Shocking Mystery Cases #53

Detectives Scott Burns and Johnny Cooper stake out a Chicago gambling operation after a ruthless gang begins hitting bookmakers, using clues from an eyewitness—including a gunman with a broken nose—to track the criminals. As the gang schemes to rob a major syndicate gambling den, Burns and Cooper set a carefully planned trap, following the crooks through their moves and waiting for the moment to strike.

Bert Saney, a clever car thief fresh out of Leavenworth, devises an audacious scheme to beat Chicago's new anti-theft laws: he and his gang buy legitimate cars, forge the titles with altered serial numbers, and resell them to unsuspecting buyers—then steal the cars back and repeat the process. When his arrogance and a fatal mistake during a police pursuit expose his operation, Saney's fool-proof plot unravels, leaving him facing far graver consequences than his original crime.

Convict X had mere hours before his scheduled execution, but he wouldn't face it—he escaped from prison at 11:30, setting off a desperate three-hour race against the clock. This taut crime tale follows the condemned man through the three lives he'll live in those final hours before his fate catches up with him.