If you like 'em fast-paced and hard-boiled, full of dames, gamblers, booze and guns, Paul Cain is the guy and even has some Chandleresque turns of phrase which is especially remarkable considering that his prose is terser than Hammet's.
Very good book that was just a little too disjointed to be great. I think this was put together from short stories and the seams show a bit. Still a fast paced, relentlessly hard boiled read.
The fat man sad: "Put your hands up, Skinny." Kells shook his head slightly.The young man in the raincoat leaned forward and slapped Kells across the mouth. Kells looked up at him and his face was very sad, his eyes were sleepy. He said: "That's too bad."- p. 70Fast One is a book I feel like I've be...
A pretty damn definitive collection on the subject--working so hard to include all the greats that an unpublished screen test written by Spillane is in there, because he didn't do short stories. The lesser-known hidden gems are also definitely worth your time.
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