Stark House Press releases early mystery “Sinister House” introduced by Steve Holland

By John Freeman on March 3, 2024

US book publisher Stark House Press has just published a new edition of the novel Sinister House, an early precursor to hardboiled fiction, a tough-talking mystery by English ex-pat Charles G. Booth.

The reprint includes an introduction by comics and pulps historian Steve Holland, an expansion of a piece he wrote for his brilliant Bear Alley blog some years back.

“One of the earliest authors who could be described as writing hard-boiled fiction,” notes Steve. “Booth had an ear for dialogue.”

Sinister House was Booth’s first novel, first published in 1926, set in Southern California after he settled there after World War One. The story begins as Gail Hollister makes her way to Casa de Ayer to organise Colonel Conniston’s antique collection. Her first surprise occurs when she is stopped along the way by an unsuccessful highway robbery, particularly since she recognizes the would-be thief – Kerry O’Neil. Later that evening, having finally arrived at the Colonel’s old California estate, she is shown the intaglio gems that Kerry had been trying to steal. And still later, she is shocked to discover Conniston’s dead body on the library floor!

Police detective Bartlett is convinced that Gail had something to do with the death, that she helped her friend Kerry break into the tightly-locked house. Bartlett knows about the failed robbery, but Gail knows that Kerry couldn’t have committed murder. And now it’s up to Gail to figure out who did kill Conniston. Could it have been his trusted aide, Dimity, who always seems to be lurking behind doorways? Or Norman Stark, the Colonel’s son, whom she has a really bad feeling about? All she knows is that she had better move fast, or both she and Kerry are likely to end up in prison.

*The cover of the 1926 hardback edition of Sinister House*

Charles Gordon Booth, one of the earliest writers of hardboiled fiction, was born in Manchester, England, on 12th February 1896. After attending school in Manchester, Booth continued his education in Canada, joining the Canadian army during World War One. While in the hospital, he started writing stories.

After the war, Booth moved to San Diego, where he made a living writing fiction, and become a naturalized US citizen in 1930. His career began by selling to the pulps his first short story, “The Outlaw of Timber Island”, published in Argosy – All Story Weekly in 1926, the year he also sold his first novel, Sinister House, which was first serialised in Mystery Magazine. He published eight more mysteries over the next 25 years, wrote the stage play, Stag Party in 1933, and became a Hollywood scriptwriter in the late 1930s.

He won an Academy Award for best story for the spy film, The House on 92nd Street in 1945, directed by Henry Hathaway, which was made with the full cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It starred Hitchcock-regular, Leo G. Carroll, character-actor Harry Bellaver, and Swedish actress, Signe Hasso, who plays a cold and calculating German spy to perfection.

One of his final works was the novel, The Excommunicated, published posthumously in Britain, with Ahmad Kamal. Some early editions of his books now command a hefty price secondhand.

Booth died in Beverly Hills, California, on 22nd May 1949.

Based in California, Stark House Press publishes reprints of some of the best in fantasy, supernatural fiction, mystery and suspense in attractive trade paperback editions. Most have new introductions, complete bibliographies and two or more books in one volume.

Authors whose works they republish include the often overlooked SF writer Fredric Brown, James Gunn, author of Deadlier than the Male, Barry N. Malzberg, Sax Rohmer and many more, listed here on their website. Imprints include Black Gat Books and Film Noir Classics.

• Sinister House by Charles G. Booth is available from all good bookshops and online outlets (AmazonUK Affiliate Link) | ISBN 979-8886010749

Charles G. Booth: The Novels

Sinister House (1926)
Gold Bullets (1929)
Murder At High Tide (1930)
Those Seven Alibis (1932)
The Cat And The Clock (1935)
The General Died At Dawn (1937)
Mr Angel Comes Aboard (1944)
Murder Strikes Thrice (1946)
The Excommunicated (1952, with Ahmad Kamal)

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.