Synopses & Reviews
Thirty-two stories of stunning ingenuity. Thirty-two writers of legendary genius. One hundred years of crime fiction in a one-of-a-kind collection. Edited by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins. Introduction by Max Allan Collins.
Featuring stories by:
- Lawrence Block
- Leigh Brackett
- Gil Brewer
- Fredric Brown
- James M. Cain
- Max Allan Collins
- Carroll John Daly
- Norbert Davis
- Loren D. Estleman
- William Campbell Gault
- David Goodis
- Edward Gorman
- Chester Himes
- Dorothy B. Hughes
- Evan Hunter
- John Jakes
- Stuart M. Kaminsky
- John Lutz
- John D. MacDonald
- Ross Macdonald
- Stephen Marlowe
- Lia Matera
- William P. McGivern
- Marcia Muller
- Sara Paretsky
- Talmage Powell
- Richard S. Prather
- Bill Pronzini
- Robert Randisi
- Benjamin M. Schutz
- Mickey Spillane
- Donald E. Westlake
Review
"It may not actually span a century, but this volume offers plenty of blood, booze and cigarette smoke in worlds populated by flinty men and fetching women." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[A] middle range of hardboiled tales marked less by brilliance than by workaday professionalism....The highlights...show the genre's characteristic alternation between bravado and despair. Readers looking for the true highlights of this all-American genre, though, will need to look elsewhere." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
James Ellroy and Otto Penzler mined the past century to find this treasure trove of thirty-nine stories. From noirs twenties-era infancy come gems like James M. Cains “Pastorale,” and its postwar heyday boasts giants like Mickey Spillane and Evan Hunter. Packing an undeniable punch, diverse contemporary incarnations include Elmore Leonard, Patricia Highsmith, Joyce Carol Oates, Dennis Lehane, and William Gay, with many page-turners appearing from the past decade.
Synopsis
Thirty-two stories of stunning ingenuity. Thirty-two writers of legendary genius. One hundred years of crime fiction in a one-of-a-kind collection.
About the Author
James Ellroy was born in Los Angeles in 1948. His L.A. Quartet novels-The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz-were international bestsellers. His most recent book is Blood's a Rover. OTTO PENZLER is the founder of the Mysterious Bookshop and Mysterious Press.
Table of Contents
A Century Of Noir Introduction
Max Allan Collins
The Meanest Cop in the World
Chester Himes
Just Another Stiff
Carroll John Daly
Something for the Sweeper
Norbert Davis
I Feel Bad About Killing You
Leigh Brackett
Don't Look Behind You
Fredric Brown
Death Comes Gift-Wrapped
William P. McGivern
Murder for Money
John D. MacDonald
Cigarette Girl
James M. Cain
Guilt-Edged Blonde
Ross Macdonald
The Gesture
Gil Brewer
The Plunge
David Goodis
Tomorrow I Die
Mickey Spillane
Never Shake a Family Tree
Donald E. Westlake
Somebody Cares
Talmage Powell
The Granny Woman
Dorothy B. Hughes
WantedDead and Alive
Stephen Marlowe
The Double Take
Richard S. Prather
The Real Shape of the Coast
John Lutz
Dead Men Don't Dream
Evan Hunter
The Used
Loren D. Estleman
Busted Blossoms
Stuart M. Kaminsky
The Kerman Kill
William Campbell Gault
Deceptions
Marcia Muller
The Nickel Derby
Robert J. Randisi
The Reason Why
Ed Gorman
No Comment
John Jakes
How Would You Like It?
Lawrence Block
Grace Notes
Sara Paretsky
One Night at Dolores Park
Bill Pronzini
Dead Drunk
Lia Matera
Kaddish for the Kid
Max Allan Collins
Lost and Found
Benjamin M. Schutz