One of the most successful periodicals in magazine history was True Detective Mysteries. An offshoot of publisher Bernarr Macfadden’s True Story magazine, True Detective specialized in semi-fictionalizing real-life crime cases taken from police blotters and making them riveting reading, illustrated by posed photographs, newspaper morgue pix and police mug shots. The concept was a natural. Circulation soared into the millions. Before long, imitators followed in droves, leading to a new breed of entertainment that survives this day under the catchall phrase of “true crime” magazines. For our collection, we’ve selected eight exciting episodes dating from 1937. They range from murder mysteries to crime puzzles so baffling that in one instance, it took the vast resources of True Detective Mysteries magazine itself to crack a tough case!
