Shell Scott

Shell Scott was the best-known creation of fiction writer Richard S. Prather. A Southern California private eye, 6-foot-2 ex-marine, he was featured in three dozen novels published over a span of nearly 40 years. The character remained 30 years old throughout.

Shell Scott novels

• Case of the Vanishing Beauty — 1950
• Bodies in Bedlam — 1951
• Everybody Had a Gun — 1951
• Find This Woman — 1951
• Dagger of Flesh — 1952
• Darling, It's Death — 1952
• Pattern for Murder a.k.a. The Scrambled Yeggs (as David Knight) — 1952
• Way of a Wanton — 1952
• Always Leave 'em Dying — 1954
• Pattern for Panic — published in 1954 with lead character named Cliff Morgan, re-written in 1961 with character's name changed to Shell Scott
• Ride a High Horse a.k.a. Too Many Crooks —1956
• Strip for Murder — 1956
• The Wailing Frail — 1956
• The Deadly Darling — 1957
• Have Gat - Will Travel (short stories) — 1957
• Three's a Shroud (novelettes) — 1957
• Slab Happy — 1958
• Take a Murder, Darling — 1958
• Over Her Dear Body, 1959. Shell takes a dive off a yacht to find who killed a real estate agent. He's almost drowned, shot, stabbed, and car-bombed before he finds the trail to a billion dollar freeway scam.
• Double in Trouble (co-written with Stephen Marlowe and featuring his character Chester Drum working with Shell Scott) — 1959
• Dance with the Dead, 1960. The first chapter takes place in the office/dining room of Don the Beachcomber's banyan tree treehouse in the International Market Place in Honolulu, Hawaii.
• Dig That Crazy Grave — 1961
• Shell Scott's Seven Slaughters (short stories) — 1961
• Kill the Clown — 1962
• Dead Heat — 1963
• The Cockeyed Corpse — 1964
• Joker in the Deck — 1964
• The Trojan Hearse — 1964
• Dead Man's Walk — 1965
• Kill Him Twice — 1965
• The Meandering Corpse — 1965
• The Kubla Khan Caper — 1966
• Gat Heat — 1967
• The Cheim Manuscript — 1969
• Kill Me Tomorrow — 1969
• The Shell Scott Sampler (short stories) — 1969
• Dead-Bang — 1971
• The Sweet Ride — 1972
• The Sure Thing — 1975
• The Amber Effect — 1986
• Shellshock — 1987

Shell Scott Mystery Magazine

The Shell Scott Mystery Magazine was published under the imprint of the LeMarge Publishing Corporation, the name based on publisher Leo Margulies' name. It lasted 9 issues in 1966.

External links

• The Richard S. Prather / Shell Scott Website