Hawkins, Maxwell

Cult of the Corpses

Off-Trail Publications:
Castroville: 2008
Trade paperback, New,
150 pp
Cover artwork by: Rudolph Belarski

Two weird detective novelettes from the pulp magazine, Detective-Dragnet. These were early examples of a growing trend toward weird detective stories in the pulps in the early '30s. "Cult of the Corpses" involves a murderous voodoo cult on the loose in Manhattan; "Dealers in Death" involves the machinations of a contract killer who specializes in the art of undetectable murder. Both are well-written, entertaining stories, reprinted here for the first time since 1931. Also included is an exploration of the weird detective trend; and a portrait of the little-known pulp writer, Maxwell Hawkins.   #40410