANK GRUBER BRUNDAGE CVR    US $119.00

WEIRD TALES MAY 1940 CLARK ASHTON SMITH BLOCH LEIBER EH PRICE H BOK CVR    US $119.00

WEIRD TALES NOV 1940 LOVECRAFT DERLETH BLOCH HANNES BOK MARGARET BRUNDAGE CVR    US $119.99

WEIRD TALES SEP 1940 NICTZIN DYALHIS HAMILTON HBEDFORD JONES NELSON BOND    US $119.99

WEIRD TALES JUL 1939 LOVECRAFT ROBT E HOWARD 2 3 ALMURIC CLARK ASHTON SMITH    US $99.99

WEIRD TALES APR 1937 ROBT BLOCH DERLETH LA SPINA HAMILTON FINLAY COVER    US $99.99

WEIRD TALES FEB 1939 LOVECRAFT ROBT E HOWARD CAS BLOCH FINLAY CVR ILLIOS    US $99.99

WEIRD TALES JAN 1940 VIRGIL FINLAY COVER QUINN KLINE PRICE KELLY COUNSELMAN    US $99.99

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Even if you aren’t particularly enamoured by the type of stories that are published between the covers of Weird Tales you can’t help but be captured by the unusual and hugely imaginative cover art. Many collectors seek out copies of the older and more elusive issues of the magazine just for the art alone.

As well as writing 47 novels in the Nero Wolfe series Stout also penned 40 Nero Wolfe novellas. Wolfe first appeared in the novel Fer-de-Lance (1934) along with his assistant Archie Goodwin. From then the pair went on to become one of the best known and loved detectives in American popular culture.

Rex Stout Books For Sale

CORONET Magazine January 1944 REX STOUT LENA HORNE    US $14.40

Rex Stout THE DOORBELL RANG Nero Wolfe ImPress HB    US $10.00

Trouble in Triplicate by Rex Stout 1993 Paperback Reissue    US $10.63

A Right to Die Rex Stout Nero Wolfe 1st 1st    US $35.00

Under the Andes NEW by Rex Stout    US $23.54

Rex Stout SILENT SPEAKER 1st Edition Printing 1946 w DJ    US $316.00

Rex Stout A Nero Wolfe Casebook Boxed Set Of 4 Paperbacks Book Lot PB Novel    US $7.99

The Golden Spiders A Nero Wolf Mystery by Rex Stout 1996 Paperback    US $2.50

The Rubber Band by Rex Stout 1968 Paperback    US $2.50

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Listed below is a complete list of the Nero Wolfe novels followed by a listing of the Nero Wolfe novellas along with their year of publication. Where available the British title of some novels are also included.

Nero Wolfe Novels

1934 Fer-de-Lance
1935 The League of Frightened Men
1936 The Rubber Band
1937 The Red Box
1938 Too Many Cooks
1939 Some Buried Caesar
1940 Over My Dead Body
1940 Where There's a Will
1942 Black Orchids
1944 Not Quite Dead Enough
1946 The Silent Speaker
1947 Too Many Women
1948 And Be a Villain (British title More Deaths Than One)
1949 Trouble in Triplicate
1949 The Second Confession
1950 Three Doors to Death
1950 In the Best Families (British title Even in the Best Families)
1951 Curtains for Three
1951 Murder by the Book
1952 Triple Jeopardy
1952 Prisoner's Base (British title Out Goes She)
1953 The Golden Spiders
1954 Three Men Out
1954 The Black Mountain
1955 Before Midnight
1956 Three Witnesses
1956 Might as Well Be Dead
1957 Three for the Chair
1957 If Death Ever Slept
1958 And Four to Go
1958 Champagne for One
1959 Plot It Yourself (British title Murder in Style)
1960 Three at Wolfe's Door
1960 Too Many Clients
1961 The Final Deduction
1962 Homicide Trinity
1962 Gambit
1963 The Mother Hunt
1964 Trio for Blunt Instruments
1964 A Right to Die
1965 The Doorbell Rang
1966 Death of a Doxy
1968 The Father Hunt
1969 Death of a Dude
1973 Please Pass the Guilt
1975 A Family Affair
1985 Death Times Three

Nero Wolfe Novellas

1940 "Bitter End"
1941 "Black Orchids"
1942 "Cordially Invited to Meet Death"
1942 "Not Quite Dead Enough"
1944 "Booby Trap"
1945 "Help Wanted, Male"
1946 "Instead of Evidence"
1947 "Before I Die"
1947 "Man Alive"
1948 "Bullet for One"
1948 "Omit Flowers"
1949 "Door to Death"
1949 "The Gun with Wings"
1950 "Disguise for Murder"
1951 "The Cop-Killer"
1951 "The Squirt and the Monkey"
1952 "Home to Roost"
1952 "This Won't Kill You"
1953 "Invitation to Murder"
1953 "The Zero Clue"
1954 "When a Man Murders..."
1954 "Die Like a Dog"
1955 "The Next Witness"
1955 "Immune to Murder"
1956 "A Window for Death"
1956 "Too Many Detectives"
1957 "Christmas Party"
1957 "Easter Parade"
1957 "Fourth of July Picnic"
1958 "Murder Is No Joke" (expanded as "Frame-Up for Murder")
1960 "Method Three for Murder"
1960 "Poison à la Carte"
1960 "The Rodeo Murder"
1961 "Counterfeit for Murder"
1961 "Death of a Demon"
1961 "Kill Now—Pay Later"
1962 "Eeny Meeny Murder Mo"
1963 "Blood Will Tell"
1964 "Murder Is Corny"
1985 "Assault on a Brownstone"

The identity of Secret Agent X is part of the mysterious appeal of the secret agent who is a complete enigma to all. He is a man who is unknown yet he can change his appearance and identity to suit his needs.

The Secret Agent X stories can sit comfortably in the crime genre although many of the stories crossed over into the more supernatural and science fiction with a number of futuristic ideas for him to overcome.

Secret Agent X is one of those romantic notions of the classic anti-hero. He works undercover for the government, a fact that is unknown to the police. Consequently they consider him to be an outlaw so as well as battling villains he is also evading the police.

Secret Agent X Magazines For Sale

Grant House Secret Agent X City of the Living Dead    US $25.00

Secret Agent quotXquot The Man of a Thousand Faces    US $9.95

Secret Agent X Octopus of Crime Brant House 1966 PB    US $15.00

Brant House SECRET AGENT X 6 Octopus Of Crime VHTF    US $24.99

Brant House SECRET AGENT X Curse Of The Mandarins Fan    US $24.99

SECRET AGENT X 5 DEATH TORCH TERROR BRANT HOUSE 1966    US $19.95

Hanos pulp reprint SECRET AGENT X February 1936    US $15.00

Hanos pulp reprint SECRET AGENT X June 1938    US $15.00

Hanos pulp reprint SECRET AGENT X January 1935    US $15.00

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But McCoy believed he was above the pulps and began looking towards Hollywood and the thoughts of writing movie scripts appealed to him. Early attempts to impress failed and he had to be content with producing pulp fiction for several magazines to make ends meet.

Even his novel that would earn him the highest regard, They Shoot Horses Don’t They? did not enjoy huge sales when it was first published. It was only later that the novel was recognised for the subtle and thought provoking themes that were appreciated as a noir classic. He was able to find steady work producing original scripts for the movies with one of his more notable being the script for Errol Flynn’s Gentleman Jim.

One of his later novels was also another notable story – Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye - which was later picked up and turned into a James Cagney movie by Warner Brothers.

McCoy died of a heart attack on December 15, 1955 aged 58.

Horace McCoy Books For Sale

No Pockets in a Shroud by Horace McCoy 2008 Paperback    US $6.99

HORACE MCCOY KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE PAPERBACK NOVEL BOOK    US $7.19

THEY SHOOT HORSES DONT THEY JOHN HARVEY HORACE MCCOY PAPERBACK NEW    US $14.34

They Shoot Horses Dont They by Horace McCoy 2011 Paperback    US $14.94

They Shoot Horses Dont They Horace McCoy    US $11.94

Horace McCoy Scalpel first edition    US $68.00

1935 photo Horace McCoy    US $9.99

They Shoot Horses Dont They by Horace McCoy    US $14.95

Figaro 1938 Horace Heidt Bob McCoy Jerry Muscle Bowne 4279    US $.99

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A Selected Bibliography of Horace McCoy Novels

They Shoot Horses Don’t They? (1935)
No Pockets In A Shroud (1936)
I Should Have Stayed Home (1937)
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1948)

The earlier stories featured the PI Max Thursday, an alcoholic loner who featured in all kinds of twists and turns and who was complex enough to be more than just a little bit interesting as a character.

Wade Miller Books For Sale

UNEASY STREET SIGNED by BOB WADE of the Writing Team of Bob Wade Bill Miller    US $127.50

NEW Millers Rules Wade Tabor 9780595093991    US $19.36

FATAL STEP AND MURDER CHARGE BY WADE MILLER GGA    US $9.99

PRIVATE EYE MAX THURSDAY MYSTERIES BY WADE MILLER    US $5.99

WADE MILLER SET OF 2 MYSTERIES    US $9.99

DEADLY WEAPON WADE MILLER SIGNET BOOK 928 CRIME MURDER 2ND 1952 GGA GOOD PLUS    US $3.25

Miller Wade THE BIG GUY 1953 PBO HTF vintage sleaze    US $12.12

BRANDED WOMAN WADE MILLER PAPERBACK NEW    US $7.69

WADE MILLER DEADLY WEAPON PB    US $1.99

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Buy Wade Miller books

A Wade Miller Checklist (plus pseudonyms)

Wade Miller Titles

Deadly Weapon. 1946.
Guilty Bystander. 1947. [PI Max Thursday.]
Pop Goes the Queen.  1947.
aka Murder–Queen High, 1949.
Fatal Step. 1948. [PI Max Thursday.]
Uneasy Street. 1948. [PI Max Thursday.]
Devil on Two Sticks. 1949.
aka Killer’s Choice, 1950.
Calamity Fair. 1950. [PI Max Thursday.]
Murder Charge. 1950. [PI Max Thursday.]
Devil May Care. 1950.
Stolen Woman. 1950.
The Killer. 1951
The Tiger’s Wife. 1951.
Shoot to Kill. 1951. [PI Max Thursday.]
Branded Woman. 1953.
The Big Guy. 1953.
South of the Sun. 1953.
Mad Baxter. 1955.
Kiss Her Goodbye. 1956.
Kitten With a Whip. 1959.
Sinner Takes All. 1960.
Nightmare Cruise. 1961.
aka The Sargasso People (British hc)
The Girl From Midnight. 1962.

Will Daemer title:

The Case of the Lonely Lovers. 1951.

Dale Wilmer titles:

Memo for Murder. 1951.
Dead Fall. 1954.
Jungle Heat. 1954.
-Reprinted as by Wade Miller.

Whit Masterson titles:

All Through the Night. 1955.
aka A Cry in the Night, 1956.
Dead, She Was Beautiful. 1955.
Badge of Evil. 1956.
aka A Touch of Evil, 1958.
A Shadow in the Wild. 1957.
The Dark Fantastic. 1959.
A Hammer in His Hand. 1960.
Evil Come, Evil Go. 1961.

NOTE: Evil Come, Evil Go was the last collaborative effort of the two authors, and The Man on the Nylon String was the beginning of Robert Wade’s solo efforts.

The Man on a Nylon String. 1963.
711–Officer Needs Help. 1965.
aka Warning Shot, 1967.
Play Like You’re Dead. 1967.
The Last One Kills. 1969.
The Death of Me Yet. 1970.
The Gravy Train. 1971.
aka The Great Train Robbery, 1976.
Why She Cries, I Do Not Know. 1972.
The Undertaker Wind. 1973.
The Man with Two Clocks. 1974.
Hunter of the Blood. 1977.
The Slow Gallows. 1979.

Robert Wade titles:

The Stroke of Seven. 1965.
Knave of Eagles. hc 1969.

The character was revived in the 1930s to become a pulp hero and then he was updated as a master spy in the 1950s following the success of the James Bond character.

Nick Carter was the pseudonym under which a huge collection of action adventure thrillers and spy thrillers were written. The books were written for the publisher ACE and the list of authors who wrote them included David Hagberg, Michael Jahn, Jack Canon and Robert E. Vardeman.

Fans of fast paced thrillers that tore from place to place and scene to scene have eaten up the Nick Carter books. In more recent times the Nick Carter books have been written as the Killmaster series.

Take a look at the list of Nick Carter books and stories for sale below.

NICK CARTER Cobra Kill CRIMINAL THRILLER PB Book Exciting Killmaster Spy Chiller    US $3.99

11 NICK CARTER LIBRARY ISSUE FROM 1875    US $9.99

8 20 ISSUES OF NEW NICK CARTER WEEKLY VOLS 434 709    US $49.99

10 10 ISSUES OF NICK CARTER STORIES VOLS 10 87 NOV 1912 MAY 1914    US $49.99

NICK CARTER THE CODE AWARD BOOKS paperback 1973    US $4.99

NICK CARTER THE COBRA KILL 1969 ESPIONAGE PB BOOK    US $9.94

Nick Carter Ten Times Dynamite 1980pbBOX    US $6.95

Nick Carter The Night of the Avenger 1975pbbox    US $3.95

Nick Carter Ice Trap Terror 1974pbbox    US $4.99

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A Nick Carter Killmaster series checklist

1. Run Spy Run (1964)
2. The China Doll (1964)
3. Checkmate in Rio (1964)
4. Safari for Spies (1964)
5. Fraulein Spy (1964)
6. Saigon (1964)
7. A Bullet for Fidel (1965)
8. The Thirteenth Spy (1965)
9. Eyes of the Tiger (1965)
10. Istanbul (1965)
11. Web of Spies (1966)
12. Spy Castle (1966)
13. The Terrible Ones (1966)
14. Dragon Flame (1966)
15. Hanoi (1966)
16. The Danger Key (1966)
17. Operation Starvation (1966)
18. The Mind Poisoners (1966)
19. The Weapon of Night (1967)
20. The Golden Serpent (1967)
21. Mission to Venice (1967)
22. Double Identity (1967)
23. The Devil's Cockpit (1967)
24. The Chinese Paymaster (1967)
25. Seven Against Greece (1967)
26. A Korean Tiger (1967)
27. Assignment Israel (1967)
28. The Red Guard (1967)
29. The Filthy Five (1967)
30. The Bright Blue Death (1967)
31. Macao (1968)
32. Operation Moon Rocket (1968)
33. The Judas Spy (1968)
34. Hood of Death (1968)
35. Amsterdam (1968)
36. Temple of Fear (1968)
37. Fourteen Seconds to Hell (1968)
38. The Defector (1969)
39. Carnival for Killing (1969)
40. Rhodesia (1969)
41. The Red Rays (1969)
42. Peking-Tulip Affair (1969)
43. The Amazon (1969)
44. Sea Trap (1969)
45. Berlin (1969)
46. The Human Time Bomb (1969)
47. The Cobra Kill (1969)
48. The Living Death (1969)
49. Operation Che Guevara (1969)
50. The Doomsday Formula (1969)
51. Operation Snake (1969)
52. The Casbah Killers (1969)
53. The Arab Plague (1970)
aka Slavemaster
54. The Red Rebellion (1970)
55. The Executioners (1970)
56. Black Death (1970)
57. The Mind Killers (1970)
58. Time Clock of Death (1970)
59. Cambodia (1970)
60. The Death Strain (1970)
61. Jewel of Doom (1970)
62. Moscow (1970)
63. Ice Bomb Zero (1971)
64. Mark of Cosa Nostra (1971)
65. The Cairo Mafia (1972)
aka Cairo
66. The Inca Death Squad (1972)
67. Assault on England (1972)
68. The Omega Terror (1972)
69. Code Name: Werewolf (1973)
70. Strike Force Terror (1973)
71. Target: Doomsday Island (1973)
72. Night of the Avenger (1973)
73. Butcher of Belgrade (1973)
74. Assassination Brigade (1973)
75. The Liquidator (1973)
76. The Devil's Dozen (1973)
77. The Code (1973)
78. Agent Counter-agent (1973)
79. Hour of the Wolf (1973)
80. Our Agent in Rome is Missing (1973)
81. The Kremlin File (1973)
82. Spanish Connection (1973)
83. Death's Head Conspiracy (1973)
84. The Peking Dossier (1973)
85. Ice-trap Terror (1974)
86. Assassin Code Name Vulture (1974)
87. Massacre in Milan (1974)
88. Vatican Vendetta (1974)
89. Sign of the Cobra (1974)
90. Man Who Sold Death (1974)
91. N3 Conspiracy (1974)
92. Beirut Incident (1974)
93. Death of the Falcon (1974)
94. Aztec Avenger (1974)
95. The Jerusalem File (1975)
96. Counterfeit Agent (1975)
97. Six Bloody Summer Days (1975)
98. Kathmandu Contract (1975)
99. Z Document (1975)
100. Dr. Death (1975)
101. Ultimate Code (1975)
102. Assignment Intercept (1976)
103. The Green Wolf Connection (1976)
104. Death Message (1976)
105. The List (1976)
106. The Fanatics of Al Asad (1976)
107. The Snake Flag Conspiracy (1976)
108. The Turncoat (1976)
109. Sign of the Prayer Shawl (1976)
110. The Vulcan Disaster (1976)
111. A High Yeald in Death (1976)
112. The Nichovev Plot (1976)
113. Triple Cross (1976)
114. The Gallagher Plot (1976)
115. Plot for the Fourth Reich (1977)
116. Revenge of the Generals (1978)
117. Under the Wall (1978)
118. The Ebony Cross (1978)
119. Deadly Doubles (1978)
120. Race of Death (1978)
121. Trouble in Paradise (1978)
122. The Pamplona Affair (1978)
123. The Doomsday Spore (1978)
124. The Asian Mantrap (1979)
125. Thunderstrike in Syria (1979)
126. The Redolmo Affair (1979)
127. The Jamaican Exchange (1979)
128. Tropical Death Pact (1979)
129. The Pemex Chart (1979)
130. Hawaii (1979)
131. Satan Trap (1979)
132. Reich Four (1979)
133. The Nowhere Weapon (1979)
134. Strike of the Hawk (1980)
135. Day Of The Dingo (1980)
136. And Next The King (1980)
137. The Stolen Pay Train (1974)
137. The Tarantula Strike (1980)
138. Ten Times Dynamite (1980)
139. Eighth Card Stud (1980)
140. The Suicide Seat (1980)
141. Death Mission : Havana (1980)
142. War From The Clouds (1980)
143. Turkish Bloodbath (1980)
144. The Coyote Connection (1981) (with Bill Crider and Jack Davis)
145. The G Man (1981)
146. The Katmandu Contract (1981)
147. The Ouster Conspiracy (1981)
148. The Golden Bull (1981)
149. The Dubrovnik Massacre (1981)
150. Solar Menace (1981)
151. Strontium Code (1981)
152. Pleasure Island (1981)
153. Cauldron of Hell (1981)
154. The Parisian Affair (1981)
155. Chessmaster (1982)
156. The Last Samurai (1982)
157. The Puppet Master (1982)
158. Dominican Affair (1982)
159. Damocles Threat (1982)
160. Earth Shaker (1982)
161. Treason Game (1982)
162. Deathlight (1982)
163. Israeli Connection (1982)
164. Norwegian Typhoon (1982)
165. The Hunter (1982)
166. Operation : McMurdo Sound (1982)
167. Appointment in Haiphong (1982)
168. Retreat for Death (1982)
169. The Mendoza Manuscript (1982)
170. The Death Star Affair (1982)
171. Dr. DNA (1982)
172. The Christmas Kill (1982)
172. Typhoon Ray (1982)
173. The Greek Summit (1982)
174. The Outback Ghosts (1983)
175. Hide and Go Die (1983)
176. The Kali Death Cult (1983)
177. Operation Vendetta (1983)
178. The Yukon Target (1983)
179. The Death Dealer (1983)
180. The Istanbul Decision (1983)
181. The Decoy Hit (1983)
182. Earthfire North (1983)
183. The Budapest Run (1983)
184. Caribbean Coup (1984)
185. The Algarve Affair (1984)
186. Zero-Hour Strike Force (1984)
187. Operation Sharkbite (1984)
188. Death Island (1984)
189. Night of the Warheads (1984)
190. Day of the Mahdi (1984) (with Gayle Lynds)
191. Assignment: Rio (1984)
192. Death Hand Play (1984)
193. The Kremlin Kill (1984)
194. The Mayan Connection (1984) (with Gayle Lynds)
195. San Juan Inferno (1984)
196. Circle of Scorpions (1985)
197. The Blue Ice Affair (1985)
198. The Macao Massacre (1985)
199. Pursuit of the Eagle (1985) (with Gayle Lynds)
200. The Vengeance Game (1985)
201. Last Flight to Moscow (1985)
202. The Normandy Code (1985)
203. White Death (1985) (with Gayle Lynds)
204. The Assassin Convention (1985)
205. Blood of the Scimitar (1985)
206. The Execution Exchange (1985) (with Gayle Lynds)
207. The Tarlov Cipher (1985)
208. Target Red Star (1985)
209. The Killing Ground (1985)
210. The Berlin Target (1986)
211. Mercenary Mountain (1986)
212. Blood Ultimatum (1986)
213. The Cyclops Conspiracy (1986)
214. Tunnel for Traitors (1986)
215. The Samurai Kill (1986)
216. Terror Times Two (1986)
217. Death Orbit (1986)
218. Slaughter Day (1986)
219. The Master Assassin (1986)
220. Operation Petrograd (1986)
221. Crossfire Red (1987)
222. Blood of the Falcon (1987)
223. Death Squad (1987)
224. The Terror Code (1987)
225. Holy War (1987)
226. Blood Raid (1987)
227. East of Hell (1987)
228. Killing Games (1987)
229. Terms of Vengeance (1987)
230. Pressure Point (1987)
231. Night of the Condor (1987)
232. The Poseidon Target (1987)
233. The Andropov File (1988)
234. Dragonfire (1988)
235. Bloodtrail to Mecca (1988)
236. Deathstrike (1988)
237. Lethal Prey (1988)
238. Spykiller (1988)
239. Bolivan Heat (1988)
240. The Rangoon Man (1988)
241. Code Name Cobra (1988)
242. Afghan Intercept (1988)
243. Countdown to Armageddon (1988)
244. Black Sea Bloodbath (1988)
245. The Deadly Diva (1989)
246. Invitation to Death (1989)
247. Day of the Assassin (1989)
248. The Korean Kill (1989)
249. Middle East Massacre (1989)
250. Sanction to Slaughter (1989)
251. Holiday in Hell (1989)
252. Law of the Lion (1989)
253. Hong Kong Hit (1989)
254. Deep Sea Death (1989)
255. Arms of Vengeance (1989)
256. Hell-Bound Express (1989)
257. Isle of Blood (1989)
258. Singapore Sling (1990)
259. Ruby Red Death (1990)
260. Arctic Abduction (1990)
261. Dragon Slay (1990)

He is definitely an under-appreciated pulp author but there is rarely a hardboiled omnibus that is published without a Cleve Adams story included.

According to Vincent Starrett, a once well-known columnist, Cleve Adams was “far and away the best writer of the hardboiled school”.

Take a look at the selection of Cleve Adams novels for sale below.

Buy Cleve Adams novels

1957 THE PRIVATE EYE by CLEVE F ADAMS SIGNET 1405    US $9.99

SABOTAGE CLEVE F ADAMS SIGNET PAPERBACK BOOK 836 CRIME SPICY 1952 3RD GGA G VG    US $.99

THE PRIVATE EYE Cleve F Adams 1957 SIGNET BOOK 1405 Paperback HARDBOILED MYSTERY    US $4.99

1950 CONTRABAND BOOK CLEVE F ADAMS VINTAGE ALFRED A KNOPF    US $9.98

Cleve Adams SABOTAGE 1952 Vintage Cover LK WOW    US $6.99

DETECTIVE FICTION WEEKLY MAR 19 1938 CLEVE F ADAMS    US $9.50

Contraband by Cleve F Adams 1950 1st Edition DJ Borderline Cases    US $9.99

Cleve Adams THE BLACK DOOR E P Dutton 1941 2nd pr    US $29.95

NO WINGS ON A COP by Cleve F Adams 1950 Handi Book PBO    US $90.00

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A Cleve Adams checklist

And Sudden Death (1940)
Sabotage (1940)
The Black Door (1941)
Decoy (1941)
The Vice Czar Murders (1941)
Dig Me A Grave (1942)
The Private Eye (1942)
What Price Murder (1942)
Death Is Like That (1943)
Up Jumped the Devil (1943)
The Crooking Finger (1944)
The Evil Star (1944)
Contraband (1950)
No Wings On A Cop (1950)
Shady Lady (1955)

But Cornell Woolrich was a prolific author of many books and short stories that spanned 4 decades in the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s. When you pick up and read a Cornell Woolrich book you will be immersing yourself in a doomed love affair or a diabolical double cross that will end badly for all concerned. His stories were well crafted and invariably highlighted the darker side of the human mind.

Argosy July 3 1937 Cornell Woolrich    US $24.99

Argosy January 25 1936 Cornell Woolrich    US $24.99

CORNELL WOOLRICH FRIGHT by GEORGE HOPLEY    US $327.25

FOUR NOVELLAS OF FEAR CORNELL WOOLRICH PAPERBACK NEW    US $11.57

Manhattan Love Song By Cornell Woolrich 3B    US $39.99

TIM BEVAN Arnold Schwarzenegger JON JOHANSEN Cornell Woolrich magazine    US $11.99

THE SAINT detective digest October 1962 Charteris Cornell Woolrich Dan Ross    US $9.99

Cornell Woolrich The Black Angel Suspense Noir    US $5.50

THE SAINT detective digest October 1963 Cornell Woolrich Paul W Fairman    US $9.99

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A Cornell Woolrich checklist

Cover Charge
Children of the Ritz
Times Square
A Young Man's Heart
The Time of Her Life
Manhattan Love Song
The Bride Wore Black
The Black Curtain
The Black Alibi
Phantom Lady (writing as William Irish)
The Black Angel
The Black Path of Fear
Deadline At Dawn (writing as William Irish)
Night Has A Thousand Eyes (writing as George Hopley)
Waltz Into Darkness (writing as William Irish)
Rendezvous In Black
I Married A Dead Man (writing as William Irish)
Savage Bride
Fright (writing as George Hopley)
Marihuana
You'll Never See Me Again (novella)
Stranglers Serenade (writing as William Irish)
Hotel Room
Death Is My Dancing Partner
The Doom Stone
Into The Night

Sweeney is the narrator of this story. He is an alcoholic and a newspaper reporter and is getting over his latest drinking jag when he witnesses the strange aftermath of what looks to be an attempted stabbing murder. The victim is a beautiful woman, a stripper in fact, who survives the attack, presumably thanks to the dog that sits guarding her.

In front of a crowd of astounded bystanders the dazed woman, affected by the shock of the incident goes into her performance routine. Although she is too traumatized to identify her attacker, she is able to furnish enough details to make it clear that she was close to being the latest victim of a killer known as The Ripper.

Sweeney makes it his business to discover the identity of The Ripper for two equally important reasons. The first is because it would make a sensational story and as a reporter, he can’t resist a good story.

The second is that by following up the story he would get to meet the stripper and as a man he can’t resist a beautiful dame!

So he snaps himself out of his drunken state and writes the newspaper of Yolanda Lang, the dancer who has instantly entranced him.

The pace is brisk the dialogue is amusing and direct and Sweeney conducts his own investigation with the hard slog of following up his hunches and suspicions. It’s a very entertaining investigation with an ending worth waiting for.

Along the way Sweeney encounters a mélange of unusual personalities such as Doc Greene, a former psychiatrist now acting as Yolanda’s agent, Raoul Reynarde a flamboyant gift-shop owner and an artist named Charlie Wilson who created the statue known as the Screaming Mimi. It’s this statue that Sweeney is convinced is the key to the Ripper murders.

As with many of Fredric Brown’s stories there is a fine edge between straightforward crime and the darkly bizarre. The use of a less than perfect character as the hero suits the tone of the story with a jaded inevitability about the events reflected in a guy who is making a supreme effort just to get by each day. For all that he is given a charming, likable personality that had you pulling for him the whole way, no matter how self-serving his motives.

Fredric Brown’s writing style is concise with a wry tone to it that hints at a sardonic take to every situation. If you can possibly get your hands on this - or any of Fredric Brown’s books for that matter - it’s worth the effort.

You can find and buy The Screaming Mimi and other works by visiting the store page of Fredric Brown.