Don Diavolo Series by Clayton Rawson, Grover Gardner

Two tall tales of mystery, the occult, and death-defying escapesThe women of London have taken to wearing thin black bands around their necks. Is it a fashion accessory - or a stylish way of hiding bite marks? A string of strange deaths has struck the town, and witnesses claim to have seen a vampire bat fleeing the scene. The London police can rest easy, for the vampire has left for New York... moreTwo tall tales of mystery, the occult, and death-defying escapesThe women of London have taken to wearing thin black bands around their necks. Is it a fashion accessory - or a stylish way of hiding bite marks? A string of strange deaths has struck the town, and witnesses claim to have seen a vampire bat fleeing the scene. The London police can rest easy, for the vampire has left for New York. He makes his first appearance in a Broadway dressing room, piercing the neck of a woman who had come to speak to Don Diavolo, magician and escape artist. The police suspect Diavolo of killing her, forcing him to catch the vampire or face the chair.For his next trick, Diavolo confronts the murder of a police detective who is found shot to death in a locked office, where the sole trace of the killer is a mocking voice on the telephone. Only Don Diavolo, the Scarlet Wizard, can prove how the gunman made his escape. less

Trapped in a dead man’s office, Don Diavolo plans his greatest escape.This collection brings together two adventures with Don Diavolo, the Scarlet Wizard. The first opens in his machinist’s workshop, where Diavolo perfects his newest feat: the Escape from the Double Crystal Water Casket. The men lurking outside have no interest in the magician’s secrets - they are detectives, tailing him on behalf of the police inspector... moreTrapped in a dead man’s office, Don Diavolo plans his greatest escape.This collection brings together two adventures with Don Diavolo, the Scarlet Wizard. The first opens in his machinist’s workshop, where Diavolo perfects his newest feat: the Escape from the Double Crystal Water Casket. The men lurking outside have no interest in the magician’s secrets - they are detectives, tailing him on behalf of the police inspector. Giving them the slip is no trouble, but it proves a mistake, for Diavolo is about to be implicated in a murder. Diavolo is blackjacked as soon as he walks through the circus owner’s door, awaking just in time to be found standing over the corpse. To prove his innocence, the Scarlet Wizard must escape a trap more cunning than any crystal casket.His next adventure begins when an explorer lands at La Guardia airport, returning from India with a secret for which many men will die. Before Don Diavolo can unmask the killer, he must unlock the perplexing puzzle of the vanishing corpse. less