Boomerang Dice: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Johnny Hi Gear

by Stewart Sterling, Arthur Rodman Bowker (Illustrator), Jes Schlaikjer (Illustrator)

One of the most talented authors to be recruited to write for Black Mask Magazine following the departure of Dashiell Hammett, Stewart Sterling made a lasting impression on readers with his initial series character, Johnny Hi undercover police agent K-Five who battled gambling rackets during the Great Depression.Never before reprinted, this popular series jump-started Sterling’s writing career which covered spans of time in radio, TV, and hardcovers, along with writing some of pulpdom’s most popular heroes, the Black Bat and The Spider. Collecting all 8 stories, along with an all-new introduction by Will Murray.

218 pages, Paperback

Published July 7, 2020

About the author

Stewart Sterling (1895-1976) was the pseudonym of Prentice Winchell, who also wrote under the names of Spencer Dean and Jay de Bekker.


Winchell was born in Illinois and worked as a journalist. He preferred to write about non-typical investigative bodies; the NY Harbor Police and Fire Brigade, for instance. He was also a screenwriter and writer of radio scripts, as well as many magazine stories.

His series characters were Fire Marshal Ben Pedley and PI Gil Vine. Spencer Dean’s primary character was Don Cadee, a department store detective.

Reviews

[Chris Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

An honest undercover gambler,
Some pretty rampant racism,
Solid genre reading,
not meant to be read as anything but what it is,
Old pulp.