Slave of Mystery and Other Tales of Suspense from the Pulps

by Johnston McCulley

This volume presents five novellas by Johnston McCulley, creator of Zorro. Originally published under the pseudonym "Harrington Strong" in Detective Story Magazine, these mysteries showcase McCulley's lifelong devotion to the mystery field with meticulously plotted and brightly characterized stories that still hold the interest of modern readers. Presented here are "The Great Green Ring," "The Only Way," "Run to Ground, "The Obvious Clue" and "Slave of Mystery."

216 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2006

About the author

Johnston McCulley (February 2, 1883 – November 23, 1958) was the author of hundreds of stories, fifty novels, numerous screenplays for film and television, and the creator of the character Zorro.

Many of his novels and stories were written under the pseudonyms Harrington Strong, Raley Brien, George Drayne, Monica Morton, Rowena Raley, Frederic Phelps, Walter Pierson, and John Mack Stone, among others.

McCulley started as a police reporter for The Police Gazette and served as an Army public affairs officer during World War I. An amateur history buff, he went on to a career in pulp magazines and screenplays, often using a Southern California backdrop for his stories.

Aside from Zorro, McCulley created many other pulp characters, including Black Star, The Spider, The Mongoose, and Thubway Tham. Many of McCulley's characters — The Green Ghost, The Thunderbolt, and The Crimson Clown — were inspirations for the masked heroes that have appeared in popular culture from McCulley's time to the present day.

Born in Ottawa, Illinois, and raised in Chillicothe, Illinois, he died in 1958 in Los Angeles, California, aged 75. -wikipedia