Sexton Blake Bibliography: 1972

THE NINTH SEXTON BLAKE OMNIBUS · 1972 · Howard Baker Books · £1.05

Other content: Unknown

Containing:
I, THE HANGMAN
by W. A. Ballinger (W. Howard Baker)

Notes: A reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 5th series novel 13.

Unrated

THE MUCKRAKERS
by Wilfred McNeilly

Notes: A reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 5th series issue 23 THE CASE OF THE MUCKRAKERS (1966).

Unrated


COMPANY OF BANDITS
by Jack Trevor Story

NOVEL · 1972 · Howard Baker Books · £1.50

Illustrator: None

Other content: None

Notes: Arthur Wragg's employer is making millions out of his client's talent while Wragg receives by return a very average wage. When his wife and daughter are tragically killed in a road accident, he finds that he's suddenly paying more in tax. This injustice makes him realise that, in order to profit, he must become a 'company'. Gathering a group of like-minded people who have been defeated by the rising cost of living and complexities of life, he begins to plan a heist. After two successful 'rehearsals', the company has enough capital to purchase a country house which they use as their HQ. Unfortunately, when a female member of the group purchases a number of board games to keep them amused during the evenings, she arouses the suspicions of an amateur detective; a little boy who telephones Sexton Blake. Blake is curious and he begins to search for the group, his instinct telling him that a crime will soon be committed. And it is. Wragg & Co. net £2,000,000 in a great train robbery. Unfortunately, the clues Blake has gathered soon lead to their arrest and conviction. The money, though, is never found. Blake is not entirely unsympathetic to their 'cause' ... and a number of charities find themselves receiving generous donations from an anonymous source.

Trivia: According to the author, Sexton Blake's finances aren't particularly healthy. This contradicts earlier tales which, more believably, depict him as very wealthy.

This is a hardback reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 5th series novel 17 (1965). The review is based on a reading of that issue.

Rating: ★★★★★


SEXTON BLAKE: STAR OF UNION JACK AND DETECTIVE WEEKLY
Edited by W. Howard Baker

ANTHOLOGY · 1972 · Howard Baker Books · Price unknown

Other content: None

Note: The original issues are exactly reproduced in this omnibus.

Containing:
THE PLAGUE OF ONION MEN
by Gwyn Evans

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: Splash Page discovers that the fourth key of Bluebeard is hidden in the vaults of a church in Melvis Parva, a little village in Kent. Sebastien Quirot, leader of The League of the Onion Men, has also heard this information and the village is now over-run with onion sellers, fighting among themselves for the reward offered by M. le Duc de Bretaigne to the man who recovers the key. De Bretaigne, meanwhile, pays a visit to Sexton Blake. The detective is having serious difficulties with Mrs. Bardell, who is being distracted by the amorous advances of Frenchman Hercule Bolo, the proprietor of a new local bakery. But Blake's day gets much worse after he turns down de Bretaigne's offer to buy the keys in his possession. The Royalist leaves ... and immediately afterwards Blake collapses. Before losing consciousness, he orders Splash and Tinker to investigate Melvis Para. While Blake is taken to hospital with suspected poisoning, his two 'deputies' drive to the near-rioting Kent village. There they find Mr. Vernon Freeman — the archeologist who found the key in the church vaults — in a state of seige with onion men swarming around his grounds and Quirot holding him at gunpoint. Splash attacks but Quirot is too strong and makes off with the key only to be stopped and held at gunpoint by ... Sexton Blake! After the leader of the onion men is handed over to the police, the key is examined and turns out to be a fake. The whole business has been a red herring planned by the wily Aristide Dupin. While Blake and the onion men have been in Melvis Parva, he, in his 'Hercule Bolo' disguise, has been allowed into the Baker Street house by Mrs. Bardell and has stolen the three real keys. These he offers to de Bretaigne — and to the Royalist's enemies — for three hundred thousand francs.

Trivia: In her basement domain at the Baker Street house, Mrs. Bardell keeps a cat named Tibbles. When exiting the house, Madame Tussaud's is to the right, just around the corner. The house is some 200 yards away from Sligo Street.

This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 1,493 (1932).

Rating: ★★★★★

BEHIND THE FOG
by Robert Murray (Robert Murray Graydon)

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: An ex-jailbird named Carne writes to Sexton Blake to tell him that he has information concerning the whereabouts of Mr Reece. However, when Blake,Tinker and Pedro go to meet him at his tobacco shop, they get lost in a dense London fog. Attracted by a woman's scream, they enter a store and become separated. Blake finds evidence that the scream came from Mademoiselle Yvonne (though this turns out to be a ruse) but before he can investigate he is attacked and rendered unconscious by The Shadow. Tinker is confronted by Reece, who pulls a lever which opens the floor, sending Tinker and Pedro hurtling into a sewer which washes them into the Thames. The youngster is dragged ashore by the bloodhound and is found by Sergeant Mace, with whom he goes to Carne's shop, only to find the old crook dead, murdered by The Shadow. Meanwhile, Sir Philip Champion visits Detective-Inspector Coutts at Scotland Yard and informs him that he wants revenge on Reece for the murder of John Smith and will take the Yard man to where the villain is hiding. Coutts accompanies Champion to the premises where Blake was overpowered but it has been booby-trapped and he and Champion find themselves trapped in a blazing inferno. Tinker and Mace come to the rescue, having used Pedro to follow The Shadow's trail from Carne's shop. The bloodhound then follows Blake's scent. The detective has recovered consciousness and been introduced to The Shadow — a boy-like killer who happens to be Reece's son. The crooks leave Blake in the keeping of four thugs, who have orders to hang him at dawn. Pedro leads Tinker and Coutts to the detective's rescue and, led by Champion, and in Richard Test's speedboat, they all pursue the criminals who are fleeing aboard a ship. Reece, though, has planned ahead — he and his son transfer to a seaplane and escape.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 1,526 (1933), which in turn was a reprint of UNION JACK issue 887 THE DOG DETECTIVE (1920). The review is based on a reading of the original story.

Rating: ★★★★★

SEXTON BLAKE WINS
by Robert Murray (Robert Murray Graydon)

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: Having escaped from Sexton Blake in England, Mr Reece and his son, The Shadow, drive to Paris and set up headquarters in a secret room of the Hotel des Vielle Temps. Here they meet Number 444,444, the head of the Criminals' Confederation's New York branch. Reece gives him a four-part mission: to set up a new HQ in London, to kill Sexton Blake, to recover the half million in cash that had been stolen by Villiers, and to undertake a scheme which will net the Confederation billions of pounds. Some days later, in the restaurant of London's Argent Hotel, Dirk Dolland bumps into an old friend; a thief named Ned Hatton. This man challenges him to prove that he has not lost his skill — he wagers that Dolland cannot remove a revolver from an American's room without getting caught. Dolland makes the attempt but is discovered by the American, whose name is Colonel Quartz, and is forced to sign a document agreeing that he will do the colonel one service when called upon to do so. The call comes very soon: Dolland is dining with Sexton Blake, Tinker, Mademoiselle Yvonne and Detective-Inspector Coutts when Quartz asks to be introduced. He ingratiates himself with the diners and informs them that he has purchased a stable and that he has a horse, Silverheels, which is sure to win a double even though most people regard it as a dud. A bookmaker, overhearing this, allows Quartz to place a bet which, if the horse wins, will net him millions. Coutts, meanwhile, has news: Villiers has told him where the Confederation money is hidden — it's in the flat below Dolland's! Accompanied by Quartz, Blake and Co. go there and find the strongbox. Suddenly, the lights go out and the box is snatched from Coutts's hands. Dolland thinks he catches a glimpse of Ned Hatton but they are unable to catch him. Over the next few days, Quartz lays bigger and bigger bets on his horse. When it wins the first of the two races, the bookmakers start to panic. Blake and his friends are invited to Quartz's estate for the second race. During the night, Blake overhears, via the chimney, the colonel conversing with Hatton and The Shadow. He realises that Quartz is the Confederation's agent and that Silverheels is being doped. At the second race, the police close in and Quartz and The Shadow are arrested. Hatton escapes with the Confederation loot.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 1,529 (1933), which in turn was a rewrite of UNION JACK issue 893 A BID FOR BILLIONS (1920). The review is based on a reading of that issue.

Rating: ★★★★★

LAND OF LOST MEN
by Rex Hardinge

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 1,531 (1933), which was the final issue of the UNION JACK. The story features Sir Richard Losely and Lobangu.

Unrated

THE HOUSE OF LIGHT
by Edwy Searles Brooks

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 1,528 (1933). The story features Waldo the Wonder-Man.

Unrated

SEXTON BLAKE'S SECRET
by Lewis Jackson (Jack Lewis)

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: In the Spring of 1914, Sexton Blake travels to the Cameroons to visit his younger brother Nigel Blake. He finds him in a pitiful state; a half-insane alcoholic who practices as a doctor illegally. The meeting is not a happy one. Nigel has abandoned his wife, Clare and baby son, Garry, and refuses to support them. Blake returns to England and later receives a telegram that falsely claims that Nigel has died. Nearly twenty years later, Garry, who has been raised not knowing who his real father is, has joined the police force and is investigating his first case: a sudden plethora of forged cheques. Blake also looks into the crimes and discovers evidence that Nigel is behind them. This is supported by Clare who, in a state of deep shock, reports that she caught sight of Nigel on Oxford Street. With Garry closing in on the criminal, Blake confronts his brother and gives him refuge in Baker Street after first sending Tinker and Mrs. Bardell on spurious missions to get them out of the way. He finds out that Nigel is suffering from a mental disorder akin to schizophrenia. When Garry and Inspector Martin arrive, Blake hides his brother in the bedroom. Martin reveals that Blake was seen with the suspect and insists on searching the house. He finds nothing, and leaves with Garry, still filled with suspicion. The detective enters the bedroom to discover that Nigel has gone, having escaped through the window after first removing valuables from Blakes private safe.

Trivia: Sexton Blake is grey eyed and six feet tall, with a spare, athletic figure. His family nickname was 'Tony'. He originally intended to be a doctor but trained only so far as to pass his degrees. He then transferred from medicine to other branches of science. His home is at the north end of Baker Street (previously it's been described as 'Baker Street, West').

Mrs Bardell's first name is Martha (in early UNION JACKs it was 'Maria'). Tinker was rescued 'from the surroundings of slumdom and the rough life of a London newsboy'. The author makes it clear that Blake's father died a good few years before the First World War ... a fact that is conveniently overlooked in a couple of the New Order novels. We are also told that Blake paid for his brother to move abroad 'a year or so before the outbreak of the Great War' (and, incidentally, the author then wipes out years of established history by stating that the detective's career took off after Nigel left). A page later, he has Sexton Blake searching for Nigel in the Spring of 1914. The detective is already world famous and he tells someone that he hasn't seen Nigel for 'some years'. A few paragraphs after that, the suggestion seems to be that 'some years' is actually two. To make sense of all this, see SEXTON BLAKE TIMELINE.

This is reprinted from DETECTIVE WEEKLY issue 1 (1933). The review is from a reading of that issue, which should be consulted for further notes.

Rating: ★★★★☆