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Shell Scott, the shamus who has Sherlock whirling in his grave...the wacky knight-errant of gorgeous gals who leaves a trail of beautiful bodies behind him (not all of em dead)...the private eye who's every killer's public enemy.... This is the first book in this action-packed mystery series. The Case of the Vanishing Beauty began when one beauty vanished from sight and another died in a hail of bullets. Next on the murder list was lovely Lina....

Constanza Carmocha was unarmed - that is, she didn't have a gun. Well, she really didn't need one, either. Because she had all the weapons that have ruined men from time immemorial or better said - time immoral. One unlucky guy ended up with his throat slit because of her, and another was about to be bumped off. Shell Scott was sure to get to the bottom of this deadly dame....

“The strait jacket’s canvas held my arms tight. My six-two was horizontal on a stretcher and the two bruisers carried it and my 205 pounds easily down the long corridor. I was confused as modern art, and being in this stupid asylum didn’t help. I was dumped onto a bed, yelling like a fiend. A needle, a stinging sensation in my neck and it was lights out for me. I awoke with a light beaming upon my face. A blade moved upward through the beam of light. And suddenly I was wide awake, thinking: This idiot is about to stab me! Me? I’m Shell Scott private eye and I’m in a lot of trouble...”

Mando Killion's world was shattered by Santa Anna's brutal invasion of Texas. Scion of a wealthy ranching dynasty, he saw his father die at the Alamo, his mother and brothers murdered, and his beautiful sister taken hostage by a debauched Mexican General. Mando came of age during the most violent days of Texas history, as a hearty band of patriots led by Sam Houston fought a bloody revolution for freedom from tyranny.

On their way to Colorado, Ruff and Dixie Ballou drive their horses through New Mexico. Their intention to quietly drive the horses on through goes well until they find themselves inadvertently involved in a shootout with four outlaws who robbed the banks of a small town in New Mexico. An edgy sheriff and angry townspeople get the Ballou’s involved in a situation they would be more happy to do without. Even more so when they are arrested by the sheriff as robbery suspects.

Hallettsville, Texas was home to ex-Confederate officer Slate Creed. But after taking an oath for the Union he discovered Yankees had taken over his plantation, named him an outlaw when he resisted, and framed him for murder... Now with a signed confession in his hand naming the real murderer, Creed can finally clear his name. With his nephew and sister-in-law, he's headed for Texas. But his trail is fraught with danger...and it won't do Creed much good to gain his reputation if he loses his life in the process.

Ex-Confederate officer Slate Creed is still intent on taking back his land from Yankee carpetbaggers and clearing his name. But a noose still hangs over Slate Creed's head for a crime he didn't commit. Now there's only one hope to clear his name: saving the neck of the man who framed him. The whole town wants Dick Barth dead, except for Creed, he needs him breathing - and confessing. But freedom for both men makes trouble a sure bet - especially when the wager is paid in blood.

When the Civil War ended, Confederate Captain Clete Slater was looking forward to going home to his family and enjoying a peaceful life on his family's plantation in Texas. He was greeted by the Union Army and Carpetbaggers taking over everything. When he resisted and fought for his home, they framed him and declared him an outlaw, forcing him to hit the trail. Now he has a crooked federal marshal with an itchy trigger finger dogging his trail.

Creed was willing to risk his life by going home to the girl and the land he loved. Texada and Texas. Both represented his future and as long as he could breathe he would determine his own destiny. But the road home lay through Victoria County, a place that many considered to be lawless and wild even before the War. He knew he was inviting trouble, but he was in a hurry. Riding into the town of Victoria, Creed finds himself caught in a standoff between the angry townsfolk and the company of Union soldiers sent to occupy the town.

Shell Scott is hired to help State Senator Paul Hershey gather information against Joe Blake, one of the biggest crooks Los Angeles has ever produced. Joe Blake is the kingpin behind the opposition party to Paul Hershey’s re-election. Blake is backing the candidate against Hershey, a Blake pawn, and using smear and innuendo in an increasingly vicious campaign. Hershey’s only defense against this onslaught is to get the information that will put Blake behind bars. That’s where Shell Scott comes in.

Marty Keller, ex-Texas Ranger turned bounty hunter, is on the vengeance trail to find the three men who murdered his family. After being wounded, he is cared for by the widow of a murdered sheriff and she convinces him to search for the sheriff's killer as well. She asks a friend of the sheriff, an Indian, to help. The two are slowed by many battles along the way but eventually track the killers across the Southwest into Mexico. Side-tracked again, Marty gets involved in defending a large ranchero from Mexican bandits.

In the wake of disaster, the surviving members of the Ballou family sought a new beginning on the Texas Frontier. A minister and his family become their traveling companions. Tragedy strikes when the minister and his young daughter are attacked by rattlesnakes and severely bitten. Their lives depend on the only medical attention available, that of a Comanche medicine man. And it is up to Ruff to persuade the reluctant Comanches to give them aid.

Ruff Ballou and his sister Dixie journeyed west with trouble at their heels. But luck is on their side in Rum River, New Mexico, where they race one of their champion thoroughbreds to victory. A rich man’s greed pits their good fortune against Ruff's life and they must take up a money-making challenge to capture Blue Bullet, the legendary stallion that no man has yet tamed. But their worst enemy is time. A bounty has been placed on Blue Bullet, dead or alive, and savage killers are out to collect that reward.

Haunted by the blood and bitterness of the Civil War, Houston Ballou escaped from Tennessee on the proud stallion High Fire, followed by his brother, Ruff; his sister, Dixie; and the last four mares from the Ballou farm, one of them heavy with foal. Threatened with extreme danger from either army, they head west to start a new life. Adding to their peril are deserters that stalk the roads. These men would kill for a few coins, more so for valuable horseflesh.

His parents gave him the name Jed Thompson. But the Comanches who killed his parents and took him into their tribe as a boy gave him a different name. Golden Hawk. Trained by the fiercest of Indian warriors to fight, and now full grown, he was facing the choice of which world to live in, which path to take. Then his beautiful sister Annabelle, was sold into cruel captivity - and Golden Hawk's choice was made. No man will stand in his way. He will use all his strength and savage killing skills to save her.

A rash of hit and run deaths in Los Angeles has the press in an uproar. The police have no clue as to the primary cause and the deceased are all men who appear to have been brutalized prior to the time of the accident. But there are other aspects to the case and Shell Scott has been hired by a not so upstanding night club owner to investigate.

In the cold, wet summer of 1960, 11-year-old Joy Henderson lives in constant fear of her father. She tries to make him happy but, as he keeps reminding her, she is nothing but a filthy sinner destined for Hell.... Yet, decades later, she returns to the family's farm to nurse him on his death bed. To her surprise, her 'perfect' sister, Ruth, is also there, whispering dark words, urging revenge. Then the day after their father finally confesses to a despicable crime, Joy finds him dead - with a belt pulled tight around his neck.

It was Martha Doak's last wish, and it may lead Slate Creed to his last showdown. Creed promised the half-blood squaw that he'd see her son Little Bee safe and sound to his uncle in the Choctaw Nation. Trouble is, the trip will take him through some of the meanest badland settlements the Nations have to offer. Towns where Little Bee's kind isn't wanted...and the rebel Creed is. As murderous bushwhackers stalk their trail, the boy and Creed live by quick wits, cold steel, and an unbreakable pact bound by honor and daring....

"There was a fire in her eyes that was scorching me - me, who couldn't tell whether a dame wanted to kiss me or kill me! No matter how you look at it, 36-22-35 are magic numbers. They have a real message for me. I'm Shell Scott, the private eye, and I'm very good at figures. You might say I follow them very carefully. I've been following this one for several days and learned her name is Sherry. I hated to think she was mixed in murder. But somebody was planning to send me to my friendly neighborhood mortician and I had to find out who - or die trying."

Amador Montalba, Mexico City guide, and good friend of Shell Scott, alerts Scott to a wealthy woman in Mexico City who needs help. Shell is in Mexico City winding up another case and decides to follow up on the lead. Senora Lopez, wife of a prominent Mexican General, was secretly filmed during an extra-marital sex liaison with another man. After several payoffs to a blackmailer, she decides to turn the case over to Shell Scott. But the case is not one of simple blackmail. Communists appear to be involved.