The fabulous legacy of a killer stirs up a sinister tempest of crime, blackmail and mystery, woven into a death pattern! Wheels within wheels, in a plunder plot, whirl The Phantom Detective into fast action!
Even though he was indeed a one-man army against crime, The Phantom Detective did not completely carry on his crusade by himself. From his first story, the crimefighter’s identity was known to one man. A friend of his father’s and a man influential in Richard Curtis Van Loan’s raising, Frank Havens was not only the powerful publisher of The Clarion, the city’s newspaper. He had also been the man who suggested Van Loan take on a case to solve that had the police baffled Havens’ suggestion not only led his young charge to solve the case, but also to become The Phantom Detective! The connection with Havens would also provide The Phantom Detective with a love interest and, in some stories, somewhat of a partner. Muriel Havens was not only Frank’s daughter, but also proved to be The Phantom Detective’s love interest and, in many instances, a near equal of his more than a damsel in distress. Another character that Havens provides the connection for is tough guy and sometimes hardboiled Clarion reporter Steve Huston. By 1939, comic books had began influencing Pulp magazine heroes to a degree and in the case of The Phantom Detective, this meant he acquired a sidekick, a boy named Chip Dorlan. Chip would go on grow into a young man and join Army Intelligence after The United States entered World War II. Another ally that appeared several times was Jerry Lannigan, once Van Loan’s personal mechanic and pilot.
‘Murder Acres’ was originally published in the November 1948 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: Death in a Towel
Chapter 2: Out the Window
Chapter 3: Ryder’s House
Chapter 4: The Senator’s Daughter
Chapter 5: Man with Black Hair
Chapter 6: Gun in Hand
Chapter 7: Fast Exit
Chapter 8: The Yellow Door
Chapter 9: Identification
Chapter 10: Threatening Note
Chapter 11: Slip
Chapter 12: Hit-and-Run
Chapter 13: Malta
Chapter 14: Knockout
Chapter 15: In the Net
Chapter 16: Tano Talks
Chapter 17: Phantom’s Promise
Chapter 18: Murder Acres
Chapter 19: One More Body
Chapter 20: Behind the Door
