MAXWELL GRANT – The Eyes of the Shadow. Bantam H4056, paperback original; 1st printing, August 1969. Reprint of the original novel that appeared in The Shadow Detective Magazine, April/June 1931.

   #2 in series. Harry Vincent and Claude Fellows are back on the scene again, helping Bruce Duncan fulfill the conditions in his uncle’s will, rewarding friends of a Russian nobleman. These friends are being methodically eliminated, however, and the Shadow’s assistance is needed to nab the criminals responsible.

   As in a comic strip, dialogue is used to explain too much of the action, with many machinations of the plot designed only for the reader’s benefit and revelation, Better writing than last time (reported on here), but this is not as interesting a story.

   Lamont Cranston appears for the first time. The use of television, as a new invention, is also worth pointing out.

Rating: **