The Mystery Fancier May-June 1980, Volume 4 Number 3, contains: "The Nero Wolfe Saga, Part XIX," by Guy M. Townsend, "Vladimir Gull," by Theodore P. Dukeshire and "Spy Series Characters in Hardback, Part II," by George Kelley.

The Mystery Fancier, Volume 8 Number 3, May-June 1984, contains: "Memories of a Haunted Man," by Francis M Nevins, Jr., "Light and Sound by Joseph Hansen," by Martha Alderson, "Who Really Wrote the G-String Murders?" by J. R. Christopher and "On the Onomastics of Sherlock: Replaying the Name Game?" by Robert F. Fleissner.

The Mystery Fancier, Volume 4 Number 6, November/December 1980, contains: "Spy Series Characters in Hardback, Part V," by Barry Van Tilburg, "Favorite Magazine Issues: Manhunt (3:6)," by Jeff Banks, "Old Time Radio Lives," by Carl Larsen, "Pow-Wo on the Potomac (Bouchercon)," by John Nieminski, and "Bouchercon Scrapbook," commentary by Guy M. Townsend.

The Mystery Fancier, Volume 4 Number 5, September/October 1980, contains: "The Apocryphalization of Holmes," by E. F. Bleiler, "Edwin's Mystery and Its History," by Ben Fisher, "I Rember... B-Movies," by Jeff Banks, "Old Time Radio Lives," by Carl Larsen, and "Spy Series Characters in Hardback, Part IV," by Barry Van Tilburg.

This work is a composite index of the complete runs of all mystery and detective fan magazines that have been published, through 1981. Added to it are indexes of many magazines of related nature. This includes magazines that are primarily oriented to boys' book collecting, the paperbacks, and the pulp magazine hero characters, since these all have a place in the mystery and detective genre.

The Mystery Fancier Volume 2 Number 4, July 1978, contains: "The Caper Novels of Tony Kenrick," by George Kelley, "Robert Rostand and Mike Locken," by Theodore P. Dukeshire, "Bowlers, Beer, Bravado, and Brains: Anthony Gilbert's Arthur Crook," by Jane S. Bakerman, "Raymond Chandler on Film, Addendum," by Charles Shibuk, "It's About Crime," by Marvin Lachman, "Thomas Chastain and the New Police Procedural," by Larry L. French, and "The Nero Wolfe Saga, Part VIII," by Guy M. Townsend.

More than forty criminal heroes are examined in this volume. They include evil characters such as Dr. Fu Manchu, Li Shoon, Black Star, the Spider, Rafferty, Mr. Clackworthy, Elegant Edward, Big-nose Charlie, Thubway Tham, the Thunderbolt, the Man in Purple, and the Crimson Clown, plus many, many more! The development of these characters is traced across more than two decades of crime fiction published in Detective Story Magazine, Flynn's, Black Mask, and other magazines. The conventions that made these stories a special part of popular fiction are examined in detail.