The Fear Merchants
by Paul Chadwick writing as Brant House
Operating out of the supposedly haunted Montgomery Mansion, Secret Agent “X” ventures forth in a bewildering array of false identities to infiltrate the darkest underbellies of the Underworld—and destroy it from within. The only clue to his true identity is his haunting whistle....
Flame demons swept across the city. And in their scorching wake came a new horror. The firemen fighting the vast inferno suddenly toppled from their ladders, their shrieks piercing the blazing roar. For when those firefighters struck the pavement they were distorted, bloated husks .... Secret Agent “X” was at that fire. But his manhunt was blocked by a barrier of the bloated dead.
The enigma of enigmas, Secret Agent “X” has been deputized by a high government official to battle the darkest, most diabolical enemies of America before they sink their poisonous fangs into the nation’s healthy core. Faceless and unsung, “X” infiltrates these threats in a bewildering array of disguises.
The impact that creator Paul Chadwick had with Secret Agent “X” on pulp fiction was significant. Chadwick blended the crime and science fiction/horror genres seamlessly in the Secret Agent “X” stories. Elements of deduction and justice seeking weaved well into looming nightmares come to life and monstrous villains. Secret Agent “X” concreted a sub genre all its own in many ways, laying the groundwork for such future works as George C. Chesbro’s Mongo series and Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files.
Chadwick specialized in telling melodramatic mystery yarns saturated in an atmosphere of impending doom. In Secret Agent “X”, a cloud of diabolical danger hangs over the heads of every innocent character until “X”, using his fists, his gas gun, or his loyal operatives, shatters the threat for all time.
Follow the Man of a Thousand Faces as he confronts the menace of The Fear Merchants, ripped from the pages of Secret Agent “X” magazine, March 1936 and read with chilling intensity by Milton Bagby.
Chapter 1: The Crucible of Crime
Chapter 2: Fiend of Fire
Chapter 3: Death’s High Carnival
Chapter 4: Doom’s Disguise
Chapter 5: Car of Death
Chapter 6: X Under Fire!
Chapter 7: Sky Menace
Chapter 8: Webs of Crime
Chapter 9: Murderers’ Trap
Chapter 10: Betty Dale Condemned
Chapter 11: Fiends’ Bargain
Chapter 12: The Death Flower
Chapter 13: The Trap
Chapter 14: Murder Bait
Milton Bagby is a veteran radio announcer and voiceover specialist who first turned to audiobooks in 2010. Since then, Milton has worked on close to two hundred audiobook projects and is a 2017 Audie Awards winner, the audiobook industry's highest award. Drawing upon years of stage acting and the occasional bit part in films, Milton uses his experience to create characters that stand out in the ear of the listener.
“I am very much aware that a perfect stranger is going to invest many hours listening to me tell a story. I do my best to give the listener an experience in which the characters in that story come alive and sound real.”
When not behind a microphone, Milton is a writer. In addition to the well-received Rick Burkhart crime novels, Milton writes a line of 1950s style pulp stories, and is the author of dozens of magazine articles and two non-fiction books. Milton and his wife live in Nashville.
