Hot-House Homicide

A tough-talking detective. A Duesenberg in the driveway. And a city full of killers. Before William Campbell Gault created Brock Callahan and Joe Puma, there was Mortimer Jones-"Jonesy" to his friends (and enemies). A wisecracking, beer-drinking Los Angeles private eye with a taste for fast cars and faster justice, Mortimer Jones tore through the pages of Black Mask in a string of hard-hitting cases that defined postwar pulp crime fiction. Collected here for the first time, Hot-House Homicide: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Mortimer Jones gathers all seven stories featuring Gault's first great detective creation. From garden-variety murder to high-society schemes, Jones tangles with deadly femmes, dirty cops, and double-crosses galore across a noir-soaked Los Angeles. Written between 1946 and 1949, these vintage detective stories showcase the sharp dialogue, moody atmosphere, and breakneck pacing that made Black Mask magazine the gold standard of hardboiled crime. Gault's Mortimer Jones stories bridge the gap between pulp and paperback, laying the groundwork for one of the most respected careers in American mystery fiction. Perfect for fans of Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, and classic private eye fiction, this collection is essential reading for any pulp crime aficionado.