author
John Jay Chichester
1889–1950
A mystery writer from the pulp-magazine era, this author published detective fiction under the name John Jay Chichester while also writing as Christopher B. Booth. His stories are rooted in the fast-moving, twisty style that helped define popular crime fiction in the 1920s and 1930s.
1 Audiobook
The porcelain mask : A detective story
by John Jay Chichester
About the author
John Jay Chichester was a pen name used by Christopher B. Booth (1889–1950). Reliable catalog and reference sources link the two names, and surviving records show that work under the Chichester name includes detective novels such as The Porcelain Mask and The Bigamist.
Booth appears to have been a prolific contributor to early 20th-century popular fiction, especially mysteries and westerns. Reference listings for pulp magazines connect the Chichester byline with detective characters including Maxwell Sanderson and Jimmy "Wiggly" Price, suggesting a writer who moved easily between magazine fiction and book publication.
Much of his personal life remains hard to document, so the published work is what stands out most clearly today. What remains is a body of brisk, plot-driven crime fiction from the classic pulp and detective era, with stories that still appeal to readers who enjoy vintage suspense.