(1894–?) began to write a series of real-life adventures about Vivian Legrand, the woman dubbed “The Lady from Hell,” for Detective Fiction Weekly, one of the most successful of the mystery pulps, it became one of the most successful series that the magazine published. When her exploits continued to appear with relentless regularity, doubt was cast upon their veracity—with good reason. Without apology, DFW continued to run stories about Legrand, then acknowledging that the tales were fictional. Were any of the stories true? Was there really a woman named Vivian Legrand? There is little evidence either way, but only the most gullible would accept the notion that all the stories published as true had any genesis in reality.
The female spy was not exactly a heroic figure, earning her sobriquet over and over again. Beautiful, intelligent, and resourceful, she was also a liar, blackmailer, and thief who was responsible for her own father’s death.
Thomas, the author of five novels, created another series character, Chu-Seng, typical of many other fictional Yellow Peril villains. A Chinese deaf-mute with paranormal abilities, he works with the Japanese in their espionage activities against the United States in Death Rides the Dragon (1932), The Dancing Dead (1933), and Yellow Magic (1934). He is thwarted by Bob Nicholson, an American agent; Lai Chung, a Mongol prince; and a team of lamas who counteract Chu-Seng’s powers with their white magic.
“The Adventure of the Headless Statue” first appeared in the January 25, 1936, issue of Detective Fiction Weekly.