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"HELL SHIP TO KUMA: Johnny Roper should be captain of his own ship by now, but bad luck seems to follow him around. He's forced to hire on as bridge officer on the Wanderer, a rusty old freighter with a dubious crew, to get back on his feet. The engineer is a drug addict, the mate a coward, the second mate a thief... and the captain, Murdock, a sadistic bully. Their mission is to pick up freight on Kuma. But as Roper soon finds out, they have a passenger on board--Karen Gorman has been hired by Kuma's big boss, Da-Chong, as an entertainer on the island. Roper should have known better than to sign on, because the Wanderer is a hell ship headed for disaster. BARGE GIRL: The first time tug captain Joe Baski sees Stella she's standing on a coal barge, hanging up her washing. The way the sunlight shines through her tight dress, Baski knows right off he's going to have to meet her. But he quickly finds out that Stella--raised on the New York East Side, looking for a way out--married an older guy named Murk. Undaunted, Baski seduces the blond beauty. That's when his troubles begin. Because a near-fatal accident involving Murk arouses the attention of Delancy, the local cop, and more importantly, the insurance claimer, Coletti. Colleti says the accident is Baski's fault, that he had been planning murder. And in his heart, Baski knows that Colleti might be very close to right."--Provided by publisher.

STRAIGHT DOPEBobby Zorn, a once successful screenwriter and recovering addict, gets a call from an ex-girlfriend. But she doesn''t want to get back together, she wants him to find Kyle Strange, an old running partner of Bobby''s. Kyle was with the ex''s sister when she overdosed at a seedy L.A. motel. The ex claims she''s trying to recover a family heirloom that was in her sister''s bag, but what she''s really after is something far more valuable. Can Bobby find Kyle before the pull of his old life takes him down, and what about his big pitch, a last gasp chance to get back the screenwriting career that drugs took away?Sharp, fast-paced, and deftly observant, STRAIGHT DOPE is 21st century noir straddling two L.A. worlds: The panic and desperation of addiction, and the even more desperate ambitions of Hollywood!

CRIME COPDetective Jeff Flavin gets assigned to head the Burglary detail when a rich guy named Sturgis is beaten and his beautiful wife murdered during a robbery of their safe. He and his partner, George Gilman, interview the murder victim''s best friend. They suspect the friend knows a lot more than she''s telling about what went on at the Sturgis''s. But overall there are very few clues-no fingerprints, only a light shoe print. This is the fourth robbery involving safe cracking and husband beating-all but the most recent involving the same kind of safe-so they start looking at disgruntled workers at the safe company. That''s when they discover Leonard Ferenc, who fits the bill perfectly. But finding Ferenc is another matter altogether. BODY OF THE CRIMELt. Ben Tutchek has been promoted to Commander of the Homicide Division. Delegating responsibility isn''t coming easy to him. But today, the day after the Fourth of July, it''s all hitting the fan at once-there''s a rape killing in South Branch Park, a drowned woman found floating in the river against the East Coast Fisheries dock, cop-fighters down at The Point, and the holdup of a Park Liquor Shop in which the owner is almost killed. As it that weren''t enough, the president of a large Manhattan company has fallen down dead in his office from a mysterious head wound. The Commissioner wants answers. And as the paperwork mounts on his desk, Tutchek is caught right in the middle, trying to solve it all himself.

THE FATAL PICNICThe Mallory family gathers for a picnic at the park. It looks like a perfect day for it, and they all start to arrive, ready to feast and play. Then Uncle Maurice shows up. Maurice of the sadistic tongue and crude humor. His wife Esther puts on her usual brave face, but no one is pleased except the kids, who love his antics. Most of the family have good reason to hate Uncle Maurice. He swindled Jocelyn and Marvin in financial deals. He found out about Fred''s affair, and holds it over him. He torments Alison every time he sees her, belittling her unmercifully. Even his son, David, hates him, and with just cause. Maurice has spread so much poison among the Mallorys, it really comes as no surprise when the shots ring out... THEIR NEAREST AND DEARESTSalinas lettuce grower Stanley West is found murdered at his desk, shot in the chest with his own gun. At first they police are completely baffled. West had many visitors that day, but who dropped in on him that evening with such a grudge that could only be settled by murder? His wife Laverne becomes their first suspect, simply because she is his wife. Chuck Willet, a slightly shady real estate friend who wanted West to back him in a local political bid, could have been upset when West wouldn''t support his campaign. Hal Schmidt owned him a lot of money, and might have wanted to cancel a debt. But then Laverne''s daughter Patty tells the cops about a young man she had been dating, a young man from the worker camp whom her father didn''t approve of. And the cops know they have their man. Or do they?  

THE ABDUCTORIt begins with a name whispered to a teacher in the schoolyard... "Marion....Marion." Someone is lurking in the bushes, but they run off before Miss Moynton can confront them. There is indeed a Marion in her class, so she tells the principal about the event. She even goes the parent''s house to ask if someone was supposed to pick up Marion from school. But Marion''s mother has other concerns, and doesn''t take the question seriously. However, another nearby family, the Trents, have a daughter named Marilyn, and they have every reason to fear this schoolyard stalker. They have been living in fear of a man who blames the husband for his wife''s death, and keeps threatening them on the phone. When the new substitute teacher, Marion Kennick, is kidnapped with one her students, it looks like the stalker has finally decided to strike. THE BANK WITH THE BAMBOO DOORMarlie Renick lives in a town full of secrets. Her own secret is tormenting her. She is pregnant by a man who is not her husband. Then there is Dr. Ferrie, who carries the secret of temptation. He is being blackmailed for his affair with a young woman he refers to as "the barracuda." His wife holds another, much darker secret, one that changes her entire life. And Jim Griffin, the young man who appears so innocently in Karen Evans''s gardening store, is anything but what he seems. Their lives, and many others, all intersect when a conniving lothario leads them to a bricked-up cellar wall that hides the greatest secret of them all. 

THE LOVERIn which Lieutenant Al Wheeler is given--36 hours to solve the murder of the slain sun-worshipper-a second murder to solve when the victim''s boyfriend is also stabbed to death-a bevy of beautiful suspects who all seem to revere the mysterious cult-leader known as The ProphetTHE MISTRESSIn which Lieutenant Al Wheeler must find--the murderer of Sheriff Laver''s niece -the missing $70,000 that the Syndicate would like back-a new job if he doesn''t arrest Lavers'' favorite suspect, a Las Vegas gangster who just moved to townTHE PASSIONATEIn which Lieutenant Al Wheeler has to solve--the mystery of the corpse that appears in a coffin on a local TV horror show-the dilemma of the mysterious caller who keeps offering warnings and clues-the confusion caused by two beautiful twins who both married the wrong men

The complete issue-to-issue guide to Manhunt Magazine-January 1953 to April/May 1967-with story and author indexes, plus an introductory "History of Manhunt."Following the success of the first two Stark House collections, Best of Manhunt and Best of Manhunt 2, this thorough guide provides the collector with everything they need to know about this classic crime fiction magazine.

"The last person Virginia lawyer Robert Shipley expects to see again is Lisa Lindstrom. Their college relationship didn't end well, and Lisa is now married. She is also the daughter of retiring Senator Lindstrom, and used to getting her way. So when she is mailed with a tape showing her in bed with another woman, and told that she has five days to announce her decision not to run for her father's office, she contacts Robert. Shipley tries to refuse, but it's a losing battle. Which is how he finds himself in the apartment of Lisa's lesbian lover, Cate Gaulois, who is lying dead on the floor with a bullet in her chest. All the evidence for the blackmail--and the murder as well--point to three men who seem to have known Cate through a local strip club where she danced: Tommy Osborn, a ruthless tobacco lobbyist, the man who introduced Cate to Lisa; Bill Murphy, chief of staff for the opposition party, whose card he finds in her apartment; and Frank Nelson, chief of staff to Senator Lindstrom, who was also seen visiting the club. Three tough, arrogant Washington D.C. politicians--which one wants Lisa out of the race? And which one now wants Robert Shipley dead?"--

SO YOUNG, SO WICKEDSteve Garrity is a hit man for the syndicate, and he''s just been given a new job. The death has to look like an accident-no guns, no knives. The victim lives in a small town, so he has to figure out how to make his appearance there look natural, or he will be the first person the cops arrest. And he has to make the hit in just a handful of days. But the really crazy part of the assignment is that the target is a fifteen-year-old girl named Leda. Garrity knows he''s been given an impossible job, but there''s nothing he can do about it. If he doesn''t kill Leda within the week, the syndicate will kill him... and slowly. But Leda is no ordinary victim.

Originally published: New York: Pyramid Books, 1959.

"Manhunt holds a unique niche among magazines specializing in crime, mystery, and detective fiction. In fact, it ranks among the three or four most important and influential in its genre. The first issue was dated January 1953, the last April/May 1967, a 14-year run roughly parallel to that of The Saint, not an especially long life for a digest-sized magazine that claimed to be the world's most popular in its category... From its first issue, Manhunt declared itself different. For one thing, all the stories were claimed to be new and remained that way until near the end. And many of the early contributors were familiar names from hardcover publishing, including William Irish (a.k.a. Cornell Woolrich), Kenneth Millar (as himself and as John Ross Macdonald), Eleazar Lipsky, Bruno Fischer, Craig Rice, Harold Q. Masur, Leslie Charteris, William Lindsay Gresham, Henry Kane, and David Goodis... The essence of Manhunt was not the private eye story, though it published plenty of them. What set it apart was what is now called noir fiction, a term often thrown around very loosely but in its purest form concerning a flawed but not necessarily unsympathetic protagonist who will not have a happy outcome." --

Barry N. Malzberg''s "Horseplayer Trilogy" together in one volume, including the science fictional Overlay, the rollicking A Bed of Money, originally published as by "Gerrold Watkins," and the author''s personal favorite, Underlay. Three novels that represent Malzberg at his satiric best.