Half Past Satan

Frisco Detective Mysteries: Book 2

Published Copy

Genres

Murder Mystery, Crime Thriller, Crime Mystery, Quirky Leads, Paranormal Mystery, Paranormal Thriller, Occult Fiction, Historical, and Novels

Trigger Warnings

Death and Sex

Type of Ending

Series

Frisco Detective Mysteries — Book 2

Series Read Order

Reading prior books is not required

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads, Amazon, BookBub, or Barnes & Noble

Reader Spots Remaining

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Oct 8, 2025

Page Length

210 pages

Available Formats

ePub and PDF

Half Past Satan

Frisco Detective Mysteries: Book 2

Published Copy

Blurb

How do you stop a killer that's inside your head?

Lost in the California desert, a creature from outer space grooms a washed-up science fiction writer to lead a cult that will destroy the world.

Meanwhile, a new client gives private detective Alexander Blade an Ouija board that will tell him how to find the killer of the client's former employer.

These two events, seemingly unrelated, have more in common than meets the private eye!

Join Alexander Blade, San Francisco’s softest hard-boiled private eye, and his plucky assistant Paloma Liu Tsong, Chinatown’s sexiest fan dancer, as they team up to navigate this paranormal noir of San Francisco’s postwar Red Scare era.

A Nerve-Tingling Novel of Murder, Mystery, and Mad Science!

Details

Genres

Murder Mystery, Crime Thriller, Crime Mystery, Quirky Leads, Paranormal Mystery, Paranormal Thriller, Occult Fiction, Historical, and Novels

Trigger Warnings

Death and Sex

Type of Ending

Series

Frisco Detective Mysteries — Book 2

Series Read Order

Reading prior books is not required

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads, Amazon, BookBub, or Barnes & Noble

Reader Spots Remaining

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Oct 8, 2025

Page Length

210 pages

Available Formats

ePub and PDF

Author

Richard Toronto is a California author and science-fiction historian best known for his detailed chronicling of the controversial “Shaver Mystery” and its central figure, Richard S. Shaver. Toronto became the leading chronicler of Shaver’s life and legacy, culminating in the groundbreaking biography, War Over Lemuria in 2013.

Rooted in pulp-era science fiction history and the preservation of esoteric subcultures, Toronto’s narrative blends biography, cultural criticism, and archival research. He documented the legacy of fringe sci-fi long before such sub-genres became academically studied.

Hollywood and Vain was the first installment of Toronto’s “Frisco Detective Mystery” series, introducing Alexander “Buster” Blade, former silent film child actor turned private eye in postwar San Francisco. Upon returning from military service, Blade sets up a detective agency and hires Paloma Liu Tsong, a Chinatown exotic dancer as his secretary. The story blends postwar noir atmosphere with Hollywood nostalgia, exploring post‑WWII social dynamics, race, and emerging detective‑fiction tropes in mid 20th century California. Its sequels are Half Past Satan and Nudist Camp Confidential.