Sexton Blake Bibliography: 1938
Publishing: Author Gwyn Evans dies, aged just 39.
This year begins a period in the Sexton Blake saga where many of the stories are reprints (or rewrites) of older material.
SEXTON BLAKE ANNUAL 1938 · 1938 · Amalgamated Press · Price unknown
Trivia: The inset portrait of Sexton Blake on the cover illustration is, in fact, an old portrait of another detective, Panther Grayle of Russell Square, originally published in an early CHAMPION Annual. Grayle was created by Jack Lancaster for the EMPIRE LIBRARY in 1910 and later resurrected by Howard Steele for CHAMPION. The character was assisted by a reformed 17-year-old delinquent named Dusty.
Illustrator: Unknown
Notes: None at present.
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Illustrator: Eric Parker
Notes: None at present.
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Illustrator: Arthur Jones
Notes: Story features Raffles.
Trivia: This is the third of four confrontations between Sexton Blake and A. J. Raffles.
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Illustrator: Arthur Jones
Notes: Story features Raffles.
Trivia: This is part two of the third of four confrontations between Sexton Blake and A. J. Raffles.
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Illustrator: Arthur Jones
Notes: Story features Raffles.
Trivia: This is part three of the third of four confrontations between Sexton Blake and A. J. Raffles.
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Illustrator: Unknown
Notes: This was reprinted as an additional story in THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series, Issue 672 (1939).
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Illustrator: Unknown
Notes: None at present.
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Illustrator: Unknown
Notes: None at present.
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Illustrator: Eric Parker
Notes:
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Illustrator: Arthur Jones
Notes: This is an abridged reprint of the story of the same title that appeared in THE PENNY POPULAR issues 204 and 205 (1916), which in turn were an abridgement of THE MILLIONAIRE BABY from UNION JACJK issue 367 (1910).
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Illustrator: Unknown
Notes: None at present.
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Illustrator: Unknown
Notes: This was reprinted in THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 700 (1939).
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Illustrator: Unknown
Notes: None at present.
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THE BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY · 2nd Series · Issue 255 · Jan. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Unknown
Other content: Unknown
Notes: This was originally published as a serial in PILOT issues 99 to 108 (1937).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 257 · 22/1/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Unknown
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Your Character From Your Fingerprints (article); Ink Stains on a Gambler's Hands Launched the World's Greatest Forger (article); Alias — The Angel by Gerald Verner
Notes: This is a reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 406 THE BLACK DAGGER (1933).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 259 · 5/2/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Unknown
Other content: Unknown
Notes: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,101 BLACK MAGIC (1924).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 261 · 19/2/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Come at Once—If You Want to Trap the 3-Million-Dollar Gang (article); The Man Who Shrugged by Anon.; Alias — The Angel by Gerald Verner
Notes: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,102 THE FOG-FIENDS (1924).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 263 · 5/3/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Unknown
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); The Case of the Cairo Blackmailer by Ex-Detective Insp. Harold Brust; Alias — the Angel by Gerald Verner
Notes: Story features Granite Grant and Mlle. Julie. This is a reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 1st series issue 163 THE SECRET OF THE FROZEN NORTH (1921). The story was also reprinted as DEAD MAN'S DIARY in THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 416 (1934).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 265 · 19/3/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Trailing the White Slaver's Victim by Ex-Detective Insp. Harold Brust; Alias — the Angel by Gerald Verner; Sane — or Insane? by Anon.
Notes: Story features Dr. Huxton Rymer. This is a reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 319 THE CHINATOWN MYSTERY (1932).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 266 · 26/3/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); The Case of the Card Gang's Decoy by Ex-Detective Insp. Harold Brust; The Mystery of the Jade Amulet by G. H. Teed; Alias — the Angel by Gerald Verner
Notes: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,107 THE SECRET OF THE DUTCH GARDEN (1924).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 267 · 2/4/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); The Affair of the Colonel's Confession by Ex-Detective Insp. Harold Brust; Alias — the Angel by Gerald Verner
Notes: This is believed to be a revised version of an older story (as yet unidentified). Story features Zenith the Albino
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 268 · 9/4/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Murder Comes Aboard by Ladbroke Black; The Case of the Wild Young Man by Ex-Detective Insp. Harold Brust; Human Contraband (article); Alias — the Angel by Gerald Verner
Notes: This short story is thought to be a reprint of THE MURDER OF MORTON GEEN from PENNY PICTORIAL issue 649.
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 269 · 16/4/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Unknown
Other content: Unknown
Notes: This is a reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 269 THE RADIO CROOK (1931).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 271 · 30/4/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); The Secret of the Napoleon Bust by Ex-Detective Insp. Harold Brust; The Strange Affair of the Antique Cradle by L. C. Douthwaite
Notes: This is believed to be a revised version of an older story (as yet unidentified).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 273 · 14/5/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); The Case of the Boy Who Went Bad (article); The Strange Affair of the Antique Cradle by L. C. Douthwaite
Notes: None at present.
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 276 · 4/6/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Red Saunders by Sinbad; The Secret of the Marble Bacchante by G. H. Teed.
Notes: None at present.
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 278 · 18/6/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); The Secret of the Glass Skulls by Barry Perowne; Red Saunders by Sinbad; The Secret of the Marble Bacchante by G. H. Teed.
Notes: This rehashes parts of UNION JACK issue 1,206 LORD OF THE APE MEN and issue 1,207 THE MYSTERY OF THE MASKED MAGICIAN (both 1926). See those issues for story reviews.
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 280 · 2/7/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); The Secret of the Glass Skulls by Barry Perowne; Red Saunders by Sinbad; The Secret of the Marble Bacchante by G. H. Teed.
Notes: This is a reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 315 THE MYSTERY OF THE 13TH CHEST (1933).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 282 · 16/7/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Red Saunders by Sinbad; The Secret of the Marble Bacchante by G. H. Teed.
Notes: Having survived the fire that ended his previous adventure, Dr Satira limps to a village doctor's house during the dead of night and kills the medical man. He treats his burns but is interrupted by the arrival of a man named Claban Cragg who has arrived in Britain to claim a large inheritance. Satira murders Cragg, adopts his identity then continues the man's journey to London and puts up at the Cosmo Hotel. Here he meets with Cragg's lawyers and receives the inheritance of £100,000 a year, a house in London, an estate in the country, and a remote island off the coast of Cornwall. When a murder brings Sexton Blake to the hotel, the detective connects it with Cragg — but, by that point, the disguised Satira has left the hotel with his henchman, Cropper. The murdered man had been an acquaintance of the real Cragg and, upon calling to see him, had realised that an impostor had taken his place. Blake traces Satira via Cragg's lawyers and sets off after his quarry. He catches up with him just as Satira launches a boat towards Cragg Island in a terrific storm. The vessel never makes it — Blake watches it crushed by a huge wave and Satira is lost, presumed dead.
Trivia: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,211 THE QUEST OF THE LIMPING MAN (1927). The review is based on a reading of that issue.
Rating: ★★★★☆
DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 284 · 30/7/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Red Saunders by 'Sinbad'; The Secret of the Marble Bacchante by G. H. Teed
Notes: None at present.
Unrated
DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 286 · 13/8/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Red Saunders by 'Sinbad'; Mantrap! by Jeffrey Gaunt
Notes: This is a rehash of parts of UNION JACK issue 1,217 THE LAIR IF THE LIMPING MAN and UNION JACK issue 1,246 THE ADVENTURE OF THE DUMMY'S DOUBLE (both 1927). See those issues for story reviews.
Rating: ★★★★★
DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 288 · 27/8/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Unknown
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); The Huntsman by Gerald Verner; Mantrap by Jeffrey Gaunt
Notes: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,400 FEAR! (1930).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 290 · 10/9/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Huntsman by Gerald Verner; Pink Mask by Coutts Brisbane
Notes: Story features Gilbert and Eileen Hale. This is believed to be a revised version of an older story (as yet unidentified).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 292 · 24/9/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Find the Clues with Inspector Hornleigh (article); The Huntsman by Gerald Verner; Pink Mask by Coutts Brisbane.
Notes: It is the day of Dr. Satira's trial and it begins with posters mysteriously appearing all over London warning that everyone concerned with proceedings against the criminal will be hung by the neck. The first victim, discovered by Sexton Blake and Detective-Inspector Coutts, is the prosecuting lawyer, Sir Kirby Cannon K.C. who is found swinging from the rafters of his own bed chamber. The Judge, Mr Justice Carrogate, is next, garrotted in his car. Sir Henry Fairfax voices concern over how this will affect the reputation of Scotland Yard but the murders soon become the least of his problems when a great many fire engines suddenly arrive at the court causing huge confusion amidst which Satira is broken out of his prison van and driven away. Left in the van is the dead body of Jerry Drymer, the fence who was the main witness for the prosecution. Sexton Blake & Co. race after the departing villain but lose track of him — Dr. Satira has escaped! When the detective and his assistant eventually return to Baker Street, they find Satira waiting for them. Bound hand and foot, they are left in the consulting room with a can of petrol next to the fire heating up to the point where it will explode. Blake burns the cords from his wrists and moves the petrol away from the heat before freeing Tinker. They chase after the master-criminal but he escapes into the sewers.
Trivia: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,248 JUSTICE DEFIED (1927). The review is based on a reading of that issue.
Rating: ★★★★★
DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 294 · 8/10/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Find the Clues with Inspector Hornleigh (article); The Huntsman by Gerald Verner; Pink Mask by Coutts Brisbane.
Notes: None at present.
Unrated
DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 296 · 22/10/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Find the clue with Inspector Hornleigh; The Air Wolf and the Mystery of the Icy Fingers by Geo. E. Rochester; The Huntsman by Gerald Verner
Notes: With a massive manhunt underway, Doctor Satira is in desperate need of a refuge. While laying low in the British Museum he is spotted by Detective-Sergeant McKyne. Satira attacks the policeman, knocks him unconscious and hides him in a mummy case. The villain, aided by members of his gang, then invades the house of a hermit, Matthew Marl. Some days later, a man named Thomas Phillips visits Sexton Blake and tells him that, ten years ago, his uncle mysteriously vanished. Recently, he returned out of the blue. This man, Lee Jenner, then went out leaving Phillips with a note to be opened should he fail to return. When it seemed that Jenners had vanished once again, Phillips opened the note. It informed him that his uncle had gone to Marl House and that Sexton Blake should be consulted. The note was signed 'Lee Jenners alias Golden Jack Bowers.' Blake recognises the alias as the name of a bank robber who had recently been released from prison after serving a ten-year sentence. The detective theorises that Matthew Marl had been Bowers' accomplice in the robbery and had got away with £40,000. Bower is now after his share of the loot. The Phillips and Satira cases come together when a clue at the museum suggests that Satira may be using Marl House as his hideaway. Blake and Detective-Inspector Coutts go there but can't get past the huge walls and heavy gate. They settle to watch the house from a building opposite, not realising that this belongs to one of Satira's gang. Meanwhile, the doctor opens Marl's safe and finds Jenners' dead body inside. He also, after a search, discovers the proceeds of the bank robbery and a secret passage leading underground to a nearby vacant house. When he telephones the overlooking premises and is answered by Blake, he realises that he must make an immediate getaway. Blake and Coutts lead a police raid on Marl House but, by the time they enter, Satira has killed Marl and escaped along the secret passage, £40,000 the richer.
Trivia: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,249 THE MYSTERY MAN OF MARL HOUSE (1927). The review is based on a reading of that issue.
Rating: ★★★★★
DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 298 · 5/11/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received (ed.); The Round Table (ed.); Find the Clues with Inspector Hornleigh (article); The Air Wolf and the Strange Case of the Golden Cat by Geo. E. Rochester; The Huntsman by Gerald Verner.
Notes: Story features Dr. Huxton Rymer and Marie Galante. This is a reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 265 THE SECRET OF THE THIEVES' KITCHEN (1930).
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 300 · 19/11/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Murder in Czechoslovakia (article); The Huntsman by Gerald Verner
Notes: This is rehashed from parts of UNION JACK issue 1,250 SEXTON BLAKE, CONVICT and UNION JACK issue 1,251 THE TRAIL OF THE BANDAGED MAN (both 1927). See those issues for the story reviews.
Rating: ★★★★☆
DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 302 · 3/12/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Find the Clues With Inspector Hornleigh (article); The Air Wolf and the Mystery of the Yellow Caravan by Geo. E. Rochester; The Huntsman by Gerald Verner
Notes: None at present.
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 304 · 17/12/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Christmas Round Table (ed.); Find the Clues With Inspector Hornleigh (article); The Clue of the Clean Hands by L. C. Mansfield; The Antlered Man by Edwy Searles Brooks
Notes: None at present.
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DETECTIVE WEEKLY · Issue 306 · 31/12/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: From Information Received; The Round Table (ed.); Find the Clues With Inspector Hornleigh (article); The Candle Drips... by L. C. Mansfield; The Antlered Man by Edwy Searles Brooks
Notes: Forty-eight hours have passed since the events of THE TRAIL OF THE BANDAGED MAN (UNION JACK 1,251) and Dr. Satira is still on the loose. While driving near the village of Sixstreet, he accidentally runs over and kills a man. Placing the corpse in the coffin he used to escape at the end of the previous story, he leaves it in the middle of the road. A few miles farther on he is stopped by a man named Mitch Emden who claims to have been robbed of twenty thousand pounds and valuable jewels. Satira realises that it was the thief he had killed, so he leaves Emden and turns back to retrieve the treasure, only to discover that the coffin has vanished. Concluding that it must have been taken to the local police station, he goes there with his two henchmen — Cruller and Dingle. Meanwhile, Sexton Blake, Tinker and Detective-Inspector Coutts — who suspect that Satira is in the area — encounter Emden and hear the same story. They take him to the police station and are immediately imprisoned by Cruller, who masquerades as the local constable. The criminal allows Emden to depart, then Satira sets fire to the station and flees in the Grey Panther, later dumping it in favour of a stolen removal van. Eventually arriving in London, he visits a villain named Black Brogan and asks for help in escaping the country. On his behalf, Brogan takes the stolen jewels to a fence named Dieman, who promises to bring payment for them to Satira's hideaway. However, Dieman is, in fact, Mitch Emden, who has a double identity for his less-than-honest dealings. Recognising his own jewels, he decides to tell Sexton Blake where Satira is. Before he can make the call, Blake arrives on his doorstep, having traced him. Later, the disguised detective accompanies Dieman to the doctor's hideout and slaps handcuffs onto the villain. He summons the police but before they arrive Brogan shoots Dieman and activates a trapdoor through which Blake falls into the Thames. The criminals try to escape in a boat but Blake capsizes it. Brogan drowns but Doctor Satira is finally captured and sent to prison where he will be hanged for his crimes.
Trivia This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,326 DEAD MAN'S PLUNDER (1929). The review is based on a reading of that issue.
Rating: ★★★★☆
PILOT · Issue 118 · 8/1/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Unknown
Other content: Unknown
Notes: This serial was republished as a single volume in THE BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY second series issue 671 (1939). It was also reprinted in the NEW ZEALAND CHUMS ANNUAL (date unknown).
Unrated
PILOT · Issue 120 · 22/1/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Harry Lane
Other content: Will Hay at Bendover by Anon.; The Laughing Buccaneer by Anon.; The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs; Houdini — Magic Maker No. 1 by Anon.; Meet the Staff (ed.); Young Guy Fawkes by Anon.; Tales of Warder Strong by Anon. plus various strips
Notes: None at present.
Unrated
PILOT · Issue 127 · 12/3/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Harry Lane
Other content: Who is the Scarlet Lotus? by Anon.; Will Hay at Bendover by Anon.; Steele of Stoke by Anon.; The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs; Buffalo Bill, King of Scouts by Anon.; Tales of Warder Strong by Anon. plus various strips
Notes: None at present.
Unrated
PILOT · Issue 128 · 19/3/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Harry Lane
Other content: Who is the Scarlet Lotus? by Anon.; Will Hay at Bendover by Anon.; Steele of Stoke by Anon.; The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs; Buffalo Bill, King of Scouts by Anon.; Tales of Warder Strong by Anon. plus various strips
Notes: None at present.
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PILOT · Issue 129 · 26/3/1938 · Amalgamated Press · 2d
Illustrator: Harry Lane
Other content: Who is the Scarlet Lotus? by Anon.; Will Hay at Bendover by Anon.; Steele of Stoke by Anon.; The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs; Buffalo Bill, King of Scouts by Anon.; Tales of Warder Strong by Anon. plus various strips
Notes: None at present.
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 607 · Jan. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); Murder in Berlin! (article)
Notes: Story features Granite Grant and Mlle. Julie.
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 608 · Jan. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); The Tragic Traveller (article)
Notes: A chauffeur is killed by Doctor Huxton Rymer by means of a laser beam. A portfolio is then taken from the dead body. Sexton Blake is drawn by chance into the case, which he soon discovers involves a farm that has been repossessed by a couple of Bailiffs. When one of these is murdered, the plot becomes increasingly tangled, with various villains vying for some mysterious prize. Rymer, of course, comes to dominate the others, and even manages to imprison Blake in an electrified cage at Abbey Towers. The master-crook, however, has become particularly murderous, and as his victims pile up, he loses control of the situation. Eventually, on the brink of escape, he is hounded back to the Towers. After an intense gun battle, the building catches fire and is destroyed. Rymer apparently dies in the inferno. Blake discovers the secret of the farm.
Trivia: This was G. H. Teed’s last contribution to the Sexton Blake saga (although reprints of older stories followed), and the fact that he kills off Rymer suggests that the author was aware that he himself was fast approaching the end (he died the following year, aged just 53).
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ The story completely lacks the atmosphere usual to Teed's stories and is, in fact, rather dull. Rymer is “Americanised,” murderous, and barely recognisable.
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 614 · Mar. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Unknown
Other content: Unknown
Notes: An abridged version of this was reprinted in the SEXTON BLAKE ANNUAL 1941.
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 615 · Mar. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); The Clue of the Faked Address (article)
Notes: Story features Dr. Huxton Rymer, Mary Trent and George Marsden Plummer. This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 77 (1927).
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 617 · Apr. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); Visions of a Fortune (Article)
Notes: Two weeks after the mysterious disappearance of Captain Ben Douglas — member of Parliament and ex-Navy man — an opera hat is spotted on top of Big Ben. Douglas was notoriously obsessed with coastal defence and had recently been insisting that he'd seen a supposedly lost and derelict submarine — the Q4 — manoeuvring off the Cornwall coast. Because Douglas had been dressed for the opera when he vanished, Blake visits Superintendent Venner (making his debut) to examine the hat but finds that it actually belongs to Commander Sinclair, a man who'd been very vocal in his criticisms of Douglas. The criminologist learns that both men had attended a function and had accidentally taken each other's hats. However, when Sinclair describes his movements after the soiré, Blake detects inconsistencies and becomes suspicious. His further investigations expose a complex scheme involving the London to Cornwall Express that he deduces was intended to provide a cast-iron alibi for the period during which Douglas disappeared. While Venner courts publicity in his usual manner, Blake and Tinker seek an interview with another member of Parliament, Joseph Sullen, who'd been seen on the same train. He is not at home but his secretary, Lettie Rivers, had been with him on the journey, so they question her instead. She reacts with such fear that, after an otherwise fruitless interview, Blake tells Tinker to shadow her. The youngster does so and witnesses her being kidnapped. Suspecting that Commander Sinclair might be responsible, Blake breaks into that man's house only to find that Venner is already there. When the suspect arrives, they hide behind curtains, but Sinclair detects Venner and knocks him cold. Blake shows himself and Sinclair claims that he thought the Scotland Yard man was a burglar. Sinclair has a couple of friends with him, one of whom he introduces as Gerald Feversham, Miss Rivers' boyfriend, who declares that she hasn't been kidnapped at all ... she has merely gone for a holiday in Scotland. Blake next looks into the Q4 sinking. It occurred in Falzion Cove, which is overlooked by Joseph Sullen's house. Cornwall, therefore, is the next port of call and en route the detective theorises that Lettie Rivers saw something on the train during the alibi plot and is being held to prevent her from talking about it. However, when Sullen is questioned, he insists that she's in Scotland, telephones her, and allows Blake to speak with her. Afterwards, the detective contacts the telephone exchange and finds that no call was put through. The telephone line must be an internal one. Soon after, an attempt is made to kill him. He overpowers the assassin, who is wounded, then he, Tinker and Venner carry the man to an abandoned hut to question him. They learn that the Q4 is in a cave somewhere nearby but before they can get any further details a shot is fired through the window and their informant is killed. While they unsuccessfully search for the murderer, the corpse is removed. Blake and Venner lead a police raid on Sullen's house but find it empty. A generator hut in its garden gives a clue that the cave lies beneath. A call to the Admiralty gains them the support of a destroyer, and — after escaping another attempt on his life — Blake uses the ship as the launch point for a diving expedition during which he discovers the undersea entrance to the rumoured cave. The cavern is immense and filled with foreign workers who are loading armaments onto the refitted submarine. Sullen, who is heavily invested in the weapons industry, intends to start a war from which he'll make a stupendous profit. Blake spots Venner, who has been taken prisoner. He also sees Sinclair, Feversham and Douglas, all of whom, like the Superintendent, are in shackles. He realises that Sinclair has been working against Sullen all along but was afraid to speak the truth because Sullen has Lettie Rivers as a hostage. Blake organises a raid on the cave. During it, Sullen is killed, but not before he sets a mine to explode. Blake and the prisoners, including Miss Rivers, escape in the submarine minutes before the blast destroys the cave. Finally, an explanation is given for the hat on Big Ben, which had instigated the investigation.
Trivia: Though he and Blake are described as "old friends and old rivals," this case marks the first appearance of that "Beau Brummel of the Yard" Superintendent Claudius Venner and his trusty "handmaiden" Detective-Sergeant Belford.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ There's much focus on the footslogging nature of investigations with this story, which comes at the expense of any real excitement.
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 620 · Apr. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); The Shoplifter (article).
Notes: Story features Gilbert and Eileen Hale. This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 65 (1926).
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 621 · May 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); Fatal Clues (article
Notes: Story features Granite Grant and Mlle. Julie.
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 623 · May 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); Found in the Wilds (article)
Notes: Story features Splash Page. This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 115 (1927).
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 628 · Jun. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); Milking the Mugs (Article)
Notes: Story features George Marsden Plummer and Vali Mata-Vali. This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 89 (1927).
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 630 · Jul. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); The Wife Poisoner (article).
Notes: A man named Drannel is found dead on Hampstead Heath. Sexton Blake believes that an ad in the 'personals' may give a clue to the circumstances of his demise. He answers it and, mistaken for someone else, is instructed to travel to Paris. After he has departed, a Frenchman arrives at Baker Street with urgent information for him. Tinker accompanies the man to Paris but, once there, his companion turns on him and knocks him unconscious. Meanwhile, Blake has teamed up with Bertrand Charon of the Surete who informs him that Drannel was really named Claude Ravel and was killed because he had information about a secret society known as the Council of Eight. This group, dedicated to hastening political instability in Europe, is now set to kidnap a millionaire named Jasper Rotham. So, when the real Rotham arrives in Paris, he is sent to a safe-house and a disguised Charon takes his place. He is kidnapped but when Blake and the police trail him to a house in the suburbs, they find it empty but for a bomb, which they narrowly escape. The Eight imprison Charon with Tinker in the catacombs beneath the city. Elsewhere, Granite Grant and Mlle. Julie are also on the trail of the Eight. They are put on the right track by Louise Desconnon, a woman who has betrayed the organisation. Blake, too, is guided to this woman. Mlle. Julie arrives at Desconnon's apartment first and is promptly drugged. Blake arrives next, discovers her, but is knocked unconscious. Grant receives a panic-stricken call from Desconnon, traces it to a call-box, and finds her there stabbed in the back and at death's door. After taking her to hospital, he goes to her apartment and finds Julie, who he carries out without realising that Sexton Blake is unconscious in a wardrobe. Later, Julie follows a lead to Professor Rinaldo, inventor of an invisibility ray and the same man who had previously lured Tinker into the hands of the Eight. He now does the same with her. Blake, having recovered and escaped from the wardrobe, searches for Charon and finds the entrance to the secret hideout of the Eight in the catacombs. Having gained a hooded cowl from one of the gang, he infiltrates their base. Granite Grant is also closing in — a document posted to him by Claude Ravel before he was murdered exposes Rinaldo as the head of the Eight, so Grant visits the professor's home. Tinker, meanwhile, escapes imprisonment and meets up with Blake. All the main characters now gather for an attack on the Eight's headquarters and are successful in their assault.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ A more sophisticated plot than the average Sexton Blake story but one that becomes a little repetitive and confusing as the tale progresses. The invisibility ray is completely surplus to requirements and is left unexplained.
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 631 · Jul. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); Murder in the Mine (article)
Notes: Story features George Marsden Plummer. This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 103 (1927).
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 635 · Aug. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Unknown
Other content: Unknown
Notes: Story features Splash Page. This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 121 (1927).
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 640 · Sep. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); Modern Hermits (article).
Notes: Story features Dr. Huxton Rymer and Mary Trent. This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 113 (1927).
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 641 · Oct. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Unknown
Other content: Unknown
Notes: This story was adapted for the radio serial ENTER — SEXTON BLAKE. It was reprinted in serialised form as 'the story of the radio drama' starting in DETECTIVE WEEKLY issue 310 just three months after its debut here. It is, therefore, the most rapidly reprinted story in Sexton Blake's history. It also marks the one and only appearance in the Blake saga of Inspector William Williams, more usually known as 'Sweet William', the long-suffering Scotland Yard man in Berkeley Gray's Norman Conquest novels.
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 644 · Oct. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); Lost Gold-mines (article)
Notes: Story features George Marsden Plummer and Vali Mata-Vali. This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 119 (1927).
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 645 · Nov. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); The Men on Bail (article).
Notes: This was reprinted as a hardcover novel with the same title in 1968.
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 646 · Nov. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Eric Parker
Other content: Consulting Room Chat (ed.); Jewels of Doom (article).
Notes: None at present. This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 123 (1927).
Unrated
THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY · 2nd series · Issue 651 · Dec. 1938 · Amalgamated Press · 4d
Illustrator: Unknown
Other content: Unknown
Notes: This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 124 (1927).
Unrated