Murder stalks in the wake of a famous aviator’s disappearance in this smashing mystery in which the Phantom Detective trails a human monster to his grisly lair of terror and torture. Many people think of crime as something far removed yet one out of every twenty Americans, approximately, is inoculated with the dread virus of lawlessness! Donning a mask and using his agile mind and body, The Phantom Detective acts as a one-man cure for this disease!
Even though he was indeed a one-man army against crime, The Phantom Detective did not live in the world alone, nor could he completely carry on his crusade by himself. From ‘The Emperor of Death’, the Phantom’s first story, the crimefighter’s identity was known to one man. A friend of his father’s and a man influential in Richard Curtis Van Loan’s raising, Frank Havens was not only the powerful publisher of The Clarion, the city’s newspaper. He was also the man who not only knew the Phantom Detective’s identity, but he had also been the man who suggested Van Loan take on a case to solve that had the police baffled. Havens’ suggestion not only led his young charge to solve the case, but also to become The Phantom Detective! The connection with Havens would also provide The Phantom Detective with a love interest and, in some stories, somewhat of a partner. Muriel Havens was not only Frank’s daughter, but also proved to be The Phantom Detective’s love interest and, in many instances, a near equal of his more than a damsel in distress. Another character that Havens provides the connection for is tough guy and sometimes hardboiled Clarion reporter Steve Huston.
‘The Tomb of Death’ was originally published in the November 1934 issue of The Phantom Detective Magazine and is read with pulse pounding intensity by award winning voice actor Milton Bagby.
