DETECTIVE NOVELS MAGAZINE – December 1940. Overall rating: *

FRANK JOHNSON {Norman Daniels] “The Crimson Mask’s Death Gamble.” Novel. The Crimson Mask, in reality pharmacist Bob Clarke, fighting evil the way no police can do, takes on a case that could only happen only during a depression, when jobs are precious and hard to come by. An employment agency collects $50 for sending applicants to tough manual-labor jobs where foremen drive them to quitting, thus forfeiting the $50. In the days when the pay was $21 a week, this would be quite a racket. The Mask’s girl friend has the most intelligence of anybody running around. (1)

CYRIL PLUNKETT “To Hell with Death,” A murderer drives his victim around in a car with carbon monoxide coming from the engine and a lawman in the back seat. Suspense. (1)

ALLAN K. ECHOLS “Dollars to Doughnuts.” An honest man in the hard-hit wartime docks resists temptation. (3)

JOHN L. BENTON [Norman Daniels] “The Fifth Column Murders.” Novel. Patriotism, a strong motivation in the days just before World War II, against the scummy war of infiltration and sabotage. The Candid Camera Kid, news photographer Jerry Wade, stops a gang bent on destroying America’s defenses. Why must the clues by hidden from the reader? (1)

ROBERT LESLIE BELLEM “Agents of Doom.” Mixed up story of blackmail used to destroy bombers headed for Canada. (0)