The Black Star: A Detective Story

It begins with a man waking in the dark, sensing a presence. That's all it takes for Johnston McCulley to pull you into his web. Roger Verbeck, sharp-tongued and quicker with his fists, catches a burglar in his apartment who utters one name: the Black Star. Within pages, Verbeck launches a personal vendetta against a master thief who has baffled police for months. What follows is pure pulp adventure, taut confrontations, hidden gangs, heists that go wrong, and a cat-and-mouse game that escalates with every chapter. The criminal underworld of early twentieth-century America has never felt more seductive or more dangerous. This is McCulley before he gave the world Zorro, and you can feel the raw talent straining at its leash. For anyone who wants vintage detective fiction that moves fast, hits hard, and never apologizes.