When plunderers of Government secrets join forces to amass a fortune in tainted wealth, the Phantom Detective fights to balk their treacherous plans! Follow Richard Curtis Van Loan, the Nemesis of Crime, as he pits himself against sinister enemies of America and strives to unravel a baffling mystery!
Even though The Phantom Detective debuted in 1933, the United States was not that far removed from World War One. It’s very likely that some of the readers of Van Loan’s adventures were actually veterans of that war, many of them just past thirty years of age when the magazine debuted. Rich or not, men returned home from the war, as they often do from any armed conflict, having lived in almost an alternate reality only to come back to a world that, for all practical purposes, either hasn’t changed or has gone on without them. This sense of loss, this search for a reason to exist, a way to matter was not only a key part of why Van Loan takes Frank Havens up on his challenge to solve a crime the police can’t, leading to his career as The Phantom Detective. Although no one returned from World War One, to our knowledge, and put on a mask to solve crimes, many men found themselves desperate for direction, trying to figure out how to make their way in a world they didn’t feel quite comfortable in. This would prove to be an endearing part of Van Loan’s appeal early on, giving men who had experience the reality of his fictional war career a character they could not only empathize and identify with, but also giving them hope. If Van Loan could find his future, they too may find their paths in some other way.
Murder for Millions was originally published in the June 1945 issue of The Phantom Detective Magazine and is read with pulse pounding intensity by award winning voice actor Milton Bagby.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Cat-Man
Chapter 2: Across Space
Chapter 3: Dead Man’s Shoes
Chapter 4: Afghan
Chapter 5: Birds of a Feather
Chapter 6: Shock for Schemers
Chapter 7: Monte Carlo Club
Chapter 8: Visit By Night
Chapter 9: Big Boss
Chapter 10: Needle
Chapter 11: One of Six
Chapter 12: A Single Clue
Chapter 13: Contact
Chapter 14: The Phantom Makes a Deal
Chapter 15: Return
Chapter 16: Checkmate
Chapter 17: Destination — Death?
Chapter 18: Limping Man
Chapter 19: Unmasked
Chapter 20: The Phantom Explains
