James Reasoner, author of more than 200 novels, presents 17 short stories, most of which were published in the MIKE SHAYNE MYSTERY Magazine in the 70s and 80s. Now collected for the first time, they show you why he's the master story-teller he is and why those in the know, like Ed Gorman, have so many good things to say about him. For instance:

 

 James is an artist, not just a writer. Hemingway called it “angle of vision,” the way one sees the world. James Reasoner puts his stamp on everything he writes. His work can be funny, violent, sad, even whimsical at times but it doesn’t matter because the craft and the art are always informed by the wisdom of the man telling the stories.

Any man who wrote both Texas Wind and Dust Devils is obviously a major crime fiction novelist. As this collection will convince, he’s also a major crime fiction short story writer as well.

 Ed Gorman