Lady Killer

By George Harmon Coxe

Smuggling leads to murder, with Kent Murdock caught in the middle. When the Kemnora, a stately liner on her maiden voyage, docks in Boston, Kent Murdock is there to cover the story. He's joined by Harry Felton, a reporter and one-time foreign correspondent in France. As they leave the port, Murdock notices customs officials working over some passengers, but leaves without a second thought. After all, reporters are never bothered at customs.

Only later does Murdock learn that he left with a small package in his camera bag, hidden there by someone on the ship -- and retrieved later by Felton. He goes to ask Felton why he was used as an unwitting smuggler, but finds the reporter dead on the floor of his apartment. Whatever was in that package was worth killing for, and Murdock will find it, even if it means becoming a target himself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Release date: Jun 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781784083922

George Harmon Coxe

George Harmon Coxe (1901–1984) was an early star of hard-boiled crime fiction, best known for characters he created in the seminal pulp magazine Black Mask. Born in upstate New York, he attended Purdue and Cornell Universities before moving to the West Coast to work in newspapers. In 1922 he began publishing short stories in pulp magazines across various genres, including romance and sports. He would find his greatest success, however, writing crime fiction. In 1934 Coxe, relying on his background in journalism, created his most enduring character: Jack “Flashgun” Casey, a crime photographer. First appearing in “Return Engagement,” a Black Mask short, Casey found success on every platform, including radio, television, and film. Coxe’s other well-known characters include Kent Murdock, another photographer, and Jack Fenner, a PI. Always more interested in character development than a clever plot twist, Coxe was at home in novel-writing, producing sixty-three books in his lifetime. Made a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America in 1964, Coxe died in 1984. 

Reviews for Lady Killer

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Murdock refuses to smuggle a piece of jewelry ashore from a liner for a starlet returning from Europe; he later finds his camera has been used for the same purpose without his knowledge. The "lady killer" of the title, a rather dubious newsman, might be involved, but he gets murdered.