The first hard-boiled detective Race Williams, runs up against the Klan in his premiere adventure, which leads him to fast and tragic action. Plus two other early Daly hard-boiled classics: "The False Burton Combs" and "Dolly." Story #1 in the Race Williams series.Carroll John Daly (1889–1958) was the creator of the first hard-boiled private eye story, predating Dashiell Hammett's first Continental Op story by several months. Daly's classic character, Race Williams, was one of the ...

If you know anything at all about John Daly—and if you don't, what in the hell are you doing with this book in your hands?—you know he approaches the game of golf from an, uh, slightly different perspective than your average two-time major winner.How different? Well, for starters, Long John thinks the PGA Tour ought to permit Bermuda shorts, make carts mandatory, let him wear his hair down to his butt if he wants to, and strip-search tournament patrons at the entrance gate to keep ...

From the unapologetic bad boy of professional golf comes a rip-roaring account of his rollercoaster life and careerFrom his battles with alcoholism and gambling addiction to marital problems (his fourth and current wife is facing money-laundering charges) and a highly publicized breakdown during a nationally televised tournament, John Daly has hit into his share of hazards.Daly’s play-it-as-it-lies approach drives a thrillingly candid memoir of a larger-tha...

Wacky as a loon—that was Connelly's first impression of the Grey gal when she walked into his office and offered him a retainer for protecting her from the man she loved. And who could blame him? It was a million-buck check she presented to that hard-boiled investigator and the signature it bore was simply "The Man in the Moon!"

"Better stay out of this… It will mean death for you—sure,” grunts a ruthless thug. But Three Gun Terry is not one to back down from a fight, especially when the life of a beautiful, young dame is at stake. Terry manages to whisk the girl away from certain death, just in the nick of time. But the retrieval brings more money and more trouble for Terry. It turns out the girl—Nita—is fresh off the boat and drop-dead gorgeous, catching his usually business-minded eye. To make matters worse, th...

Black Mask, the greatest American detective magazine of all time, is back with another issue. This time around, it includes nine new stories in the Black Mask vein by Brian Townsley, Jane Jakeman, Brian Stanley, Hannah Honeybun, William Burton McCormick, Frank Megna, Jonathan Sheppard, Michael Bracken, Jim Doherty, as well as a new article on Raymond Chandler’s The Little Sister by Katrina Younes. In addition, Boris Dralyuk has kindly supplied his translation of Isaac Bab...

Race Williams—the classic hard-boiled detective from the pages of Black Mask Magazine—takes on the biggest blackmailing scheme of his career. Plus a bonus Daly hard-boiled classic: "Paying an Old Debt." Story #2 in the Race Williams series.Carroll John Daly (1889–1958) was the creator of the first hard-boiled private eye story, predating Dashiell Hammett's first Continental Op story by several months. Daly's classic character, Race Williams, was one of the most popular fic...

Who is the criminal known only as “The Beast?” Too baffling for the police to solve, it becomes a manhunt in which detective Race Williams must track down “the most feared, the cunningest and cruelest creature that stalks the city streets at night.” But it will soon become Race's most dangerous case as he tries to stay alive. One of the longest and best of the dozens of Race Williams adventures. Story #17 in the Race Williams series.Carroll John Daly (1889–1958) was the creator of ...

Picking up from where our last issue left off, we have another group of crime stories written especially for us. Starting with ex-police detective Lissa Marie Redmond whose short fiction has appeared in anthologies like Akashic’s Buffalo Noir and whose debut novel will be out in February 2018, we move along to novelist Andrew Welsh-Huggins, author of the Andy Hayes PI series.Then we have a chilling new tale by short story specialist Nick Kolakowsi, followed by this issue’s featured...

Hard-boiled detective Race Williams investigates the strangest murder of his career. Another classic from the pages of Black Mask Magazine. Story #5 in the Race Williams series.Carroll John Daly (1889–1958) was the creator of the first hard-boiled private eye story, predating Dashiell Hammett's first Continental Op story by several months. Daly's classic character, Race Williams, was one of the most popular fiction characters of the pulps, and the direct inspiration for Mi...

"The false Burton Combs" is a crime story written by Caroll John Daly and published in the “Black mask magazine” in December 1922. The narrator, a tough guy, “kind of private eye”, is approached by a man who wants him to travel to Nantucket under his identity. Once on the island, he will be Burton Combs. And problems will start arising...With its cortege of evil mid-aged women, femmes fatales, cold-blooded killers, without forgetting a trial, and a final twist at the end, The false Burton ...

A chance meeting in the night brings together New York City’s roughest private eye Three Gun Terry and runt-of-a-millionaire John Rogo. Over a cup of coffee, Rogo relays a tale to Terry that is all too familiar, despite its setting. Twenty five years ago, Rogo, his brother, and their friends were in South Africa hunting when they discovered fields of diamonds. They all looked to become the next Morgan and Rockefeller. Then, they stuck him: killed his brother and left him for dead, leaving ...