The period before WWII was a sort of Golden Age for magicians, the public fascinated by illusion and slight of hand, and of course the daring, seemingly impossible escape. On radio, there was something of magic and illusion despite the medium not being visual. One has only to think of the famous Shadow or Chandu to see the influence. It found its way into the pulps most certainly, with pulp writers such as Lester Dent, Walter Gibson, Norvell Page, and Paul Ernst each creating a magician detective. G.T. Fleming-Roberts was no exception — he in fact created three of them.

Before creating George Chance — the Ghost (later Green Ghost) — and then, during the war while he served his country, the seven Dime Detective cases of Indianapolis magic shop owner Jeffrey Wren — Fleming-Roberts created Diamondstone. This was during the period when he was ghostwriting Secret Agent X. A striking figure with reddish-blonde eyebrows and blue eyes, Diamondstone’s size and stature masked his agility and elegance. He used his puzzle-solving abilities and craft to solve mysteries. He had a black manservant, Absalom, who was his only confidant; the relationship quite unusual for the time period.

The Murder of the Marionette story first appeared in Popular Detective in August of 1938. In it, Diamondstone has traveled to Mayfair Beach, Florida at the request of pretty Niki Charles, who fears for her life but doesn’t have any evidence to back up the claim. But the phone call Diamondstone receives upon arrival, warning him to leave, tells the detective/magician that she’s right. It seems Niki and her brother separately answered an ad for those “utterly alone in the world” and it turned into a job selling products door-to-door. But then her brother is killed in a strange accident.

What follows is typical of G.T. Fleming-Roberts’ stories in that there is some good plotting and the action moves swiftly without losing any atmosphere. There is a body at the bottom of a pool, a murdered marionette puppet, and then another murder before Diamondstone gets to the bottom of a complicated racket involving insurance. There is also a hint of a continuing romance between Diamondstone and Niki. This is good stuff, enjoyable to read because of the manner in which it is written by Fleming-Roberts, who was a cut above many pulp writers.

While I purchased this single story on Kindle, it is also included in a Kindle collection of all six stories titled, Diamondstone: Magician-Sleuth. The pulp stories are short and fun, the magician sleuth and the manner in which he is portrayed stylish. I immediately picked up the bigger collection after reading this Kindle single, and look forward to more fun reads about Diamondstone — and Niki. ( )