Created by William R. Cox
Pseudonyms include William J. O’Sullivan, Joel Reeve, David Crewe, John M. Easterly, William Hartley, Lance Kermit, John Parkhill, Mat Rand, Ray P. Shotwell, Roger G. Spellman, Daniel Winters & Willard d’Arcy
(1901-1988)
MALACHI MANATEE came back from the war with a brand new plan.
Wounded in action fighting the Japanese on the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, the battle-hardened ex-Marine returned Stateside and opened a detective agency on Florida’s Gulf Coast, determined to clean up his hometown of Bay City… and the various surrounding tourist traps.
Fortunately, he’s an heir sitting on millions, and despite his bum leg he’s plenty tough — he stands six‑foot‑four, and is more than ready to duke it out. Plus, he can count on his fellow ex‑Marine (and narrator) Tack Hinton (also disabled) and the fiercely loyal red‑head Ilene Carver to watch his back.
And yes, it’s Florida, so there are always plenty of crooked cops, corrupt politicians, and murderous greed to keep him and his crew busy.
Malachi appeared in nine hard-boiled stories in Dime Detective from 1944 to 1946, making his debut with “Malachi Comes Home” in the August 1944 issue.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in Born in Peapack, New Jersey in 1901, the uber-prolific William R. Cox was rumoured to have written over six hundred thousand words a year for fourteen years straight, and certainly during the heyday of the nineteen thirties and nineteen forties, he kept the detective and western pulps filled with colourful series characters such as Duke Bagley, The Bat, Captain Satan, Willie Boulder, Tom Kincaid, Patrolman Murphy, Phil Towne, The Whistler Kid, John Wade and private eye “Dumb” Dan Trout. He died in Los Angeles, California in 1988.
UNDER OATH
- “William R. Cox’s Malachi Manatee stories are pulp at its best: terse dialogue, bare‑knuckle action, sudden reversals, and wry characterization.”
— Steeger Books (blurb, 2025)
SHORT STORIES
- Malachi Comes Home” (August 1944, Dime Detective)
- Malachi Butts In” ( January 1945, Dime Detective)
- Malachi Attends a Party” (May 1945, Dime Detective)
- Shame on Malachi!” (July 1945, Dime Detective)
- Slay-Belle” (October 1945, Dime Detective)
- Vacation—With Slay” (January 1946, Dime Detective)
- Objective—Murder!” (March 1946, Dime Detective)
- Death Wins an Oscar” (June 1946, Dime Detective)
- Game, Set and Murder” (September 1946, Dime Detective)
COLLECTIONS
- The Complete Cases of Malachi Manatee (2025) | Buy this book
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- The Defective Detectives
Handicapped Heroes - Freshly Squeezed
Florida Eyes
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
