Fast one
Subtitle: with a new introduction and bonus essay
By: Paul Cain
Publisher: Gutter Books
Published: 2013
Place of publication: [Chicago, Ill.]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 194
ISBN-13: 9781939751072; 9780982688786
Subjects: Fiction; Social life and customs; FICTION; Mystery & Detective; Hard-Boiled; General; Manners and customs
Description: Billed as the most hard-boiled novel of the 1930s and featuring one of the most brutal finales in crime fiction history, some say this lost 1933 masterpiece took hard-boiled crime writing too far. In the last days of Prohibition and the first days of the Depression, East Coast crime bosses are vying for control of Los Angeles. Caught in the middle of the intrigue is Gerry Kells, a former New York enforcer now living a life of ease on the West coast. As the fiercely independent Kells rejects the appeals of various crime bosses who want to make use of his talents, powerful forces align against him. Being framed for a murder turns out to be the least of his troubles and as the stakes get higher, and the odds get longer, it's only Kells' nerve and toughness that keep him one step ahead of the lawand the reaper.