Down Shanghai's famous Bund swept the red tide of terror -- until Captain North discovered the secret of the four copper coins, of the dying man who whispered, "Carol's doll," and of the murderer whose goal was an empire!

Captain Hugh North, D.C.I., arrived at Fort Espato (in English, "Fort Terror") with no thought of treasure or tragedy -- but both awaited him there. An American army port superseded the old ruin now, but when the Spanish controlled the Philippines, it had been an ill-fated and much-used fort. Some legendary menace hung over its somber vaults and passages, but when two men vanished into its depths one evening and did not reappear, North saw only a living hand where others saw inexplicable terror. To track the killer who not only murdered but caused his victims to disappear completely baffled even Captain North, until he found the beads with the markings that did not match, and a bit of paper in a dead man's hand!

In the bay of Cienfuegos, a little Cuban town, the naked body of a D.C.I. officer was found floating one night. And the next, Captain North of the Army Intelligence was on his way there -- with orders to find the facts. The wolves of the naval powers were already gathering at Cienfuegos around a cashiered American naval officer who had developed a new and mysterious invention. And beside the agents were the great international criminals always drawn by such an affair. The first intimation of the sinister undercurrents North was facing came on the night train in Cuba -- when a drab-looking German was murdered almost before his eyes, with a glass dagger thrust into the heart. At Cienfuegos the real battle began, with danger lurking in the surrounding jungle, and within the house death striking with silent arrows -- so much quieter than automatics, so much easier to use from a distance than knives...

Washington—the Potomac—Chesapeake Bay—against the background of a beautiful and gracious city, a sleepy river, a tranquil bay, Captain Hugh North, against the most terrific odds he has ever encountered, fights his greatest battle. Here, in this list of the men and women who crowd these exciting pages, are his allies and his enemies, all participants in the mighty game of life and death. Here are murderers—and friends. Can you tell which they are? Watch them carefully—they have mystery and romance and adventure in store for you.

When Mr. Wallace was found neatly suspended from a hook in the bathroom ceiling, with a slender chain around his neck and the wastebasket on which he had stood carefully kicked away, there seemed little doubt of it. Especially as there was a note in the dead man's handwriting saying, "I am worried, tired, and sick of heart. Why go on with this senseless struggle? Disgrace faces me." But -- why was the sheet on which the note was written shorter than all the other sheets on the desk? Where had the three seeds that come from that were found near the body, and why should Wallace, partner in a brokerage house, have chosen the beginning of a merry Long Island house party to have committed suicide? Captain North, late of the American Intelligence Service, saw these things, and they puzzled him. Before that dreadful night was over, death struck again, and the terrified house guests knew that in their midst was a killer -- cold blooded, ruthless, efficent -- and always the three white seeds followed in his wake ... a symbol of death!

This is a critical history of spy fiction, film and television in the United States, with a particular focus on the American fictional spies that rivaled (and were often influenced by) Ian Fleming's James Bond. James Fenimore Cooper's Harvey Birch, based on a real-life counterpart, appeared in his novel The Spy in 1821. While Harvey Birch's British rivals dominated spy fiction from the late 1800s until the mid-1930s, American spy fiction came of age shortly thereafter. The spy boom in novels and films during the 1960s, spearheaded by Bond, heavily influenced the espionage genre in the United States for years to come, including series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Matt Helm. The author demonstrates that, while American authors currently dominate the international spy fiction market, James Bond has cast a very long shadow, for a very long time.

In a busy Shanghai alley, the body of an American police officer is found, dismembered and arranged in bizarre fashion. The murder appears to be the work of a trained assassin with a deadly message to send. And before long, he leaves another: the body of an African diplomat, as skilfully carved up as the first. Assigned to track the killer is homicide detective Zhong Fong. Haunted by the deaths of his actress wife and unborn child, Fong throws himself into the case. But his concentration is disrupted, first by the arrival of his late wife's lover, and then by the realisation that he may be the killer's next target. As he hunts for the murderer, Fong must confront his own secrets - and those of his rapidly changing city. ''''''''An extraordinarily accomplished mystery.'''''''' Booklist.

The most horrifying murder, the most unbelievable truth! The cannibal dinner, the gag girl, the lover's ice sculpture, the Nanke murderer's surrender, the human skin painting, the ghost's reflection in the mirror ... You will never be able to understand in the human mind the true purpose behind these horrific murders. Let the hypnotists take a unique view and lead you into the heart of those terrible criminals and into those terrifying truths. We hereby declare that anyone with a history of heart disease should give up! Those with IQ below 120, please give up! People with poor mental endurance, please give up! Never try to guess the truth until the last moment.

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.