Scratch Fever
Max Allan Collins has won more Shamus nominations from the Private Eye Writers of America than any other author. Besides his popular Nate Heller series of historical detective novels, he is the author of a number of classic hard-boiled tales about professional thief Nolan and killer-for-hire Quarry.  Said the Atlanta Journal Constitution: "Collins has a gift for creating believable low-life characters." Readers have compared his work to that of Richard Stark and Mickey Spillane--and indeed, Collins has completed several of the Mike Hammer novels that Spillane left at his death.