Double Z (The Shadow #5) (2024)

This is the eleventh published Shadow novel and originally appeared in the titular pulp magazine in June of 1932. It was written by Walter Gibson, who wrote 282 of the 325 Shadow novels that Street & Smith published under the house pen name of Maxwell Grant. The Shadow prose stories were quite a bit different from the more famous radio iteration; The Shadow wasn't really Lamont Cranston, Margo Lane wasn't around, and there were many other differences. This "real" Shadow has his own radio presence, too. This early story sees The Shadow opposing a murdering madman who leaves notes signed ZZ that are integral clues (or "clews"!) to his identity and thank goodness Detective Cardona comes through. I preferred Doc Savage and The Spider and The Avenger, but this is dark pulpy/noir crime drama at its best.

The 11th published novel in “The Shadow” series (or number 5 as published by Pyramid books) follows a similar path to others I’ve read. Namely, several prominent New York citizens are being murdered, baffling police investigators. This time each victim is first sent a note predicting their death at the hands of somebody going by the moniker “Double Z”. Conveniently, the notes are signed with a ZZ to make sure everybody knows.

The Shadow has been absent for some time prior to the beginning of the novel, prompting some people, especially members of NY organized crime community to speculate that perhaps Double ZZ might actually be The Shadow. But we know different. As usual, he uses a handful of his agents (this time around its Burbank, Cliff Marsland, Clyde Burke, Rutledge Mann, and Harry Vincent) to aid in his investigation and ultimately identify Double Z and bring him to justice.

This is still an early novel in the series (1932) and thus original readers at time of publication will not yet have known the identity of The Shadow (revealed in The Shadow Unmasks in 1937). Of note, this is the first appearance of The Shadow’s agent Rutledge Mann who replaces Claude Fellows, the previous contact man and the only agent of The Shadow ever shown to be killed. Much of the book revolves around warring mobsters that either work for Double Z or against him. The plot is sufficiently complex to have kept me guessing…but not so much as to the identity of Double Z. Rather, I was most interested to see when a character on the page was going to turn out to be The Shadow in disguise.

A solid entry in the series.

For a novel about The Shadow, The Shadow: Double Z has precious little of its title character or his alter ego Lamont Cranston. In fact, it's easy to forget this is a Shadow novel at all. With The Shadow falling out of the story for extended stretches, The Shadow: Double Z often plays like a standard pulp detective novel; and a solidly written one at that. It's only when he slips back into the action that you remember this is a pulp comic book story.

We never spend a single moment alone with The Shadow, nor inside his head. In that way we see him the way the public do, and I suppose that's the point. But we definitely needed more of him for this story to truly work to its full potential.

A mystery, early in the Shadow series, before all of the mythology was solidified. The Shadow is still recruiting his agents, and references are still made to the radio show.

A criminal mastermind named Double Z is blackmailing and murdering rich people. The Shadow goes to stop him.

Quite a mystery, and lots of action. Highly recommended.

This is the first Shadow book I’ve read, and it’s fascinating seeing one of the originals behind the Shadow comics that I used to love. It’s a strange ensemble story, told through the viewpoints of people who don’t know each other but are each working for the Shadow. He’s assembled a team that does most of the work for him. Some of the names are familiar, such as Detective Joe Cardona (used by the Shadow, but not an agent), Harry Vincent (one of the Shadow’s more able agents), and Lamont Cranston (likely one of the Shadow’s identities).

The book also shows the Shadow recruiting a new agent, a failing broker—not a surprising character in 1932 when this book was written—about to commit suicide.

Adding to team-orientation of the book, the villain—the eponymous “Double Z”—operates similarly to the Shadow. They recruit agents who rarely if ever see their boss yet who do most of the work. Unlike the Shadow, Double Z kills through agents. The Shadow uses his agents to identify who to kill, and mostly reserves the killing to himself. Some of his agents are ready to kill if it happens to be necessary to successfully gather information, but they’re never sent out specifically to kill in this installment.

Further turning the tropes of such books on its head, the monologue at the end isn’t delivered by the villain, but by the Shadow! The author seems to take seriously the Shadow’s classification as a villainous hero.

Some of the clues seem silly nowadays. We’re told at the beginning that Double Z’s signature (two stylized Zs), from a different perspective identifies Double Z’s real name.

Other problems aren’t necessarily problems. It’s unclear at points whether serendipitous coincidences are engineered by the Shadow or are actually lucky coincidences that save the Shadow from defeat. The author lets us know what the Shadow’s agents are thinking at times, but not the Shadow himself.

Nor, since Double Z didn’t get to deliver a monologue, is it clear what their actual strategy was, or even if it made sense. Up to the end, we saw Double Z’s plans only through the fragmented viewpoints of their agents, who clearly had no idea what the overarching plan was.

That makes the strength of this book—that the villain is a lot like the Shadow—also its most confusing part. But it’s a fun read, and I’ll definitely be seeking out more original Shadow adventures.

Double Z by Maxwell Grant is a better book than it had any right to be. I must admit I figured out the the hidden clue about the killer's name way too quickly, which made the story a bit more open than it otherwise would have been. The mystery is well done, the protagonist makes his appearance about a quarter way into the book, and the villain is built up to through his underlings. There is a bit of a Fu Manchu type character in the book, but it was handled well (all things considered). Nothing too outrageous, and the guy was a capable victim too. Lamont is barely a character in this book, which is an interesting choice. The side characters and associates were interesting, and the parallels between Double Z and the Shadow are brought up - if discarded by the mid point. Give it a shot if you like old fiction, and I do mean old. This is pre-war stuff, and the first few chapters have a backdrop of Fascism and Antifascism duking it out in America by way of Italy. Double Z becomes a much less satisfying villain after we reach the end of the book, but he was effective enough leading up to things.

92/100

When it comes to pulp heroes there are 2 or 3 great standouts and the Shadow is one of those. The stories are fast paced and action filled. The mystery just adds to the excitement. With his army of agents to help the Shadow never lets you down for a great read. Highly recommended

Have to call this another disappointing one. Not bad, but just light on memorable moments. More secret passages and traps, more poison gas, more agents doing vague things in various places, more ventures into the depths of Chinatown. This starts out seeming like something new and interesting, with a mysterious tip-sender/blackmailer turned murderer of conflicting targets, hinting at some novel complexity to the villain's motives, but soon it starts to feel like mostly a lot of recycled elements and not a lot of excitement.

We get our introduction to Rutledge Mann, so that's probably the most significant element of this story as far as its contribution to the mythos. The short section focused on his character and circ*mstances brings a little feeling and personal interest to an otherwise cold story.

We get to see The Shadow in disguise working alongside Cardona.

This is yet another where you'll probably spot who the mysterious killer is somewhat early, though there's a very brief and far-fetched bit of chicanery thrown in near the end to add some confusion. The final confrontation is very "...that's it?" And once again, what happened to The Shadow's formidable strength? Getting tired of him seeming far too human and vulnerable in combat with opponents who really should not be a challenge for him.

Overall, I wouldn't quite call it boring, just insubstantial.

Fantastic beginning and then after that, the story went into a completely different direction.

The unknown murderer known as Double Z shows up after a few years of being MIA to claim a victim he promised he would.

The beginning and the end of the book are fantastic, but the middle suffers more than any of the victims do.

The writing is quite bad and the plot doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The villain reveal at the end was pulled out of thin air as if the writer himself had no idea who it would be until the last few chapters.

Even for a short pulp novel this was pretty disappointing.

Listened to the first part of an audiobook version. The writing isn't terrible - I find the pulp style charming - but it isn't compelling. I may pick this one up again later if I get bored and need something to listen to.

There is string of murders, each preceded by a letter from someone known only as Double Z. Like the other Shadow novels, there is a strong noir feel to this, and it is a fast end engrossing read.

One of the top Shadow stories. Good mystery.

Very good story, but mostly great atmosphere.

Classic pulp mystery with the villain reveal at the last moment and it was right in front of you the whole time a throw back to yesteryear great story

Interesting to see language differences like "clew" instead of "clue"

This novel was everything I expected. Classic noir pulp fiction with a predictable story line and character stereotypes. Fortunately, that was exactly what I was after so I was not disappointed.

About what I was expecting: fast action, lousy writing, and supporting characters whose sole purpose is to make The Shadow look good. Also, again with a plot revolving around unveiling the identity of a supervillain.

It featured a gas chamber deathtrap in a Chinatown hideout, which I'd swear was also in a previous book.

Why are The Shadow novels obsessed with Chinatown?