As most of you know, I’m a big fan of The Shadow – in fact, I host a weekly podcast entitled The Shadow Fan. Today I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorite Shadow novels, so that if you are looking to jump into the series, you’ll have some recommendations about where to start. These are by no means all the great Shadow stories — it’s just a handful that I really love. In addition, there are still Shadow novels that I haven’t read yet — so I might go back and add to this list as time passes.
To be honest, I think it’s a great idea to simply start with the first story and go forward — but that’s not always possible, I know. So here are my favorites, in order of publication:
The Living Shadow – April 1, 1931
The Eyes of The Shadow – July-September 1931
The Shadow Laughs – October 1, 1931
The Death Tower – January 1, 1932
The Ghost of the Manor – June 15, 1933
The London Crimes – September 15, 1935
Crime, Insured – July 1, 1937
The Shadow Unmasks – August 1, 1937
The Green Hoods – August 15, 1938
Death From Nowhere – July 15, 1939
The Golden Master – September 15, 1939
Shiwan Khan Returns – December 1, 1939
The Invincible Shiwan Khan – March 1, 1940
The Prince of Evil – April 15, 1940
Masters of Death – May 15, 1940
Murder Genius – July 1, 1940
The Man Who Died Twice – September 15, 1940
The Devil’s Paymaster – November 15, 1940
The Thunder King – June 15, 1941
The Devil Master – September 15, 1941
The Book of Death – January 15, 1942
The Vampire Murders – September 1, 1942