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The Black Star A Detective Story
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
310 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 1910
17 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Johnston McCulley
248 books81 followersJohnston 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 28, 2023
Entertaining mystery listening
This is a free kindle e-book from Amazon by Johnston McCulley. Oh how I love those free kindle e-books.
Roger is a millionaire with a butler Muggs when they get involved with the robber Black Star. Black Star is robbing all over London and the English country side with no clue to his identity. Roger says he will see that the Black Star is arrested and the fun begins.
I would highly recommend this novel and author to readers of British adventure mystery novels. 2023 😀👒👑😡
This is a free kindle e-book from Amazon by Johnston McCulley. Oh how I love those free kindle e-books.
Roger is a millionaire with a butler Muggs when they get involved with the robber Black Star. Black Star is robbing all over London and the English country side with no clue to his identity. Roger says he will see that the Black Star is arrested and the fun begins.
I would highly recommend this novel and author to readers of British adventure mystery novels. 2023 😀👒👑😡
January 26, 2016
Adventurous criminal excitement by the creator of Zorro...
March 15, 2015
Have you ever watched the Green Hornet, 1930’s version? This is it by another name. Really it is, even down to the vapor guns. The plot so predictable it doesn't compensate for the horrible dialog at all. There are just too many incredible escapes, and even worse solutions.
It’s not really a detective story, because they and you know who did what, when and how. Every act is publicized in advance. It’s just really boring.
Here's an example of the dialog from near the climax. “I regret that I cannot explain the method we are going to use to get into the burglar-proof vaults. Did it become public property, the manufacturers might invent some means of counteracting it." That gives a pretty good idea of the whole book.
It’s not really a detective story, because they and you know who did what, when and how. Every act is publicized in advance. It’s just really boring.
Here's an example of the dialog from near the climax. “I regret that I cannot explain the method we are going to use to get into the burglar-proof vaults. Did it become public property, the manufacturers might invent some means of counteracting it." That gives a pretty good idea of the whole book.
June 25, 2025
A rip-roaring pulp adventure. A wealthy young man with a penchant for action goes up against a brilliant criminal mastermind, the Black Star of the title, who keeps his organization so compartmentalized that nobody can betray him or each other, and plans so meticulously that he always gets away with his crimes.
There are, of course, some pulp cliches. The button that opens a trapdoor in the floor and drops the person standing in front of the desk through it into a pit. The accidental discovery of a secret compartment/door/drawer (as seen in Princess Bride, among many other places). The loyal lower-class sidekick, in this case a reformed criminal who the wealthy young man rescued from self-destruction. The love interest who plays very little role and has very little character development; she's just there because a young man like this would be expected to have one. The fat, ineffectual chief of police, of an American city that's never named; it might well be New York, since it has a river and wealthy socialites, some of whom have Dutch names, but then again, it might not.
But there are also plenty of chases, escapes, captures, pitched battles (in which surprisingly few people are even badly injured, despite the habit of the police of firing their revolvers wildly, in part because the criminals use knockout gas guns and have a code against murder), bragging letters from the criminal announcing his triumph over the police and his nemesis and celebrating his own cleverness, and the inevitable downfall of this hubristic character when his opponent proves too clever for him at last. For a while, there's a police detective character, but he drops out of sight towards the end, having acted mostly as a sounding board for the hero.
Zestful and suspenseful, it's everything you would expect from a classic pulp adventure by the creator of Zorro, and I'll certainly read the sequel at some point.
There are, of course, some pulp cliches. The button that opens a trapdoor in the floor and drops the person standing in front of the desk through it into a pit. The accidental discovery of a secret compartment/door/drawer (as seen in Princess Bride, among many other places). The loyal lower-class sidekick, in this case a reformed criminal who the wealthy young man rescued from self-destruction. The love interest who plays very little role and has very little character development; she's just there because a young man like this would be expected to have one. The fat, ineffectual chief of police, of an American city that's never named; it might well be New York, since it has a river and wealthy socialites, some of whom have Dutch names, but then again, it might not.
But there are also plenty of chases, escapes, captures, pitched battles (in which surprisingly few people are even badly injured, despite the habit of the police of firing their revolvers wildly, in part because the criminals use knockout gas guns and have a code against murder), bragging letters from the criminal announcing his triumph over the police and his nemesis and celebrating his own cleverness, and the inevitable downfall of this hubristic character when his opponent proves too clever for him at last. For a while, there's a police detective character, but he drops out of sight towards the end, having acted mostly as a sounding board for the hero.
Zestful and suspenseful, it's everything you would expect from a classic pulp adventure by the creator of Zorro, and I'll certainly read the sequel at some point.
October 11, 2025
Audiobook:
There are certain books (adventures) that I like to listen to instead of reading them, specially when I’m very busy at work and don’t have the time to actually sit and read. This is one of them, the narrator was great and the storyline itself was very fun, I enjoyed it thoroughly.
What a mastermind the black star was.
There are certain books (adventures) that I like to listen to instead of reading them, specially when I’m very busy at work and don’t have the time to actually sit and read. This is one of them, the narrator was great and the storyline itself was very fun, I enjoyed it thoroughly.
What a mastermind the black star was.
September 14, 2012
The Black Star by Johnston McCulley is a story of good versus evil. Like many thirty-cent novels written and published in the first half of the Twentieth Century, it is a conglomerate of Sherlock Holms, Batman and The Keystone Cops. The story reads as a poorly written, low budgeted black and white movie from the 30’s that were so popular as television filler when I was still young and impressionable. This book would make even the best actors look bad through the inept text and writing. Compared to novels of a later time, The Black Star would be left far in the dust. Despite its obvious failure as a literary work to its credit I sometimes found it refreshing. It is not a story that will compel you to rapidly turn the pages or keep you up at night contemplating the plot. I wouldn’t recommend to anyone to rush out and buy it but if you can still get it for 30 cents (or cheaper) it might be worth picking up and reading. Johnston McCulley is much better known as the creator of the terror of Spanish California, Zorro.
June 30, 2011
This is by the author of the Zorro series. I was quite impressed with the first Zorro book which was quite a good adventure novel. The same talent is displayed in this book.
The Black Star is the master crook who brags of his prowess in letters to the police and newspaper and has pulled of countless crimes. Enter the hero of the story a well-off man and his chauffeur as they match wits against the Black Star as their battles go back and forth.
A good romp and a fun read with enjoyable characters.
This book is available on Project Gutenberg and Librivox
The Black Star is the master crook who brags of his prowess in letters to the police and newspaper and has pulled of countless crimes. Enter the hero of the story a well-off man and his chauffeur as they match wits against the Black Star as their battles go back and forth.
A good romp and a fun read with enjoyable characters.
This book is available on Project Gutenberg and Librivox
July 24, 2017
Apparently this is a collection of several of the first pulp stories McCulley wrote featuring the villain The Black Star. I enjoyed the adventures and will likely seek out more of them.
May 17, 2024
A mysterious criminal -- The Black Star -- has an uncanny ability to rob with impunity. Society gent Roger Verbeck decides enough is enough and matches wits with the master crook.
A great pulp detective story with some clever trickery to enhance the mystery of the gentleman thief, The Black Star.
A great pulp detective story with some clever trickery to enhance the mystery of the gentleman thief, The Black Star.
November 24, 2017
Excellent adventure and enjoyable reading by Roger Melin .
September 14, 2024
Pure pulp fun.
October 31, 2016
Do you need a second opinion on this book? Visit and explore www.oceanpearlbooks.wordpress.com. OceanPearl Books endeavors to provide well-informed book reviews, business readings, parenting tips, and consulting services for our clients worldwide. And it's all for Free!
OceanPearl Books - Book Review
One man brags that he can take down the Black Star and end his reign. The Black Star, a gentleman thief, takes offense at the boast.
It’s a cat and mouse game between the notorious crook and a bragger.
This book is available for FREE at http://manybooks.net/titles/mcculleyj....
OceanPearl Books - Book Review
One man brags that he can take down the Black Star and end his reign. The Black Star, a gentleman thief, takes offense at the boast.
It’s a cat and mouse game between the notorious crook and a bragger.
This book is available for FREE at http://manybooks.net/titles/mcculleyj....
November 2, 2015
Johnston McCulley outdid himself on this one. A master of the Robin Hood type hero, who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, McCulley starts out with a villain much like these, only this one keeps all the loot for himself.
The villain is captured by another clever man, only to find that to turn over the Black Star to the police would mean the ruin of his fiancee's family. He has to outwit both the police and The Black Star to bust up the gang and bring the criminal to justice.
Exciting, but melodramatic.
The villain is captured by another clever man, only to find that to turn over the Black Star to the police would mean the ruin of his fiancee's family. He has to outwit both the police and The Black Star to bust up the gang and bring the criminal to justice.
Exciting, but melodramatic.
October 18, 2012
this is kind of a silly detective story! But it was a lot of fun. It is available at Gutenberg.org and also as an audio recording at Librivox.org both free---so if you just need a funny,old little detective story give it a try.
September 19, 2013
A wonderful crime-adventure book from the creator of the famous The Mark of Zorro!
March 27, 2019
The Black Star, fights his nemesis, the dashing millionaire amateur detective, Roger Verbeck, and his sidekick, Muggs. Jewels are at stake, and the identity of a woman who may or may not be in cahoots with The Black Star. The plot moves along at an even pace.
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February 16, 2016Adventurous
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews