Wildside Press is proud to present the fourth of Fletcher Flora's series featuring police detective Lt. Joseph Marcus, as part of our ongoing effort to make Flora's collected work available again to the public. We plan to release the entire series.

In this entry, Lt. Marcus and Sgt. Fuller investigate another puzzling murder — in this case, the death of Phil Stein, slain while mowing his lawn. ...

While Flora had a long career writing much crime, mystery, and detective fiction, Marcus seems to be his only attempt to create a series character. Marcus, as a character, is marked by his dogged rationality, as he attempts to solve various "inexplicable" murders and crimes, much to the annoyance of his compatriot Bobo Fuller. We have been able to identify nine stories featuring the character—although as always we ask fans and aficionados to inform us of any we have missed. Note: while many online sources list the Fletcher Flora story "The Capsule" (from Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, December 1964) as being part of the Marcus series, it does not actually feature the character. "The Capsule" can be read in Wildside Press's The Second Fletcher Flora Mystery MEGAPACK®.

We hope you enjoy this classic detective story.