Forged in war, The Phantom Detective wages a one-man battle on crime! Solving impossible mysteries and delivering his own justice, he is the underworld’s masked nightmare!
When priceless paintings are reduced to ashes, it’s up to the Phantom Detective to discover the framers of a murder conspiracy!
Even though multiple authors wrote The Phantom Detective, a formula developed over the twenty year publishing history of the pulp novels, one that may be the reason the series not only lasted so long, but has also found renewed interest and fans today. Pacing is not only consistently quick, as it should be in any good Pulp story, but it also is ever changing. Instead of the story being solely about one mystery The Phantom Detective must untangle, most of the stories have what The Phantom Detective and other characters are trying to accomplish change and shift as the story expands and loose ends get tied up. Also, the humanity and fallibility of The Phantom Detective is often used to great effect in most stories. Rarely if ever does The Phantom Detective exhibit some sort of superhuman tendency to automatically solve mysteries or to free himself from death traps, something he encounters frequently whether planned or incidental. He makes mistakes or misjudges situations often, another point that his readers would find commonality with him on, and these often lead him to not only overcoming nearly impossible odds, but also commenting that he’s created the situation that may kill him. From wrongly judging a suspect to not preparing a disguise properly, The Phantom Detective is not only challenged by the criminals he confronts or the mysteries he tries to solve, but also at times he is forced to deal with his own mistakes and overcome his own humanity, which nearly gets him killed.
The Fatal Masterpiece was originally published in the February 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: Drops of Blood
Chapter 2: Destruction by Fire
Chapter 3: Strange Murder
Chapter 4: The Whispering Voice
Chapter 5: Painted Fingers
Chapter 6: The Weird Room
Chapter 7: Funeral Wreath
Chapter 8: Red-Headed Assistant
Chapter 9: An Offer and a Threat
Chapter 10: Ex-Gangster’s Weak Spot
Chapter 11: Wreath for the Corpse
Chapter 12: A Matter of Alibis
Chapter 13: Killer’s Agent
Chapter 14: To Catch a Murderer
Chapter 15: Bait for a Trap
Chapter 16: A Hint Taken
Chapter 17: The Trap is Sprung
Chapter 18: Murders in Blackface
