"Boom! An explosion of pain roared through me, blasted me all the way to my shoestrings. Klieg lights made pinwheel patterns in my glims, an atomic bomb took my grey cells apart, and I plunged into a deep black well of unconsciousness. For me it was the end of a chapter." Those inimitable words from Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective, came from the pen of famed author Robert Leslie Bellem. His colorful slang was to influence hard-boiled dicks for decades. Turner was a shamus who made Tinsel-town his stomping grounds. Crime amongst the glitter. The character made his debut in 1934 as a short story in Spicy Detective magazine. It continued there, one of the most popular recurring characters. In January 1942, publisher Culture Publications spun it off into its own magazine. There were 59 issues of the series, until the final issue in October 1950. Hollywood Detective returns in these vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format.
Table of Contents:
Two Hard-Hitting Novelettes
Starring Dan Turner, Hollywood’s Top Private Sleuth
Off-Stage Murder
by Robert Leslie Bellem
Instead of the megaphone he should have had, this guy had a cannon — a switch that came close to turning Dan Turner into a corpse.
Homicide Spike
by Robert Leslie Bellem
Daw Turner moved fast when that luscious golden-haired dame yelled bloody murder — a yell that soon proved to mean just what it said.
Other Swift-Paced Short Detective Stories and Novelettes
Bloody Melody
by Ralph Sedgwick Douglas
Ben figured this was no time to tell what he could — till someone began to sing.
Rest In Peace
by Bryce Walton
To that shamus from L.A., this strange thing looked a lot bigger than robbery.
Clean Kill
by Eric Benson Glades
Mary had an innocent heart — and a ravishing body. There was hot desire — and cold death.
Sing To Death
by Lee E. Wells
Bock knew he shouldn’t talk about his client — but the police were curious.
Unusual Crime Story
The Master Plan
by Edward William Murphy
Sometimes even a perfect master plan can meet the unexpected.