Pulp mystery

1–48 of 1,547, free to read, from the world's archives.

Where these come from, and who sees what

Every page is shown from the archive that keeps it: the Internet Archive, Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and, where this server is set up for them, Europeana and Trove. Nothing is copied to this site. Each work's page names its archive, links to the work there, and states its licence or status as the archive does.

Comics and magazines carry no age ratings, and Golden Age comics and the pulps are full of horror, crime, violence and racist caricature, so each work is placed cautiously from what its archive says about it. Erotica is left out altogether.

Little OnesFunny-animal comics and nursery magazines.
KidsComics and magazines made for children, such as St. Nicholas and Child Life, unless they deal with ghosts, monsters, spies or fights.
TweensHumour and teen comics, science, computing, sport and hobby magazines, true stories and education.
TeensEverything else, including the pulps and anything we cannot tell about; horror, crime, war, westerns, superheroes and romance go no lower; every newspaper, since historic papers carry graphic reports and racist content.
AdultWorks with racist caricature (named, or a series known for it, such as The Spirit's Ebony White), wartime comics of 1941–1946 and jungle comics, which commonly carried it, each with a note saying so; the true-crime magazines and the "weird menace" pulps; sexual themes and gore.
Magazine

The Shadow #1 : The Living Shadow

1931 · Internet Archive

The Shadow by Maxwell Grant #1 - The Living Shadow Originally published in The Shadow Magazine , April/June 1931 Out of the darkness came a being of…

Magazine

Phantom Detective Apr. 1941

1941 · Internet Archive

Phantom Detective Vol. 35 No. 1. April 1941

Magazine

The Complete Sherlock Holmes

1891 · Internet Archive

All of the Sherlock Holmes stories in facsimile from The Strand Magazine.

Magazine

A Bullet for Cinderella

1955 · Internet Archive

An early noir mystery by John D. MacDonald. I found no copyright renewals. As always do your own search. HER VENEER WAS BIG CITY ... But one look…

Magazine

Uncensored Detective Magazine Volume 2 Number 6

1946 · Internet Archive

Magazine

Alfred Hitchcocks Mystery Magazine v01 n12 [1956-12]

1956 · Internet Archive

Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine [v1 #12, December 1956] ed. William Manners (H.S.D. Publications, 35¢, 128pp+, digest) Return Trip · Eugene…

Magazine

The Little Tales Of Smethers And Other Stories - Lord Dunsany (1952)

1952 · Internet Archive

Amongst all the books for which the Irish dramatist, poet, and fantasist Lord Dunsany (1878-1957) became deservedly famous, there was one solitary…

Magazine

Bat Man by Lew Merrill (1936) (2002 Reprint)

1936 · 18 pages · Internet Archive

Magazine

1943 - Histoires Vraies

1943 · Internet Archive

1943 - Histoires Vraies - 504 Numéro Publié Edgar Lespérance, directeur de la revue et propriétaire des Éditions Police Journal, commente ainsi la…

Magazine

The Spider v26 n03 [1942-04]

1942 · Internet Archive

The Spider [v26 #3, April 1942] (Popular Publications, Inc., 10¢, 114pp, pulp) 6 · The Web · The Chief · cl 10 · Slaves of the Ring [ Richard…

Magazine

Super Detective Library #065 [1955] (Sherlock Holmes Solves The Mystery Of The Red-Headed League And The Case Of The Greek Interpreter)

1955 · Internet Archive

Super Detective Library #065 [1955] (Sherlock Holmes Solves The Mystery Of The Red-Headed League And The Case Of The Greek Interpreter). Scan of…

Magazine

Black Mask v36 n02 [1951-07]

1951 · Internet Archive

Black Mask Detective Magazine [v36 #2, July 1951] (Fictioneers, Inc., 25¢, pulp) 2 · The Paper Doll · G. T. Fleming-Roberts · nv 37 · The Face of…

Magazine

Alfred Hitchcock - A Bakers Dozen Of Suspense Stories

1963 · Internet Archive

A Bakers Dozen of Suspense Stories by Alfred Hitchcock (Editor) A pulp magazine; a collection of 13 short stories. Published in December1963. This…

Magazine

1944 - Guy Verchères

1944 · Internet Archive

1944 - Guy Verchères - 879 Numéro Publié Guy Verchères: Un grand gars, bien bâti, très à l'aise dans ses gestes. Il a amassé une jolie fortune dans…

Magazine

The Spider v02n03 [1934-04] {sas-EXciter}

1934 · Internet Archive

CONTENTS: The Spider [v2 #3, April 1934] (Popular Publications, Inc., 10¢, 128pp+, pulp, cover by John Howitt) 6 · The Serpent Of Destruction…

Magazine

Scientific Detective Monthly v01n03 [1930-03] (Bogof39) (c2c) (FIXED)

1930 · Internet Archive

This issue had originally been scanned in 2015 from a coverless copy. Here's a complete cover-to-cover scan, with restored covers added. CONTENTS:…

Magazine

Manhunt v01 n01 [1953-01]

1953 · Internet Archive

Manhunt [v1 # 1 , January 1953 ] ed. John McCloud (35¢, 144pp, digest) 1 · Everybody’s Watching Me [Part 1 of 4] · Mickey Spillane · na 16 · Die…

Magazine

Scientific Detective Monthly v01n04 [1930-04] (c2c) (FIXED) (Bogof39)

1930 · Internet Archive

Complete cover-to-cover scan. CONTENTS: Scientific Detective Monthly [v1 #4, April 1930] (25¢, 96pp+, large pulp, cover by Paul) 294 · The Terror In…

Magazine

1949 - Domino Noir

1949 · Internet Archive

1949 - Domino Noir - 749 Numéro Publié A ces débuts le Domino Noir était Simon Antoine, aventurier moderne, hors pair, dévoué à la cause de la…

Magazine

The Spider v21 n03 [1940-08]

1940 · Internet Archive

The Spider [v21 #3, August 1940] (Popular Publications, Inc., 10¢, 112pp+, pulp) 4 · Trojan Horse of Crime · [The Editor] · ed 6 · Pirates from Hell…

Magazine

Dime Detective v68 n04 [1953-06]

1953 · Internet Archive

Dime Detective Magazine [v68 #4, June 1953] (Popular Publications, Inc., 25¢, pulp, cover by Norman Saunders) Subtitled “Combined with Detective…

Magazine

Mammoth Detective v02n02 [1943-03] (-bc) {revised-Wagner-beb}

1943 · Internet Archive

Note: The copy scanned was missing the back cover. CONTENTS: Mammoth Detective [v2 #2, March 1943] ed. B. G. Davis (Ziff-Davis Publishing Company,…

Magazine

Michael Shayne Mystery Magazine v01n01 [1956-09] (JT)

1956 · Internet Archive

CONTENTS: Michael Shayne Mystery Magazine [v1 #1, September 1956] ed. Sam Merwin, Jr. (Renown Publications, Inc., 35¢, 160pp+, digest) ifc. · Full…

Magazine

5 Detective Novels v05 n01 [1952-Fall]

1952 · Internet Archive

5 Detective Novels Magazine [v5 #1, Fall 1952] ed. David X. Manners (Standard Magazines, Inc., 25¢, 148pp, pulp) 6 · Burglary Technique · Anon. · ms…

Magazine

MacKill's Mystery Magazine v01n01 [1952-09] (CosmicJukebox)

1952 · Internet Archive

MacKill’s Mystery Magazine was primarily a reprint magazine, and ran for 22 monthly issues from September 1952 to June 1954. The title was changed…

Magazine

Manhunt August 1956

1956 · Internet Archive

Manhunt [Vol. 4 No. 8, August 1956] (Flying Eagle Publications, Inc., 35¢, 128pp, digest, cover by Frank Cozzarelli) 1 · Cop Killer · Dan Sontup ·…

Magazine

Black Mask v23 n04 [1940-08]

1940 · Internet Archive

Black Mask [v23 #4, August 1940] (15¢, pulp) 6 · Murder—for No Reason [Bryant] · Roger Torrey · nv 26 · Ten Carats of Lead [Special Squad] · Stewart…

Magazine

1944 - Albert Brien

1944 · Internet Archive

1944 - Albert Brien - 999 Numéro Publié Albert Brien: Célèbre détective privé qu'on a surnommé le détective national des Canadiens français. Robert…

Magazine

Avon Murder Mystery Monthly No. 41 [1946] (The Metal Monster - A. Merritt)

1946 · Internet Archive

Avon Murder Mystery Monthly No. 41. The Metal Monster. By A. Merritt (New York: Avon Book Company, 1946) (203, [1] pages) (Cover art by Paul Stahr)…

Magazine

Super Detective Library #002 [1953] (Ernest Dudley, 'The Armchair Detective' In "The Riddle Of The Frensham Will") (Bogof39)

1953 · Internet Archive

Super Detective Library #002 [1953] (Ernest Dudley, 'The Armchair Detective' In "The Riddle Of The Frensham Will"). Super Detective Library was a…

Magazine

Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine v05n02 [1959-07] (Urf)

1959 · Internet Archive

CONTENTS: Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine [v5 #2, July 1959] (Renown Publications, Inc., 35¢, 128pp+, digest, cover by Dick Shelton) 4 · Murder Plays…

Magazine

Confidential Detective Cases v10n06 (1960-04.Detective House)

1960 · Internet Archive

Magazine

Verdict v01n04 [1953-09]

1953 · Internet Archive

Following the successful launch of Manhunt , the publishers launched a similar magazine as Verdict but it never made a mark in a crowded market and…

Magazine

Black Mask September 1945

1945 · Internet Archive

Black Mask [v27 #2, September 1945] ed. K. S. White (Fictioneers, Inc., 15¢, 98pp, pulp, cover by Gloria Stoll) 10 · Dead Man’s Diary [ Mike Shayne…

Magazine

Black Mask v32 n02 [1948-11]

1948 · Internet Archive

Black Mask [v32 #2, November 1948) ed. K. S. White (Fictioneers Inc., 25¢, 130pp, pulp, cover by Peter Stevens) 6 · Can You Take the Witness ·…

Magazine

Verdict v01n02 [1953-07] {jvh-EXciter}

1953 · Internet Archive

Following the successful launch of Manhunt , the publishers launched a similar magazine as Verdict but it never made a mark in a crowded market and…

Magazine

Murder v01n01 [1956-09]

1956 · Internet Archive

Launched after the success of Manhunt , Murder featured the same mix of contemporary murder and crime-adventure stories, but was discontinued in the…

Magazine

New Detective v016n02 [1951-06]

1951 · Internet Archive

New Detective Magazine started in 1941 promising “the NEWest in Crime Fiction”, and carried the standard fare of crime stories, with emphasis on…

Magazine

Mystery v09 n06 [1934-06]

1934 · Internet Archive

Mystery [ v9 #6, June 1934 ] ed. Hugh Weir (Tower Magazines, Inc., 10¢, 144pp, 9 " x 12", cover by Charles De Feo) Subtitled “The Illustrated…

Magazine

5 Detective Novels v01 n02 [1950-Winter]

1950 · Internet Archive

5 Detective Novels Magazine [v1 #2, Winter 1950] (Standard Magazines, Inc., 25¢, 148pp, pulp) 6 · On the Docket · Anon. · cl 11 · Claim of the…

Magazine

Manhunt v01 n11 [1953-11]

1953 · Internet Archive

Manhunt [Vol. 1 No. 11, November 1953] (ed. John McCloud (Flying Eagle Publications, Inc., 35¢, 144pp+, digest) 1 · The Big Touch [ Peter Chambers ]…

Magazine

1944 - Montréal Détective

1944 · Internet Archive

1944 - Montréal Détective - 140 Numéro Publié A ces débuts le Domino Noir était Simon Antoine, aventurier moderne, hors pair, dévoué à la cause de…

Magazine

Detective Story v019 n05 [1918-12-10]

1918 · Internet Archive

Detective Story v019 n05 [1918-12-10] (December 12, 1918) The Man with the Mole [Jimmy Dugan] · J. Allan Dunn · ss The Man Who Awoke [Part 3 of 7] ·…

Magazine

Suspense (UK) v01n01 [1958-08]

1958 · Internet Archive

Created as a companion magazine to the British Argosy magazine, Suspense published many original stories by crime writers of the first rank. It…

Magazine

Black Mask (UK) v07n10 [1950-09]

1950 · Internet Archive

British edition of the hardboiled detective pulp magazine Black Mask . CONTENTS: Black Mask (UK) [v7 #10, September 1950] (Atlas Publishing &…

Magazine

Dixon Hawke's Case Book #07 [1941-Autumn] (fc damaged)

1941 · Internet Archive

Front cover damaged. CONTENTS: Dixon Hawke’s Case Book [#7, Autumn 1941] 5 · The Case Of The Alarm Clock [Dixon Hawke] · Anon. · ss 12 · The Case Of…

Magazine

Crack Detective Stories v06 n05 [1945-09]

1945 · Internet Archive

Crack Detective Stories [v6 #5, September 1945] ed. Robert W. Lowndes (Columbia Publications, Inc., 15¢, 98pp, pulp, cover by Endris) 10 · Slayer’s…

Magazine

The Phantom Detective v09 n01 [1935-02]

1935 · Internet Archive

The Phantom Detective [v9 #1, February 1935] (10¢, 128pp, pulp, cover by Rafael M. DeSoto) 14 · The House of Murders [ Richard Curtis Van Loan (The…