Manchurian Shadows

When a messenger arrives with a mysterious message from China, Dr. Shadows, the man of granite, finds himself caught in an intrigue that spans from Japan to China to the United States. As the world lurches toward World War II, the U.S. struggles to recover from the depression while the war between Japan and China continues to escalate, and China relief funds, both real and bogus, appeal to mostly indifferent Americans for help to the refugees and victims of a brutal war.

Following several trails, Dr. Shadows and his beautiful girlfriend, Hank, investigate a relief organization that seems to raise money mostly for its seductive founder and her partner, a dangerous Russian hypnotist, then travel to Manchuria (then occupied by the Japanese) in hopes of finding the meaning of the clues supplied by Madame Chiang Kai-Shek. In Manchuria, Shadows and Hank face ninja assassins, a priest with secrets, Chinese bandits, and the deadly horror of Japanese secret weapons research.

Author Teel James Glenn continues the adventures of the mysterious Dr. Shadows in a novel that is both an homage to 1930s-style pulp and an exciting story. Although Glenn writes with a pulp style, Dr. Shadows is more than a single-dimensional character. With his love for Hank, his concern for the oppressed in China and elsewhere, and his feelings for then-occupied Korea, Shadows resonates with the modern reader while still being true to his era.

Glenn's background as a martial artist, fight scene coordinator and stunt man really pay off in the action scenes. Fans of history will get a kick out of Teel's attention to detail and pulp action fans will want to keep their eyes open for Dr. Shadows's off-hand mention of some of the other pulp heroes patrolling the streets of New York.