Gripping Detective Stories, Vol. 1, No. 2

About this issue

This is the second British edition of Gripping Detective Stories, a pulp detective magazine. The issue contains two novelettes and three short stories. "Death Is My Host" by C. William Harrison follows Dave Kennett and Karen, who find themselves fleeing a forest fire in Southern California mountains; the narrative opens mid-escape through burning terrain before flashing back to Kennett's chance desert highway encounter with Karen near Palm Springs. "Murder Moon" by Richard Glendinning involves a character named Stanhope seeking justice in the Florida Everglades. Short stories include Frank Scott York's "One Against Murder" about a man named Goodlos; Richard Matheson's "Dying Room Only," featuring a mysterious room with a one-way door; and Fletcher Flora's "The Last Sleep" about a man named Jonnie who is more comprehensible to police dead than alive. A feature article titled "The Chump" by Bess Ritter is also included. The magazine was published by Popular Publications, Inc., Kokomo, Indiana, with printing in England.