The Dark Leopard: Mouse Trap

by Richard C. White

Rachel Black is known to millions for many reasons—her hit movies, her glamorous lifestyle, and her reputed romances with Hollywood’s leading men. But Rachel also leads a secret life far away from the hot spotlights as the terror of criminals, saboteurs, and spies…because with the donning of a mask and risking of her life, Rachel is The Dark Leopard, Hollywood’s glamorous detective star. Rachel, her father, Langston Black, and Mark Stone, a journalist and some-time partner with the lovely masked heroine, are in Monaco to make a movie about Nancy Wake, the World War II’s most celebrated British Special Operations agent. It’s the chance of a lifetime for Rachel and she’ll do anything to make the picture successful. However, when things start going wrong on the set, she begins to wonder whether it’s a rival movie company or perhaps something more sinister—something that may call for a certain feline super-hero. Then, a shadow from the past makes Rachel remember the reason she became the Dark Leopard in the first place. Paying homage to classic Heroines of the Golden Age, Pro Se Productions proudly presents the debut adventures of The Dark Leopard, created by author Richard C. White.

102 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 2015

About the author

Richard C. White is the author of the "For a Few Gold Pieces More" collection of dark fantasy short stories being released by Musa Publishing.

Along with writing Fantasy and Science Fiction, Rich has been bitten by the "New Pulp" bug and has several stories coming out by Pro Se Productions in the near future. The first of his, "Notes in the Fog" has been released in the "Charles Boeckman Presents: Johnny Nickle" duology in May 2013.

He also is a media tie-in writer, having written for Star Trek, Doctor Who, and The Incredible Hulk. His novel, "Gauntlet Dark Legacy", was the best-selling tie-in for his publisher in 2004.

Richard is also active in writing organizations, being a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers. Additionally, Richard serves on the Writer Beware committee for SFWA.

A former soldier, who was stationed with the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Richard also works as a Technical Writer/Analyst for a defense contractor when not working on his latest story.

Reviews

[James Fadeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, have some pulpy fun.

At less than 100 pages, The Dark Leopard: Mousetrap is an amusing and quick story akin to original Batman comic series. Fans of old school movies might learn a thing or two about how those classics were made too, as our heroine Rachel Black is a former stuntwoman turned star, and gives us the details of how those amazing-for-its-time scenes were made.

Give it a whirl. Because although The Dark Knight is awesome, not every crime fighting caper has to be so serious.

[Mark Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the crime fighter whose daytime job is a movie actress and former stunt woman. Rachel Black is in post-WWII Monaco to film a biopic of a famous French resistance fighter. Nazis are out to sabotage the picture for no discernable reason other than general meanness. The lameness of the villains and the general lack of focus mar what could've been an entertaining C-level new pulp entry.