Sexton Blake Bibliography: 1949

Notes: Sexton Blake spots Solo hiding in one of the barrels being unloaded from the barge. Tinker uses a crane to swing up and kick over the barrels, spilling the criminal onto the ground. He races away but Tinker rolls a barrel after him, knocking him over. Blake disarms the villain and snaps on the handcuffs. Solo is caught at last!

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: An ex-small time crook named Benny Lemming asks Sexton Blake to keep a small parcel safe for a few days. The detective agrees, curious but willing to ask no questions just yet. As he departs, Lemming is kidnapped. That night, Blake's Baker Street residence is broken into. The thief, caught in the act, makes off empty handed. The following morning, the papers report that Lemming has been murdered and his flat ransacked. Blake decides to open the parcel. Inside, he finds a clockwork toy wrought of gold, and decorated with precious stones; two tiny, exquisite figures fighting a duel upon the top of a golden drum.

Trivia: This serial is the only Sexton Blake comic strip to have been drawn by Sexton Blake's most well-known artist, Eric Parker. The story is a variation of A CASE FOR SEXTON BLAKE (also by Edward Holmes) which was serialised in DETECTIVE WEEKLY beginning with issue 371. The latter was also made into a radio serial by Francis Durbridge.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Concealed the in the toy's round golden platform was clockwork, which caused the two little figures to fight a spirited duel with their tiny swords. Blake decides to consult Sir Humphrey Harriman at the Museum of Fine Art. He identifies it as the work of the Count of Monte Cristo. As Blake and Tinker leave Sir Humphrey's office, they are held up by the men who killed Benny Lemming. After a fight, the crooks are taken away by the police. The toy, unfortunately, has been damaged and its mechanism no longer works. Blake decides to pay a visit to the castle of Monte Cristo, which is on a Mediterranean island.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Sexton Blake and Tinker arrive at the castle of Monte Cristo where they are greeted by the descendants of the famous Count of Monte Cristo: Edward Dantes and his daughter, Denise. Blake shows Dantes the toy and is informed that it's the Monte Cristo talisman, which is said to hold the key to a fabulous treasure hidden somewhere in the castle. Dantes says he can fix the talisman and asks the detective to solve the mystery of the hidden treasure. He takes Blake to his grandfather's workshop and shows him a remarkable life-sized clockwork model of his ancestor. Unfortunately the key to this doll is missing, so Dantes is unable to demonstrate the mechanism. That night, while Dantes entertains his guests upstairs, the model comes to life and takes possession of the talisman.

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: The life-sized doll that had been shown to Sexton Blake is, in fact, a real man — their mysterious ememy. Now he has possession of the talisman, which holds the secret to the treasure of Monte Cristo. Two of the man's underlings now carry the real doll through secret passages to replace it in the workshop. They quickly leave the room just before Sexton Blake and Dantes enter. The latter immediately notices that the talisman is missing. Blake finds the entrance to the secret passage and, with Tinker, enters. He discovers a spy hole and realises that all his conversations with Dantes have been overheard. Footsteps in the passage alert him to the approaching clockwork doll ... or is it the mystery man?

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: Denise Dantes tries to fight off the two henchmen who have come to kidnap her. Blake, Tinker and her father hear her screams and rush to the rescue. They arrive too late but find the talisman with a note ordering Dantes to fix it in return for his daughter's safety. Blake advises him to do as instructed. He then finds a book Denise had been looking at. In it is a photograph of Dantes' half brother, Fernand. Blake realises that this is their opponent. Meanwhile, Denise is locked into a dungeon. Searching for a means of escape, she peers into an air vent and sees two green eyes glaring back at her.

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: The eyes turn out to be those of Denise's pet cat. She writes a note on her handkerchief and ties it around the cat's neck, hoping that it will be found by Sexton Blake. Meanwhile, Dantes has mended the talisman and winds it up. Blake looks on as the figures move. He counts the times their swords tap together and notices that it gives the number 3745. He is interrupted by a maid who has discovered Denise's note. This information leads the detective to plan a trap for Fernand. That night, a secret panel opens in Dantes' room and two of the crook's henchmen creep in and take Dantes prisoner not realising that their captive is, in fact, a disguised Sexton Blake!

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: Fernand Dantes gloats over his prisoner then proceeds to the cell where Denise is held and orders that one of his henchmen bring her food. The command is obeyed but, when the man enters her cell, she is waiting, and clobbers him over the head with a chair. Meanwhile, Blake breaks out and, when he's seen by Denise, she mistakes him for an enemy and treats him to a chair over the head, too.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Denise realises that she's knocked out Sexton Blake. Her uncle Fernand enters and thanks her for her help. She pulls a psitol on him but, behind her, the other man she'd knocked senseless has recovered his wits. He grabs and disarms her. Blake recovers but pretends to be unconscious and works at his bonds. Meanwhile, Edward Dantes and Tinker succumb to gas that's pumped into their room.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Blake frees himself and tackles Fernand. The crook lands a lucky blow and escapes, locking the door behind him. Through the grille, he tells the detective that he has captured Tinker and Dantes, and gloats that he's now free to take his brother's place and claim the riches of Monte Cristo. All seems lost ... until Tinker notices that Fernand has dropped a match.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Tinker tells the guard that he'll lead Fernand to the treasure. The guard departs to tell his boss. Tinker uses the opportunity to pick up the dropped match, which he uses to start a small fire. He uses it to burn off his bonds, then frees his friends.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Having overpowered the guard, Blake and Tinker escape from imprisonment and confront Fernand. He escapes through the window and crawls along a ledge on the wall of the castle. Blake follows but his quarry dives into the sea and swims to the detective's flying-boat. Blake follows but Fernand fires up the plane and drives it straight at him!

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Blake swims out of the plane's path, snatches at its mooring rope, and is swept into the air. He climbs up and into the aircraft. Seeing that he's cornered, Fernand crashes the flying machine into the sea. As it sinks, Blake attempts to save the unconscious crook while Tinker rows desperately to the rescue.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: After rescuing Fernand from the sinking flying boat, Sexton Blake joins Tinker, Edward Dantes and Denise at the castle. He recounts how events had begun when Fernand had chanced across the talisman which had been stolen from Dantes. This artifact holds the key to the location of the fabled Cristo treasure: the number 3745. This, Tinker suddenly realises, is linked to the life-sized clockwork doll. Blake agrees and sets the number into the dial on the doll's back. Dantes winds it up and watches as the device marches across the room and lifts a painting from above the fireplace. The hearth swings open to reveal a hidden room piled high with treasure. Thus is solved the secret of Monte Cristo.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: In March of 1939, Sexton Blake's pursuit of a criminal named John Plague reaches its climax in the law court when the villain is sentenced to fifteen years' hard labour. Plague swears to have revenge on the detective and, while breaking rocks in Dartmoor, he nurtures his hatred. Ten years pass until, at last, he manages to escape. He flees to New York but, many months later, he returns to London and pays a visit to Baker Street where he confronts Blake, gun in hand.

Trivia: This serial was reprinted in KNOCKOUT FUN BOOK 1956 and in THE SEXTON BLAKE DETECTIVE LIBRARY (1989).

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ After Alfred Taylor and Eric Parker, the art of Leonard Matthews, while workmanlike, feels significantly less stylish.

Notes: John Plague tells Blake that he has gathered a gang of vicious criminals from around the world. The only man standing in his way is Sexton Blake ... so Blake must die. Just as the villain is about to pull the trigger, a girl enters the room. The distraction gives Blake his chance and he knocks Plague flying down the stairs.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: Plague is picked up by his men, carried to a car and driven away. The girl introduces herself as Joyce Standish. She asks the detective to find her father, a scientist, who has mysteriously vanished. She reveals that the night before he went missing he was visited by John Plague. Blake and Tinker drive Miss Standish to her home in Devon. Their car, the Grey Panther, is spotted by Plague's men as it passes the house they are using as a base. The crooks draw lots to decide who will kill Blake. The task falls to a thug named Igor.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: John Plague sends "little" Igor to kill Sexton Blake. The detective, Tinker and Joyce Standish have arrived at Moreton Manor and start to search for clues to Professor Standish's disappearance. They find evidence that Standish had recently purchased a mine. Igor arrives and attacks Blake. He picks up Tinker and threatens to throw him out of the window. Joyce aims a pistol at Igor. He sees it and pauses.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: As Igor hesitates, Blake snatches up a pistol and shoots him in the shoulder. The giant retreats. Blake and Tinker follow him to the priory, where John Plague and his men are hiding out. Plague realises that Blake might be on the scene and orders that the place be searched and the detective killed on sight.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: Knowing that Sexton Blake is nearby, John Plague orders his men to search the priory and to shoot to kill should they see the detective. Blake evades the men and knocks out the professor's guard. He unties the captive and escapes with him through the window. They flee to the road in time to meet Tinker, who races to their rescue in the Grey Panther. Sexton Blake orders his assistant to drive straight to Moreton Manor. Plague overhears this and tells his men to take a quicker route to the manor to search for the plans and kidnap the professor's daughter, Joyce Standish.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: Blake finds that Moreton Manor has been thoroughly searched. Joyce is missing, kidnapped by John Plague's men. The professor reveals that he had been using the mine as a laboratory where he's been developing an atomic rocket. Blake realises that Plague is attempting to get possession of the professor's invention. He phones the police then he, Tinker, and Standish race to the mine, where Blake overpowers a guard. Standish takes them through a secret entrance. Meanwhile, Plague is holding the laboratory staff at gunpoint while they gather up the rocket plans. Blake and Tinker rush into the room. Igor lifts a large glass carboy to throw at them. Standish yells at him to stop—it's filled with a high explosive!

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: Tinker shoots Igor, who staggers and nearly drops the carboy. Standish's colleagues grab it in the nick of time. John Plague and his men start shooting but then the police arrive and, desperate, Plague grabs Joyce and tries to flee with her. Blake follows but the crook holds him at bay by threatening to kill the girl. The detective shoots at a rope, causing a large iron bucket to swing down. It hits Plague and knocks him into a shaft. He falls to his death.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: Nobby is a London taxi driver. As a matter of habit he cleans out odd litter which gets left in his cab. One day, he finds plastic bullet. A man holds him at gunpoint and demands that he hand it over. Nobby knocks him to the ground and makes off in his taxi. He takes the bullet to Sexton Blake who, upon examining it, notes that, in addition to being a bullet, it is a syringe. Inside its hollow cavity, he detects traces of a substance known in the underworld as "dream drops." Suddenly, a shot is fired and the window shatters.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: The shot had been fired from a bomb-damaged house on the opposite side of Baker Street. Blake, Tinker, and Nobby break into it and pursue the shootist up to the roof. Two villains make off in a small gyrocopter. Blake tells Nobby that he's currently investigating crimes in which dream drops are used to drug wealthy victims, who are then persuaded to sign away their money. The detective traces the gyrocopter to a man he already suspects: Dr. Karl Farkos. Blake and Tinker drive to Castle Grange, where Farkos runs a private nursing home. They find it guarded and surrounded by a high wall. They break in but are accosted by a gun-toting hooded figure. When they overpower the person, they find that it's a young woman.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: The girl identifies herself as Ann Carey, daughter of the banker, Daniel Carey, who's currently being held captive by Dr. Farkos. Blake, Tinker and the girl penetrate a tower in which her father is imprisoned but find themselves facing the doctor and his henchmen. A gun battle breaks out. Farkos grabs Ann and uses her as a sheild. Blake and Tinker are captured and tied to chairs.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Doctor Farkos brings forth Ann's father, who he has drugged with dream drops. The crook confesses to using plastic bullets to drug many victims before then robbing them. Now that Blake has identified him, he intends to get out of England. After having Blake, Tinker and Daniel Carey taken to the top of wooden stairs that lead down to the cellar, the doctor sets fire to the building and escapes with Ann as his prisoner. Blake throws himself down the steps to break the chair to which he's bound. He successfully frees himself but the fire is by now spreading fast.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: While his henchmen make off in a car, Dr. Farkos drags Ann Carey toward his gyrocopter. Sexton Blake, though, has escaped and snatches the girl out of the criminal's grasp. Farkos throws himself into his machine and takes off but Blake shoots the rear rotor and the 'copter crashes. The doctor survives but is defeated.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: One morning, Sexton Blake receives a visitor named Mary Trent, whose brother, John, has mysteriously disappeared. He was chauffeur to Wensley Grant, owner of a shipping line. Grant told Mary that her brother vanished ten days ago. Blake goes to interview Grant and is told by the man that John Trent had driven to Guildford on the day he disappeared. However, the detective finds evidence that, in fact, Trent had been in London's docklands on the date in question. On his journey home, Blake is run off the road by a large car. When he crawls out of his wrecked vehicle, Blake is shot at. He pretends to be hit and his assailant drives away. Back in Baker Street, he tells Tinker that he is suspicious of Grant. He also identifies the gunman as Limpy Perilli and sends his assistant to trace him. Meanwhile, Blake investigates a docklands warehouse belonging to Grant. Someone attacks him and knocks him out.

Trivia: This serial was reprinted in KNOCKOUT from 21st October 1961 to 25th November 1961 under the title PETE MADDEN AND THE MISSING MEN with Sexton Blake's name changed to Pete Madden and Tinker's changed to Steve.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Blake recovers consciousness and finds himself tied to a chair. A gang of thugs transfer him to a ship, the Merlin, where he's locked up with another prisoner—John Trent. Meanwhile, Tinker, on the trail of Limpy Perilli, is set upon by a gang of crooks in a seedy bar. A man named Smokey comes to his aid and tells him that Perilli is with a river gang and can be found at the Green Star Garage. The young 'un picks up Perilli's trail and shadows him.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Tinker follows Limpy Perilli to the basement of an empty house where he overhears him telling someone named Jessop that he must be aboard the Merlin if he wants his freedom. Suddenly, Tinker finds himself trapped. Meanwhile, on the Merlin, Sexton Blake and John Trent manage to free themselves from their bonds and Blake fights through the River Gang and leaps overboard.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: With crooks approaching him on all sides, Tinker takes refuge in a cupboard under the stairs. From here, he overhears the news that the Merlin is going to be blown up. Furthermore, there will be a detective on board, though who this is, Tinker doesn't know — except that it's not Sexton Blake. As he tries to leave, Tinker is caught by one of the villains. Meanwhile, Blake informs the river police that the Merlin is run by the River Gang. A raid is organised but the criminals blow the ship up before the police can get aboard. Blake believes that John Trent was aboard.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Tinker is captured by the gang. Meanwhile, Mary Trent approaches Wensley Grant's country house to search for her brother ... and is also captured. Unknown to her, John Trent is at that moment being rescued from the Thames by Sexton Blake aboard a police launch. He reveals that he is, in fact, a Scotland Yard detective, though not even his sister knows this. Suddenly, the crooks' boat approaches and shots are fired. The two vessels collide.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: John Gaynes, owner of Marley Farm, meets with his cousin, Richard Gerrard, who is determined to have the farm which, for centuries, has belonged to the Gerrards. The next day, an old sword is found in one of the fields. It is the fourth relic to be found — a leftover of an historic battle in which one of Gerrard's ancestors, a Cavalier, had been killed by Roundheads. Each time such an artifact has been discovered, a phantom Cavalier has appeared ... and tonight is no different. Gaynes, upon hearing movement in his study, goes to investigate and is knocked over the head by a figure dressed in Cavalier clothes. The next morning he telephones Sexton Blake. The detective arrives with Tinker and meets with Gaynes and his neighbour, Gilbert Rakes. He examines the sword and finds in its hilt an old letter. Rakes offers to place it in the local bank for security but when he leaves a car draws up and he is kidnapped.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: As the car speeds away, Sexton Blake telephones the police. An hour later, they call back to tell him that the vehicle has been found abandoned. The following day, Blake, Tinker and Gaynes fly to Malaga in Spain. Within minutes of their arrival, they receive a note from the Phantom Cavalier warning them to return to England. Blake and Tinker are then nearly run over by a car. They chase after the driver and are led into a large house where they find themselves face to face with the Phantom.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: The Phantom Cavalier and his gang have kidnapped Richard Gaynes and taken him to Castle Grande. Blake and Tinker discover that the castle is in dangerous bandit country amid the Sierre Nevada mountains. Hiring a car, the detectives set out and, after many hours of driving, steer into a narrow ravine. As they drive across a rocky bridge, it suddenly explodes, and they are barely able to jump free of the car before it plummets down to the distant ground. Three gunmen approach.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: To escape the approaching gunmen, Blake and Tinker use the ropes from the wrecked bridge to swing down to a ledge. They then push rocks into the ravine to make it appear that they've fallen to their deaths. After climbing unseen up and around the three men, they jump them. One gets away and rides off. Blake forces from the remaining two information pertaining to the whereabouts of Castle Grande. Meanwhile, at that location, a man named Don Hernando is told by the Phantom Cavalier that his daughter has been cooperative. The horseman arrives and warns that bBlakeis on his way.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: Taking a couple of horses from the captive bandits, Sexton Blake and Tinker set off to find Castle Grande. Meanwhile, inside the castle, Richard Gaynes is being questioned by the Phantom Cavalier. He manages to break free and, upon entering a dungeon, finds his cousin Gerrard locked in chains. Upon being recaptured, Gaynes is also locked in a cell and finds that he is sharing it with Gilbert Rakes. His fellow prisoner informs him that the Cavalier is trying to find out how Blake had opened the sword hilt. Gaynes tells him that he remembers seeing the detective manipulating the knob at the end of the hilt. When Rakes is taken away to be questioned, it is revealed that Gaynes has been tricked into revealing the information. The Cavalier opens the hilt and finds the manuscript within. Blake and Tinker attempt to break into the castle via an upper window but are seen approaching and an ambush is prepared.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: Blake and Tinker enter the castle but are immediately ambushed and captured. The Phantom Cavelier gloats that the second fragment of parchment discovered in the sword hilt has given him all the information he needs to locate a treasure that's hidden somewhere in the castle. Blake and Tinker are condemned to death and dragged away. Don Hernando angrily accuses the crook of lying to him. The Phantom threatens the old man. In the dungeon, the detectives find themselves sharing a cell with Gaynes. They wonder what has become of Gerrard and Rakes. Suddenly, the cell begins to flood with sand. Inez, Don Hernando's daughter, comes to the rescue. She takes them to her father, who reveals how he has been tricked by the crook. Blake sends Gaynes to search for Gerrard and Rakes while he and Tinker follow the Phantom and his henchmen to a ruined part of the castle. They watch as the crook opens a concealed doorway.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: Blake and Tinker follow the Phantom Cavalier and watch as he and his men dig up the treasure chest. When it proves to be empty, the Phantom goes to fetch Don Hernando. Blake and Tinker duck for cover but are spotted. While Tinker holds the henchmen at bay, Blake grabs a sword and fences with the Phantom. He beats him and unmasks him ... revealing Gilbert Rakes. The adventure ends with the plot exposed and the villains under lock and key.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: In an isolated temple in the heart of the African jungle, Professor Stanley Crane, deserted by his native bearers, reached the end of a two-year search for the ancient treasure of the Queen of Sheba. Unfortunately, he is immediately taken prisoner by Molu, chief of the Zulamba tribe. Some weeks later, Sexton Blake, Tinker, and the professor's daughter, Molly, arrive in Africa to search for the missing man. They meet a trader named Steve Carson who suggests a route for them to follow. It leads them to the land of the Zulamba, where they receive a warning to go back or be killed.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Pushing farther into the jungle, Blake, Tinker and Molly are threatened by a herd of stampeding elephants. They flee along a track and use hanging vines to swing across a crocodile-infested river. It becomes clear that the stampede was started purposely by a tribe of tall natives that Blake has never seen before. The group sleeps in a clearing. The next morning, a leopard pounces at Molly but is killed by a poison dart. A pygmy emerges from the unergrowth and introduces himself as Zimba.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Zimba's people and the Zulamba tribe are enemies. The pygmy escorts Blake's party to his village, ruled by Chief Tolomo. The detective learns that the professor has been seen with the Zulambas, as has another white man, who appears to be friendly with them. Zimba shows the way to the Zulamba village. Meanwhile, Professor Crane manages to drug his captors. In making an escape, he stops at the treasure to take something as proof of his discovery. However, he finds that the gold is all a recently made imitation. Hearing an English voice approaching, he hides. Blake and his friends are guided by Zimba along a ledge beneath a waterfall. They come to a break in the path, where the ledge has collapsed.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Using creepers, Blake constructs a basic rope bridge to span the gap in the ledge. They all get across safely, though Tinker has a close call. The path takes them into a cave where they are attacked by a gorilla. Blake shoots and badly wounds it. They find evidence of another white man's presence—a wooden crate. They open it and discover that it's full of fake gold.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Molly attends to the gorilla's wounds and it instantly becomes devoted to her. She names it Brutus. The group sets off along the tunnel. Meanwhile, the professor ducks through a doorway to escape the approaching voices. His absence is noticed and a cry goes up that the prisoner has escaped. Blake and his friends emerge from the tunnel and see the temple ahead. They are attacked by four Zulambas but when Brutus the gorilla defends Molly, the tribesmen are defeated. Zimba warns that more of the enemy are approaching.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Blake and his friends are captured and are led to the Temple of Sheba. Brutus is tied up and left behind. Chief Molu tells them the god Ra-Kun, the guardian of the treasure, will wreak vengeance on them. Carson the trader appears. He has been stealing the treasure and replacing the items with cheap copies. Professor Crane, hiding in the idol of Ra-Kun, starts a fire. The natives panic and, along with Carson, flee. Crane comes out of hiding and frees the prisoners. The temple entrance collapses, trapping them inside.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Brutus breaks his bonds and smashes his way into the temple. Blake and his friends scramble to safety. They find Molu, shot dead by Carson. They chase after the villain and, when he shoots at them, Brutus grabs him and throws him to his death. They find his boat with the treasure stashed aboard and set course for the coast.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Sexton Blake is enjoying a day out motor-racing at a private meeting organised by the Speedsters' Club. His friend, John Best, is trying out a new car, the Red Rapier, which quickly takes the lead. Blake is in third place when number two crashes. The detective pushes as hard as he can but he can't beat the Red Rapier. After winning, Best asks Blake to be his reserve driver in the upcoming Dolomite 500 race. Blake accepts the position.

Trivia: This serial was reprinted in KNOCKOUT from 12th August 1961 to 14th October 1961 under the title PETE MADDEN AND THE THUNDERFLASH with Sexton Blake's name changed to Pete Madden and Tinker's changed to Steve.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: John Best, a manufacturer is worried when a night intruded is seen near the Red Rapier, but he tells Sexton Blake he's more concerned about an atomic gun that's being developed secretly at his factory. Best is due to drive his Scorpion racer at the Porter Cup meeting tomorrow but he's too preoccupied and asks Blake to drive in his stead. Meanwhile, Best's mechanic, Lucas, tells the villainous Sylvester Stone that the plans for the atomic gun have been hidden in a concealed compartment in the Red Rapier. He recommends that Blake be killed during the upcoming race. The next day, as he speeds over a bridge on the circuit, Blake is shot at and loses control of his car.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: One of Sylvester Stone's men shoots at Sexton Blake as he drives around the race circuit in John Best's car. Blake's subsequent crash is witnessed by Tinker and Molly Best, who rush to his rescue. That night, one of Best's mechanics, Lucas, who is a member of Stone's gang, reports to his boss that Blake is alive and will accompany the Red Rapier to the continent. At customs, Stone watches as the Red Rapier is unloaded, knowing that the plans for the atomic gun are hidden inside it. He meets with his gang and organises the capture of the racing car.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Best takes his car across to the Continent to race it in an Italian contest and in so doing, he unwittingly smuggles the plans for an atomic gun out of England. Best, accompanied by his daughter Molly, drives the Red Rapier towards the race circuit followed by Sexton Blake and Tinker in another car, with Lucas, Best's mechanic, brining up the rear in a light van. Sylvester Stone and his men lie in ambush ahead. As Blake's car approaches, they roll an empty lorry into their path, causing them to skid off the road. The crooks then drive after Best's vehicle. Noting the pursuit, Best puts his foot down. Blake, meanwhile, has steered through the trees and regained the road. He rapidly gains on the villains.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: Sexton Blake receives a visit from Captain Shaw R.N. The naval man has been robbed of a chart which his ancestor found in a bottle at sea. It marks the spot where treasure is supposedly hidden — yet the location identified is just empty ocean. Blake quickly catches up with the burglar who confesses that he was commissioned by a Dr. Kropoff. The detective pays Kropoff a visit but the doctor flees down a fire escape, placing a bomb behind him which destroys the stairway. Blake returns to Kropoff's room while Tinker follows the criminal. He finds a book in which is described a sunken city filled with treasure. Meanwhile, Tinker falls into the hands of Kropoff and his henchmen and is taken aboard a yacht. Sexton Blake sets off in pursuit in the flying disc and soon catches up with the vessel. Tinker jumps overboard and is picked up by his guv'nor. They fly above cloud level and from there spy on Kropoff through infrared binoculars. When they see him lowered into the ocean in a diving suit, they follow in the disc and discover the lost city of Atlantis. There they capture Kropoff, who has found the treasure. They take him to the surface where his yacht has been waylaid by a cruiser, which was summoned by Blake and which is commanded by Captain Shaw.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: None at present.

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