Justice of The Black Claw

Justice of the Black Claw (Pulp Fiction)

By Douglas D. Hawk

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Raptor Mountain Publishing

198 Pages

Price $2.99 (Kindle)

Rating 5-Stars

“Great Pulp Action, And New Character.”

It’s a couple months after the Nazi activity recorded in “Mark of The Black Claw, and a new menace has surfaced in this unnamed metropolis. A Nazi mastermind seeks valuable documents vital to Hitler’s plans, and he’s using a woman’s wiles to obtain them. Controlling local mobsters, the femme fatale is as evil as her male counterparts. But The Black Claw interrupts sabotage and knocks off hoodlums in quick fashion. But this time Lieutenant Shane Chandler lies in the hospital, not expected to live, and Sonja “Blackie” Gannon, an agent of the organization The Black Claw works for has gone undercover, and is in deadly danger. Meanwhile, Yancy Fleet suspects Vicky Kirkland as the masked vigilante.

Definitely one of the best new pulp characters we’ve seen in quite a while. The author is a fan of the old pulps, like Doc Savage, The Shadow, The Spider, and The Black Bat, and it can be seen in his writing. Although ten stories have been mapped out, only two have been published so far. These were actually written in 1998, but only recently published. The author could have used a proofreader, but the story is topnotch regardless of a few missing words and typos. We find streets named Wentworth Drive and Cranston, and a building named Wentworth Towers. People are reading Spicy Detective Stories, The Shadow – “The Jade Dragon” – and fedoras are worn by good and bad alike. It will be a shame if the author doesn’t continue the series. These are fun reads with lots of action, and interesting characters. Just like reading old pulp stories! The next story is advertised as “Challenge of The Black Claw”. Highly recommended for readers of purple prose and fast action.

Tom Johnson

Author of GUNS OF THE BLACK GHOST