Death's Halo

Death’s Halo by Robert Leslie Bellem, four stories from the casebook of Dan Turner – Hollywood Detective. Opium, sex slaves, blackmail, and plenty of murder, feature in the seamy side of the movie business.

Star Chamber (1942) – The girl had paid Dan five centuries and asked him to meet her at eight. Now her ex-husband was trying to hire him, and setting the same hour for an appointment! The whole set-up smelled to Dan, and behind it all was the stronger smell of cooking opium

Falling Star (1936) – It was the dizziest looking diamond ring Dan Turner had ever seen—and a girl was giving it to him to keep… handing him plenty of Hollywood trouble on a platter

Death’s Bright Halo (1935) – Those necklaces were as effective as a headman’s axe. To pierce their secret Dan Turner finds his way into the house of missing girls

Stock Shot (1944) – As much as he disapproves of murder, Dan Turner hates blackmail even more. And as much as he loves a client who puts cash on the line, Dan’s common sense tells him there’s little percentage in trying to cover up for a killer. All of these factors, and more, confront him in The Case of the Millionaire Producer with the Puritanical Sweetheart.
Chapter II – Ka-Chow!
Chapter III – The Answer to $10,000
Chapter IV – What Body?
Chapter V – The Prowler
Chapter VI – A Threat
Chapter VII – The Plan of Action
Chapter VIII – Fitting the Puzzle

Robert Leslie Bellem (1902-1968), the creator of legendary Hollywood private detective Dan Turner, was the definition of prolific, producing some 3000 short stories over a thirty year career. Dan Turner was a hard-boiled gumshoe who worked the mean streets and back lots of the film studios of Hollywood, encountering murderers, blackmailers, greedy producers, seductive starlets, desperate has-beens and immoral grifters. Turner was always ready with his “roscoe” to save some “dame” or “frail” from becoming “dead as a smoked herring.”

Death’s Halo has 13 illustrations.