Pulp Archive: Detective & Mystery

The yellow dog by Eric Darling [Restored & Archived by Pulp Archive] First published in: The Black Mask 11 1920 Main genre: Heist Mystery Lesser genres: Inverted Mystery, Weird Menace A hardened thief's meticulous robbery of an old jeweler spirals into a nightmare as he is stalked through London's fog-shrouded alleys by a grotesque yellow dog and a web of double-crosses. --- Production Credits...

Double Feature: The Extra Dozen Eggs & The Light That Lies [Restored & Archived by Pulp Archive] First published in: The Black Mask 4 1922 Main genre: Sleuth, Inverted Mystery Lesser genres: Whodunit, Regional Mystery, Hardboiled The Extra Dozen Eggs by J B Hawley: A simple errand involving a dozen extra eggs fractures the peace of a rural community, turning neighbors into suspects as an a...

Murder in Haste by John Baer [Restored & Archived by Pulp Archive] First published in: The Black Mask 8 1922 Main genre: Hardboiled Lesser genres: Whodunit, Psychological Mystery A cynical investigator must navigate a urban labyrinth of corruption and false confessions as a rising body count and constant betrayal threaten to swallow him whole before he can unmask the killer. --- Production Cre...

Appearances Are Deceiving by George B Jenkins Jr [Restored & Archived by Pulp Archive] First published in: The Black Mask 4 1922 Main genre: Heist Mystery Lesser genres: Inverted Mystery, Regional Mystery A cunning New York crook’s grand scheme to rob a Delaware bank collapses when his sophisticated web of deception is dismantled by a sharp small-town policeman and the very man he thought he h...

The Dark Brown Dress by Meredith Beyers [Restored & Archived by Pulp Archive] First published in: The Black Mask 12 1921 Main genre: Whodunit Lesser genres: Historical Mystery, Forensic Mystery Investigator Meroe must piece together a trail of needle marks and intercepted telegrams to expose a lethal inheritance conspiracy hidden behind the "natural" deaths of a couple in a locked hotel suite....

The Georgetown Mystery by William Wallace Major [Restored & Archived by Pulp Archive] First published in: The Black Mask 11 1920 Main genre: Whodunit Lesser genres: Police Procedural, Regional Mystery In a quiet Ohio village, a visiting detective peels back layers of hidden letters and a widow's secrets to solve a double homicide and a high-stakes bank robbery that shattered the town's facade...

The Prisoner Speaks by J Frederic Thorne [Restored & Archived by Pulp Archive] First published in: The Black Mask 12 1921 Main genre: Legal Thriller Lesser genres: Psychological Mystery, Regional Mystery Samuel Smith takes his own defense in a small-town courtroom, battling a wave of circumstantial evidence and a bloodthirsty community to prove his innocence in the brutal murder of his wife. -...

The Vault by Murray Leinster [Restored & Archived by Pulp Archive] First published in: The Black Mask 8 1922 Main genre: Heist Mystery Lesser genres: Psychological Mystery, Locked Room Mystery A seasoned safe-cracker’s routine heist spirals into a deadly game of survival when he discovers a sinister betrayal that threatens to seal him alive inside an airtight vault. --- Production Credits Prep...

Double Feature: The Heart on the mantel & The Weeping Killer [Restored & Archived by Pulp Archive] First published in: The Black Mask 11 1920 Main genre: Weird Menace, Psychological Mystery Lesser genres: Occult Detective, Inverted Mystery The Heart on the mantel: A medical student’s sanity unravels as a preserved heart begins to beat in its jar, signaling a descent into obsession that cul...

Pink Ears by Murray Leinster [Restored & Archived by Pulp Archive] First published in: The Black Mask 4 1922 Main genre: Inverted Mystery Lesser genres: Police Procedural, Psychological Mystery A businessman fakes a robbery to steal his firm’s bonds, but a weary detective spots his pink ears and traps him in a sloppy scheme. --- Production Credits Prepared by: Sol Narrated by: Whiteman, the di...

The strange case of Nathaniel Broome by Charles McDonell [Restored & Archived by Pulp Archive] First published in: The Black Mask 11 1920 Main genre: Weird Menace Lesser genres: Psychological Mystery, Occult Detective A lonely bookkeeper befriends a mysterious lodger whose hidden secret erupts in horror, unraveling a chilling tale of beauty, pain, and family secrets. --- Production Credits Pre...

Blueberry Pie by Thyra Samter Winslow First published in: The Black Mask 1922-08 Main genre: Inverted Mystery Lesser genres: Psychological Mystery, Hardboiled To frame her former lover for her own "murder," a scorned woman steals a suicide's corpse and meticulously stages a crime scene, ultimately watching from afar as he is executed for a death that never happened. --- Production Credits Prepared...

The Finger Of Guilt by J J Stagg First published in: The Black Mask April 1922 Main genre: Inverted Mystery Lesser genres: Hardboiled, Heist Mystery A flawless diamond vanishes from a locked office, and only after a brazen second crime and a burst of gunfire does the thief’s impossible secret—hidden on his own hand—finally come to light. --- Production Credits Prepared by: Sol Narrated by: Whitema...

Double Feature: The Brand of Cain & The Man Who Was Two First published in: The Black Mask April 1922 Main genre: Whodunit, Psychological Mystery Lesser genres: Police Procedural, Detective Memoirs, Inverted Mystery The Brand of Cain: A notorious gunman survives a catastrophic train wreck and confesses to murder, only to later claim a blow to the head stole his true identity as the police capt...

Fear by Pettersen Marzoni First published in: The Black Mask December 1921 Main genre: Inverted Mystery Lesser genres: Psychological Mystery, Legal Thriller A powerful banker confesses to murdering his partner to stop years of blackmail—only for a final discovery to reveal he may have killed an innocent man out of pure fear. --- Production Credits Prepared by: Sol Narrated by: Whiteman, the digita...

Two Bells by Harry G Hervey Junior First published in: The Black Mask Novermber 1920 Main genre: Hardboiled Lesser genres: Regional Mystery, Whodunit In a coastal city defined by dockside shadows and backroom betrayals, a hard-boiled investigator follows a trail of violence to a central murder. --- Production Credits Prepared by: Sol Narrated by: Whiteman, the digital narrator ⚠️ Content Advisory:...

The Half-Asleep Girl by William H Kofoed First published in: The Black Mask September 1920 Main genre: Hardboiled Lesser genres: Police Procedural, Whodunit After being fleeced of a small fortune by a beautiful, tranced-out girl, wealthy adventurer Fleming Knibbs follows her into a squalid house where a "suicide" has just occurred. Working with a keen-eyed detective, Knibbs must determine if the g...

The Campaign for Vengeance by John Baer First published in: The Black Mask April 1922 Main genre: Hardboiled Lesser genres: Whodunit, Psychological Mystery, Inverted Mystery After her police captain brother is murdered by a shadowy criminal organization known as The Mogul, Marguerite Cornell assumes a false identity to infiltrate the city's underworld. As she descends into a life of crime and dece...

Thornton Smiled Significantly by David Morrison First published in: The Black Mask December 1921 Main genre: Inverted Mystery Lesser genres: Psychological Mystery, Hardboiled A wealthy businessman is targeted by a sophisticated blackmailing duo who use a staged fainting spell and a hidden camera to frame him in a compromising position. However, the tables turn when the victim reveals he has been p...

Double Feature: The Devil takes a hand & The Finishing Touch First published in: The Black Mask September 1920 Main genre: Inverted Mystery, Lesser genres: Psychological Mystery, Weird Menace, Psychological Mystery, Police Procedural The Devil Takes a Hand A cunning man attempts to commit the perfect murder by teaching his "insane" wife how to hang herself, hoping to claim her inheritance and...

Daughter of the Pigeon by Harry C Hervey Junior First published in: The Black Mask September 1920 Main genre: Adventure Mystery Lesser genres: Regional Mystery, Historical Mystery, Psychological Mystery Two men on a yacht in the Marquesas Islands engage in a midnight swimming race to a cursed island rumored to hold pirate treasure. Upon arrival, the narrator discovers a dying youth in a sea-chest...

The Trap Thief by Hy. S. Watson and Asa Steele. First published in: The Black Mask December 1921 Main genre: Western Detective Lesser genres: Regional Mystery, Cozy/Sleuth Mystery, Police Procedural After his traps are systematically stolen in a rugged wilderness near New York, a young woodsman named Jack Ramsey sets out to catch the thief only to stumble upon a dangerous counterfeiting ring. His...

The Man Who Would not Die by Harold Ward First published in: The Black Mask September 1920 Main genre: Police Procedural Lesser genres: Weird Menace, Occult Detective A wealthy woman dies mysteriously, only to reappear alive and implicated in a jewel theft before collapsing dead again. Inspector Des Moines faces a baffling case of stolen bodies, impossible murders, and a taunting villain who claim...

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