Whenever the “Jinx” appears, an accident is bound to follow, and it’s up to the Phantom Detective to learn why! Crime strikes up the band for a mysterious murder-go-round at a gay amusement resort!
The Phantom Detective was more or less a straightforward lawman, albeit in a mask. Other Pulp heroes took on lost races, psychotic madmen with plots to litter the streets of New York with thousands of bodies, or mysterious monsters and insane mad scientists. The Phantom Detective, more often than not, steered clear of such outlandish threats and focused more specifically on street level crimes, be it actual crimes against citizens or massive underworld plots to rob the world blind. This more realistic take on a Pulp hero may have made the character easier for multiple authors to either write stories from beginning to end, or even to take tales they were already writing and simply rework them to fit as a Phantom Detective adventure.
The idea that The Phantom Detective was kept largely street level and ‘ordinary’ in his skill set is not without merit looking at most of the stories. It was a way, if intentional, to set him apart from other characters. Most of the pulp novels focus on crime that involves gangsters, murderers, and the occasional evil genius trying to concoct the unsolvable mystery. There are no forgotten civilizations or over the top science fiction type death devices that readers find in Doc Savage stories or some of The Shadow’s adventures. Also, the character is portrayed to be someone, while although passionate about his mission, that remains stable and focused, not flirting with insanity.
The Happyland Murders was originally published in the Spring 1950 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: Dry Dive
Chapter 2: Story of Seaview
Chapter 3: Lady with a Gun
Chapter 4: Ten Seconds From Death
Chapter 5: Skyedge
Chapter 6: Plans for Action
Chapter 7: Old Records
Chapter 8: Laboratory Work
Chapter 9: The Ghost Gig
Chapter 10: Plans for Murder
Chapter 11: Top Man
Chapter 12: Guns in the Dark
Chapter 13: Suspects of Murder
Chapter 14: Two of a Kind
Chapter 15: Man Named Fred
Chapter 16: Island Visit
Chapter 17: The Burned Hands
Chapter 18: Purging Flames
