It was launched by Hugo Gernsback as part of his second venture into science-fiction magazine publishing, and was intended to focus on detective and mystery stories with a scientific element.

The title change apparently did not make the magazine a success, and Gernsback closed it down with the October issue.

By the end of the 19th century, stories that were centered on scientific inventions and set in the future, in the tradition of Jules Verne, were appearing regularly in popular fiction magazines.

[4][5] It was successful, and helped to form science fiction as a separately marketed genre, but in February 1929 Gernsback lost control of the publisher when it went bankrupt.

[8] These were followed in September 1929 by the first issue of Science Wonder Quarterly, and in October Gernsback sent a letter to some of the writers he had already bought material from, letting them know that he was seeing more demand for "detective or criminal mystery stories with a good scientific background".

[13] Gernsback was editor-in-chief, and had final say on the choice of stories, but the editorial work was done by his deputy, Hector Grey.

In the following issue, Grey was replaced as editor by David Lasser, who was already editing Gernsback's other sf titles, and an attempt was made to include more stories with science fiction elements.

[10] Van Dine's Philo Vance novel, The Bishop Murder Case, began serialization in the first issue, which probably assisted sales, since the hardcover edition of the novel, which had appeared only a few months previously, had sold well.

[10] Mike Ashley, a historian of the field, suggests that Gernsback was more interested in stories about the science of detection than in imaginary science: most of Scientific Detective Monthly's contents were gadget stories, of a kind which Gernsback had been publishing in his other magazines for some time.

[9] The cover for the first issue, by Jno Ruger, showed a detective using an electronic device to measure the reactions of a suspect.

[10] Gernsback's editorial argued that science would eventually end crime, and suggested that both the police and criminals would make growing use of scientific innovations in the future.

[9] Following the sale, Bamber filled the magazine with ordinary detective fiction, including Edgar Wallace's The Feathered Serpent.