From a "master" of noir fiction, comes this collection featuring corrupt cops, femme fatales, and hired guns grappling with the darker edges of criminal life (Marilyn Stasio, New York Times). An undercover cop in a thrilling cat and mouse story, a kicked-to-the curb prize fighter who struggles with selling out, and a professional assassin whose taste for whiskey gets in the way of his career goals. These are only a few of the gritty characters from both sides of the law who endure double-dealing, surprise swindles, and acts of violence rivaled only by the darkness within them. Edged, subversive, and filled with wry humor, this collection of twelve hardboiled crime stories from award-winning author Loren D. Estleman is "for readers who can't get enough of Elmore Leonard and Ross Thomas . . . He's that good" (People). "Page for page, nobody does this stuff better." --Kirkus Reviews "A consistently excellent storyteller." --Chicago Tribune "One of the best hard-boiled writers of all time." --Publishers Weekly