The Shadow: Dead Man’s Chest

Dead Man’s Chest was one of the last (322^nd of 325) of the original Shadow pulp novels, and unfortunately, it is not one of the best. Although it has all the classic elements that make the series great, they are laid atop a confusing, weakly constructed mystery. The mystery mostly hangs on two, nearly identical, scenes in the first third of the novel, where the central character, in his search for lost gold, receives unnecessarily confusing clues from someone who is murdered during the interview.

In fact, pretty much the only redeeming point of the novel, is a great action sequence in the New York City Maritime Museum, during which The Shadow swings off a chandelier to tackle some thugs on a balcony, then turns around and leaps back onto the chandelier on its back-swing to go after some others. It does also have a great cover from George Rozen, who painted most of the great covers.