Sheldon, Walt


Walt Sheldon or Walter J.Sheldon (1917-1996) was writing for the pulps as early as 1940. Having published over 30 stories for the pulps and being a contemporary mystery magazine author, Sheldon was a natural choice to assume the monicker of Ellery Queen, which he did only one time. He also wrote as Shel Walker.

 

Mike Grost on Walt Sheldon

 

Walt Sheldon's two very short tales from DFW for 1940 are the only pulp works of his that are available today. "Die Before Bedtime" has a policeman protagonist, the punningly named Detective Bayer Cubbs. Its plot bears little resemblance to what we think of as pulp conventions; instead it is almost a pure puzzle plot mystery in Golden Age style. "Detective For A Day" shows a welcome vein of humor. Both pieces are good, and one wants to read a lot more of Sheldon's work. He published over thirty pulp tales, including "I Know My Sewers" (1945).

 

Bibliography

 

The Blue Kimono Kill (1965)

The Red Flower Kill (1971)

The Yellow Music Kill (1974)

 

As "Ellery Queen" (see Queen, Ellery)

Guess Who's Coming to Kill You? (1968) aka Guess Who’s Going to Kill You?