1878 — 1890 · Ten Volumes · Albert W. Aiken
Joe Phenix,
NYC Detective
“He pressed his back against the gas-lamp’s stone column and watched the figures cross Bleecker Street… one of them carried, hidden in his sleeve, the very dagger that had been used in Madison Square three nights before.”— Joe Phenix, the Police Spy · 1878
Volume 1
Begin with the origin story.
Joe Phenix,
the Police Spy
From 1878, the origin story of Detective Joe Phenix. A state prison inmate seemingly dies but may have been resurrected, an unrivaled criminal gang lurks in elaborate lairs beneath the streets of New York, and a young man-hunter, working a brief at the margins of the police force, sees what no one else can see. The novel that launched the most enduring detective in American newsstand fiction.
280 pages First in series NYC underworld
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continue · Volumes 2 through 10
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Joe Phenix, Private Detective
A suspicious death, a marriage proven to be a sham, a grave disturbed at midnight — and all before Detective Joe Phenix has even entered the case. The famous man-hunter has become independent of the police force and works from his own detective agency.
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The Wolves of New York
1881, New York City. The Wolves were the most evil of the criminal gangs — led by Captain Molly, whose mastery of disguise matched even Joe Phenix. Phenix lives among the Romani to learn their ways while chasing Molly through the most wealthy and most foul parts of the city.
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The Bat of the Battery
It is 1883, and a patrolman making his midnight rounds in Battery Park finds a dead man. Looking up, he sees a bat-like spectre the size of a man. The demented murderer changes his appearance almost at will. Joe Phenix pits against his most vile foe, who imagines himself a murderous Vampire.
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Kate Scott, the Decoy Detective
Joe Phenix encountered the woman who will become his new assistant in February 1884. Self-possessed and bold, Kate outwits a mastermind of crime, shoots an attacker, and works as a disguised undercover agent — a tale that runs from the highest to the lowest reaches of New York society.
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The Man of Three
A marquis with dubious credentials, innocent young ladies in danger, Wall Street financial plots, the seamy underworld contrasted with luxurious country estates — and the stalwart investigative style of Detective Joe Phenix at the centre of it all.
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Joe Phenix’s Shadow
On a dark evening in 1890, a murderer strikes in Washington Square Park. Joe Phenix gets tips from a veiled woman who seems to have been mesmerized. The veteran detective doubts the powers of clairvoyance and second sight — until his doubts are challenged as more mysterious revelations appear.
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Joe Phenix’s Silent Six
Within the palatial home of the leading Wall Street Money King, a concealed extortionist seeks a fortune. The police can’t discover any suspects, so the obvious choice is to secretly employ the best sleuth in New York City.
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Joe Phenix’s Combine
A celebrity suicide turns out to be murder, the will cannot be found, and the heirs are subjected to multiple extortion plots. Joe Phenix begins a long and dangerous hunt with his assistants and his disguises.
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Joe Phenix’s Master Search
A man travels to New York City from Arizona carrying a peculiar container. Just before he can deliver it, he is struck down by two thugs. Joe Phenix must chase the mysterious casket to an explosive conclusion.
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Editor’s note · Dark Lantern Tales
Why I picked this series.
I have been reading and studying these old stories since my ’teens. After running through quite a few hundred of these adventures, I have been selecting works for Dark Lantern Tales that, in my opinion, still hold up as a good story. The Joe Phenix series is the long one I keep coming back to.
Aiken serialized Joe Phenix novels at varying intervals from 1978 until the end of his life in 1894, revealing a New York that is both completely period and completely vivid — gas-lamps and tenement courtyards, dive bars and brokers’ offices, the Tombs and the Battery. The detective himself is bold, a little too clever for his own good, and always two steps from a beating. The books move.
Each volume is independent — you don’t need to start at one. But Volume 1, the origin story, is where I’d begin. After that, follow the cover that pulls you. They’re cheaper than a paperback at the airport, and a lot more interesting.
Mark Williams · Editor & Publisher
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Stand-Alone Novels · 1880s
Gilded Age Detective Stories
Four novels by Albert W. Aiken. Frisco Detective, Actress Detective, Hilda Serene, Tom of California.
Industrial Thrillers · 1884–1897
Steam-Age Crime Stories
Daring Desmond and Gideon Gault — two novels in one paperback. The colder, harder edge of the catalog.