Hard-Boiled Noir from American Crime Fiction Master James M. Cain

A stunning collection of seventeen hardboiled crime fiction from legendary author James M. Cain. The stories capture the terror of killers on the run in his typical American noir fashion.

You’ll encounter stories like “Dead Man”, in which an unlucky protagonist named Lucky can never seem to catch a break.

Each story is filled with dread, cutting to the heart of fear showing you exactly why Cain was dubbed a “poet of tabloid murder”.

Doris never wanted to give up her singing career. It’s a regret that’s hung over her head through years of domestic drudgery after getting married.

When she gets the opportunity for one last shot at becoming an opera singer, she knows she has to take it. Even if it means sacrificing everything to go after it. Her husband supports her fully.

Little does he know that the musical talent isn’t Doris—it’s him.

When sixteen-year-old Sonya confronts Graham outside of his real estate office building, he never expects that she’s going to drop a bombshell on him. According to her, his brother assaulted her and now she’s pregnant.

All she wants is enough money to cover her stay until she gives birth and can give the baby up for adoption. Only, Graham’s brother refuses to pay. It’s a messy situation. But Graham sees a better solution and asks for Sonya’s hand in marriage.

If only he knew that by saving her, he’s signing away his soul.

Val Valenty helped arrange parole for boxer Duke Webster. In exchange, Duke will work on Val’s farm doing back-breaking work for low pay. He never expects that Duke will disrupt his life in other ways.

When Duke meets Holly, he notices that while Val’s cooking has kept her happy, it’s also put on a lot of extra weight. Under Duke’s guidance, she sheds the pounds and reveals her former beauty.

Driven by jealousy, Val puts him and Duke on a collision course that will only meet a bloody end.

Everyone may go to Vegas to get married, but they go to Reno to get divorced. It only takes six weeks which means the only question is how to pass the time.

Jane Delavan is one of those unlucky in love. But before her divorce goes through, her husband surprises her.

He wants an annulment instead, and is willing to take out a $100,000 life insurance policy on himself to prove it. He never expected the insurance agent to fall for Jane. Or that they’d both scheme to make sure they win a bigger score.

And in the Biggest Little City, anything can happen.

A beautiful young widow, Mignon has come to New Orleans with her father to make the most of their Civil War-reduced fortunes. But by trading in contraband cotton, her father has landed in prison.

That’s when Mignon meets veteran Bill Cresap. He tries to stay out of Mignon’s intrigues only to give in to her irresistible charm. Drawn deeper into her world, Cresap meets an assortment of intriguing personalities.

But as he moves upriver, Cresap finds himself involved in the turbulent actions of desperate men while being pulled into the passions of two beautiful women.

At the start of the Civil War, Roger Duval is sent to Sacramento by the Confederacy. There’s hope that they might be able to turn the territory to their cause.

It’s a cushy job that should keep him out of danger. He never expected to get hit over the head by a paddleboat in the Sacramento River and nearly drown.

He’s saved by Morina, a quick-witted woman of the night. For Roger, it’s instant love. For Morina, it’s the chance to get paid. Following Morina to her home in Virginia City, he tries to win her hand.

Only, she has a price. And Roger will sacrifice his body and soul to pay it.

After his father’s death, Dave knows exactly what to expect on Saturday night with his mom.

First, she starts talking about get-rich-quick schemes. They never lead anywhere, but it’s better than silence.

One Saturday, their pattern is broken by noise outside. A hijacker is on the run with $100,000, a parachute, and a stewardess. The man thinks the worst is behind him and that he’s gotten away with robbery.

But he doesn’t know what Dave’s mom will do for an easy payday.

Sylvia Shoreham thought her Hollywood dreams had come true. She was on her way to international stardom when a bad contract doomed her career.

To make matters worse, her marriage to her producer husband is little more than a sham and she’s ready to move on. Ready to spend six weeks in Reno to get her divorce, she doesn’t expect her husband to follow and make her life miserable.

Lucky for Sylvia, the Reno sheriff is her biggest fan. And when her divorce turns into an all-out war, she finds that she’s grateful to have the law on her side.

There’s a tiger on the loose. And it’s hungry.

It all began with a jealous husband. He thought letting the cat out of the cage would mean the end of his wife—hopefully eaten alive.

 But tigers don’t take orders. Not even the hungry ones. It’s one of the first stories ever written master James M. Cain and has all the hallmarks of what made him famous.

Charles Brent is a workaholic. He doesn’t even want to take time off from his job as head teller at the bank to surgically correct an ulcer.

But when his young wife, Sheila, offers to take over his responsibilities, he doesn’t have a choice.

Unfortunately, she quickly discovers that Charles has been embezzling from the bank for years—and she figures out why. Only, instead of turning him in, she and the bank manager come up with a different plan.

Being too old for a spanking doesn’t stop Mandy’s stepfather from bending her over his knee. But by the time she’s fifteen, she’s had enough. With less than a hundred dollars to her name, she packs her things and heads to the bus station.

There, she meets Rick, a handsome criminal down on his luck. He charms young Mandy, and she ends up buying him a ticket too. On the way to Baltimore, she tells him of her plan to find her real father. Only, Rick thinks she should meet the man in style.

Luxurious mink coat style. And he knows exactly where to find one.

Professor Lloyd Palmer dreams of building an institute where he can teach young scholars the art of a beautiful biography. He goes in search of deep pockets, and for Lloyd’s dreams, the older the money, the better.

To find that, he goes to Wilmington, Delaware, where wealthy families have developed deep roots. But it isn’t old money he leaves with. It’s new problems.

He meets Hortense Garrett, a beautiful woman who’s had enough of her unhappy marriage. It was supposed to just be a car ride back to Washington.

Instead, Lloyd falls desperately in love and puts his future in her hands.

Clay Lockwood is a business executive who almost had it all. The one thing he’s missing is love.

Until he meets Sally Alexis. She’s beautiful. Irresistible. But she’s also married to a magician.

As the two fall deeper in love and lust. The more they want, the more they get, until their greed leads them down a path that could make their wildest wishes come true—at a terrible price.

Jack Dillon is a child who has it all. Golden hair, blue eyes, and the voice of an angel.

But when the stock market crash wipes out his family fortune and puberty steals his singing voice, suddenly, Jack is forced to start all over with nothing.

For fifteen years, Jack travels across the country trying to find happiness. Only that can’t be discovered in California or Maryland but by remembering the pure joy he found when singing with his heart.

At twenty-one, Carrie Selden took her savings and moved to New York City. She takes a job at Karb’s, a corporate diner, where she makes minimum wage and is at the bottom of the corporate ladder.

But Carrie is savvy. And beautiful.

When her coworkers unionize, they make her president, kickstarting her climb to success. But then she meets Grant.

A mysterious intellectual who will either help her rise or cause her fall.