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Detective Fiction Weekly

Gardner approached the editor for Detective Fiction Weekly and determined that they were looking for stories about funny criminals. Gardner pitched the story in 1929 successfully enough to identify himself as a valuable producer of that sought-for intellectual commodity. This tactic--ferreting out the editor s needs before writing a word for submission to the magazine--was crucial to Gardner's success. He employed a two-tiered system: he would first identify the market and then tailor his subject matter--and to a large extent his prose style--to the market.

The other Mason-like character that resulted from Gardner s pulp work was Lester Leith. Leith appeared in sixty-seven novelettes beginning his 1929 appearance in Detective Fiction Weekly. He was known as the gentleman thief and was popular with his audience. His popularity was such that the editor of that pulp magazine requested that Gardner submit a minimum of one Lester Leith story every three weeks. Leith was a social climber, a "club man."

Stories written in Ventura, CA

1. The Weak Link, miscellaneous short story, November 10, 1928.

2. Crooked Lightning, miscellaneous short story, December 29, 1928.

3. An Artistic Job, miscellaneous short story, January 19, 1929.

4. Just a Suspicion, miscellaneous short story, February 9, 1929

5. The Painted Decoy, Lester Leith novelette, February 23, 1929.

6. A Tip from Scuttle, Lester Leith novelette, March 2, 1929.

7. The Dummy Murder, Lester Leith novelette, March 23, 1929.

8. The Case of the Fugitive Corpse, Lester Leith novelette, April 6, 1929.

9. The Pay-Off, Lester Leith novelette, April 27, 1929.

10. A Hot Tip, Lester Leith novelette, May 11, 1929.

11. A Clean Slate for Slider, miscellaneous novelette, June 8, 1929.

12. The Betraying Emotion, Dred Bart short story, July 6, 1929.

13. A Peach of a Scheme, Lester Leith novelette, July 20, 1929.

14. Even Money, Lester Leith novelette, August 3, 1929.

15. It s a Pipe!, Lester Leith novelette, August 10, 1929.

16. Faster than Forty, Lester Leith novelette, August 31, 1929.

17. Double Shadows, Lester Leith novelette, September 21, 1929.

18. The Artistic Touch, Lester Leith novelette, October 26, 1929.

19. Lester Takes the Cake, Lester Leith novelette, November 23, 1929.

20. Framed, miscellaneous short story, December 28, 1929.

21. A Sock on the Jaw, Lester Leith novelette, approximately 1929.

22. The Doubtful Egg, Lester Leith novelette, January 11, 1930.

23. The Higher Court, Sidney Zoom short story, March 8, 1930.

24. Willie the Weeper, Sidney Zoom short story, March 29, 1930

25. "My Name is Zoom!", Sidney Zoom novelette, April 12, 1930.

26. Both Ends Against the Middle, Lester Leith novelette, May 3, 1930

27. The Purple Plume, Sidney Zoom novelette, May 24, 1930.

28. Put it in Writing!, Lester Leith novelette, June 7, 1930.

29. Big Shot, June 28, 1930.

30. A Fair Reward, miscellaneous novelette, June 28, 1930.

31. The Choice of Weapons, Senor Lobo short story, July 12, 1930.

32. Hot Dollars!, Lester Leith novelette, July 26, 1930.

33. The Crime Waffle, miscellaneous novelette, August 9, 1930.

34. In Round Figures, Lester Leith novelette, August 23, 1930.

35. Time in for Tucker, Sidney Zoom novelette, September 13, 1930.

36. The Man on the End, Lester Leith novelette, September 27, 1930.

37. The Voice of the Accuser, Yee Dooey Wah short story, October 11, 1930.

38. Lucky Charms, miscellaneous short story, November 1, 1930.

39. Gangsters Gold, Senor Lobo novelette, November 15, 1930.

40. Red Hands, Senor Lobo short story, December 6, 1930.

41. Lester Frames a Fence, Lester Leith novelette, December 13, 1930.

42. Stranger s Silk, Sidney Zoom novelette, January 3, 1931.

43. The Death Penalty, Sidney Zoom novelette, January 17, 1931.

44. Cold Clews, Lester Leith novelette, January 24, 1931.

45. A Matter of Impulse, Senor Lobo novelette, February 7, 1931.

46. Killed and Cured, Senor Lobo short story, February 21, 1931.

47. The Candy Kid, Lester Leith novelette, March 14, 1931.

48. Borrowed Bullets, Sidney Zoom novelette, March 21, 1931.

49. Big Money, Lester Leith novelette, April 18, 1931.

50. Carved in Jade, Senor Lobo novelette, May 9, 1931.

51. Hot Cash, Lester Leith novelette, May 23, 1931.

52. A Chinaman s Chance, miscellaneous short story, June 6, 1931.

53. Not So Dumb, Lester Leith novelette, June 27, 1931.

54. The Girl with the Diamond Legs, Lester Leith novelette, July 11, 1931.

55. Coffins for Killers, Senor Lobo short story, July 25, 1931.

56. Ain t That Too Bad, miscellaneous short story, August 1, 1931.

57. The Vanishing Corpse, Sidney Zoom novelette, August 15, 1931.

58. Higher Up, Sidney Zoom novelette, September 19, 1931.

59. The Gold Magnet, Lester Leith novelette, September 26, 1931.

60. The First Stone (The Case of the Scattered Rubies, The Clue of the Scattered Rubies), Sidney Zoom novelette, October 24, 1931.

61. The Crimson Mask, Lester Leith novelette, November 7, 1931.

62. Rolling Stones, Lester Leith novelette, November 21, 1931.

63. No Rough Stuff, Senor Lobo novelette, December 5, 1931.

64. Sauce for the Gander, Senor Lobo novelette, December 12, 1931.

65. Red Herring, Lester Leith noyelette, December 26, 1931.

66. It Takes A Crook, Sidney Zoom novelette, February 6, 1932.

67. The Play s the Thing, Lester Leith novelette, February 27, 1932.

68. Barking Dogs, Senor Lobo novelette, March 26, 1932.

69. The Bird in the Hand, Lester Leith novelette, April 5, 1932.

70. A Hundred to One, Senor Lobo novelette, April 30, 1932.

71. Stolen Thunder, May 19, 1932.

72. The Kid Stacks a Deck, The Patent Leather Kid short story, May 28, 1932.

73. Thieves Kitchen, Lester Leith novelette, June 4, 1932.

74. A Private Affair, Senor Lobo novelette, June 25, 1932.

75. Closer than a Brother, Lester Leith novelette, July 9, 1932.

76. The Kid Passes the Sugar, The Patent Leather Kid short story, July 16, 1932.

77. A Deal in Cement, Lester Leith novelette, July 30, 1932.

78. The Green Door, Sidney Zoom novelette, August 20, 1932.

79. The Kid Wins a Wager, The Patent Leather Kid short story, September 10, 1932.

80. Cheating the Chair, Sidney Zoom novelette, September 17, 1932, $20.

81. The Kid Throws a Stone, The Patent Leather Kid short story, October 22, 1932.

82. False Alarm, Lester Leith novelette, November 5, 1932.

83. Trumps, Senor Lobo short story, November 12, 1932.

84. A Clean Getaway, Senor Lobo novelette, December 3, 1932.

85. Juggled Gems, Lester Leith novelette, December 24, 1932.

86. Tickets for Two, Senor Lobo novelette, December 31, 1932.

87. Inside Job, Sidney Zoom novelette, January 7, 1933.

88. The Spoils of War, Senor Lobo novelette January 14, 1933.

89. One Jump Ahead, Lester Leith novelette, February 4, 1933.

90. The Kid Makes a Bid, The Patent Leather Kid short story, February 18, 1933.

91. The Leaden Honeymoon, Senor Lobo novelette, March 11, 1933.

92. Early Birds, miscellaneous shorts story, March 25, 1933.

93. The Radio Ruse, Lester Leith novelette, April 1, 1933.

94. The Kid Muscles In, The Patent Leather Kid short story, April 15, 1933.

95. A Logical Ending, miscellaneous short story, April 29, 1933

96. Results, Senor Lobo novelette, May 6, 1933.

97. The Kid Takes a Cut, The Patent Leather Kid short story, May 20, 1933

98. Thin Ice, Lester Leith novelette, June 10, 1933.

99. Crooks Vacation, Lester Leith novelette, July 8, 1933

100. The Kid Beats the Gun, The Patent Leather Kid novelette, August 5, 1933

101. The Sirens of War, Senor Lobo novelette, September 16, 1933.

102. Lifted Bait, Sidney Zoom novelette, October 21, 1933.

103. The Kid Covers a Kill, the Patent Leather Kid novelette, November 4, 1933.

104. Costs of Collection, Senor Lobo novelette, November 18, 1933.

                    105. The Burden of Proof, Lester Leith novelette, December 2, 1933.

End of Stories written in Ventura, CA

106. The Code of a Fighter, Senor Lobo novelette, January 27, 1934.

107. The Kid Clears a Crook, The Patent Leather Kid novelette, February 3, 1934.

108. Lost, Strayed and Stolen, Lester Leith novelette, February 24, 1934.

109. The Kid Clips a Coupon, The Patent Leather Kid novelette, April 21, 1934.

110. Broken Eggs, Senor Lobo novelette, May 5, 1934.

111. Stolen Thunder, Sidney Zoom novelette, May 19, 1934.

112. Dead to Rights, Lester Leith novelette, June 2, 1934.

113. Crocodile Tears, Lester Leith novelette, June 30, 1934.

114. The Kid Cooks a Goose, The Patent Leather Kid novelette, July 14, 1934.

115. Opportunity Knocks Twice, Senor Lobo novelette, October 27, 1934.

116. The Kid Steals a Star, The Patent Leather Kid novelette, November 17, 1934.

117. Queen s Wild, Lester Leith novelette, January 26, 1935.

118. The Vault of Death, The Man Who Couldn t Forget novelette, March 9, 1935,

119. The Man in the Silver Mask, The Man in the Silver Mask novelette, July 13, 1935.

120. The Man Who Talked, The Man in the Silver Mask novelette, September 7, 1935,

121. Screaming Sirens, Lester Leith novelette, November 2, 1935.

122. The Silver Mask Murders, The Man in the Silver Mask novelette, November 23, 1935.

123. Bald-Headed Row, Lester Leith novelette, March 21, 1936.

124. Lester Leith, Magician (The Hand is Quicker than the Eye), Lester Leith novelette, September 16, 1939.

125. A Thousand to One (Lester Leith, Impersonator), Lester Leith novelette, October 28, 1939.

126. Fair Exchange, Lester Leith novelette, November 18, 1939.

127. At Arm s Length, miscellaneous short story, December 9, 1939.

128. Where Angels Fear to Tread, miscellaneous short story, December 30, 1939.

129. Sugar, Lester Leith novelette, January 20, 1940.

130. Monkeyshine, Lester Leith novelette, March 16, 1940, $12.

131. The Exact Opposite, Lester Leith novelette, March 29, 1941.

132. A Sugar Coating, November 29, 1941.

133. Lester Leith novelette, July 1943,