The Crime Cult

The Shadow Pulp #12

by Maxwell Grant

WHO KNOWS WHAT EVIL LURKS IN THE HEARTS OF MEN?

The marks of death were upon them. A mysterious round burn no bigger than a dime scarred each forehead; upon each throat was a thin, almost invisible white line. The police were baffled, but each of the victims knew that his time was up and his page in the book of death had come due. It was obviously a case for THE SHADOW but the most famous crimefighter of all was missing!

Where was the Master of Darkness? Had he finally succumbed to his brilliant adversary, the High Priest of the Cult of Kali? The evil genius who had infiltrated New York's underworld like a disease was now determined to destroy the last obstacle in his mad lunge for total THE SHADOW!

Originally published in Shadow Magazine, Volume II, Number 6, July 1932.

Genres: Pulp, Mystery, Fiction, Adventure

156 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

Maxwell Grant was a pseudonym often used by Walter B. Gibson to write stories of "The Shadow".

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Shadow faces the evil Cult of Kali, and finds it's actually a criminal organization that's infiltrated the underworld he opposes. The weed of crime bears biter fruit indeed, and The Shadow must teach them that crime does not pay. This is an adventure from a 1932 issue of the pulp magazine, a fairly typical novel from "The Shadow's Private Annals, as told to Maxwell Grant." One interesting thing about this one is is that the murder victims have a mark of death, a dime-sized burn mark on their foreheads, which a couple of years later would become the calling card of Richard Wentworth, The Spider, another great pulp crime fighter.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun entry in the lengthy Shadow series of pulp adventures. This time around, the Shadow and his agents including Harry Vincent, Cliff Marsland, reporter Clyde Burke, radio operator Burbank, and stockbroker Rutledge Mann work to solve a series of strangulation murders. All the victims share a mysterious round circle on their foreheads when their bodies are found.

This was originally published in 1932, coming in at number 12 in publication order, still very early in the novel series.

False identities, crime syndicates, twisting trails, mysterious cults and plenty of action are evident throughout this volume. The Shadow, of course pulls out all sorts of tools from his toolbox in order to protect his agents and bring the culprits to their just deserts. I liked the interaction with the Shadow's team and the police in this one as they feed off each other toward a mutual goal. Of course it's always fun to see how the Shadow manages to remain in the shadows and not be found out but you know it's going to happen.

It's always fun to return to these Shadow novels and look forward to the next opportunity.

[Iain · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was strangely paced and had a different feel that I couldn't get into. I don't know why exactly, but from the very first pages I felt it not clicking with me and making me dread reading the story I was starting. And yet, it took me about as long as ever to get through, but it felt like I flew through it very quickly. I think just because there was so little to slow down and think about; I was just turning pages without engaging much, often until I fell asleep mid-chapter. Also, these are typically around 25 to 30 short chapters, and this one comes in under 20. I think that contributes to the perception of this one having made little progress even at the halfway point, but also it's a reflection that there just aren't enough interesting things going on to divide this into the usual brisk and numerous chapters.

The first half of the story left me feeling like nothing had happened, and I was shocked to see that I was 50% in when it felt like we were still meandering through the basic setup before The Shadow starts making some dramatic impacts. From about 60% on it picked up a *little* and started to feel like it was going somewhere, but this still left me feeling like it was a rush job, without the time put into the rich details that make a great Shadow story. And when one of these feels rushed and lacking details, it usually means there's not much of the Shadow in them, which is the case here. He seems to spend most of the book as a black blot following gangsters around, just learning what they're up to and where they're going.

This was the note I wrote at 60% in, which is a little spoilery but gives my reactions while still in the middle of reading it: Uncommonly slow start. At 50% in, what's happened is: One guy is missing, someone looking for him is killed, another guy seems to be missing, another shows up to warn another who also gets killed, Cardona wears a disguise, Harry gets kidnapped, and the first guy's fiancee is taken to a ridiculous hidden palace inside a warehouse. Entire first half feels like padded drudgery."

Add in some quick details about stranglings, morgue examinations (which apparently any news reporter could just go do if he fancied), and calling cards burned into foreheads, and you've pretty much got a sense of half this story. There's no interesting Shadow quick change disguise work, no Lamont Cranston cruising the Cobalt Club, no autogyros or code cracking in a secret lair, not even little touches like the usual mentions of the girasol on a hand reaching out of the darkness, or The Shadow writing one of his secret messages. Very characterless and flat. Just a lot of agents gathering and relaying info about murders to establish they're connected, Cliff infiltrating a gang and drugging a guy, Harry being a damsel in distress twice over, and The Shadow following people and creeping along the outside wall of a building.

And the ending brings me back to a criticism I had of Hands in the Dark: Just what was The Shadow's plan for the final showdown? Because it sure seemed like his plan was to use the cops to mop up without any concern for what happens to them. Both stories end with The Shadow tracking down the main villain, taking complete control of the situation, getting what he came for, and then bailing when the cops show up and leaving them to get wounded or killed in a gun battle he could have prevented. In this case, he had the entire crime cult subdued but made no attempt to disarm them, so when he left they had nothing preventing them from fighting for their lives, which ended in the cultists dead and several cops wounded, including Cardona. Not for any plot point; Cardona just got shot again, because The Shadow once again had no interest in doing anything to not allow that to happen. The brutal Shadow of recent decades would have wiped them out before they had a chance to endanger anyone else, and the more humane Shadow we see in many of these earlier pulps might not have gunned them down but would have likely shown concern for the danger they pose to others. But this is the in-between, indecisive Shadow we sometimes see in lesser stories: not willing to play executioner, but also not concerned about those he employs as executioners on his behalf. Just a rich sociopath foiling criminal plots for, literally, giggles.

There was one moment that was predictable but still notably cool, to the point that the entire story, in hindsight, kind of feels like it exists just to provide a basic context for this moment. It's a spoiler of the conclusion, so be warned if you care, but I'll share it here as the most worthwhile moment in a story I'm basically warning others to avoid:
When the Crime Cult thinks everything is going to plan, their trap outside will take care of the raiding police, and they're free to proceed with their ritual killing by placing someone in the sarcophagus of their deity... they open the standing sarcophagus, a laugh emerges from it, and the darkness within forms itself into The Shadow, who announces: "The home of Kali... A home prepared for death. I have made it a home for retribution. Your fate has arrived."

Honestly, that one brief moment is one of the most memorable and epic of the series to this point, and it's a shame that it feels like the only memorable aspect of this otherwise boring story.

Also, I wasn't paying attention and can't be sure but this might be the most historically significant detail of this story if true: Is this perhaps the first Shadow story where Gibson did not alternate between describing his gun as both an automatic and a revolver, from one sentence to the next? He actually managed to consistently describe him as holding either one or two automatics throughout the final confrontation, depending on what he was doing, and now I'm wondering if this is the point where he finally figured this out.
Edit: Nope, still hadn't figured it out. During a tussle with a gangster The Shadow fires his automatic through a car's window in one sentence, and two sentences later he's "swinging a heavy revolver" at the thug he's grappling with. From there it's a revolver dropping to the ground, his black-gloved hand reaching for the revolver on the ground, and then "the automatic swung from the ground and spat flame as it rose." A dozen stories in and still no one's told him how foolish this sounds. But still, he got it right throughout the final confrontation, so maybe halfway through this someone did tell him, and he just didn't go back and fix it.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who is behind the series of murders by strangulation, in which each victim has a round mark burned into his forehead? Meanwhile, a young woman's fiancée has mysteriously disappeared. Is this connected to the crime spree? The Shadow goes into action to stop this bizarre crime spree.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author had such great ideas for stories. Brilliant at portraying The Shadow character.
He just couldn't get himself to write a really good story. So much excessive narrative that adds nothing and severely weighs down the tale. This is no exception.

The best part is aided by his troublesome writing approach to have a character appear and meld in to the background. Basically having characters there and not there.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 6 out of ten points.

[Tomi Vaisala · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this story was an inspiration for creating The Spider.

[Bill Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, this was, at best, average. I’ve read about a dozen of The Shadow’s exploits by Walter Gibson and liked this one the least. Surprisingly lackluster. Surprising because Gibson usually does a great job with The Shadow and his agents. This won’t prevent me from moving to another Gibson/Shadow tale soon because the others have been so much fun.

[Todd Groeber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Shadow novel. Quick paced and never knowing where it is going. Plot tightly wrapped up in the last 2 chapters. Always a perfect ending.

[Carla Eacret · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my earliest heroes!

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of The Shadow novels seem to deserve the same rating: they are all practically the same book.

I had hoped that the inclusion of the Cult of Kali would help to distinguish this from the others I'd read, but no such luck. It still boils down to a set of gangsters and a criminal mastermind, none of whom learned a thing from the downfall from the previous set of gangsters and criminal mastermind. The cult angle is wedged in sideways and doesn't make much of a difference until the very end.

(Oddly, Pyramid appears to be using a Steranko cover that looks designed for Hands in the Dark.)

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it comes to pulp heroes there are 2 or 3 great standouts and the Shadow is one of those. The stories are fast paced and action filled. The mystery just adds to the excitement. With his army of agents to help the Shadow never lets you down for a great read. Highly recommended

[Ed Wyrd · Rating 3 out of 5]

The actual title for this is "The Crime Cult." The Master of Darkness is actually the subtitle to The Shadow series.

[Frank Dimarco · Rating 4 out of 5]

as the 12th book in the series, originally. This story felt too fast paced in comparison to the previous 11 books. otherwise it was a fun read

[Ronald]

read some time in 1984