Ken Shannon #9

Detective Ken Shannon and his secretary Dee Dee Dawson stumble upon a household in chaos when a cook is mysteriously burned, and the incident leads them to Daniel Walton's prized collection of African devil masks—particularly one stolen from a voodoo temple that may carry a curse of its own. As Ken investigates the impossible burning, the mask's supernatural power strikes again, and he must separate genuine evil from elaborate deception before more victims fall. With the Walton household's secrets unraveling and danger closing in, Ken races to uncover the truth behind the Mask of Zadar and who—or what—is really responsible for the deadly flames.

Detective Angles O'Day investigates a twisted artist named Ivan Zeld, whose poisoned brush strokes seem to age and transform his subjects—starting with art critic Wylie Valdermeer. When O'Day and his sidekick Shagmore find themselves sitting for portraits in Zeld's studio, they discover just how real the artist's deadly technique truly is.

Ken Shannon takes on a bodyguard job protecting a priceless ruby necklace at a millionaire's ball, only to discover the crook he's chasing is the very butler he's been mingling with all night. When the lights go out and the gem vanishes, Shannon must track down the thief before the trail goes cold—but what he finds in a hotel room will raise far more questions than answers.

Detective Ken Shannon takes a peculiar case when a mysterious stranger hires him for five hundred bucks to tail him for just one hour—a job that leads to a rooftop confrontation at the Astol Hotel and a fortune in cash scattered across the street below. As Ken digs deeper into the death of his client, Joram Worth, he uncovers a scheme involving Worth's widow, Lira Worth, and a small-time crook named Ace Egley to seize the millionaire's estate. What started as an easy payday becomes a desperate fight for survival when Ken and his secretary Dee Dee stumble too close to the truth.