In this essential distillation of American suspense, 100 years worth of peerless tales are collected into a volume where giants of the genre abound: Raymond Chandler, Lawrence Block, Sue Grafton, Elmore Leonard, and Sara Paretsky.

A collection of stories, both early and late, that show how Mystery Writers of America Grand Master James M. Cain made his name There is a hungry tiger loose in the house, and that is not good news for anyone. A jealous husband let the animal out of his cage hoping he would eat his wife alive, but tigers aren’t used to taking orders. This jungle cat will get his meal, and he doesn’t care where it comes from. “The Baby in the Icebox” begins with a murdered wildcat and ends with a dead human—and what comes in between is some of the most striking prose James M. Cain ever put to paper. It is one of the first stories this master of crime fiction ever wrote, and it shows all the hallmarks of the novels that would later make him famous—namely Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. The tales in this collection are short, but Cain never needed more than a few pages to thrill.

"With the [publication of this book], an ever-wider audience may more fully appreciate the ... range of the poet's technique, the scope of his concerns, and the humaneness of his vision"--Back cover.

Praise for the previous edition:Booklist/RBB "Twenty Best Bets for Student Researchers"RUSA/ALA "Outstanding Reference Source"" ... useful ... Recommended for public libraries and undergraduates."