The Doc Savage series has always been famous for its colorful villains. The list is long. The Sargasso Ogre. The Squeaking Goblin.The Vanisher. John Sunlight. And many others.

Add The Whistling Wraith to that Honor Roll of Evil.

The weird mystery began when King Goz the First of the Balkan state of Merida arrived at the White House for a state dinner. His limousine pulls up, the chauffeur opens the door, but no one steps forth. A search of the car interior shows no sign of the vanished ruler. Yet eyewitnesses, including the driver, all swear he had been seated in back just seconds before!

Where did Goz go?

The F.B.I. and Secret Service are baffled. The call goes out to the greatest scientist and solver of mysteries in the nation—Doc Savage! But once he gets on the case, the Man of Bronze discovers that the trail of clues leads to a corpse impaled by the missing king’s own ceremonial sword. To deepen the enigma, another dead man is found in Doc Savage’s office safe––after it was invaded by a ghostly figure who looks exactly like Old King Fausto, a Meridan monarch buried alive centuries ago. And this new corpse has been slain by the same royal sword!

Who or what is this eerie apparition who can walk through sold objects, whistling the “Death March of King Fausto” as he laughs at bullets fired at him? Is he really the spirit of King Fausto? If so, why has he emerged from his royal tomb? What is his connection with the missing Goz?

The mystery is deep, the suspects are many, and the action and suspense are plentiful as Doc Savage and his men tackle the most maddening mystery of their colorful careers. It’s a puzzle with too many pieces and a problem that taxes resources of the mighty Man of Bronze to the utmost.

Michael McConnohie reads The Whistling Wraith with mysterioso aplomb.