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Starting in 1937 and running through 1955 radio had one of the most intriguing characters to ever grace the sound waves working to solve crimes and bring justice to the world. Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons outlived Nick Carter and Sherlock Homes and every other detective around him.

Radio was a truly a great medium. It forced the listener into a world created by sound and not sight. Using sound effects, and talented men and women who used their voice to convey emotions ranging from terror to joy, radio gave the American listener and the world an escape from the hardships that were surrounding them.

While war raged, people listened to Lum and Abner, Suspense, Lights Out, Fibber Magee and Molly, Burns and Allen, Bob Hope, and heard news from places many of them had never heard of much less seen. While poverty reached over the planet, men and women tuned in to listen to a President give messages of cheer or support. They listened to newspaper people talk about death and destruction and conquering armies in Europe.

And they listened to Radio Detectives. From Philip Marlowe to Mike Hammer. From Nick Carter to the Falcon and the Shadow, the Lone Ranger to the Green Hornet.

And they listened to Westrel Keen.

With his faithful partner and assistant Mike Clancy, Mr. Keen kept listeners glued to their sets for over 18 years. Keen used the same abilities Holmes, Chan and other ‘deductive reasoning’ detectives used, but also had a quality that touched listeners and kept them coming back for over 1600 episodes.

Presenting a clear image of the characters, Jim Cox goes to extraordinary care and research to bring the reader as much as he can about Mr. Keen, including a program list to all 1690 broadcasts.

Cox, a retired professor and expert on vintage radio gives details of Mr. Keen that were normally only known to the writers and creators of the show. With a section on the creators and their own history, he weaves a complex yet easy to follow pattern of the development of the show and the people involved with it.

The chronology of the shows, with advertisers information is by itself a treasure for old time radio fans and trivia freaks of radios golden years.

Originally conceived as a series of 15 minute programs, Mr. Keen became a phenomenon that few expected. Running first on the old Blue Network then over to CBS where it became a half hour show three times a week. Original episodes, not 1 new show and two repeats. Original shows three times a week. From there, the show moved to NBC and finally back to CBS until the end of the show in 1955.

If you have ever listened to ‘old time Radio’ you know already how well done so many of these shows were. If you have never heard any, find some.

And if you are really lucky you might get to hear Mr. Keen.