The Gray Phantom's Return

by Herman Landon

Excerpt from The Gray Phantom's Return

Being an ambitious and hard-working officer, Pinto made it a practice to cultivate the acquaintance of as many as possible of the people living along his beat. He knew Sylvanus Gage, a thin, stoop-shouldered man with a flowing beard, a black cap adorning his bald skull, and mild blue eyes that had a habit of gazing lugubriously at the world through thick lenses rimmed with tarnished gold. Despite his patri archal appearance, he was reputed to be using his tobacco business as a cloak for a flourishing traffic in stolen goods. So deftly did the old man manage his illicit enterprises that the police, though morally certain of their facts, had never been able to pro 'duce any evidence against him. Little was known of his housekeeper, a sour and sharp-tongued slattern' of uncertain age, but there were those who suspected that she was not entirely innocent of complicity in her employer's clandestine activities.

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316 pages, Hardcover

First published October 9, 2011

About the author

Herman Landon was a writer of mysteries in the 1920's and 1930's.

Reviews

[Daria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reminds me of an old Soviet fictional spy hero joke: Stierlitz was walking in the park with radio operator Cate. A shot was heard. Cate dropped dead at his feet. Stierlitz became watchful.
I'm still not sure whether it's supposed to be humorous (maybe a precursor of Inspector Clouseau?), since it lacks any sense of humor.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery, suspense, and romance with lots of twists and turns. Love the era this book was from. The Gray Phantom is a former criminal turned crime fighter, who is clever, strong, brave, and vulnerable when it comes to Helen Hardwick.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing mystery with twisted baddie. Fun afternoon entertainment. Pleasant reading by Roger Melin (Librivox).

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walk into trap in the dark.
Miraculously escape while talking people to death.
Repeat