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!
A statuette in a dead man’s hand is the key to a baffling crime problem! When evil, swift-striking death stalks the town of Bradford, The Phantom Detective embarks on the dangerous trail of criminal conspirators who operate behind a sinister cloak of mystery!
Somewhat aimless upon his return from the war, Richard Curtis Van Loan confided often in a friend of his father’s, the rather influential Frank Havens, the publisher of the Clarion newspaper. A father figure to Van Loan in many ways since he had been orphaned as a child, Havens provided the advice to the young man that would change his life and the course of Pulp history forever. Noting a crime that the city’s police were having trouble solving, Havens challenged Van Loan to try his hand at solving it. Van Loan does just that and in the process discovers his purpose. Not only that, but Van Loan learns of the true level of corruption and crime riddling his city and the world at large. Determined to strike back for justice and ordinary citizens, Van Loan decides to create another identify for himself and take his fight literally to the streets.
This concept of a citizen taking fighting crime as a personal mission was something that the writers of The Phantom Detective stories tried to capitalize on. Instead of extensive blurbs attempting to entice the readers, writers of later stories would tease the tale, then pen several paragraphs, basically editorials citing statistics and outlining then current events related to crimes, even calling readers to contact their elected officials as a way to, like The Phantom Detective, battle crime single handedly!
‘Murder of a Plaster Saint’ was originally published in the February 1944 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: The Golden Saint
Chapter 2: Signal for the Phantom
Chapter 3: Grave off Ashes
Chapter 4: Copper Bullet
Chapter 5: Big Moose
Chapter 6: Peter What’s-His-Name
Chapter 7: Run-In with Hick Law
Chapter 8: Six Bullets
Chapter 9: Manhattan Mission
Chapter 10: With Murderous Intent
Chapter 11: Forest Grave
Chapter 12: Clue — With Numbers
Chapter 13: Reception Committee
Chapter 14: Secret of the Watch
Chapter 15: Angry Man With Copper Bullets
Chapter 16: Visit by Night
Chapter 17: Room of Shadows
Chapter 18: Killer of Four
Chapter 19: Killers Die Hard
